CSocD55 Photo Exhibition - Ageing

The World Wide Web Foundation implemented a gender data and technology initiative in Côte d’Ivoire called “TechMousso,” a combination of Tech for technology and Mousso, which means woman in Bambara, a language spoken in most West African countries.The initiative took place in the Northern town of Bouma, with rural women who produce shea butter. Mostly illiterate, they formed a cooperative called Scoop Prokab, aiming to reduce poverty for the members by helping them access markets for their produce. In this photo, two elderly shea butter producing women take a closer look at a tablet and marvel at how it can connect them to markets. It helps them learn the market price of their produce thus helps them to achieve fair prices for what they sell. When equipped by the Web with connectivity, easily accessible information and an unrestricted communications platform, people can participate more actively in decisions affecting them, and hold institutions accountable for delivery. They can also create or access new economic opportunities, often dismantling barriers to market entry. With TechMousso, the women learn the power of connectivity, of accessing the World Wide Web, and the great potentials that data and the web offers for poverty reduction. TechMousso is a collaborative project among the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Data2X and the World Wide Web Foundation. Photo by Charly Junior Kodjo | Location: Doropo, Côte d'Ivoire