Stories about Citizen Media from March, 2008
Jorge Gobbi: Travel Blogs and Experiences From the Road
The grand city of Buenos Aires, Argentina is a favorite destination for many tourists. It is also the home of Global Voices' author for Argentina, Jorge Gobbi, who has been able to combine his love for traveling with blogging about the subject, both personally and professionally. In continuation of the series of Global Voices Online author profiles, Jorge also describes some of his favorite, as well as most unusual experiences while on the road.
Armenia: Opposition Protests Continue
Despite amendments to the law on public marches, rallies and demonstrations following the recently lifted state of emergency, the opposition continues to hold meetings on the streets of the Armenian capital. In order to circumvent the restrictions, the gatherings are held under the guise of playing chess, reading books or even eating fast food in public.
Ukraine, Poland: Tusk Visits Kyiv
Leopolis reports on Donald Tusk's visit to Ukraine: “The biggest development of the trip was the signing of a cross-border visa agreement for small-time Ukrainian traders living 50 kilometres from...
Colombia: Contest brings forth multimedia citizen journalists
Contest open for anyone, regardless of nationality, to write, show and create content telling the world about a very special place in Colombia most people wouldn´t normally be aware of. Bloggers and vloggers are already responding, here are examples from the Chocó and Antioquia regions.
World Water Day Ripples Across Videos.
Every year since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, on March 22nd has been the World Water Day. In addition, this year it is the United Nation´s International Year of Sanitation and people from all over have started taking action through their video cameras, raising awareness at the importance of this finite resource.
Maldives: Living with contaminated groundwater
As the world observed World Water Day on March 22, issues concerning sanitation and access to safe water were discussed and debated in the media. This year’s theme for WWD...
Kyrgyzstan: LBGT community video answer to Russian Orthodox Church´s homophobic comments.
The videocast created by the LBGT community's Labrys organization in Kyrgyzstan in response to homophobic Russian Orthodox Church's statements and which was viewed more than 409 times within the first 15 hours of being uploaded has been dubbed and subtitled into English.
Guatemala: Public Support for the Death Penalty
Public support for the death penatly in Guatemala is high, especially in light of the high crime rates and the lack of security across the country. Bloggers are divided on the issue saying that the law should be enforced, while others see it as a contradiction and that it has not lowered crime rates.
Did the Philippine President Commit Treason?
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is accused by her critics of approving an anomalous transaction involving the Chinese firm ZTE. But there is a new allegation that the president is guilty of treason as well.
Guatemala: What the State is Like
“The State of Guatemala has become an uncontrolable force, associated with violence, with impuntiy, and with abuse,” writes Renata Avila at Nothing is Permanent [es] as an answer to the...
Video HUB: Protecting women activists’ rights around the world
Witness' The HUB Beta brings us three videos recorded at the "Human Rights for Women; Human Rights for All" event, where 3 strong women who defend other women´s rights speak about the International Campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders.
Cuban Videos: media ploy or example of free speech?
An online 4 minute video excerpt posted by international media taken from a 2 hour meeting between the president of the National Assembly and students from the Computer Science University (UCI) has brought forth contrasting reactions and debates regarding free speech in Cuba and the direction of the Cuban Revolution.
Caucasus: Eurovision Song Contest Fever… and Politics
It might be considered a little cheesy, but the South Caucasus takes participation in the annual Eurovision song contest very seriously indeed. Not only does the competition represent the region moving closer to Europe, but given that this year has proven to be a political turbulent one it might also provide people here with a welcome break from rigged votes and post-election unrest.
Environment: Elephant Culling and Crisis in The Mara
In this issue of Global Voices environment, we check in with various blogs around the world. The themes are varied, and some are of global concern with commentary from Kenya...
Africa: Vloggers, Bloggers and Movies
A few glimpses of Africa through citizen media videos. From BoB winners, to storytellers, documentaries on artists, Nigeria´s Nollywood movie industry and more.
Armenia: Samizdat & the Internet
After a 20-day state of emergency was declared in Armenia when clashes between security services and the opposition broke out on the streets of the capital, access to the media has been severely restricted. According to presidential decree, local media outlets can now only publish official news and political propaganda is banned. However, the situation has created an unprecedented opportunity for bloggers to move in to fill the gap.
Armenia: Eight Dead, State of Emergency Declared
Armenian bloggers respond to post-election turmoil and blood shed, after the political comeback of former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrossian in the 19 February 2008 presidential election, led to violent clashes between police, soldiers and opposition supporters.
Japan: Is it obscenity or is it art?
On February 19, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled that a Robert Mapplethorpe book, confiscated at Narita Airport in 1999 on the basis of its perceived pornographic content, does not violate obscenity law. The book in question, titled “Mapplethorpe”, contains 384 pages of photographs of various subjects, 19 of which contain closeup photos of male genitalia.
Brazil: Whose, and what kind of party, was Campus Party 2008?
The biggest event of the world involving people interested in internet and technology has just had its first Brazilian edition. Daniel Duende was among the thousands of participants who gathered together under the same roof in São Paulo to live and work for seven days, and now reports on the aftermath of the camping, which was great for some and awful for others, and goes beyond the clash the between traditional media and bloggers.
