<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear friends,<div><br><div>I'm attaching below a message posted to the CSTD discussion list on the agenda and programme for its May 2008 session. The Gender Advisory Board is an NGO advisory body with a mandate from the CSTD until 2010 to provide inputs and recommendations on gender dimensions of its work. The CSTD is addressing two "substantive themes" this year: "Science, technology and engineering for innovation and capacity building in engineering and research" and "Development-oriented policies for a socio-economic inclusive information society, including access, infrastructure and enabling environment". </div><div><br></div><div>We will be sending separate submissions on the Reports of the Secretary-General prepared by the CSTD Secretariat for each theme, which I will post to this list as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div>Sophia Huyer</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Hiragino Mincho Pro'; font-size: 12px; "><div>--</div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima">Sophia Huyer</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima">Acting Director</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima">Gender Advisory Board, UNCSTD</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima"><a href="mailto:shuyer@wigsat.org">shuyer@wigsat.org</a></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima">voice: 1-905-355-5124</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima">fax: 1-647-723-5069</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Optima"><a href="http://GAB.wigsat.org">http://GAB.wigsat.org</a></font></div></span></div><div><br></div><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="4" color="#000000" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>From: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="4" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica">Sophia Huyer <<a href="mailto:shuyer@wigsat.org">shuyer@wigsat.org</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="4" color="#000000" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Date: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="4" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica">April 3, 2008 12:48:20 PM GMT-04:00</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="4" color="#000000" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>To: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="4" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica">UNCTAD - United Nations Commission on Science & Technology <<a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG">UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</a>></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="4" color="#000000" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="4" style="font: 14.0px Helvetica"><b>Re: Input from the Gender Advisory Board</b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> </div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Dear Mongi,</div><div><br></div><div>It is a shame that there is no specific agenda item for gender this year. If you recall, in the past it has been the practice for the Gender Advisory Board, as a mandated advisory body to the CSTD, to make a presentation. Generally the Director or Chair addressed the session by presenting a report on activities and commenting on the gender dimensions of the current substantive theme. </div><div><br></div><div>It is also regrettable that we have not had a chance to comment on either of the Secretary-General reports before they were finalized. Again, in the past we have had the opportunity to provide input on gender dimensions and recommendations. The fact that this was not done this year is evident -- both reports contain only one reference to gender or women in a non-substantive. This does not reflect where the international community is on these issues. As I mentioned in my earlier message, both the UN community (WSIS; UNESCO; UNCTAD and others ) and the NGO community -- Interacademy Council on Science, Third World Academy of Sciences, CONGO, APC, and many others -- have acknowledged the importance of recognising and addressing gender and socioeconomic diversity implications of both STI and the information society. Neither are addressed in the Secretary-General reports.</div><div><br></div><div>These gaps do not reflect the experience and policy of many of the countries represented on the Commission itself, many of which have established high-level policy bodies and taskforces addressing the issue of women in STI and/or the information society; and many of which have instituted national programmes to promote the participation of women in a national knowledge society.</div><div><br></div><div>When developing strategies to take into account groups that have historically been marginalized, the strategy needs to be one of dual inclusion. So, even though gender is included as a cross-cutting issue in the MDGs, there is still a separate goal that focuses on gender. Unless there is a strong and persistent presence and strong and consistent review of outcomes, it has been our experience that there is a loss of ground. We are concerned that this is where CSTD is headed, despite the investment of resources, time and goodwill, and in spite of the positive work of many of its member States. </div><div><br></div><div>Best wishes,</div><div>Sophia</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div>On 3-Apr-08, at 3:15 AM, Mongi Hamdi wrote:<br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><br><font size="2" face="sans-serif">Dear Sofia,</font> <br> <br><font size="2" face="sans-serif">As you may be aware, the provisional agenda for this year's regular session of the CSTD had already been adopted by ECOSOC at its last substantive session (July 2007). The agenda has a number of items. Some of them are substantive while others are procedural. Since gender dimensions cut across all issues and themes, there is no specific agenda for gender. However, as in the past, you or anyone of the members of the Gender Advisory Board will have opportunities to speak under any agenda item you chose. In addition, we will be happy to circulate and post on the website any report/input you may wish to submit to the session.