Yes, online empowerment can lead to offline empowerment! My personal experience with Internet.

I truly believe that online empowerment can lead to offline empowerment! The most powerful example that I have in mind while stating this are MOOCs (massive online courses) to which I'm familiar for almost two years now. MOOCs are amazing because they give you opportunities that you just can't ignore. They give you access (most of the time, for free) to worldwide top university courses you can't afford to go to, and it illustrates for me the power of knowledge sharing.

Last year, I took from Stanford University a MOOC called Democracy Development and I used all the materials to strengthen the content of the small project I'm leading in Madagascar (Women and Youth's League for Democracy). That was a really awesome experience and I was soooo happy when I got my certificate! I would have never imagined that I could get one from Stanford one day! Some say it's just a virtual certificate but, actually, the knowledge is there and it has empowered me and the women I'm training!

Then, I took another MOOC about International Health and Women Rights and, once again, it helped me improving my work and strengthen my commitment towards my community. Now, I'm finishing a MOOC called "How to change the world" (yes! it's amazing!) and I'm alread planning to share my knowledge and draft new actions to undertake. This last course made me for instance discover that some diseases are under-estimated while they are a real threat for humanity (watch the END7 Campaign here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYimJKg9QiE)... It has opened up m mind to some points and concerns I would have never thought of instead... And I'm really thankful for that!

This is my very personal experience with online empowerment leading to offline empowerment but I bet there are thousands of success-stories that can be shared. I feel I'm lucky because I have access to internet at my office, but I know that most of women don't. This is why I'm trying to do my best (at my small scale) to improve women's access to internet and social medias in my community because women are the best vectors of change that we do have. They are careful, clever and smart and they deserve the better! Morever, internet can give them an occasion to raise their voice and speak out for their rights, and break the limits and taboos men impose to them. That's why it is a so much important cause!