The cyber dialogues combined facilitated, interactive dialogues on the ground with a link to a central hub at the national level where experts and decision-makers are available at a fixed time each day to answer questions in a live "chat room". The interactive process featured a bulletin board to which individuals could post messages and a daily exchange of information between countries in Southern Africa, as well as a video link-up between all those who participated on the last day of the campaign.

Through organised debates and exchanges on agreed-upon themes on each day of the campaign, as well as media facilities at the central hub, the strategy included a mainstream media component. During the Sixteen Day campaign, South Africa's Gender Links produced a special bulletin of its Gender and Media (GEM) Opinion and Commentary Service featuring first-person stories by survivors of gender violence and perpetrators who have reformed their ways.

This process was carried out through a broad-based partnership process. Content, facilitation and arrangements for each day were made by a consortium of non-government organisations (NGOs) including: Gender Links, the Gender Advocacy Programme, ADAPT, NISAA Institute for Women's Development, Tshwaranang, the Inter-Faith Committee, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Network on Violence Against Women, Amnesty International, Youth Development Network, Men's Movement of South Africa, and Sexual Harassment Project. Several NGOs, the GCIS Multipurpose Centres, and councillors facilitated discussions and input at the community level. Regional links took place through the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network.

Gender, Technology, Rights, Violence, Women.

The cyber dialogues "ended with a strong call to ensure that 'peace begins at home.' The dialogues, according to a statement released by partner organisations on 10 December 2004 (Human Rights Day), 'opened an unprecedented space for those most directly affected to speak out.' This happened both in the face-to-face discussions that took place at 66 centres in all nine provinces as well as in the daily lunch time chats that allowed these groups to pose questions to the 55 experts and decision-makers who took part in the cyber dialogues on different days." Click here to open or save the cyber dialogues final report as a Word document.