</font> <br> <br><font size="2" face="sans-serif">With best regards,</font> <br> <br><font size="2" face="sans-serif">Mongi</font> <br> <br> <br> <br> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="40%"><font size="1" face="sans-serif"><b>Sophia Huyer <<a href="mailto:shuyer@WIGSAT.ORG">shuyer@WIGSAT.ORG</a>></b> </font> <br><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Sent by: UNCTAD - United Nations Commission on Science & Technology <<a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG">UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</a>></font><p><font size="1" face="sans-serif">02.04.2008 19:41</font> <table border=""> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="white"> <div align="center"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Please respond to<br> UNCTAD - United Nations Commission on Science & Technology <<a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG">UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</a>></font></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <br> </p></td><td width="59%"> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">To</font></div> </td><td><font size="1" face="sans-serif"><a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG">UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</a></font> </td></tr><tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">cc</font></div> </td><td> </td></tr><tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div> </td><td><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Re: Input from the Gender Advisory Board</font></td></tr></tbody></table> <br> <table> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td> </td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <br></td></tr></tbody></table> <br> <br> <br><font size="3">Dear Mongi,<br> <br> Thank you for your response. We are happy to hear that the WSIS followup report includes references to gender dimensions and activities. We have not seen the report, so we were in a position to make comments only on the outline.<br> <br> On the Reports of the Secretary-General on the two substantive themes which were circulated recently, our brief initial review found only one reference to women and/or gender in each, in a non-substantive way. We will send you more detailed comments and suggestions for inclusion of gender issues in these Reports very shortly.<br> <br> In regards to my question on the Agenda -- can you clarify whether you have identified speakers to present on gender dimensions of the information society and of science, technology and innovation? Where in the agenda will these speakers be slotted? We are hoping that our Board member for India, Dr. Sudha Nair, will be able to attend; and our Co-Chair Dr. Shirley Malcom may also be able to be there, depending on her schedule.</font> <br><font size="3"><br> Regards,<br> Sophia </font> <br> <br> <br><font size="1">--</font> <br><font size="1">Sophia Huyer</font> <br><font size="1">Acting Director</font> <br><font size="1">Gender Advisory Board, UNCSTD</font> <br><a href="mailto:shuyer@wigsat.org"><font size="1" color="blue"><u>shuyer@wigsat.org</u></font></a> <br><font size="1">voice: 1-905-355-5124</font> <br><font size="1">fax: 1-647-723-5069</font> <br><a href="http://gab.wigsat.org/"><font size="1" color="blue"><u>http://GAB.wigsat.org</u></font></a> <br><a href="http://gstgateway.wigsat.org/"><font size="1" color="blue"><u>http://GSTGateway.wigsat.org</u></font></a> <br> <br> <br><font size="3">On 2-Apr-08, at 12:08 PM, Mongi Hamdi wrote:</font> <br> <br><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> Dear Sophia,</font><font size="3"> <br> </font><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> Thank your for your email, and for bringing to our attention the importance of the gender dimensions to science, technology and ICTs, which we attach great importance to the work of the CSTD. </font><font size="3"> <br> </font><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> With regard to the Report of the Secretary-General on WSIS follow-up, I am not sure which outline you are referring to. The report of the Secretary-General, which is currently with UNCTAD Document Control for editing, does indeed include information on gender-related activities, based on inputs from relevant agencies that are tasked with WSIS follow-up, especially by the regional organisations, such as ECA, ECE, and ESCAP. </font><font size="3"> <br> </font><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> We would be happy to post reports/inputs of the Gender Advisory Board on the substantive themes as well as WSIS follow-up on the CSTD website along with the inputs from other agencies.