Stories about Citizen Media from October, 2016
Caribbean Bloggers Week 2016 Seeks to Amplify the Region's Online Voices
Caribbean bloggers are out there, and they do have voices that deserve recognition.
Timbuktu, Where There's ‘Justice for Monuments, but Not for Victims of Rape’
"In Mali, rape is a taboo subject. The victims’ lips are sealed by society’s gaze."
‘Stand with Standing Rock': Demonstrators in the US Rail Against the Dakota Access Pipeline
"Sometimes, you wake in 2016, but it feels like 1875 because Natives are still fighting for our land." --Sherman Alexie
Tension Mounts After Demonstrators Promise to “Take Back Venezuela” in Countrywide Protests
"We're tired. Stop screwing us."
After Rejecting the Peace Agreement, Colombia Seeks a New Path
"Who is going to go to the regions that voted for YES to explain to them what's the route to follow after the NO won in the national referendum?"
Hello Vodafone: What Does It Mean When a Global Telco Giant Enters Iran?
Vodafone's partnership with an Iranian telco is a welcome improvement to the local telecommunications market. But the potential for complicity between Vodafone and Iran's surveillance infrastructure is hard to ignore.
Report Shows How Ghana's Politicians Are Using Social Media Ahead of Elections
The second edition of the Governance Social Media Index assesses and ranks the presence of political parties, political party leaders and key election management bodies in Ghana on social media.
Rural Women in Northern India Are Challenging Patriarchy by Removing Their Veils
"If women want to wear veil let them. If they do not want to wear veil let them. It is [as] simple as that."
Instagrammers’ Photos Document the Smog Enveloping Khabarovsk
Residents of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East have been staying indoors or wearing masks when they go outside since a thick smog blanketed the city on Tuesday.
Russia's 2018 World Cup Mascot Has a Hilarious Name and You Don't Even Get It
It's too soon to know if this creature will make a good ambassador for Russia or the World Cup, but it's fair to say already that “Zabivaka” has gone viral.
Upscale Chocolate Could Help Turn the Tide on Haiti’s Devastating Deforestation
When a tiny Quebec chocolate maker won a gold at this year’s premier International Chocolate Awards for a bar made with Haitian cocoa beans, it rocked the specialty chocolate world.
From China to Indonesia to Timor Leste, Discover the Beats of Asian Hip Hop
Time to update your playlist.
Carnival Designer Apologises for Insensitivity to Trinidad's Colonial Trauma, But Was It Enough?
"Our history is complicated and troubling and painful and horrendous.... Asking that those complications be acknowledged is not censorship. It is a cry against continued erasure."
Morocco Unblocks VoIP Applications Ahead of UN Climate Conference
"To avoid being seen as a police state during the #COP22, Morocco temporarily unblocks VoIP services," tweeted one user.
GV Face: Global Voices on the US Elections
Trump, Hillary or Stein? Even though many Global Voices contributors cannot vote in the US, we feel invested in this American presidential race like few elections before.
Yet Another Socio-Environmentalist Is Murdered in Amazonia
Earlier this month, on October 13, two assassins on a motorcycle murdered Luís Alberto Araújo, the environmental secretary of the Brazilian town of Altamira, Pará State.
Venezuela's Government Blocks the Recall Referendum Process, and the Opposition Cries ‘Dictatorship!’
"A democratic government consults the people. A dictatorship flees the electoral vote."
A Trinidad & Tobago Carnival Band Is Accused of Trivialising the Trauma of Slavery
"He's glamorizing a part of our colonial history where racism and socioeconomic disparity were rampant. And carnival now, with its overpriced parties and parades, continues that tradition."
In Trinidad & Tobago, Video of Shooting Aftermath Doesn’t Boost Public Trust in the Police
"This has nothing to do with what happened before [...] or what led to his shooting. This has to do with what passes for police procedure in this place."
Sri Lankan Tourism: Booming Again, But Mostly for the Military
The Sri Lankan military is investing heavily in the tourism business. The armed forces have several hotels and resorts, many restaurants and cafes, and other tourist facilities.
Saudi Mobile Data Quality Provokes National Protest Against Bad Service
Saudi social media users are protesting against the nation's mobile network operators' bad service and the continued blocking of VoIP apps that are supposed to be available for free.
