Asean Women Seek ICT Employment
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - The 12th General Assembly (GA) of the Asean Confederation of Women's Organisation (ACWO) to be held from Nov 17 to 19 in Bandar Seri Begawan seeks to empower women and to promote equality by eliminating gender disparity in Info-Communication Technology (ICT) during an era of digital revolution.

Its incumbent president, Datin Hajah Masni Haji Mohd Ali, said the digital revolution not only changes the way people communicate with each other but also the way they work, provide services, interact, search information, as well as their social and political life.

"The eight Millennium Development Goals or MDGs which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015, form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and leading development institutions.

"They have galvanised unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest," said Datin Hajah Masni, who is expected to hand over the presidency to the Philippines after her two-year tenure which ends this year.

She said during the first part of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland, heads of state and governments from all over the world had approved a summit declaration and a plan of action.

"They declared on their common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and developmentoriented Information Society (IS), where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving the quality of life," she said.

During the 2nd WSIS in Tunisia in 2005, she said heads of governments reaffirmed the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, as enshrined in the Vienna Declaration.

"They also recognised that freedom of expression and the free flow of information, ideas, and knowledge are essential for the IS and beneficial to development," she said.

She said she saw many challenges facing women in harnessing and exploring ICT to their advantage such as ensuring decision makers know the benefits of ICT; building an IS for all and bridging the digital divide in Asean; and making ICT affordable and accessible.

Other challenges include building national capacity; empowering women especially the marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups; knowing and taking part in the many multi-stakeholder network; as well as committing and harnessing the potential of ICT for sustainable and equitable development.

The opening ceremony of the 12th GA of ACWO is expected to be graced by Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha at 2pm on Nov 17 at the International Convention Centre in Berakas.

The theme is `ICT Empowerment, E-Commerce and E-Government - Bringing a Higher Quality of Life in Asean. Datin Hajah Masni is, expected to hand over the presidency to the Philippines at the function.

The federation is a regional forum for Asean women to exchange views, problems and experiences in the implementation of strategies and programmes adopted by Asean governments, and for the enhancement of women's participation in both national, and regional development. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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