Press Release: iKNOW Politics Launch April 15, 2010

iKNOW Politics

The quick tips on how to use the website is distributed in the launch.

Jakarta, Indonesia: iKNOW Politics, an online network dedicated to the advancement of women in politics, celebrated its Indonesian launch in Jakarta today, opening up the platform to new users in a region where women are politically underrepresented.

Women leaders, political candidates, activists and representatives of women’s organizations from Indonesia are attending the launch event, which focuses on providing much needed knowledge for women entering into politics. It is designed to initiate an ongoing dialogue that will be carried out through the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, found online at www.iknowpolitics.org.

This year, at least 200,000 people are expected to visit the iKNOW Politics website, which began in 2007 and operates in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. The project is a partnership between International IDEA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the National Democratic Institute, the UNDP and UNIFEM. The Indonesia launch was made possible through the generous support of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid.

Women across the world face obstacles in their efforts to achieve political parity, and this is no less true in Indonesia. In 2008, the government issued a quota law on 30% representation of women, however, the Constitutional Court did not uphold the law, creating further challenges for women’s participation in public life. Indonesia has nevertheless achieved some progress, and in the 2009 election, 18 percent of the Indonesian House of Representatives were women, compared to 11 percent in the previous 2004 election. Yet challenges to women’s political involvement include entering into political parties, running campaigns and eventually representing constituencies in legislative bodies still remain.

“iKNOW Politics offers women to learn about politics and no class room needed!,” said Tristanti Mitayani, former Parliamentarian from Indonesia and iKNOW Politics Regional Coordinator. “Many things I found from iKNOW Politics that I wished I could get when I was actively involved in politics.”

The resources of iKNOW Politics are open to anyone who visits the website – last month the website had over 50,000 pageviews. The site contains online discussions between practitioners, a wide and expanding selection of articles on political topics, links to related organizations and a library of 3,000 free resources, including skills training manuals, sample legislation, and many other materials in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

For further information please contact:

Anita Vandenbeld, Project Manager avandenbeld@iknowpolitics.org

Tristanti Mitayani, Regional Coordinator Asia Pasific tmitayani@iknowpolitics.org

The iKNOW Politics Website