The involvement of non-governmental organizations in raising public awareness of gender issues in science and technology has rapidly developed over the past decade. With a growing understanding of the effects of global economic restructuring, rapid technological changes, persistent poverty and widespread environmental degradation, these groups, which range from grassroots level development organizations to professional associations of women scientists, challenge current development paradigms and advocate fundamentally new ethics, programmes and development practices.
For many concerned NGOs, the needs of the majority of the world¹s women have yet to be adequately addressed, even though the importance of science and technology in women¹s lives has been recognized in several world conferences. Though some progress has been made, society¹s assumptions that women are non-scientific and non-technological forestall any proper understanding of women¹s needs in the design and implementation of programmes. As women continue to be perceived as passive recipients of S&T, there is a lack of recognition or validation of the wealth of scientific and technological knowledge (both formal and non-formal) they contribute to social and economic well-being. A result is that research and development resources in food production, food processing, rural water supply and renewable energy resources, all of which are major priorities for women, remain highly inadequate. Limited opportunities for training (both formal and non-formal), employment and leadership roles for women in science and technology also remain critical concerns. Concerned NGOs challenge these approaches to development and seek to create a more holistic, people-centred and environmentally sustainable approache to scientific practice. They seek to reclaim women¹s indigenous scientific and technical knowledge and to foster an environment in which women can actively participate in conceptualizing and designing science and technology development strategies.
In 1992 UNIFEM and the International Women¹s Tribune Centre began the process of contacting organizations and individuals involved in gender, science and technology, with a view to planning a strategy for highlighting science and technology at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995. They felt that the unique opportunities offered by the Conference and the NGO Forum to bring these issues to the forefront of the women¹s development agenda should be utilized to influence the 1995 Platform for Action (the major policy document endorsed by UN Member States to promote the advancement of women).
The Once and Future Action Network (OFAN), a group of International NGOs active in gender, science and technology, has grown out of this initiative. Its purpose is to accomplish the following:
OFAN¹s membership is constituted of organizations ranging from professional associations of women scientists to NGOs working with women at grassroots level. Although the combined experience and resources of the OFAN membership provide a sound framework to foster the network¹s vision in tangible ways, individual NGO involvement in S&T at both formal and non-formal levels predates the existence of OFAN and similar ventures.
A number of long and short-term strategies have been adopted by the Once and Future Action Network to promote collaboration, capacity building and advocacy among its members. The 1992 UNIFEM/IWTC survey on which organizations were involved in gender, science and technology activities, produced a directory on Who¹s Doing What in Science and Technology. This directory has been used as a resource guide and networking tool. The UN has also called on the expertise of OFAN¹s diverse membership to provide advice on science and technology as they relate to women in the platform for Action. It organized workshops on science and technology at UN preparatory meetings and the NGO consultations regionally and internationally. OFAN succeeded in having these issues emphasized in some of the regional action plans, especially for the Africa region. OFAN also produces a quarterly newsletter, engages in electronic conferences and conducts meetings with similar interest groups in local communities.
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