Mobile Technologies, for Women Empowerment|Totalsecurity

Mobile technologies, catalysts for women's empowerment

When we know that there are more than 7.4 billion connections to mobile devices on Earth, more than the world population, how can we explain that women are still excluded?

It is in this perspective that Mobile Learning Week opened on February 23, 2015 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, with a series of workshops on the theme of mobile innovation and its use. . They show that mobile technologies can be the solution to improve the condition of women.

Beyond a simple means of communication, mobile devices are, for women, a source of permanent Totalsecurity .

“My laptop and me” is a workshop entirely dedicated to the exchange around the security of mobile communication for women and what relates to it in terms of peer-to-peer sharing skills. Apps, designed to prevent violence against women or increase mobile safety, were reviewed under the critical eye of a group consisting mostly of women and girls from different backgrounds. The result of this analysis was then communicated directly to the developers. The goal of this approach was to increase knowledge and skills in terms of mobile security, to sensitize participants on the vulnerability of women and girls to these technological advances, and finally to provide intelligently designed solutions to protect them against the dangers that could result from it, such as cyber-bullying and sexual violence via mobile phones. Partners such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Pakistan, Philippines, and South Africa have expressed interest in this method and say they want to experiment with it in their respective countries.

... but also health advice

The “Oh My Body” workshop presents the mobile application of the same name created by Butterfly Works. It works on digital phones and Android devices and provides young girls with accurate and relevant information about their reproductive and sexual health rights, without the need for peer intervention. It's quick and easy access to important information for women and girls. “Oh My Body” contains short animated stories, FAQs, games and mythbusters as well as practical tips to help young women manage their sexual health. During the workshop, the process of co-creation with girls and young women to develop context-specific information was presented to participants. They were guided through the

Mobile devices: it saves lives

The workshop led by the organization Media Matters for Women (MMW) presented their project to create an innovative and low-cost communication system, enabling women and girls to share information, learn from each other, have fun, hear crucial messages and become citizens of the world. The strength of MMW's approach lies in its potential to outrun formal networks to bring about social change. The use of Bluetooth to deliver information during the Ebola crisis is one example. The organization was able to reach women and girls in the most remote areas of Sierra Leone every week by broadcasting information about the Ebola crisis, in their mother tongue and in audio format.

The workshop demonstrated that we can connect and dialogue even in the most remote areas in the face of the dangers of a current crisis, even among an illiterate population. This widely expanded connectivity is made possible by solar chargers, wireless bandwidth and women journalists. The MMW organization enables women and girls to access and fully enjoy their rights in rural areas.

Gender inequalities still exist at all levels

Beijing Royal School vice-president and mobile learning coordinator Fengyun Cheng and Chris Meehan, respectively, led an interactive workshop on how to encourage female students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). To achieve this, a wide range of strategies and initiatives have been put in place to carry out this project, including innovative projects on mobile learning, science fairs, youth mentoring opportunities, clubs students, field trips, and STEM-themed essay contests. By emphasizing the importance of mobile learning in enabling young women to opt for jobs traditionally intended for men, this workshop gave participants the opportunity to discover a set of concrete plans. These make it easier to carry out STEM-focused classroom projects to ensure that women have easier access to jobs in science, technology, engineering and math.

Touching on several areas, these workshops all converge on a single point: mobile technologies in favor of "girl power".