· June, 2013

Stories about Citizen Media from June, 2013

‘Code For Japan’ in the Works

Among others, Haruyuki Seki, a software developer at Georepublic Japan[ja] and social media consultant Hiroyasu Ichikawa are currently working toward the launch of Code For Japan [ja], an organization that aims to...

30 June 2013

Brazilian Tribe Opens Indigenous Education Center

An education center created by the Paiter-Surui tribe in the Brazilian Amazon that will offer professional courses to the area's indigenous has finally opened. They hope a cluster of buildings will grow to serve as the site of the future Paiter-Surui Indigenous University of Brazil, the first of its kind in the country.

30 June 2013

The Strange Case of Puerto Rico and the Death Penalty

During the 5th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, recently held in Madrid, Spain, participants assembled to discuss the status of Puerto Rico, where the death penalty, though abolished in 1929, could still be imposed thanks to its relationship with the United States. Periodismo Ciudadano's Elisa Moreno Gil interviews Puerto Rican attorneys and activists to learn about the island's special situation.

29 June 2013

Dozens of Azeri Activists Arrested in Iran

Thirty-six Azeri activists including one blogger, Kiaksar, were arrested on Thursday, 27 June in Urmia. Security forces released 300 of these activists after a few hours of interrogation.

28 June 2013

China's People's Daily Bashes American Political System

Fresh off its “Dishonest Americans" series, which claimed to offer an “objective picture of what real Americans are like”, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece newspaper, the People's Daily, has shocked again with another attempt to bash the American political system.

28 June 2013

Father of China's Great Firewall to Quit His Job as University President

Fang Binxing, an information security expert nicknamed the “father of China’s Great Fire Wall”, has resigned as president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. His abrupt decision to step down--made during a university commencement speech --has ignited uproar online and touched a nerve with China’s Internet-savvy community.

28 June 2013

PHOTOS: Budapest's Unique Brand of Urban Art

The capital city of Hungary, already famous for its history, art and architecture, seems to be breeding its own brand of urban art these days. Photos and commentary under hashtags such as #streetart related to Budapest are popping up daily on social networks like Twitter and Instagram, in particular as the summer tourism season gets rolling.

28 June 2013

Brazil: A Nation Divided Between Protests and Football

Brazil won Uruguay in the Mineirão Stadium, on Wednesday 26 June, in the city of Belo Horizonte, securing a place in the Confederation Cup finall. At the same time, 40,000 people gathered outside the Stadium to protest against the social cost of hosting the World Cup 2014 and to demand politial changes in Brazil. Conflicts took place between protesters and police and one died having fallen from a viaduct.

27 June 2013

The End of Dual Citizenship in Turkmenistan?

Being a Turkmen citizen is big on drawbacks and small on benefits, which is why many Turkmen citizens took advantage of a 1993 agreement between Turkmenistan and Russia that enabled them to hold passports belonging to both countries. But with the government releasing a new version of the country's main travel document, dual passport holders may be forced to choose their side.

27 June 2013

Amnesty Report Accuses Spanish Government of Obstructing Justice

Time passes, impunity remains, the new Amnesty International report published on June 17, 2013, analyses the investigation of crimes committed during Spain's Civil War and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The organization accuses the Spanish government of protecting the impunity of the crimes committed during this period.

26 June 2013