(Addis Ababa)

Ethiopian women participating in the project
© UNESCO

Over a hundred young Ethiopian women will be be spending the next three months working with UNESCO under a pilot project launched today.

The project, coinciding with the upcoming Ethiopian Millennium in September 2007, will draw timely attention to the diverse voices and concerns of Ethiopian women, and contribute effectively to the creation of an open and honest space for dialogue and social participation on the country’s development challenges.

Young athletes, housewives, professional women, students, and job seekers as well as other women from diverse backgrounds will be provided with basic training in working with digital cameras and spend two days brainstorming and developing their communication skills before going away to work on their projects individually and in groups.

The photos and multimedia products developed by the women will be accessible online and on exhibit at different locations in Addis Ababa during the Ethiopian new millennium.

The Ethiopian Digital Stories project falls within the larger UNESCO goal of promoting the development of ICT skills among various sectors, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, as well as the creation of multilingual local content for the web.

With a population of around 71.3 million people, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. Women make up 49,85 per cent of the population.