draft announcement, version 2.0

[pi villanueva <pi@isiswomen.org>]

hi!

please comment asap. i was hoping we can post to aworc-meet by tomorrow. if
this is possible. i'm sorry 
I could not post last friday as promised. had two deal with two
malfunctioning workstations. then saturday 
i was offline totally. spent saturday cheering my pre-schooler during what
is called here as "moving up day." 
a.k.a. "graduation day."

pi

------------- final draft announcement --------------------

ANNOUNCEMENT: 2000 ASIAN WOMEN'S ELECTRONIC NETWORK TRAINING WORKSHOP
(WENT2000)


Asian Women's Resource Exchange 
Women's Electronic Network Training Workshop 
19 - 24 June 2000 
Sookmyung Women's University 
Seoul, South Korea 

Asian Women's Resource Exchange (AWORC) is an Internet-based women's 
information network and service in Asia. AWORC develops cooperative
approaches and partnerships in increasing access to and exploring
applications of new information and communication technologies (ICT) for
women's empowerment. It also expands existing regional networks in the women's
movement, promotes electronic resource sharing and builds a regional
information service to support women's advocacies, specifically those
critical for women in Asia.

AWORC members include women's information, resource and documentation
centers, women's information providers and users, communications
organizations working closely with women's networks.

AWORC seeks to contribute to the strengthening of women's movements in Asia 
through developing regional women's Internet-based information and
communication 
channels. AWORC's website now highlights resources, activities and
organizations of women in the region and serves as a channel for women's
organizations to exchange information on the review process. AWORC's
website address is http.//www.jca.apc.org/aworc


Last year AWORC organized the "Asian Women's Electronic Network Training
Workshop" (WENT99) to train participants on basic website development tools
and other Internet-based group communication (email, mailing lists,
newsgroups, etc.) so that women's organizations may effectively use the
new information and communication technology to exchange and disseminate 
information on the five-year review of the BPFA (officially titled Women
2000). 
Twenty-three women from eleven Asian countries participated in the training 
workshop which was held on June 21- 26, 1999 at the Sookmyung Women's 
University in Seoul, Korea. 

This year, AWORC will again be holding  the "Asian Women's Electronic
Network Training Workshop" (WENT2000) to train participants in running
web-based information services, in using online communication tools to
advance their networking and advocacy work, and in developing databases.
The focus of the workshop is to assist women's organizations in building
their capacities to develop and sustain appropriate use of new information and
communication technology. WENT2000 also hopes to enhance women's 
networking by encouraging collaboration and resource exchange among
participants 
before, during and even after the training. 

WENT2000 builds from the experiences and successes gained by women and 
their organizations in participating in the review process of the Beijing
Platform 
for Action. As such, women who are active in the information and resource
sharing 
work in relation to the review of the Beijing Platform for Action are
encouraged to apply. 

WENT2000 is also open to all women whose organizations play or will play a
significant 
role in promoting the use of information and communication technology to
enhance 
women's role and capacity in social and policy advocacy, as well as to
strengthen
women's organizations and networks--primarily but not exclusively-- in the
Asian region.
This year, WENT2000 will also be open to women and their organizations from
the 
Pacific region. 



GOALS

The goals of the training workshops are: 

1.To train women's information providers in the use of group communication,
web development tools, and  databases to be able to provide meaningful
activities of their organizations, networks and localities. 

2.To develop and increase the level of cooperation and networking among
women's information providers and existing women's information networks in
the region. 

3.To promote the appropriate use of information and communication
technology in the regional women's movement. 

4.To train women's information providers who will be able to assist other

women in the use of Internet services and tools. 


PROGRAMME
The workshop is composed of three parallel instructional tracks. All
participants will engage in extensive hands-on training--running online
discussion groups, using actual Internet resources and developing prototype
databases--using the Workshop facilities. The tracks will be led by
trainers from different women's organizations who are library
administrators, database developers, web developers, systems administrators
and who have extensive experience in running training workshops. 



**************** PLEASE NOTE THAT AWORC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ALTER THE
FOLLOWING PROGRAMME BASED ON DEMAND, SKILLS AND TRAINING NEEDS OF ACCEPTED
PARTICIPANTS. A MORE COMPREHENSIVE COURSE OUTLINE WILL BE MADE PUBLIC BY
MID-MAY 2000. ****************


Track 1: Web-based Information Service
---------------------------------------------------------

Who should attend: providers and would-be providers of web-based
information services. 

