A reminder to not only carry on blogging (!) but also to send through your presentations to the intranet for sharing with all the researchers. So far we have 4 presentations up and one literature review.

Did you take photo's at the GRACE writing workshop? If so, why not upload them to our space on www.flickr.com? If you need any help please do email me.

Jenny

dreamy gracious geese, how magnificent you are, like former ostriches who have discovered their wings, you soar in the sky at fluent flight, gracious geese, what graciousness oh gracious geese,

so good good to you, and good good to you

Graciousnesses

I'm blogged out 4 today!

Help!

I have found this writing workshop helping me discover a number of potentials about me. For the first time I wrote a peom, suddenly am a poet. Also the writers work enables me to discover how free ideas can come to me. I drew my dream egg, which gives me the picture of my real and current world. Isn't that fascinationg? And today I have created a blog that I can keep my personal journals, this is real great! And also contribute to the GRACE blog.

It has been exciting to learn blogging. Dont know how other feel.

The Wedding Drum - Jocelyn Muller



Listen, Listen to the beating…
Listen to the beating, beating drum
Listen, listen to the drum beating, beating deep in your heart
Listen, listen to the drum beating, beating one with your heart
Listen sister, listen brother.

The drum is the messenger of Africa
Today the drum speaks of a wedding
The drum sends a message of the marriage of Self with Self

What? People say,
Yes! beats the drum
How? People ask,,
Listen responds the drum, Be silent and listen…

The drum beats out questions that ask,:
How can you love another when you haven’t found love for yourself,
When your body is fighting your mind,
When your mind is fighting your soul,
When your soul is fighting your spirit?
How can you love another sister or brother, when you aren’t one with who, You Are.

The drum beats that when these parts beat in unison,
The power is greater than the power of the individual parts.
The drum beats that when these parts beat in unison,
A new person is borne,
Again and again.

Today, beats the drum,
I announce the vows of Self to Self
Today, beats the drum,
I demand that all who hear my message celebrate this marriage, this union.

The drum beats a warning to Self and Self,
The drum warns that these vows need to renewed,
The drum warns that these vows need to be nurtured,
The drum warns that you need to find the heart,
Of a creative and lasting union.

Today declares Self to Self,
I vow to a joyous union,
Of the top of the head with the soles of the feet,
The left breast with the right,
The body with the mind,
The mind with the soul,
The soul with the spirit,

Yes, beats the drum, they all beat as one,
As one, to the beat of the drum,
To the beat of your heart.
Dancing joyously in union.

Only when the women of Africa
Bring their creativity
in uniqueness together

will the chalice and the blade
come to healing and wholeness

and will the continent
brown-dark-pale
become a light unto itself

Would it be a good idea to share our poems from the workshop on the blog?

I found this to be one of the most interesting aspects of the workshop since enhanced my creativity.

Well some people would disagree as we are frustrated with connectivity!

GRACE Uganda research team at WOUGNET

Alaa Seif Al-Islam, a seasoned blogger and APC colleague, is one of four Egyptian online diarists being held in detention for criticising the current regime since May 7. In addition, APC has heard disturbing reports about violent actions taken by state security against several of the bloggers who were released from custody last week, only to be subsequently re-arrested.

Alaa Seif Al-Islam advocates for freedom of speech in his on-line autonomous media ‘Manal and Alaa's bit bucket’ http://www.manalaa.net – a blog that was recently awarded the Reporters Without Borders Special Prize in the Deutsche Welle International Weblog awards 2005. The APC network has worked with Alaa who also teaches local school-children how to use free and open source software in his spare time.

We are soon to be meeting in Durban for the GRACE writing workshop. I am sure people are working hard on their research! I am very excited about us blogging. Learning how to set up a blog, customising the blogs, what it means to write in a blog, examples of good blogs... I find blogging a very different way of writing, of expression and of interacting with the world. It took me some time to get used to the 'style' and the openess of blogs. In a way it is like free writing and enabling others to read the writing wherever they are located in the world.

But more later - right now back to my email pile! Jenny

Qu’est-ce que c’est un blogue?

Quelques notes pour l’équipe de GRACE

Le blogue de Grace de trouve à :
http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica


Un blogue est un site web où des billets sont publiés régulièrement
par ordre antéchronologique. Le terme «blogue» est une forme
francisée de «blog». Ecrire un blogue, maintenir un blogue ou
ajouter à un blogue, s’appelle «blogage». Les articles publiés sur un
blogue s’appellent «billets» ou «billets de blogue». Quelqu’un qui publie
ces billets s’appelle un «blogueur».

