‘iKNOW Politics,’ the first virtual network linking women in politics throughout the world, was launched today at the United Nations in New York.
New York — ‘iKNOW Politics,’ the first virtual network linking women in politics throughout the world, was launched today at the United Nations in New York. Short for the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, iKNOW Politics is the first online space specifically designed to make governance work better for women and to advance the role and number of women in political and public life. 
“Women gain experience from being able to network with each other. ‘iKNOW Politics’ will give them that chance. By joining elected women leaders with aspiring young politicians, and political candidates with professional lobbyists, iKnow Politics will equip women across borders, generations, faiths and opinions to address the acute under-representation of women in public life and to enter the political fray,” said UNDP’s Director for Democratic Governance Pippa Norris in advance of the launch. Designed by women in politics and drawing on a database of over 100 experts on women in politics, iKNOW Politics allows users to access an online library of more than 400 reports and training materials in English, French and Spanish from leading international agencies, research institutions, academia and civil society groups. It provides a virtual forum where women can exchange ideas and advice, along with an array of resources on election campaigns, political parties, parliaments, lobbying, budgets, legislation and post-conflict and transitional participation. The site is also being developed in Arabic.Speaking at the launch in New York, Geraldine Ferraro, who earned her place in history as the first woman vice-presidential candidate on a national party ticket in the United States, described the initiative as a pragmatic strategy that would bring the disconnected into the fold. She encouraged all present to “use the network to tell others how you have achieved success and to support your own political ambition.” 
“I know the difficulties of being a woman in politics,” she said. “When I ran for vice-president in 1984, I let women around the United States know that there are no limits to what we can do. This is made even truer for women around the world by iKnow Politics.”Liberian President Madame Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first democratically elected woman president in Africa, put her support behind the initiative: “While the winds of change have begun to blow, women remain on the fringes of political power. That is why the creation of iKNOW Politics, the premier network for women in politics, will provide women with the tools necessary to participate meaningfully in every facet of political life,” she said.The need for this resource is clear. Though the number of women in politics has grown in recent years, they are still under-represented and face innumerable obstacles to full participation. In 2006, less than 17 percent of parliamentarians were women, according to IPU, and elected women head only 13 of the world’s 194 states and governments, as reported by the Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership.This initiative was founded in partnership by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).Published on http://content.undp.org
‘iKNOW Politics,’ the first virtual network linking women in politics throughout the world, was launched today at the United Nations in New York.
New York — ‘iKNOW Politics,’ the first virtual network linking women in politics throughout the world, was launched today at the United Nations in New York. Short for the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, iKNOW Politics is the first online space specifically designed to make governance work better for women and to advance the role and number of women in political and public life. “Women gain experience from being able to network with each other. ‘iKNOW Politics’ will give them that chance. By joining elected women leaders with aspiring young politicians, and political candidates with professional lobbyists, iKnow Politics will equip women across borders, generations, faiths and opinions to address the acute under-representation of women in public life and to enter the political fray,” said UNDP’s Director for Democratic Governance Pippa Norris in advance of the launch. Designed by women in politics and drawing on a database of over 100 experts on women in politics, iKNOW Politics allows users to access an online library of more than 400 reports and training materials in English, French and Spanish from leading international agencies, research institutions, academia and civil society groups. It provides a virtual forum where women can exchange ideas and advice, along with an array of resources on election campaigns, political parties, parliaments, lobbying, budgets, legislation and post-conflict and transitional participation. The site is also being developed in Arabic.Speaking at the launch in New York, Geraldine Ferraro, who earned her place in history as the first woman vice-presidential candidate on a national party ticket in the United States, described the initiative as a pragmatic strategy that would bring the disconnected into the fold. She encouraged all present to “use the network to tell others how you have achieved success and to support your own political ambition.” “I know the difficulties of being a woman in politics,” she said. “When I ran for vice-president in 1984, I let women around the United States know that there are no limits to what we can do. This is made even truer for women around the world by iKnow Politics.”Liberian President Madame Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first democratically elected woman president in Africa, put her support behind the initiative: “While the winds of change have begun to blow, women remain on the fringes of political power. That is why the creation of iKNOW Politics, the premier network for women in politics, will provide women with the tools necessary to participate meaningfully in every facet of political life,” she said.The need for this resource is clear. Though the number of women in politics has grown in recent years, they are still under-represented and face innumerable obstacles to full participation. In 2006, less than 17 percent of parliamentarians were women, according to IPU, and elected women head only 13 of the world’s 194 states and governments, as reported by the Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership.This initiative was founded in partnership by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).Published on http://content.undp.org