Prerequisites: some experience in writing webpages, or as a webmaster, or
as a web designer. 

Coverage: design and set-up quality Web-based information services.
concepts of information architecture, usability, accessibility, website
management, XML, open content, and open source/free software tools. this
is NOT as basic html training course nor a programmers' course.

The course is a mixture of presentations and demonstrations with emphasis
on hands-on practical experience. Emphasis will be given on collaborative
learning and group work.

Goals: Enhance ability to design and set-up quality Web-based information
services; understanding how these services can advance your organization's
missions and goals; ability to support other information providers and
users from participants' own organization and/or network. Promote
collaboration 
and resource sharing among web-builders.


Track 2: Working Online
-----------------------------------

Who should attend: social and policy advocacy workers and activists who are
using or are planing to use electronic communication tools to support their
work and networks. 

Prerequisites: some experience in using email

Coverage: plan, set-up and run mailing lists. facilitation and moderation
of online discussion groups. using group work tools. concepts of working
online, archiving, online communication and group work tools and resources. 

The course is a mixture of presentations and demonstrations with emphasis
on hands-on practical experience. Emphasis will be given on collaborative
learning and group work.

Goals: Ability to plan, set-up and run mailing lists. Ability to facilitate
online discussions groups. Ability to  use group work tools. Technical
in mailing lists and email is NOT necessary. Promote collaboration 
and resource sharing among women who are using ICT tools to enhance 
their social and policy advocacy work.


Track 3: Basic Course in Database
--------------------------------------------------

Who should attend: library or resource center staff, would-be database
developers, information providers working with databases.

Prerequisites: some experience is using database and database management
tools. participants who are tasked by their organizations to maintain/develop
databases will be prioritized.

Coverage: plan, design and set-up a simple database  using open source tools. 
Concepts of database structure, relational and text-base databases, indexing, 
web-accessible databases, database migration. Emphasis is on developing 
database using free software.

The course is a mixture of presentations and demonstrations with emphasis on 
hands-on practical experience. Emphasis will be given on collaborative
learning 
and group work.

Goals: Design and implement a simple database using mySQL and/or CDS/ISIS.
Promote collaboration and resource sharing among women and women's database 
builders.


ELIGIBILITY

The Regional Training Workshop is open to women who meet the following

criteria: 

1. Active involvement in her organization's information work. Preference is
given to information officer/staff and experience in women's network/s. 

2. Organization is engaged in any of the following: (a) information
sharing, (b) resource center, (c) policy and social advocacy work, (d)
community outreach and organizing, (e) women's and gender research, (f)
training.

3. Has basic to intermediate computer-literacy. 

4.Fair to good knowledge of English language. 

5.Willingness to participate in a  women's information network in Asia and
the Pacific. 

6.Willingness to share the knowledge, skills and resources she will acquire
from the training with other women. 

7.Willingness to work in a group-focused environment and process. 

8.Capacity to receive a week-long training conducted in university
classrooms and student dormitory with shared rooms. 



LOCATION

WENT2000 will be held at the Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, Korea
located about one-half hour from the center of Seoul. The Sookmyung Women's
University,  a pioneer in "women's informatization",  is the ideal venue
for women's electronic network training.  Located in a women-friendly
community, the university has first-rate training and computing facilities. 
The Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Centre, which is based at 
Sookmyung Women's University, will be hosting WENT2000. 

For more information about the University, please see:
http://www.sookmyung.ac.kr


WORKING LANGUAGE

The working language of the workshop will be English. Fair comprehension of
spoken and written English will be required of each participants. Some
members of the training team and the secretariat will have some degree of
proficiency in languages other than English.


DATES

The training workshop will run from June 19-21, and then June 23-25. A
symposium 
on women and information and communication technology is scheduled on June
22, 2000. 
All participants are required to attend the symposium. 

Participants should plan to be at the workshop location by the evening of
June 18, and 
plan to leave Seoul by June 26. 


APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION 

Deadline for submission of application forms is April 30, 2000. Application
can be 
sent via web, email, fax, or post.

To applying via WEB, fill up application form in
http://www.women.or.kr/~went2000/apply

To download application template, visit:
http://www.jca.apc.org/aworc/went2000/

To get more information, write to went2000-secretariat@isiswomen.org.


------------- final draft announcement --------------------


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AWORC-TRAIN is the workspace of the Asian Women's Resource Exchange for
its training-related initiatives. Send postings to <aworc-train@isiswomen.org>,
and request for assistance to <owner-aworc-train@isiswomen.org>.
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