General framework

In the Supreme Council of the Arab woman Organization, held in Abu Dhabi on 27 May 2007, her honor Mrs. Leila Ben Ali, First Lady of the Republic of Tunisia, proposed the holding of a forum in Tunis on the theme: " Arab Woman and the globalized communication space" during the month of March 2008, in celebration of the International Women's Day. This initiative translated her deep belief that information and communication technologies have become key factors for cultural change, economic and instructive development, and the achievement of comprehensive progress.

 Indeed, the internationalized space of communication has made it possible for cultural and value issues, such as women’s rights, to cut across boundaries. Such an idea should be recalled whenever we talk about women's empowerment and the development and modernization of Arab societies in the twenty first century.

This forum aims principally to:

• define the women's status in the globalized communication space, as an actor, a beneficiary, and a carrier of values as well as a source of education for future generations,

• explore ways for enabling Arab women to take positive action in response to the necessities of this globalized epistemic, technological and communication space,

• act towards the direction of setting culture and communication formats and contents based on the dissemination of the values of equality and the culture of women's rights to the largest extent,

• strengthen women's role in the dialogue of cultures and civilizations as this dialogue has today, more than ever before, adopted advanced forms of communication.