Submissions/IMPOWR: Mobilizing Technology, Empowering Women

This is a rejected submission for Wikimania 2012.

Submission no.

727

Title of the submission: IMPOWR: Mobilizing Technology, Empowering Women

Type of submission (workshop, tutorial, panel, presentation): Presentation

Author of the submission: Aileen Pisciotta, Heather Hodges, Georgie Almon

E-mail address: impowr@americanbar.org, georgie.almon@americanbar.org

Username: Gcalmon

Country of origin: United States

Affiliation, if any (organization, company etc.): International Models Project on Women's Rights (IMPOWR)

Personal homepage or blog: www.impowr.org

Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)

The Basics:

The International Models Project on Women’s Rights (IMPOWR) is a project of the American Bar Association, that aims to build a global platform for the exchange of information on gender equality and women’s rights under the law. At the heart of the project is a collaborative research database that encourages individuals passionate about women’s rights to contribute information about their home country and other countries with which they may hold an interest or possess expertise. Guided by the principles outlined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), IMPOWR uses the wiki model to provide information summarizing current gender equality law in over 185 countries on 40 specific topics.

IMPOWR moves beyond the letter of the law to examine legal reform projects and enforcement efforts, and captures other telling information, including information on law reform projects, locally-generated policy papers, budgets, and proposed laws. In addition to developing the collaborative database, IMPOWR has sought to point the international community towards tools to help promote discussion, research, and ultimately concrete change. These tools include links to key resources and organizations, forums, and a virtual journal where our volunteers are encouraged to submit formal papers on legal issues concerning gender equality and women’s rights.

IMPOWR’s Goals:

IMPOWR targets a wide audience, including (but not limited to) individuals, civil society groups, research institutions, project directors, law enforcement professionals, social workers, news organizations, legal experts, law schools, and international organizations. We believe that IMPOWR can be a hub that allows all of these groups to come together and collaborate to reach the ultimate goal of creating concrete change.

One usage scenario for IMPOWR involves large conferences such as the UN’s proposed Fifth Summit on Women. As the site develops, IMPOWR has the potential to provide attending delegates (and interested parties) with quick access to individual country laws and legal frameworks, alongside original research on topics including: women and political participation, trafficking and employment equality. It would also provide participants and observers with an additional arena to discuss aspects of the summit.

The Presentation:

At Wikimania 2012, we would like the opportunity to share with your audience how IMPOWR serves as a platform for citizen and advocate participation in the context of women’s rights. IMPOWR would also like to use this presentation as an opportunity to solicit advice regarding the second phase of the project.

Our presentation would consist of three parts:

A brief overview of IMPOWR, which would include a short demonstration of the database.
A discussion of what benefits IMPOWR can bring to the public sphere with regards to women’s rights and gender equality, with a focus on ways in which IMPOWR and other civil society groups can utilize wikis to motivate more citizens to play an active role in helping to inform global discussions about the status of women.
A discussion of version 2.0 of IMPOWR’s website, which would cover what new components and updates we plan include. During this portion of the presentation we would like to engage the audience and encourage them to provide input regarding how best to implement new features for the website. Aspects of this would include ways in which to expand our user base, best practices regarding review of content, the development of collaborative user space, and how to use new forms of media to reach a wider audience.

We believe that IMPOWR can add a great deal to the discussion of how wikis play a critical role in the realm of women’s and human rights. We thank you for you for your time and consideration of our submission.

Track: Wikis and the Public Sector

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Length of presentation/talk: 25 Minutes

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?: Yes

Slides or further information (optional)

Special request as to time of presentations

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SarahStierch (talk) 04:00, 22 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
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