This is the final report of the The Digital Opportunity through Technology and Communication Partnerships-Policy (dot-GOV) Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement. The dot-GOV project was implemented by Internews Network with subcontractors and in close coordination with U.S. government offices, including the USAID Women in Development office. dot-GOV promoted pro-competitive policy and regulatory reform to enhance economic and social development and provide universal access, especially for women and geographically and socially isolated populations.

This report summarizes the DOT-COM Alliance's dot-EDU cooperative agreement and describes in detail the individual projects implemented under it. In addition, the report seeks to provide a deeper analysis, based on experiences in many of the dot-EDU projects undertaken, around what was learned and observed over the six years of the mechanism's lifecycle. dot-EDU was implemented by the Education Development Center along with an alliance of partners. Through carefully planned applications of ICT, dot-EDU aimed to assist developing countries in strengthening learning systems to:

• improve educational quality,
• expand access to women and girls, the disabled, and others traditionally isolated from educational resources and learning, and
• enhance gender equity.

This study was produced by AED's LearnLink Project for the WID office; an Executive Summary is also available (PN-ACM-871). The study found that although women in developing countries have had little contact with new information and communications technologies (ICTs), technology offers many opportunities to improve the lives of women and their families. In fact, the cost of not doing so is very high. While ICTs are not a panacea for women's problems in developing countries, since they can bring threats and challenges along with opportunities, they offer many new possibilities that offer women in developing countries a lifeline for economic, social, and political empowerment.

This is the Executive Summary of a study produced by AED's LearnLink Project for the WID office (PN-ACM-294). The study found that although women in developing countries have had little contact with new information and communications technologies (ICTs), technology offers many opportunities to improve the lives of women and their families. In fact, the cost of not doing so is very high. While ICTs are not a panacea for women's problems in developing countries, since they can bring threats and challenges along with opportunities, they offer many new possibilities that offer women in developing countries a lifeline for economic, social, and political empowerment.

This web page provides summaries and links to the following e-newsletter articles produced by the DOT-COM Alliance between 2002 and 2005:

• The Yemeni High School Internet Pilot Project
• Gender Strategies in dot-ORG Projects
• Mali: Selected Snapshots of the 12,000 CLIC Clients (dot-ORG)
• Piloting PDAs to Improve Data Collection and Monitoring of Health Projects in Nepal
• Semi-Literate Mekong Women Learn Using Video Compact Discs
• Using Cellular Phones in Uganda for Rural Income Generation and More
• Women in Technology Cisco Scholarship Program Proving Popular
• dot-GOV Provides Low-Income Women with Technology Skills
• Multiple Learning Channels to Attain Education For All in India
• Applying the Bangladesh Village Phone Program to Uganda in support of Women Entrepreneurs
• Strategies to Cross the Gender Digital Divide Strengthening Moroccan Women's Participation in Politics

This Briefing Note Update describes the status of DOT-COM projects as of October 2005. All projects reflect DOT-COM's aim to maintain gender as a primary focus by monitoring all activities for gender appropriateness, ensuring DOT-COM projects explicitly address participation by and benefits provided to girls and women, and conducting pilots that create new approaches to gender equity in the area of information and communications technologies (ICTs). (File Format: MS Word)

ICTs can be a tremendous engine for increased participation in democratic processes by women -- if their participation is sought and encouraged. This article, from the March 2007 edition of the DOT-COM Alliance's e-newsletter, discusses the need to involve women and focus on women's needs in ICT policy-making in order to fully and fairly integrate women in the ICT sector.

This is the final report for the Women in Technology (WIT), Cisco Networking Academy Scholarship program, which was sponsored by USAID and administered by the Institute of International Education. The program provided scholarship awards to women from target countries to attend the Cisco Networking Academy Program, a comprehensive e-learning program, which earned them a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certificate. By awarding tuition scholarships for women to attend the CCNA training, the WIT program aimed to facilitate and support the development of women IT professionals in the seven program countries: Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

This is the seventh quarter report of the Through Our Eyes project, covering April 1 - June 30, 2009.  Through Our Eyes is implemented by the American Refugee Committee-International and its partner Communication for Change. The project uses community-generated, participatory video activities to address gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, and related health concerns in conflict-affected settings. During the seventh quarter, progress was made on all three project objectives.

This document describes the administration, activities, and achievements of the the Initiative for Namibian Education Technology (iNET), which was implemented by the Education Development Center and the Academy for Educational Development. The document also includes eight project success stories and a monitoring and evaluation report. The project was developed to exploit the cross-sectoral benefits of ICTs in the education sector. Gender sensitivity in professional development and the improvement of women's professional opportunities were important priorities.

