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T-Shirts to Web Links: Women Connect! Building Communications Capacity with Women's NGOs
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T-SHIRTS TO WEB LINKS: WOMEN CONNECT! BUILDING COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY WITH WOMEN’S NGOs
“Thanks for taking the time to come and insure that women’s organizations in Africa do not get left behind.”
~ Participant in an evaluation of Women Connect! workshop,
Harare, Zimbabwe, November 1999 (cited in Morna 2001, p.12).
A major sociological and political phenomenon during the past two decades has been the coming together of women worldwide to work for greater rights for women and girls. This movement has produced thousands of women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Each such women’s group has a mission and goals centered on improving some particular aspects of women’s lives. To achieve these goals, it engages in communication to others. Whether reaching out to community members or to politicians, legislators and the media, communication skills are absolutely central to the organization’s success. Today the communication strategies of many women’s NGOs span a broad range, from slogan-bearing t-shirts to the Internet and websites. However, many if not most women’s NGOs know they still have much to learn about communication -- be it traditional media, mass media or modern information technology. This essay presents a case study of Women Connect!, a five-year effort designed to support the desire of women’s NGOs in developing countries to communicate more effectively. Women Connect!, including its pilot project, was carried out collaboratively between 1997 and 2002 by two organizations, the Pacific Institute for Women’s Health and the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California, both based in Los Angeles. The goals of Women Connect! were: (1) to contribute to women’s empowerment through collaboration, communications capacity-building and information-sharing with women’s organizations; and (2) to help women strengthen their organizations and their ability to achieve their own objectives, especially in the areas of women’s health and well-being, broadly defined, including reproductive and sexual health and rights. Our operating hypothesis was that it is only by strengthening a broad range of communications capacities that an organization will be able to maximize its impact. We knew that women’s organizations are an important force for women’s empowerment and reducing inequity; surely strengthened women’s organizations could make even greater contributions. Our desire for Women Connect! was to was to help women’s organizations use the power of information and communication tools to change women’s lives.
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Women Connect! assisted women’s groups in using traditional media (e.g., t-shirts, posters and brochures), mass media (radio, newspapers, magazines and television) and information communication technology (ICT), including e-mail and the Internet, to communicate and advocate for the causes they believe are important – for example, women’s reproductive and sexual health, inheritance rights for women, and the reduction of all forms of violence.
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The initiative combined training, technical assistance, and small grants. The small grants were instrumental in allowing the participating groups to carry out activities that put to use information gained during our training.
Women Connect! was carried out with 30 NGOs in Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda), but the lessons learned apply to communications work with women’s groups throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. This article shows how these organizations are using communication tools and strategies to become more effective in disseminating health information, delivering services and advocating for the improvement of women’s lives. It
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The authors express their deep appreciation for contributions to this work by Carole Roberts, technology
coordinator for Women Linking and Women Connect!, and by Colleen Lowe Morna, evaluation consultant.
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Women Connect! did not focus on interpersonal and counseling skills.
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| | Authors: Mayer, Doe., pillsbury, barbara. and mukenge, muadi. |
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T-SHIRTS TO WEB LINKS:
WOMEN CONNECT!
BUILDING COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY WITH WOMEN’S NGOs
“Thanks for taking the time to come and insure that women’s organizations in Africa do not get left
behind.”
~ Participant in an evaluation of Women Connect! workshop,
Harare, Zimbabwe, November 1999 (cited in Morna 2001, p.12).
A major sociological and political phenomenon during the past two decades has been the coming together of women
worldwide to work for greater rights for women and girls. This movement has produced thousands of women’s non-
governmental organizations (NGOs). Each such women’s group has a mission and goals centered on improving
some particular aspects of women’s lives. To achieve these goals, it engages in communication to others. Whether
reaching out to community members or to politicians, legislators and the media, communication skills are absolutely
central to the organization’s success. Today the communication strategies of many women’s NGOs span a broad
range, from slogan-bearing t-shirts to the Internet and websites. However, many if not most women’s NGOs know
they still have much to learn about communication -- be it traditional media, mass media or modern information
technology.
This essay presents a case study of Women Connect!, a five-year effort designed to support the desire of women’s
NGOs in developing countries to communicate more effectively. Women Connect!, including its pilot project, was
carried out collaboratively between 1997 and 2002 by two organizations, the Pacific Institute for Women’s Health
and the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California, both based in Los Angeles.
The goals of Women Connect! were: (1) to contribute to women’s empowerment through collaboration,
communications capacity-building and information-sharing with women’s organizations; and (2) to help women
strengthen their organizations and their ability to achieve their own objectives, especially in the areas of women’s
health and well-being, broadly defined, including reproductive and sexual health and rights. Our operating
hypothesis was that it is only by strengthening a broad range of communications capacities that an organization will
be able to maximize its impact. We knew that women’s organizations are an important force for women’s
empowerment and reducing inequity; surely strengthened women’s organizations could make even greater
contributions. Our desire for Women Connect! was to was to help women’s organizations use the power of
information and communication tools to change women’s lives.
1
Women Connect! assisted women’s groups in using traditional media (e.g., t-shirts, posters and brochures), mass
media (radio, newspapers, magazines and television) and information communication technology (ICT), including e-
mail and the Internet, to communicate and advocate for the causes they believe are important – for example,
women’s reproductive and sexual health, inheritance rights for women, and the reduction of all forms of violence.
2
The initiative combined training, technical assistance, and small grants. The small grants were instrumental in
allowing the participating groups to carry out activities that put to use information gained during our training.
Women Connect! was carried out with 30 NGOs in Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda), but the lessons learned
apply to communications work with women’s groups throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. This article
shows how these organizations are using communication tools and strategies to become more effective in
disseminating health information, delivering services and advocating for the improvement of women’s lives. It
1
The authors express their deep appreciation for contributions to this work by Carole Roberts, technology
coordinator for Women Linking and Women Connect!, and by Colleen Lowe Morna, evaluation consultant.
2
Women Connect! did not focus on interpersonal and counseling skills.
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