Helping Women Empower Themselves

INTERVIEW | Hera Hussain: Helping Women Empower Themselves

Hera Hussain founder of Chayn, speaks to Womanity about her award-winning, open-source project that leverages technology to empower women against violence and oppression so they can live happier and healthier lives.
Running solely on the passion of more than 300 skilled volunteers from 13 countries, Chayn leverages technology to address the problems women face today in a dozen countries. Their resources are openly licensed so charities around the world can use, remix and distribute their work!
Their design principle: “Design with, not for”
➜ Click here to watch Hera Hussain’s video interview: Helping Women Empower Themselves.
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POST | USERS: A CHALLENGE FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Read this fascinating post by Maya Ganesh, Director of Applied Research at Tactical Technology Collective.
Users of technology can be ‘erased’ in the process of development of technology; at the same time, users’ “lack of competence” is cited as the reason for their inability to use technology effectively. Drawing from recent empirical findings of research, workshops, and current examples, this post discusses difference, diversity and technology.
➜ Click here to read the full post
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ICTFORWOMANITY RELATED EVENTS

13th AWID INTERNATIONAL FORUM – 8-11th September
Tactical Tech’s Gender and Tech project team will be at the 13th AWID International Forum in Bahia. Maya Ganesh, will be hosting a panel discussion on big data and gender, and the team will be part of the Feminist Internet eXchange (FIX) Hub.
Also present, the Womanity Award winners team APC and Luchadoras, and Womanity Foundation’s team member Tiana Vilar Lins.

SOCIAL GOOD SUMMIT – 18-19 September
The Social Good Summit is a two-day conference in New York (USA) examining the impact of technology and new media on social good initiatives around the world. Held annually during UNGA (UN General Assembly) Week, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders and grassroots activists to discuss solutions for the greatest challenges of our time.
Their theme, #2030NOW, asks the question, “What type of world do I want to live in by the year 2030?”
During the Social Good Summit, global citizens around the world unite to unlock the potential of technology to make the world a better place.
➜ For more info, click here.

HIVE GLOBAL LEADERS PROGRAM – 7-10th October
Applications are now open for the 9th Hive Global Leaders Program to be held October 7-10, 2016 in San Francisco. Hive is a global community of leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are working together on creating a better world and solving humanity’s greatest challenges. You can apply now at http://www.hive.org for the Oct 7-10, Nov 18-21, or Dec 16-19 programs. The deadline to apply is August 30. You can download the latest Hive Flyer here.

IN THE NEWS

Safetipin expands in Central America
Based on the crowdsourced social audit principle, when city residents encounter something in their neighborhoods which can be viewed as unsafe, they are able to pinpoint that location on their mobile device.
➜ Read how Safetipin is expanding in Belize this month.
Follow Safetipin on Twitter

The abuse Leslie Jones endured on Twitter is nothing new for black women
Read more

New Cyber Harassment Laws
In New Jersey (US) The state Supreme Court called last July for an expansion of domestic violence laws to include cyber-harassment as a basis for filing a restraining order, and legislators are taking up the cause.
Read more

A New Kind of AI Spots 90% of Online Abuse
Researchers at Yahoo have unveiled an algorithm that uses machine learning and natural language processing to detect online abuse and hate speech.
Read more

LET’S CONNECT

If you have news you want to share with the network, or a question you need help with, drop us a line. We are using Slack to allow communications in real time.

If you know of great organisations that could be part of this network, direct them to the ICTforWomanity Network registration page here.

Thank you for the work you do,
Servane Mouazan
Womanity Award Programme Manager