· September, 2010

Stories about Citizen Media from September, 2010

South Africa: Winners of South Africa Blog Awards 2010

The South African Blog Awards started in 2005 to showcase the best blogs in South Africa voted for by the public. The winners were announced on 25 September 2010 at the annual awards ceremony at the One & Only hotel, Cape Town. The award for the Best 2010 South Africa Blog went to Watkykjy.

29 September 2010

Bhutan: ‘Happiness’ As A Millennium Development Goal

It was nice to have a little laughter - even whimsical as it may have been - when the PM of Bhutan proposed “Happiness” be included as the 9th Millennium Development Goal at the the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.

25 September 2010

Nobel Peace Prize should go to Liu Xiaobo

Xu Youyu, philosopher and professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote an open letter (English translation here) to call for international support for this year's Nobel Peace Prize...

25 September 2010

Cambodia: Controversial mobile phone ad

An advertisement of a major Cambodian mobile phone service provider is being criticized by many netizens for promoting bad internet behavior among the youth. Bloggers are pushing for the removal of the ad.

21 September 2010

Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday

On November 2 the city of Medellín will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin was created on Twitter so that its citizens can tweet the symbolic present they want to give their city on this occasion. What would you give your city on its "birthday"? Find out what citizens of Medellín are tweeting almost a month before the date.

21 September 2010

South Africa: Thou Shall Not Burn the Bible

A South African businessman and law student Mohammed Vawda planned to burn the Bible on September 11, 2010 in Johannersburg central business district. He claims that he was enraged by pastor Terry Jones who wanted to burn the Koran in the United States of America. The South African High Court stopped Mohammed from setting the Bible on fire arguing that the act was an insult to all religions. The ruling has receive mixed reactions from bloggers.

20 September 2010

Peru: Mayoral Candidates, Twitter and an Intercepted Phone Call

"Lourdes" became a Twitter Trending Topic for a couple of hours. The story behind what looks like a trivial Trending Topic is the release of a conversation where Lourdes Flores, a candidate for mayor of Lima, uses unreserved remarks about the mayorship. Bloggers and Twitter users reacted to the audio and the politics behind it.

19 September 2010

Argentina: Boca Juniors, Passion for Football

One of many football (soccer) fans' dreams is to attend one of the Argentinian Boca Juniors' matches in their famous stadium, “La Bombonera“. Find out why football fans from all over the world share this dream.

19 September 2010

Ecuador: Twitter Campaign Against Car Accidents

#sitomasnomanejes [if you drink, don’t drive] is the recent Twitter campaign to reduce the number of deaths from traffic accidents in Ecuador. Twitter users have been hashtagging #sitomasnomanejes amidst the nationwide commotion caused by recent and fatal car accidents and a discussions regarding the country’s new traffic law.

17 September 2010

Colombia: The Case of J.J. Rendón, ‘he who can't be named’

Tomáz Garzía, a Colombian blogger and cartoonist, revealed through his blog that he had received an email from the legal representative of controversial Venezuelan Juan José Rendón, demanding that he erase the content where he refers to Rendón's participation in the recent Colombian presidential elections. Twitter users and bloggers have reacted to the email, emphasizing the right to freedom of speech.

17 September 2010