The Agenda Journal themes for 2007 are:

Issue 71  Women and Information Communication Technologies
Issue 72  Two Decades of African Feminist Publishing
Issue 73  African Feminism, Volume 3,1 – Biopolitics
Issue 74  Gender-Based Violence Trilogy, Volume 1,3 – Rape

Calls for contributions for each journal will be sent out via the Agenda emailing list. Please note, we will only consider papers that match one of these themes.

Please email submissions in English to  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

We are currently calling for submissions to  Issue 71  'Women and Information Communication Technologies'. Please read the calls for poetry and abstracts below for more details.

Call for Writers  Issue 71  'Women and Information Communication Technologies'

To send contributions for the upcoming Agenda journal on 'Women and ICTs' (working title)

At the forefront of feminist publishing in South Africa for 20 years, the Agenda journal raises debate around women's rights and gender issues. The journal encourages critical thinking, debate and social activism and strengthens the capacity of women and men to challenge gender discrimination and injustices.

Agenda will publish a journal focussing on the topic of Women and ICTs in May 2007. 

This Agenda journal will explore how women can take advantage of the ICT revolution and what women's obstacles are to using ICTs. 

Proposed contributions should cover one or more of the following key areas from a women's rights or feminism perspective:

What opportunities will ICTs offer women in achieving the Millennium Development Goals? What are the obstacles to using ICTs to economically empower women? How can ICTs empower women in the informal economy? How can ICT policies be engendered? 

What are the dangers of creating a digital divide, a disparity between those who make use of ICTs efficiently and effectively, and those who do not? Do women in Africa have the capacity and skills to make effective use of ICTs? The ICT revolution has only really impacted the major cities so far - how can we deploy a sustainable ICT infrastructure that empowers marginalised people living in rural areas, particularly women?

Contributions need to be written in English language and in a style
accessible to a wide audience. Please submit abstracts to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

All submissions must contain the following:

* Specify the specific key area you would like to write on
* Provide a 200-300 word overview/abstract
* Provide full contact details: your name, institution/organisation,
telephone, email and the country in which you reside/country of origin

Deadline: Please submit no later than 28 January 2007.

Background

ICTs are key tools to transform the way women live, and the way development takes place. The use of ICTs enables more information to be found, retrieved and disseminated faster than ever before - it means we are moving to an information- and knowledge-based society. ICTs have many potential benefits for women, for example an increased ability to work from home, improved employment opportunities in the fast-growing IT sector, improved global market access through e-commerce and improved access of women, especially rural women, to distance learning and distance work programme.

Yet, ICT use remains difficult, if not impossible, for the majority of women worldwide. Women often find themselves at a disadvantage, whether through a perception that technology is a male domain or due to lack of skills, education, opportunity or access to finance. There is also a lack of gendered access to ICTs and ICT training - especially for rural women; a lack of awareness of women to the benefits of ICTs and language barriers to the use of ICTs for non-native speakers of English.

There are multiple challenges to ICTs becoming a positive force for women's economic empowerment, including the large percentage of women in developing countries who work in the informal sector; the lack of support for women working in the formal sector and the lack of infrastructure in developing countries for conducting e-commerce. Engendering ICTs is not merely about greater use of ICTs by women. It is about transforming the ICT systems using a rights-based approach.  

CALL FOR POETRY: AGENDA #71– Women and ICTs (working title)

Agenda requests poetry contributions that explore topics of gender, feminism and/or the rights of women and girls.

Contributions will be considered for publication in issue 71, working title: “Women and ICTs (Information Communication Technologies)”.

Poetry submissions may or may not relate to the journal theme.

Length of poetry: Poems maximum length to fit a full page of Agenda Journal (24cm X 19cm; smaller than A4 format but larger than A5 format).

Deadline: 12 March 2007

Submission requirements:
All submissions must be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
All submitted poems must include a bio and contact details of the author. If you would like to publish anonymously please state so clearly in your submission.

Poems that have not been selected for publication in the journal will be published on the Agenda website. If you do not want your poem published on our website please state so clearly in your submission.