Hi Jan, I talked to Angela Kuga Thas, the GEM coordinator, and his is what she said about your questions: A. I wonder to what extent this methodology is effective in addressing the kinds of problems that exist in the field? Angela: It would help to know what problems specifically (a further elaboration) so I can respond to this. B. Considering that also community radios and mobile phones are important communication channels, should the GEM perhaps be broadened to include these technologies? Angela: They are included. ICTs include the use of community radios and mobile phones and also how these technologies now converge with the internet and new media. There are a number of GEM practitioners who have used GEM to evaluate their projects that use community radios and mobile phones. D.Net is one example with their Pallitathya helpline in Bangladesh. Another example is CEPES in Peru where the community radio programme serves the telecentre community in Huaral. C. To what extent can community groups based learning play a role http://content.commons.net.in/ ? Angela: If the question is to what extent role-playing can be used for evaluation? We have certainly used role-plays to enhance the community's appreciation and understanding of gender, gender-power relations, and gender roles and responsibilities (not necessarily introduced in such a literal manner). These are usually part of the community-based workshops where we try to extend ownership over the evaluation and evaluation findings with the community concerned. This is especially effective and important when communities already have ownership over the projects or programmes being run in their villages, etc.

Hi Maureen, The GenARDIS project funded a project in rural Nigeria that used radio and mobile phones (I just posted info about it, you can check it out here: http://genardis.apcwomen.org/en/node/138 They used different methodologies; a very effective one was the set up of a listener's club. A radio show was especficically produced for these women. It allowed them to interact with agricultural experts via a mobile phone. One of the interesting outcomes was that women themselves became "experts" both on agriculture and technology, which gave them more power. I think that the collective dimension of this project was key. I'll try to get people from ARDA to give share their views here. Cheers, Analía

Hi all, Thanks a lot for your answers, I think they all shed light on the issues that we're dealing with in this discussion. Maureen, I think your point about the indicators is key, especially for those implementing or supporting development interventions. Oumy, you gave a useful synthesis of the main issues at stake. Anupama, thanks for sharing your experience. Your work in India is a good example on how cultural issues can be addressed and the role of gender evaluation. Sarah, it would be great if you could share some challenges and success stories in your telecentre work. What are the differences that you've witnessed when men and women access the computers and the internet? What do the do with the information they get? Hannah, the example of the radio that you mention is particularly illustrative. ARDA, one of the GenARDIS grantees from Nigeria, set up a listener's club where women collectively listened to information and sent questions via sms (more info here:http://genardis.apcwomen.org/en/node/138 Mohamed, your point on infrastructure is also key, and related to national and regional ICT policy. Do you have any experience to share in these areas? Any advocacy lessons that you've learnt? Once again, I would like to thank you all for your inputs and encourage everyone to keep participating. Cheers from Montevideo, Analía

Hi Sarah, I think it's very accurate to talk about the telecentre perspective. Everyone: you can check out key issues of the evaluations that was carried out in Uganda here: http://www.genderevaluation.net/mygem/news/telecentres_uganda_do_not_appeal_rural_women?1407269383=1 The evaluation had a positive impact on the telecentre in terms of addressing women's "The Buwama CMC manager explained that GEM changed his and his staff's attitude towards their work, and it helped them understand how to provide services better suited to the overall community, by focussing on women's needs. Awareness-raising campaigns, better communication within management, plans to restructure the services offered and incorporating the information needs of women are some of the steps these telecentres decided to take towards equitable access". Analía

Hi everyone, I'm Analía and it's really great to be here, sharing experiences and learning frome everyone. Thanks a lot Charlotte for you warm welcome! I work for the Association of Progressive Communications (APC), and I've been involved in the GenARDIS project since 2008. GenARDS stands for Gender, Agriculture and Development in the Information Society, and it's a small grants project that supports local initiatives. In the last round 14 organisations from Africa and one from the Caribbean showed us all that can be done to empower rural women through ICTs. This included mobile phones to get market prices and avoid middlemen, radio shows to disseminate relevant agricultural information, digital cammeras for documenting traditional knowledge and more. I would like to thank the experts that are here with us, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of their experience, as well as to share your own successes and challenges. I live in Montevideo, Uruguay, and my background is in communications and linguistics. I speak Spanish, English and French.