This is the seventh quarter report of the Through Our Eyes project, covering April 1 - June 30, 2009.  Through Our Eyes is implemented by the American Refugee Committee-International and its partner Communication for Change. The project uses community-generated, participatory video activities to address gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, and related health concerns in conflict-affected settings. During the seventh quarter, progress was made on all three project objectives.

This is the seventh quarter report of the Through Our Eyes project, covering April 1 - June 30, 2009.  Through Our Eyes is implemented by the American Refugee Committee-International and its partner Communication for Change. The project uses community-generated, participatory video activities to address gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, and related health concerns in conflict-affected settings. During the seventh quarter, progress was made on all three project objectives.

This is the seventh quarter report of the Through Our Eyes project, covering April 1 - June 30, 2009.  Through Our Eyes is implemented by the American Refugee Committee-International and its partner Communication for Change. The project uses community-generated, participatory video activities to address gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, and related health concerns in conflict-affected settings. During the seventh quarter, progress was made on all three project objectives.

This study by the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project provides an overview of information and communications technology (ICT) trends and opportunities for women in Bangladesh. It explores ways that the USAID/Bangladesh mission can integrate gender and poverty concerns into its programs and recommends pro-poor, gender-sensitive ICT interventions for the mission's review. The study aims to help USAID/Bangladesh ensure that its ICT development programs promote gender equity and create opportunities for economic growth.

This is the seventh quarter report of the Through Our Eyes project, covering April 1 - June 30, 2009.  Through Our Eyes is implemented by the American Refugee Committee-International and its partner Communication for Change. The project uses community-generated, participatory video activities to address gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices, and related health concerns in conflict-affected settings. During the seventh quarter, progress was made on all three project objectives.

This report, from a UN/INSTRAW Virtual Seminar Series on Gender and ICTs held in July 2002, tests the hypothesis that women do not benefit equitably from ICT development projects without specific gender analysis and efforts. The case studies used in the report are field studies on the incorporation of gender concerns into Information for Development Programme (infoDev) projects; infoDev had commissioned these field studies as part of its effort to better integrate gender issues into its projects. The field studies were carried out by locally-based researchers in China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Panama, and Peru.

This tool aims to assist USAID Last Mile Initiative staff and partners, as well as other development professionals, to ensure gender sensitivity in ICT activities. It has three parts:

1. Guidelines: concise principles for incorporating gender sensitivity;
2. Resources: specific and detailed tools, models and examples, which help the user apply the guidelines; and
3. References: organizations, websites, and other sources of potential partners, grantees and expertise worldwide.

These steps can also be used to promote equity for other underserved groups.

The purpose of this toolkit is to identify opportunities, highlight innovative projects and activities, and suggest how the World Bank and other agencies can help realize the potential for gender equality in ICT. The toolkit is divided into 10 sections; it contains checklists, evaluation tools, examples of good practices, and resources that can be used to incorporate gender into ICT projects and project components. The toolkit has been designed for general distribution to researchers, educators, and development practitioners.

This book features five case studies illustrating ways in which women have been able to make the most of digital opportunities, examining:

• E-commerce in Bhutan
• Entrepreneurship by women workers in China
• Post-conflict communication using radio and ICTs in Sierra Leone
• Sustainable fisheries production in Ghana
• Information exchange related to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean

The book also provides an extensive annotated bibliography of the international literature on gender and ICTs for development, in particular rural development, and relevant web resources.

This special edition of the Information for Development (i4d) magazine, published in July 2008, is devoted to an examination of gender empowerment and equality in the knowledge society.

This report provides a summary of critical gender equality issues related to ICT and development and outlines potential opportunities for women's economic, social, and political empowerment. It focuses on the two-fold need to address the gender divide and reduce inequalities related to ICT and to identify ways to use ICT proactively and effectively to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. The report presents key strategies and tools to address the gender digital divide and provides examples of good practice on gender equality and ICT.

This two-page "cheat sheet" summarizes the key points from "Creating and Sustaining Superior ICT Project Performance Through Gender Sensitivity" (http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADN054.pdf) in a user-friendly table. The purpose of this resource is to help USAID Last Mile Initiative staff and partners, as well as other development professionals, ensure gender sensitivity in ICT activities. It identifies key objectives for integrating gender into ICT programs and offers steps to achieving those objectives and indicators for measuring progress.