For the second phase of the Word Summit on Information Society, The National Union of Tunisian Women is organizing a workshop entitled : “Networking, Gender and Virtual reality: Successful strategies, challenges and opportunities”.

The main objective of this workshop is to allow participants interested in gender issues to exchange their know-how, experiences and reflections around the following questions:

• Is it important for an association to become part of a network?
• Exchange media brought by ICT
• Contribution of networks to women and men (local, regional and global contexts)
• Constraints versus opportunities : access, costs, contents and capacity reinforcement.

The workshop will emphasize telecommunications development and the changes brought by ICT to economic, social and cultural life.

How do women adhere to this digital revolution? How do they make the best use of this new potential tool?
ICT offer various tools to access knowledge. E-mails and online discussion groups are most popular among women in both developing and developed countries . This choice is explained by a cost -quality relationship.

Other tools, such as videoconferences rank after, as they are more costly and sometimes difficult to access. E-learning is also a means for capacity and skill development that shouldn’t be underestimated.

These means of exchanges facilitate the creation of association networks or of interest groups. Besides, the value of a network can only increase only if the number of its participants increases and access to technology becomes affordable and easy.

The expected outcome of the workshop is to :

• Raise global awareness of the importance of networking
• Foster knowledge sharing
• Stimulate the creation of a knowledge database
• Encourage women’s adherence to association networks
• Disseminate best practices and success stories

The workshop will consist in presentations, case studies and discussions which will relate ICT experiences in developing and/ or in developed countries.