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Date : 23/11/2004
Source: Ministry of Correctional Services
Title: Gillwald: Launch of Cyber Dialogues Project


ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, MS CHERYL GILLWALD, (MP), AT THE LAUNCH OF THE CYBER DIALOGUES PROJECT, Johannesburg Civic Centre

Programme Director,
Speaker of Joburg Metro Ms Nandi Mayathula-Khoza
Genderlinks Director Colleen Lowe-Morna and the Team
Distinguished Guests, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen

On the eve of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, it is fitting and exciting that we converge here today to launch this project.

This wonderful project speaks to the very heart of our 16 Days Campaign. Let us not equivocate on this issue – the prevalence of gender-based violence in our society is symptomatic of the power imbalances that exist between men and women in this country and elsewhere. It is symptomatic of the underdevelopment and relative powerlessness of women that prevents them from taking their rightful place as equal citizens in our society.

Using the latest technology, this project has gone about empowering facilitators to bring the dialogues of women across the urban/rural divide together in an exchange of knowledge and experiences – the likes of which has not, to my knowledge, been attempted in this country before.

With the scores of websites offering pornography and smut to the everyday cyber surfer we have seen how bad people can use technology to wound and damage the cause of women’s empowerment. This particular application of technology that we are launching today is empowering, innovative and inclusive. And we can certainly see technology working for the greater good, but more specifically, championing the cause of women’s empowerment.

The design of this process has expressly tried to bring rural communities on board through the use of our internet-connected MPCCs and other input nodes. We speak quite glibly of bridging the digital divide, but it takes effort and will to bring rural, marginalised and poor communities into the internet and technology circle. Instead of the empowering tool it aught to be – technology can cut people off; and even alienate and isolate whole communities from the cyber mainstream, if it is not presented in a useful, unthreatening and user-friendly way.

In a development-centred economy like ours, the use of appropriate technologies to empower marginalised communities is critical. The use of this medium to empower women is incontrovertible. Ours is the information age and access to the technologies that enable the acquisition of relevant and useful information is central to the whole development process.

Taking stock of how far we have come since 1994, it is appropriate to remind ourselves at the advent of our cyber dialogues campaign how technology has empowered women. The introduction of telecentres and internet-connected MPCCs has brought many rural communities closer to the mainstream. In my own constituency, the introduction of a MPCC has brought government services closer to the people – much closer – 150kms closer, in fact. People no longer have to travel that distance for birth and death certificates. Grant application forms are processed on the spot. And the best thing of all is that it has attracted other departments into the centre – for example, the labour department now offers local services to the many farm workers in the area that require assistance.

For those of us that have the capacity and infrastructure, informal networks, hybrid publications and cyberspace with web-pages, chat rooms and e-mails have multiplied women’s voices as never before. This networking opportunity offered by ICT has strengthened the voice of women around the world. It is imperative that we increase the critical mass of citizens that have this type of access. But we need to do it in a way that expressly links marginalised communities to service and information networks and in a way that has as its primary objective the reversal of development deficits and backlogs. I believe that the Cyber Dialogues Project has set this as a primary goal and that’s the crucial ingredient of its success.

Through the Cyber Dialogues, marginalised urban and rural communities will have their own voice – no-one will be speaking on their behalf and our panels of experts will be able to engage with those communities directly. I like to think of it as a cyber imbizo – the South African tradition of exchange and dialogue conducted in the ether out there – marvellous imagery of mixing the best of the old with the finest of the new; isn’t it?

Colleen, I know you will not take this personally: If Colleen Lowe-Morna could go any greyer than she already is; I have just the news that could do it: Colleen, I’m already thinking “Continental Dialogues” next year and “South-to-South Dialogues in 2006. All I can say is “Watch this space!”

And from these highly ambitious beginnings I remain certain that the trajectory from here is upward and forward. For example, discussions about the project with Martin Feinstein from Proudly South African, elicited the comment: “What a fabulous concept! When can we have trade dialogues with African women discussing what they need to enter the trade arena – nationally and internationally? We could exchange ideas about successful projects that can be replicated. We could open markets to one another. Oh! The possibilities are endless!” Martin’s eyes positively gleamed as he contemplated where such dialogues could take us.

By taking on this project Gender Links and its partner NGOs have risen to the challenge as described by the renowned female Professor of Technology – Ms Sherry Turkle - who said:

“We have an opportunity here to make use of this technology, which is so powerful, to make ourselves something different and better.”

The contribution of technology in empowering women during the first Decade of Freedom has been an important milestone on its own. Our freedom has earned us the right to converge and discuss in an interactive process that links women (and therefore opinions) across the face of the plant. In the past, dialogue mechanisms have been restricted by institutional arrangements and structures that have, albeit unintentionally, militated against the advancement of women and their emancipation. The people own the internet – it is the property of the world’s citizens and that is the truth of it. More projects like this one should be initiated so that access to this resource is broadened and deepened.

The sixteen themes comprising the Cyber Dialogue project describe the many faces of violence and discrimination with which women have to contend. Having men interact with us and engaging the issues will, I believe, bring this important constituency into a full and absolutely essential partnership with women in the fight against gender-based violence. The good men and boys of this country who are not proponents or perpetrators of violence must take a stand and exert influence on their peers to change their attitudes and change their behaviour and to put and end to the violence that taints the lives of too many of our country’s women. Edmund Burke’s stern warning against apathy and indifference reminds us that “all that it takes for the triumph of evil is for good men to stand by and do nothing.”

You will hear the vote of thanks later at the end of this ceremony, but I really do have to thank those partners who took the leap of faith with us when this idea first germinated. The looks of horror and the shaking heads with admonitions of “the logistics are impossible” served only to spur Gender Links and their collaborators to make this event happen.

These Dialogues are real evidence of the will of ordinary South Africans to make a difference in the drive to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination. This partnership between these NGOs and Government has brought immense value to the Campaign. We are grateful for the support, energy and enthusiasm that you have shown. To all the Cyber Dialogue partners in the private sector who made this possible – I say a huge thank you – this project is living proof that good ideas are realised through collaboration, trust, mutual respect and enormous good will.

I thank you

Issued by: Ministry of Correctional Services
23 November 2004

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