"This is a very attractive way for women in Eastern Europe to publish on the web", commented Christina Haralonova, one of WITT’s trainers and, in her daily life, the director of Social Rights Bulgaria Network. WITT is the first organization to train women’s non-governmental organizations in Central and Eastern Europe to use ICTs in their communication strategies. The website launch took place during WITT’s annual Trainers Exchange Event, from 12-15 February 2005. "We are committed to supporting the development of civil society, to promoting the use of free software and to promoting women’s access to their human rights", WITT coordinator Kristina Mihalec told the trainers during the launch. "We established the WITT website for women to share their experiences with Information Communication Technologies, for them to learn about training events provided by WITT, and to develop expertise in advocacy on gender and ICT issues."
The trainers event, hosted by Akcija Zdruzhenska, a Macedonian organization of feminist trainers, was attended by 16 women from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Moldova, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland and Serbia and Montenegro. Trainers are a key component in WITT’s strategy. All are active within the women’s movement or social movements in the region, many in the area of ICTs. The purpose of the exchange is to build powerful partnerships between the trainers and for WITT to maintain a pool of women who will not only promote ICT use but also promote a feminist analysis of ICT use. WITT, initiated in 2002 by ENAWA – European North American Women Action as part of its training program, will become an independent entity in early 2005, with its seat in Croatia and so-called Focal Points throughout the region. Focal Points are women working within organizations to promote women’s use of ICTs in the region; they also organize local trainings. |