We will train 30 Afghan young women’s from Kabul province of Afghanistan with the knowledge and abilities to use the internet as a tool to share information and findings with the peers and to be able to be actively involved in the process of creating the content of the RUIDAD Publication| The First Feminist Publication in Afghanistan. The participants will be divided into two groups of 15 persons each at two separate sessions of morning & afternoon to be trained. participants will learn: interviewing of Afghan women activists, researching information, basis of blogs & social networking.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Kabul
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
We through this project sought to train 30 Afghan young women who are recent school & university graduates so that they can benefit from the project & will make sure the sustainability of the project. This target audience is underrepresented online due to low level of internet media knowledge and there are no certain centers in Afghanistan for women to learn & use the internet. Number of internet clubs that provide internet services in terms of the environment is not suitable for women because they are being harassed. The training will be provided for those who will have basic knowledge of computer & be enthusiastic to use internet in order to promote network of feminist activists in Afghanistan & communicate to the world through internet, to publish the feminist initiatives globally.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The participants will be selected from various academic backgrounds that will have the capability & interests to collect relevant information & stories in order to improve her knowledge & share it globally through social networks & weblogs. Based on this, the selected participants will be divided into different groups to provide contents for various headings related to the Women and Poverty, Education & Training of Women, Women and Health, Women Justice, Violence against Women, Sexual harassment, Women and the Economy, Human Rights of Women, and Women & the Media. Beside the cited statements, participants will be assigned to gather real stories from Afghan Women’s life through interview to reflect the facts of the same to the world.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
We are non-government organization that works actively with a range of youth women volunteers. We have implemented many projects so far, meanwhile after successful completion of each project the number of volunteers enhanced and these connections will contribute to the success of the project.
M.S Heelena Kakar, Managing Director of RUIDAD Publication has been interviewed on:
1. http://www.firstpost.com/living/we-are-afghanistans-first-feminist-weekly-569446.html
2. http://thediplomat.com/indian-decade/2012/05/22/an-afghan-feminist-movement/
3. http://smartgirlsoutloud.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/women-for-women-in-high-conflict/
4. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/the_word_h9qVTo93ORlNKAl72J97LM
Meanwhile, we will endeavor for future expansion of our network.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
We are planning to train 30 Afghan young women. Awareness will be given for the recent school & university graduates through social networking, volunteer’s network, group of university students who are currently connected with our network & other publicity mechanisms. We shall have a formal Interview with short-listed candidates to brief the nature, benefit & requirement of the project in order to sustain their interests & commitments towards the success of the project.
The number of participants considered for the training is 30 Afghan young women who will be directly benefited from the project, and accordingly they will share their learning’s to their entourage to be indirectly benefited from the outcome of the project.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
There are many approaches to learning and development and many types of activities that can be undertaken to learn. As far as technological tools & media are concerned for the Afghan young women feminist network project, we will provide participants with everything they need to advance skills in technology, web and social media. With a focus on tools that have real applications in the classroom and a huge impact on learning, we will provide best online experiences for the participants to share their stories & make use of internet for further communication to the worldwide.
Specifically, participants will be trained to make use of tools such as Google Docs, Twitter, YouTube, blogs,Sound clip, Drop box, Flickr & Facebook and other means to connect with and discuss the content globally.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The training sessions offer a concentrated experience of working in an equipped classroom with dedicated and talented instructors who have Computer Science, Journalism & Research backgrounds. Training hall is small; generally the space is enough for 30 participants. In order to provide them with practical knowledge of internet learning & usage the participants will be divided into two groups of 15 persons each at two separate sessions of Morning & Afternoon.
Training orientation will be provided for the participants that will include a review to inform students about proper use of tools and equipment in the classroom as well as content of the training. Total number of computers that will be used in the training is 8 with the internet connectivity through USB modems.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
Third Thought Organization (TTO) is a non-governmental and non-partisan organization registered with the Ministry of Economy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Without our community, our organization lacks our most basic reason for being. The project that we have implemented so far benefited our society & in this project we will be dealing with the Afghan young women who are part of the community with the aim of bringing desired improvement in social well being of individuals and groups.
We believe, through the collective strength & better teamwork the project objectives will be achievable effectively & efficiently. In addition, we have established good network of our organization with Afghan young women that are enthusiastic to serve for their community &raise their voices globally.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Nothing worthwhile comes easily. It’s especially true, when you’re planning & implementing a project with new features & scope some challenges& obstacles are remarkable.
The major challenge that we are facing in Afghanistan is the security issue, especially for women activists. In order to protect our existence we planned to locate our office in a peaceful residential area.
According to this project inadequate budget is also one of the concerns. Because when we are expecting results, we must budget adequately for planning, implementing, training, evaluating, improvement, hardware, software & mentoring services. To overcome the mentioned obstacle, we will utilize our disposal resources.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
Through key indicators:
1. Primary participants: Evaluation of the project impact after completion of the project will be accomplished through opening accounts ; creating weblogs, uploading audios; sharing stories, interviewing Afghan activists & providing contents for the RUIDAD; & establishing contacts with the global community.
2. Wider regional community: After project completion participant can train other Afghan women who will be indirectly benefited from the project and from other side they will help us in our network expansion in the community.
3. Global digital community:Establishing more connections with the worldwide will be impressive for the project success. During the sessions they will learn how to connect with the people of the world to exchange information
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2013?
Project implementation timeline for Afghan young women feminist network project is considered for the period of two months:
First month:
Pre-training:
Review of the Proposal agreement
Preparation of work breakdown schedule
Preparation of project description
Advertisement of the project
Collection of Participants CV’s
Short-listing of the qualified candidates
Interview of the shortlisted candidates
Selection of the best candidates
Contract with the selected participants
Preparation of financial plan
Curriculum Development for the training
Purchasing of the required tools & materials for the training
Second month:
Training:
Orientation for the participants
Conducting training sessions
Evaluation of participants before the training
Presentation preparation
Certification ceremony
The project evaluation will be done after completion of the project & accordingly the evaluation report will be sent.
Detail a specific budget of up to $4,000 USD for operating costs.
Third Thought Organization (TTO)
Afghan Young Women Feminist Network Project
Total estimated budget: $3,730
Budget details:
Personnel Cost:
project Coordinator for one month: $200
Total personnel cost: $200
Materials/Equipments Cost:
Four desktops with $500 cost of each that total is equal to $2000
One camera with the cost of $300
Two tape recorders with $50 cost of each that total is equal to $100
One external hard disk with the cost of $130
One projector with the cost of $600
Five Internet USB modems with $80 cost of each that total is equal to $400
Total materials/equipments costs: $3530
Grand total: $3730
Beside the proposed expenditures, other project cost will be beard by the Third Thought Organization that will include:
1. Trainer Salary
2. Operational cost (Classroom supplies)
3. Office rent &
4. other project cost
Moreover, we will utilize our disposal resources to achieve the project goals in an effective & efficient manner.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Connect us with other Feminist networks & provide trainings for the volunteers of our team.
Contact name
Heleena Kakar
Organization
Third Thought Organization (TTO)