Un blogue est composé d’hypertexte (texte activable lié à des
autres textes, images, pages web, et aux fichiers vidéo, audio etc). Les
blogues se caractérisent par un style conversationnel. Le point central
d’un blogue est souvent un «domaine d’intérêt». Quelques blogues racontent
des expériences personnelles.

Le plateforme de blogage de GRACE s’appelle «LiveJournal»

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Qu’est-ce que c’est «LiveJournal?» Comment créer un compte et
utiliser «livejournal»

«LiveJournal» est un plateforme de blogage qui met l’accent sur
l’interaction des utilisateurs. Un compte simple et opérationnel est
gratuit. Pour contribuer au blogue de GRACE, vous devez créer un compte
sur livejournal.com. Vous pouvez choisir un compte gratuit.

2. Comment créer un compte?
Naviguez à http://www.livejournal.com
Cliquez sur «créer un compte » au coin droit supérieur et suivez les
instructions.

Chaque utilisateur de «liveJournal.com » doit choisir un nom
d’utilisateur unique. Vous utilisez votre nom d’utilisateur pour ouvrir
une session sur le serveur de « livejournal.com ». Ce nom est aussi
visible quand vous publiez des commentaires dans les journaux des autres.

Il ne faut que s’inscrire pour obtenir un nom d’utilisateur pour
« livejournal ». Il ne faut pas créer un nouveau blogue car le blogue de
GRACE existe déjà à http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica.

Il faut que votre nom d’utilisateur ne comporte que des caractères
minuscules (a-z), chiffres (0-9), et traits de soulignement(_). Ce
n’est pas possible d’utiliser le trait de soulignement au début ou à la
fin du nom d’utilisateur, ou d’utiliser plus d’un trait de soulignement
ensemble. Votre nom d’utilisateur peut comporter 15 caractères au maximum.


Ensuite, on vous demande votre adresse électronique, et vous
sélectionnez et confirmez un mot de passe. Pour des raisons de
sécurité, vous devez choisir un mot de passe sécurisé. Il doit
comporter au moins six caractères, dont quatre caractères
différents. Il doit comporter au moins un chiffre ou un symbole, et ne
peut être basé sur votre nom d'utilisateur, nom à l'écran, ou adresse
électronique.

On vous demande ensuite de confirmer votre âge. Conformément à
la loi de protection de la vie privée des enfants en ligne (Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act – COPPA), cette information est une
condition préalable à la création d’un compte. Cette information n’est pas
stockée dans la base de données et n’est utilisée que pendant la création
du compte.

Vous sélectionnez ensuite « compte gratuit » dans la section
intitulée « type de compte ».

Alors, cochez « J’ai lu et j ‘accepte les conditions d’utilisation ».

Ensuite, tapez les caractères et les chiffres que vous voyez sur
l’écran pour faire preuve que vous n’êtes pas un robot spammeur.
Finalement, cliquez sur «créer journal ».
.
Une fois votre compte créé, vous recevrez un courriel intitulé
« bienvenue à LiveJournal » qui contiendra un lien pour confirmer
votre compte en validant votre adresse électronique. Votre compte
ne sera pas complètement opérationnel jusqu’à la validation de
votre adresse électronique.
.
3. Ensuite, s’inscrire à la communauté « graceafrica » en suivant
les instructions ci-dessous :
a. Naviguez à http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica/profile
b. Cliquez sur « pour s’inscrire à la communauté, cliquez ici »
c. Je (Jenny) recevrai un courriel pour confirmer votre inscription à la
communauté. Car cette communauté est close, et les chercheurs de GRACE
sont les seuls lecteurs et contributeurs, je dois confirmer votre
inscription. d. Une fois votre inscription confirmée, vous pouvez publier
vos billets sur le blogue communautaire de « graceafrica ».

4. Désormais, si vous voulez contribuer au blogue de GRACE à
n’importe quel temps, naviguez à www.livejournal.com, cliquez sur
« login » et tapez votre nom d’utilisateur et mot de passe.

Vous arrivez à http://www.livejournal.com/login.bml où vous pouvez
mettre à jour votre blogue en cliquant sur « mettre à jour votre
blogue ». Ensuite, vous arrivez à un page où vous pouvez
contribuer au blogue de GRACE. A la fin du page où vous voyez
« publiez sur », veuillez vous assurer de sélectionner
« graceafrica ». Finissez votre billet, et cliquez sur « mettre à jour le
blogue ».

