Utilizing Digital Tools To Promote Human Rights And Create Inclusive Public Spaces In The Gaza Strip

Today, information and communication technology (ICT) and digital technology are recognized as drivers for economic, political and social political reconstruction and development. There is a strong ICT sector in Gaza that is seen as a trans-border and one that can expand and prosper without being subject to Israeli restrictions. Given the high education level of the population in Gaza, the numbers of youth with university degrees and skills in this sector is high.

The siege on Gaza had increased the desire among the population to stay connected, which resulted in a rapid spread of digital technologies particularly among youth and women. According to PCBS (2011), 46.5 percent of households in Gaza have a computer, 30 percent are connected to the internet and 94.7 percent have a mobile phone. As digital technologies are accessible to women, youth and adolescents, they can be effectively utilized to increase their civic engagement, giving them new avenues through which to become informed, shape opinions, get organized, collaborate and take action.

Based on the above analysis, there is a clear absence of women's and youth participation in post conflict recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza. They are often not consulted vis-a-vis the building and shaping of their own communities. They do not have the space or resources to provide their innovative thinking into recovery efforts to make them youth and gender friendly. They do not benefit from the economic opportunities generated through the reconstruction activities. They suffer from societal attitudes and behaviors related to their rights to enjoy public spaces free from GBV.

Women, girls, boys and men are affected differently by the crisis. Women often bear the brunt of the consequences of conflicts, and gender-based violence and inequalities are often exacerbated. After the latest Gaza conflict, women's rights organizations have identified war widows and female-heads of households along with their children to be among the most vulnerable groups in Gaza Strip in the current context. Existing discrimination and unequal power relations made women more vulnerable to crisis, while their situation and specific needs continue to remain largely ignored or insufficiently targeted in post-conflict and recovery planning. Women's needs go unmet in large part because they are marginalized from decision-making at all levels.

The importance of women's engagement in reconstruction planning and implementation must be understood first and foremost as a rights-based participation demand made by women themselves. Half the population has the right to have its voice heard. It is essential to ensure that women's participation is not limited to consulting on “women only” programmes. In addition, male and female youth, who constitute the majority of Gaza's population, need to be given a voice in identifying their particular needs and priorities within relief and recovery planning and implementation.

UN Resolution 1325 reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction; it encourages all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It is therefore, imperative that women are considered as active participants in the recovery and reconstruction programs.

The recent Global Study on SCR1325 by UN Women (2015) shows however, that women are routinely excluded from the post-conflict processes that determine power distribution, wealth sharing patterns, social development priorities, and approaches to justice. The study highlights that targeting women as beneficiaries of infrastructure development initiatives not only enhances the overall effectiveness of such interventions, but has the potential to reduce gendered poverty in conflict affected societies, and serve as a tool for rebuilding and social protection by facilitating social and economic cohesion. The study emphasized that locally driven initiatives exemplify the strength and resilience of conflict affected communities and their agency. It also highlights the importance of promoting women's and girls' access to ICTs, particularly in conflict-affected and fragile settings and how the internet social media platforms provide channels to raise awareness about reports of violence and spread knowledge of women's diverse roles in different societies.

It is important to note that establishing dialogue with communities helps develop mutual trust and provides a voice in reconstruction priorities for those traditionally underrepresented, including women and children, the elderly and disabled. Further such activities help reinforce the role of local government in securing the right to adequate housing and adequate standard of living, as per the Special Rapporteur's report A/HRC/28/62 to the UN Human Rights Council.

Some of the innovative digital tools that can be utilized to boost civic participation and ensure women's and girls' safety are the MineCraft and SafetiPin. Minecraft is globally one of the top selling computer games of all time with an active user base of over 40 million people, and over 100 million copies sold. In Minecraft, players interact with the game world by placing various types of colored blocks – similar to a ‘digital Lego' – in a three-dimensional environment with the purpose of building creative structures, such as buildings and cities. Minecraft can be played online on multiplayer servers, or in single player worlds, across multiple game modes. The game enables players to easily create buildings similar to those produced by complex 3D modeling software, with the additional benefit of being able to collaborate through the multiplayer setting. As a result, the building process is more similar to real-life construction projects with multiple workers carrying out different roles simultaneously, than traditional digital 3D model-making tools with only one designer.

In 2012 UN-Habitat entered into a partnership with the makers of Minecraft as a means to improve youth participation in the urban design process by allowing them to express themselves in a visual way, whilst also helping them develop skills and network with other people from the community. Designs produced through Minecraft can be used to establish multi-purpose, inclusive and accessible public spaces to enhance urban safety, increase economic activity, provide recreational activities, engage children and youth through sports, improve quality of life, and in general strengthen the sense of ownership, responsibility and well-being.  UN-Habitat has used Minecraft in a number of development contexts, but never within a post-conflict/persistent crisis such as Gaza.

Safetipin is a mobile phone application that provides information about factors that promote safety for women and other groups, to citizens at large and important urban stakeholders. Through the app, as the users move through their community or city, they can post photos or comments on hazards such as broken lights that make an area unsafe, threats, harassment, or other issues that they see or experience. The posts are geo-located, specific to within meters of the users hand held phone, and appear on a google map overlay.  Hazards and Places. Other users can then see that data when travelling, and plan their routes accordingly. This data is also used by Government services provides such as municipalities to help them improve the safety of the built environment.  Civil Society organizations can use the data for advocacy purposes. The type of data generated by Safetipin is critical as it gives a specific and timely information on safety issues from the very perspective of those experiencing such issues. 

Thus through the proposed project, UN Habitat and UN Women in Palestine will utilize digital technologies to advance women's and youth's rights to participation in post-conflict recovery planning and implementation, in particular to support developing public spaces, ensuring gender sensitivity and inclusiveness of marginalized groups such as IDPs and female heads of households. In addition, the proposed project will utilize digital technology as a tool for community empowerment. Access to information is a basic human right that enables communities to actively engage in the decision-making process and have a proactive role in their societies. Therefore, digital technology is used to strengthen the relationship between the local authorities and the communities, and to promote good governance.

World Bank: West Bank and Gaza Towards Economic Sustainability of a Future Palestinian State: Promoting Private Sector-Led Growth, 2012

  UN Women “Building Ties: Towards Integrated Strategies Policies for Empowering Palestinian Women (2014)

  See http://wps.unwomen.org/~/media/files/un%20women/wps/highlights/unw-glob…

UN Habitat “Women's Safety Audits: What Works and Where?” (2008)

A mobile app and online platform which collects information on public spaces through a safety audit that can be done by anyone, anywhere in the world. Safetipin is a free app and can be downloaded from the App store or Google play.

See:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft

For more details, see: http://unhabitat.org/books/using-minecraft-for-youth-participation-in-urban-design-and-governance/using-minecraft-for-youth-participation-in-urban-design-and-governance/.