Women’s Internet Café - Zimbabwe

The project helps women to:

• Find tools and resources on the Internet on specific issues
• Set up their own e-mail accounts
• Network with women's organisations all over the world
• Find information to their questions
• Make use of the computer for word processing and printing services
• Produce their own business cards and brochures
• Become aware of urgent national, women-related issues by using web sites and widely distributed e-mail announcements

It offers training courses in:

• E-mail and Internet research skills
• Introduction to computers
• Coaching on how to use select software programmes

It also offers basic training to women and girls at their own pace, in groups or as individuals.

Objectives of the cafe are:

• Make Information Communication Technology (ICT) accessible and less intimidating to women and girls
• Help distribute information in formats accessible to women not directly linked to the Internet
• To provide affordable E-mail and Internet access to women and girls
• To provide gender-sensitive training and support in ICTs

Technology, Women, Youth, Gender

The project used the girls training to facilitate the publication of the ‘Digital Divas’ flyer, which publicised the programme in Zimbabwe and beyond. The training, mostly targeting young girls from Gwanda and Shurugwi, resulted in the beneficiaries being able to:

• Set up their own email accounts;
• Network with women’s organisations all over the world;
• Find information to their questions;
• Use the computers for word processing and printing services;
• Produce their own business cards and brochures;
• Become aware of urgent national, women-related issues by using web sites and widely distributed e-mail announcements

Various factors, internal and external impacted on the programme with the following lessons being learnt:

• There is need to carry out a market user survey on women and girls access to ICTs;
• There is need to carry out a wide scale information and awareness raising campaign on the need for women to use ICTs;
• There may be need in some cases, to go to the communities with the modern ICT methods to increase access;
• There is need for dedicated capacity both in terms of competency and time to manage the ICT programme.

The economic downturn in 2003 impacted negatively on the activities of the Internet Café such that the service was temporarily shelved on the 1st December 2004. Currently the department is offering Internet access for users of the documentation center, typing and printing for women and girls and photocopying facilities.