Vous pouvez ensuite naviguer à
http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica pour lire votre billet. Vous
constaterez que le site « graceafrica » offre aussi la possibilité de
publier des commentaires sur des autres billets, ce que vous faites si
vous voulez contribuer à ce fil de discussion.


5. Des exemples de l’utilisation de blogage dans le mouvement des
femmes

Quelques exemples de l’utilisation des blogues par le mouvement
des femmes. Ces deux exemples sont des blogues ouverts ou
publiques. Rappelez-vous que le blogue de GRACE est privé est
n’est ouvert qu’à notre communauté pour leurs commentaires et
mises à jour.

Le premier exemple est celui de WENT Africa 2005 – (Formation
des femmes en réseaux électroniques) qui avait lieu à Kampala en
décembre 2005. Le blogue a été établi pour le partage des
nouvelles, histoires, photos et expériences par les participants et
formateurs. http://www.wentafrica.blogspot.com. C’était un moyen
de fournir des informations sur ce qui se passait pendant la
formation. Le blogue était aussi utile pour que les participants
puissent se familiariser avec l’utilisation des blogues, et pour le
partage des expériences dans les propres mots des participants.
On peut retenir le blogue comme une archive de l’atelier.

Une équipe des femmes de APC WNSP ont participé au forum
AWID en octobre 2005 à Bangkok. Quelques unes d’entre nous
maintenaient un blogue pour le partage des idées, réflexions et
pensées sur les diverses sessions, activités, discussions et
événements pendant le forum. L’objectif principal de ce blogue est
de permettre aux membres de APC WNSP et aux autres femmes
qui ne pouvaient pas assister au forum un aperçu sur cet
événement qui a d’importance pour le mouvement des femmes.
Nous avons aussi l’intention d’ouvrir des discussions avec les
femmes dans le forum aussi bien que celles qui ne participent pas
sur les diverses questions issues des sessions et événements de
AWID 2005 et qui concernent les femmes.
http://community.livejournal.com/apcwomen_awid05/

6. Des suggestions pour l’utilisation des blogues par débutants:
http://www.livingroom.org.au/blog/archives/blog_tips_for_beginners.
php
Advancing Women's Blogging Tips for Beginners:
http://www.advancingwomen.com/cgi/blogging_tips_for_beginners.p
hp
(vous devrez défiler vers le bas pour voir l’article) Non-Tech City's
Blogging for Beginners: http://non-tech-city.com/tutorials/blog-book/
Blogging for Beginners:
http://www.k23enterprises.com/bloggingforbeginners/what-is-a- blog.shtml
Blogging 101: http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/readwrite.html

The morning circle with some of our eggs on the wall! Blogs can include photo's. Blogging is an informal way of sharing news and information. Some people use their blogs just like diaries. Blogs can be used for morning pages as well!
To the right of the photograph you can see Links. The Links section will take you to other websites related to GRACE as well as the Zambian teams's blog.
To the left you see the name Jabulani. This is my blog "name" or "identity". So each person who posts can be identified. If you read further down the page you will see how to create a livejournal account so you can start blogging.

The GRACE research and ICT training workshop in Durban was as we remember (!) and intense 2 week experience. Thinking back to that time, I realised that we did not capture as much as we should have in terms of photos, interviewing each other about our experiences with research and with ICTs. For the next workshop and for inbetween, we can use the GRACE blog.

A blog is a website in which journal entries are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging". Individual articles on a blog are called "blog posts," "posts" or "entries". A person who posts these entries is called a "blogger".

A blog comprises hypertext (text that is active and links to other text, images and links to other web pages and to video, audio and other files). Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. Often blogs focus on a particular "area of interest". Some blogs discuss personal experiences.

We are using a blogging platform for GRACE called LiveJournal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. What is LiveJournal? And how to create an account and use livejournal

LiveJournal is an online journal service or blogging platform with an emphasis on user interaction. A basic, fully-functional account is free. To contribute to the GRACE blog you have to create an account at livejournal.com You have an option of a free account.

2. How do I create an account?

Go to: http://www.livejournal.com
At the top right hand corner click on Create an account and follow the instructions.

Each LiveJournal.com user must have their own unique username. Your username is what you use to log into the LiveJournal.com server. It also shows up when you post comments in other people's journal.

You need only register to get a livejournal username. You don't have to create a new journal as we already have the GRACE blog/journal at http://community.livejournal.com/graceafric

Your username can contain only lower-case letters (a-z), digits (0-9), and the underscore character (_). Underscores cannot be at the beginning or the end of the username, and there cannot be more than one underscore in a row. The username cannot be longer than 15 characters.

