Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)

WOUGNET is a non-governmental organization in Uganda that resulted from a meeting with several women’s organizations held in the year 2000 and led to WOUGNET establishment in May 2000. The aim of the meeting was to find a way(s) to effectively address national and local problems of sustainable development affecting women and women’s organizations, and ICT was discovered to be that major challenge. Primarily after establishment, WOUGNET operated online and so most members were based in Kampala, where internet access was relatively easy. The few offline members (in rural areas or lacking immediate access for other reasons) rely on an old-fashioned network of contacts to act as ‘information conduits’ and all members interact with WOUGNET by telephone, fax, and post or at the WOUGNET office.

Today, the institution promotes and supports the effective use of ICTs by women and women organizations for sustained development at household, institution and national level. WOUGNET has witnessed growth and improvement in its core capabilities. Capabilities that have changed most are the capability to relate, capability to produce and deliver products and services; capability to act and commit, capability to adapt and self-renew in that descending order. It has over one hundred (100) members so far, spread regionally in the country and the number is still growing

The institution emphasizes the use of ICTs in their interventions. These include but are not limited to SMS, radio, video, television, email, social media and print with the internet as an enabler to communication and information sharing.

The interventions include, (1) Pproviding information at varying digital platforms that enables productivity (2)Eeasing access, utilization and application of ICTs and (3) Iinfluencing the formulation and implementation of gender sensitive ICT policies and programs.

Currently we are implementing a project in the Rwenzori region in the Southwestern part of Uganda (Promoting Agroecology Assisted transition to enhance food security and incomes among  smallholder farmers through inclusive participation and digital technologies in Uganda (PATHS). with the major aim of increasing and improving smallholders' farmers' resilience to food security by instigating the level of transition to a sustainable food system through inclusive participation and use  of digital technologies for sustainable agricultural production in Uganda by 2026.