</font><font size="3"> <br> </font><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> With best regards,</font><font size="3"> <br> </font><font size="2" face="sans-serif"><br> Mongi</font><font size="3"> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </font> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="70%"><font size="1" face="sans-serif"><b>Sophia Huyer <</b></font><a href="mailto:shuyer@WIGSAT.ORG"><font size="1" color="blue" face="sans-serif"><b><u>shuyer@WIGSAT.ORG</u></b></font></a><font size="1" face="sans-serif"><b>></b> <br> Sent by: UNCTAD - United Nations Commission on Science & Technology <</font><a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG"><font size="1" color="blue" face="sans-serif"><u>UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</u></font></a><font size="1" face="sans-serif">></font><p><font size="1" face="sans-serif">02.04.2008 16:33</font><font size="3"> </font> <br> <table border="4" width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="100%" bgcolor="white"> <div align="center"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Please respond to<br> UNCTAD - United Nations Commission on Science & Technology <</font><a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG"><font size="1" color="blue" face="sans-serif"><u>UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</u></font></a><font size="1" face="sans-serif">></font></div></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></td><td width="29%"> <br> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="17%"> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">To</font></div> </td><td width="82%"><a href="mailto:UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG"><font size="1" color="blue" face="sans-serif"><u>UN-CSTD@LIST.UNICC.ORG</u></font></a><font size="3"> </font> </td></tr><tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">cc</font></div> </td><td> </td></tr><tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="right"><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div> </td><td><font size="1" face="sans-serif">Input from the Gender Advisory Board</font></td></tr></tbody></table> <br> <br> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="50%"> </td><td width="50%"></td></tr></tbody></table> <br></td></tr></tbody></table> <br><font size="3"><br> <br> <br> Dear Mongi, <br> <br> The Gender Advisory Board of the CSTD has reviewed the agenda, and we would like clarification on where the gender dimensions of the MDGs, the information society and of science, technology and innovation for development will be addressed in the programme. Major recent UN policies in both sectors have ratified the importance of addressing gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment; and the major international science organizations and NGO networks have also affirmed the importance of these issues - the InterAcademy Council of Science, UNESCO and CONGO, among many others. We would like to see the discussions in Geneva reflect this <br> international consensus. <br> <br> The GAB has also reviewed the Outline of the WSIS Followup report and the Reports of the Secretary-General on the two substantive themes of the 11th session. <br> <br> Our overall comment refers to our concern that the failure to call out gender dimensions explicitly, by subsuming them under the MDGs or making a general reference to WSIS, will not only be sufficient to ensure that gender aspects will be addressed, it in fact will ensure that they will NOT be addressed, even where relevant. For example, women have been using the technology in their businesses and technology AS their business. The way that women/girls likely use technology in education and capacity building may be different but what models are assumed as standard as these systems are constructed? Should we expect that women and girls should continue to use technologies that they have no role in designing or developing? A major concern remains women's lower participation in all aspects of the design of hardware, software and systems infrastructure, or support for truly "human centered design." <br> <br> We will make more specific recommendations on the Secretary-General's reports shortly. Regarding the Outline for the WSIS Followup report, we would like to observe that gender is not referred to anywhere. There are important gender differences in situation, access, use and perspective between women in men in many of the issues referred to, which have been confirmed and highlighted in many major UN policies and documents: the Beijing Platform for Action; the World Summit on the Information Society, and most recently the UNCTAD Information Economy Report, among many others. The sectors and issues of greatest gender relevance include access; governance; social networking; disaster warning; local language and content; access to banking and credit; education and capacity building; and indicators/indices. <br> <br> Many of the WSIS reports submitted to the CSTD by UN agencies and regional Economic Commissions include references to gender and women in many of these sectors, with a strong emphasis on gender and economic development. This reflects the importance the international community places on this issue. <br> <br> In 2006 the GAB submitted a paper on Gender in the Information Society which also refers to many of these issues; the paper was posted on the CSTD website at the time. I've attached it for your information. <br> <br> We hope that the CSTD report on WSIS followup when it is released will reflect these inputs and the UN position on the issue. <br> <br> Sincerely, <br> <br> Sophia Huyer <br> Acting Director, GAB-CSTD <br> <br> Shirley Malcom <br> Chair, GAB-CSTD <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <Gender-InfSociety.pdf></font> <br> <br><font size="3"><br> </font> <br><font size="1"><br> </font> <br> <br></blockquote></div><br></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div><br><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Hiragino Mincho Pro'; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">--</div><div>Sophia Huyer</div><div>Acting Director</div><div>Gender Advisory Board, UNCSTD</div><div><a href="mailto:shuyer@wigsat.org">shuyer@wigsat.org</a></div><div>voice: 1-905-355-5124</div><div>fax: 1-647-723-5069</div><div><a href="http://GAB.wigsat.org">http://GAB.wigsat.org</a></div><div><a href="http://GSTGateway.wigsat.org">http://GSTGateway.wigsat.org</a></div></span> </div><br></body></html>