You are then asked for your email address and then you select and confirm a password of your choosing. For your security you must choose a secure password. It must be at least six characters long and contain at least four different characters. It must contain at least one number or symbol, and cannot be based upon your username, display name or email address.

You are then asked to confirm your age. This information is required to create an account in order to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This information is not stored in the database and is only used during account creation.

You then select free account in the account type section.

Then check the “I have read and agree to the Terms of Service”.

Then you type the letters and numbers shown which his to prove that you're not a spam robot. And the final step is to click on Create Journal.

Once you create your account, you will receive a "Welcome to LiveJournal!" e-mail with a link to confirm your account by validating your e-mail address. You will not gain the full functionality of your account until your e-mail address is validated.

3. Then I join the "graceafrica" community by doing the following steps:
a. Go to: http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica/profile
b. Click on this: "To join this community, click here."
c. A message will be sent to me (Jenny) to confirm your membership in the community. As this is a closed community with only GRACE researchers reading and contributing, I have to confirm your membership.
d. Once I have confirmed your participation, then you can start posting in the "graceafrica" community blog.

4. From then on, whenever you want to contribute to the GRACE journal, go to www.livejournal.com
and click on login and give your username and password.

You will be taken to http://www.livejournal.com/login.bml where you can update your journal. You do this by clicking on Update your journal. You are taken to a page where you can contribute to the GRACE journal. Make sure that at the bottom of the page where it says Post to that you choose graceafrica – Complete the entry and click on update journal.

You can then go http://community.livejournal.com/graceafrica to and read your post. You will notice that at the graceafrica site you can also post a comment on other entries. This you do if you would like to contribute to that thread of the discussion.

5. Examples of using blogging in the women's movement

Some examples of how blogs have been used by the women's movement. These two examples are open or public blogs. Remember that our GRACE blog is private and only open for comment and updating and reading by our GRACE community.

The first example is WENT Africa 2005 - Women's Electronic Network Training which was held in Kampala in December 2005. The blog was set up to share news, stories, photo's and experiences from the participants and trainers. http://www.wentafrica.blogspot.com/ It was a way of letting other people know what was happening during the training as it was happening. The blog was also used as a way of introducing participants to using blogs and for them to share their experiences in their own words. The blog can be kept as an archive of the workshop.

A team of women from the APC WNSP participated in AWID Forum in October 2005 in Bangkok. Some of us maintained a community blog to share insights, reflections and thoughts about different sessions, activities, discussions and events during the AWID Forum. The main goal of this blog is to allow APC WNSP members and other women who are not able to make it to the AWID Forum a personal glimpse of this major event in the women's movement. We also aim to engage women in the Forum as well as those off-shore in discussion about the different women's issues that emerge from the sessions and events of AWID 2005.
http://community.livejournal.com/apcwomen_awid05/
6. Blog Tips for Beginners:
http://www.livingroom.org.au/blog/archives/blog_tips_for_beginners.php
Advancing Women's Blogging Tips for Beginners:
http://www.advancingwomen.com/cgi/blogging_tips_for_beginners.php (you
will need to scroll down the page to see the article) Non-Tech City's
Blogging for Beginners: http://non-tech-city.com/tutorials/blog-book/
Blogging for Beginners:
http://www.k23enterprises.com/bloggingforbeginners/what-is-a-blog.shtml
Blogging 101: http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/readwrite.html

Some examples of how blogs have been used by the women's movement. These two examples are open or public blogs. Remember that our GRACE blog is private and only open for comment and updating and reading by our GRACE community.

The first example is WENT Africa 2005 - Women's Electronic Network Training which was held in Kampala in December 2005. The blog was set up to share news, stories, photo's and experiences from the participants and trainers. http://www.wentafrica.blogspot.com/ It was a way of letting other people know what was happening during the training as it was happening. The blog was also used as a way of introducing participants to using blogs and for them to share their experiences in their own words. The blog can be kept as an archive of the workshop.

A team of women from the APC WNSP participated in AWID Forum in October 2005 in Bangkok. Some of us maintained a community blog to share insights, reflections and thoughts about different sessions, activities, discussions and events during the AWID Forum. The main goal of this blog is to allow APC WNSP members and other women who are not able to make it to the AWID Forum a personal glimpse of this major event in the women's movement. We also aim to engage women in the Forum as well as those off-shore in discussion about the different women's issues that emerge from the sessions and events of AWID 2005.
http://community.livejournal.com/apcwomen_awid05/