#Ananke nominated for the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society Prize (WSIS)

The digital platform envisions to fill gender gaps in the creative economic landscape, empowering women and girls in ICTs and digital technologies.

January 22^nd, Dubai (UAE): Ananke – a Dubai-based, digital, multi-faceted, platform empowering women through awareness, advocacy and education, announces that it has been nominated for the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) awards 2019 to be held in April in Geneva Switzerland. Ananke has entered the phase of online voting where voting will continue till February 10^th, 2019. It is open to public so everyone can vote. 

The World Summit on the Information Society, popularly referred to as WSIS, is an initiative ensuring that that the “Internet can become an important global resource, a resource critical to both the developed world as a business and social tool and the developing world as a passport to equitable participation, as well as economic, social and educational development.” The summit was initially held in two phases and sponsored by United Nations as an event focusing on information, communication and in broader term, the information society. The first phase was held in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005.

Nominated in Category 2, Action Line C2: Information and Communication Infrastructure, the platform strives to create social impact by enabling women’s economic empowerment through equal participation in the digital revolution. Ananke primarily works on four core areas: Access, Research, Skills and Leadership. The platform has not only created a disruptive digital space for women and girls to engage in meaningful dialogue on gender, inclusion and diversity, it curates quality content on a wide spectrum of topics including technology, communication, open data, health, politics, society, culture, violence, human rights etc. with a gender lens. Ananke also publishes special editions on special occasion like Women’s Day etc and has two Vimeo Channels: Power Talk and Speak NOW!.

In addition to this, Ananke has been successfully running a digital, home-based, self-paced internship program where women and girls from all across the world work in real-world scenarios. Selected participants work in a diverse and safe virtual environment. Previous and current interns have been selected from countries such as UAE, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, USA, UK, Russia, China, Belarus and many more. Mentorship is another key part of the internship program where field experts guide, school and mentor participants in a collaborative relationship. The focus of the internship program is to instil deep learning in a unique, real-world scenario that equips them with a shared knowledge, 21^st century skills, critical thinking, practical use of technology.

Talking about the nomination, Editor-at-large, Melanie Bublyk said: “We are extremely grateful to have been recognised for the work we do empowering women globally. Most important to my work is the ability to give all women a voice and utilizing digital technology to promote sustainable development, peace and fostering good working relations trans-nationally.”

Recognizing the importance of the creative sector especially in the development landscape, Ananke seeks to play a role in enabling an inclusive dialogue and exchange leveraging the power of ICTs.

Founder, Executive Editor, Sabin Muzaffar concluded by saying: “Ananke work is multi-fold entity where we provide access to information related to gender and inclusion, trigger positive impact through online dialogue and advocacy as well as offer a platform where women can learn how to participate in the future of work through real-time learning and by doing so, we also make efforts to close the digital divide. Ananke comprises a team of like-minded individuals - volunteers and interns - with a vision to create an inclusive digital space based on gender equality. By creating a platform, where women can proactively learn, create and advocate, Ananke envisions to fill gender gaps in the creative economic landscape, empowering women and girls in ICTs and digital technologies.”

To vote for Ananke:

How to vote?

1.      Go to the link: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Prizes/2019/Vote

2.      Register as a new user

3.      Log in to your account

4.      Go to the “Voting Form”

5.      Vote in each of 18 categories (only then your vote is valid!)

6.      Select Ananke in Category 2 Action Line (AL C2 Information and Communication Infrastructure)

7.      For any guidance and clarity about the voting form, please email: media@anankemag.com