Women and digital technology in Burkina Faso: UNDP commits itself
On the occasion of the celebration of March 8 (International Women's Rights Day) the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a panel on : "Women and digitalization". It was held this Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Ouagadougou.
It was articulated around three communications: "For an inclusive digital world: innovation and technologies for gender equality: the case of Burkina Faso". The second point is: "Women and digital in the world of digital art". The last communication was on "The protection of women and girls' rights on social networks: issues, challenges and perspectives". The panelists exchanged with the participants on the different sub-themes of the day.
Following the panel, the feature film "Pingda" was also screened. It deals with the opportunities of digital entrepreneurship for women. Pingda, the heroine of the film, has to fight to get her family out of the bad economic situation in which they find themselves. Her path is strewn with pitfalls, between failure and sexual harassment, she went through everything.
Fortunately, thanks to social networks, Pingda manages to become financially autonomous as an E-traders. With a dozen weavers, she runs a fashion workshop. The film is the result of a training initiated by UNDP and the Fund for Cultural and Tourism Development (FDCT) for 32 women in the field of digital art. They were trained for ten days on post-production editing, distribution, etc..
They were also trained on leadership. The 32 amazons as they were called, worked on the film. It should be noted that they also set up a label called "Amazones production".
Support Burkina Faso in the process of digitalization
It should be recalled that the training and production of "Pingda" are part of the development of digital skills of young people andand women, particularly in entrepreneurship and digital innovations, through the "Inclusive Digital Transformation" project.
"Training 32 women in the field of cinematography is very satisfying. Especially since the UNDP and other UN programs are moving towards digitalization. We try to accompany governments in the digitalization. To have 32 Amazons who will eventually participate in the next FESPACO is nice," said Elsie Laurence-Chounoune, the UNDP Resident Representative in Burkina Faso.
According to the Minister of Culture, Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, these are great opportunities that are offered to women passionate about cinema through training. "The initiative is in line with our current vision which is to create the conditions for the emergence of a real film industry in Burkina Faso. Through this type of initiative and partnership, we will manage to create the conditions for women to bring a plus in the sector of culture, cinema and development," he said.
Aminata Diallo was one of the beneficiaries of the training. She thanked the UNDP for the support. She is an actress and is trying her hand as a scriptwriter. "I hope to write films after this training. Already, they are helping me to write a short film that I had started since 2021. Now I have a coach who helps me write. I notice the flaws of the work and also its coherence, "she said.
As a reminder, the theme of the day of March 8, 2023 is: "For an inclusive digital world: innovation and technology for gender equality.
Source: lefaso.net
