FEMINIST TECH EXCHANGE
How do we approach technology as women's rights activists? Where do communication rights fit into women’s movements? How can we reclaim technology for women's empowerment?
What is the FTX?
The Feminist Tech Exchange – FTX – was developed in response to calls from feminist and women's rights movements for greater understanding of emerging technologies, their potential and impact on the rights and lives of women. It brings together women's rights activists from around the world to share and build knowledge and skills on communication rights and information and communications technologies (ICT), from feminist perspectives. Through skills sharing, information exchange and discussions, the FTX explores feminist practices and politics of technology, and raises awareness on the critical role of communication rights in the struggle to advance women’s rights worldwide.
What are the FTX activities?
FTX eXchange – 10 - 12 November 2008
The eXchange is a groundbreaking capacity building event with that aims to strengthen the skills and knowledge of women's rights organisations, advocates and feminists in the area of communication rights and ICT.
It is a three-day event organised strategically just before the 2008 AWID Forum on 10-12 November, and consists of five training tracks, plenary discussions and skills sharing activities. Through the tracks, FTX community of more than 100 participants and trainers will explore the creative and strategic use of video, audio, social networking platforms, emerging ICT tools, digital storytelling, mobile phones and community wireless networks for transformation, activism, advocacy and movement building.
Outside of the tracks, participants will also share with each other knowledge, skills and capacity they bring to the event in open exchange sessions. In daily thematic plenary discussions, participants will learn more about communication rights issues and how they relate to women’s rights including violence against women, participatory governance and women's ownership of knowledge.
FTX Hub – 14 to 17 November 2008
The FTX Hub is a central meeting place at the AWID Forum open to all Forum participants. If you have a burning technology question, want to build your skills, find out more about feminist practices of technology, have conversations around communication rights and women's movements, find a quiet corner to document your experience at the Forum, share your knowledge or even stand the chance to win a laptop for an organisation of your choice, drop by the FTX Hub anytime from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm during the AWID Forum!
At the FTX Hub you can:
- share skills: join in or set up workshops on technology and communication rights
- make connections: share ideas, ask questions & tell stories to work out the connections between technology, communication rights, movement building and feminism.
- learn more: discover the resources, toolkits and applications to support your feminist practice of technology. Watch, hear and read about the creative and strategic ways that other organisations have used technology.
- join the Take Back The Tech hunt: Follow the clues and find out how to reclaim technology to end violence against women!
FTX Online – http://ftx.apcwomen.org
If you've missed out on sessions, want to continue discussions or find out more about what participants thought and felt about the themes discussed at the AWID Forum, visit the FTX online website.
The FTX community will be publishing their perspectives on the FTX website, and reach out to wider audiences using their new technology skills – emailing, shooting videos, recording, broadcasting, social networking and sms-ing - moving information onto the internet and out into the world.
The website will also have resources and useful tools to support your feminist practices of technology. See, hear and read about the creative and strategic ways that other organisations have used technology to advance women’s rights around the world!
