CRS ICT4D Conference

Capacity building is a key factor for socio-economic development and women's empowerment. Yet, in many countries, women's access to tertiary education remains extremely low. Increased penetration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and access to more affordable mobile and broadband services worldwide can help overcome some of these barriers, by providing women new ways to access free educational resources using the Internet. Available in an ever-growing number and range of topics, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are offered in different languages and often for free or at minimal fees. 

To raise awareness and help women and health professionals take advantage of this valuable resource, the Women Observatory for eHealth (WeObservatory) of the Millennia2025 Foundation launched in 2014 its Intelligence MOOCs Commons for Women and eHealth (WeMOOCs, hereafter).  WeMOOCs provides access to a selection of online courses addressing the areas of global health, women and ICT, offered in English, French and Spanish, with the goal of facilitating the access of women around the globe to online education in those areas. 

The speaker will present key findings of an analysis of trends and gaps on the online courses selected for the WeMOOCs in 2014 and 2015, which are offered by some of the largest and most widely recognized MOOC platforms, educational institutions and research centers from around the world. Identified gaps in the areas of multilinguism, MOOCs on gender issues and on women's health and ICT are discussed, as well as efforts the WeObservatory is undertaking to help bridge some of these gaps.