Stories about Citizen Media from June, 2009
Latin America: The Problem of Child Labor – Part II
Child labor is a sad reality in Latin America, and often many residents throughout the region become so used to seeing working children that they don't even realize it. Awareness campaigns and other steps are being taken to change all of this. In observance of the World Day Against Child Labor 2009, which will be held on June 12, members of the Global Voices Latin American team helped to find related blog posts and links about this issue in their own countries for part two in this two part series
Latin America: The Problem of Child Labor – Part I
Child labor is a sad reality in Latin America, and often many residents throughout the region become so used to seeing working children that they don't even realize it. Awareness campaigns and other steps are being taken to change all of this. In observance of the World Day Against Child Labor 2009, which will be held on June 12, members of the Global Voices Latin American team helped to find related blog posts and links about this issue in their own countries for part one in this two part series
Africa: Gay and lesbian voices in African blogosphere
Despite being victims of politics and culture of exclusion in Africa, gays and lesbians on the continent have found a space to communicate and assert their rights: blogosphere. Haute Haiku, our new author covering LGBT blogs in Sub-Saharan Africa, points to conversations taking place in gay and lesbian blogs.
North Korea: Two American Journalists Sentenced to Hard Labor
News coming out of Pyongyang is not encouraging. After being accused of illegally crossing the border to North Korea, American Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. The bleak outcome is eliciting strong reaction online from those who support freedom of press and want North Korea to release the two journalists.
Guatemala: Technology and Web Topics in 120 Second Videocast
120 Segundos is one of the newest projects by the Maestros del Web community. The name for the community comes from a literal Spanish translation to the term Webmaster and consists of a technology, programming and design related website as well as one of the most active Spanish speaking forums. A year ago they started producing video content for the web, condensating online content to make 120 second information pods in Spanish.
Air Bus AF 447: Sorrow, lack of information and sensationalism
Blogs around the world have been sending their condolences to the families suffering the wait for any sign of the vanished Air France Airbus AF 447. Much criticism and discussion is also taking place about the disrespectful way in which the media have been covering the loss of the lives of the 228 on board, and the lack of information regarding the disaster.
Malawi: Blogger wins BlogHer International Activist Award
We first wrote about her in a post that profiled four Malawian female bloggers, on November 4th, 2007. This time we write about her exclusively, and her recent achievement solely to do with her blog. Malawian blogger Pilirani Semu-Banda has won a scholarship award that will take her to the...
Japan: The curtain rises on the lay judge system
May 21st marked the first day in the introduction of the lay judge system in Japan, saiban'in seido (裁判員制度) in Japanese. The first trials in which the new system is to be applied will start in July and six citizens will be called upon to examine and judge criminal cases...
Iran: Bloggers react to fiery presidential debate
Two Iranian presidential candidates, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi, clashed during a fiery debate broadcast to a national television audience on Wednesday evening. Ahmadinejad charged that Mousavi is being supported by “corrupt” political personalities such as former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Mousavi countered that Ahmadinejad's ways have hurt Iran's image across the globe and could be a prelude to a dictatorship.
Brazil: Land reform or deforestation boost for the Amazon?
Brazilian president Lula da Silva has a controversial bill that will legitimize land-grabbing in the Amazon prior to 2004 on his hands. Will the law help the forest escape further deforestation or is it going to benefit land owners only, and be the last straw for an Amazon rain forest already on its way to destruction?
Tanzanian blogger faces jail term over manipulated photographic images
The Nairobi Chronicle reports that a Tanzanian blogger faces jail after publishing manipulated photographic images depicting Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete engaging in lewd sex acts.
Fiji: ‘A Christian state'?
Fiji’s government has canceled this year’s conference of the Methodist church, claiming the week-long meeting would foster instability. The move was announced from a statement from government police and military forces, arguing that “inciteful issues are going to be discussed at the conference.” Fiji’s Methodists gather each August at a...
El Salvador: A New Era With Funes as President
Victor of Alta Hora de la Noche [es] writes that “this could be the start of something beautiful” in reference to the new era ushered in by the June 1st inauguration of new president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes.
Nepal: A fresh start?
After weeks of wrangling among political parties in Nepal, veteran Communist leader and former general secretary of Nepal communist party (United Marxist and Leninist) (CPN UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal was "selected" as Nepal's prime minister. Mr. Nepal's job, especially at this point, brings a heavy baggage of problems-some of which could potentially torpedo his government.
Kenya: Do bloggers hold the key to the future of investigative journalism?
As fewer and fewer newspapers commit enough resources, time and manpower to produce in-depth investigative reports, many citizen media enthusiasts seem to suggest that citizen journalists can step in to fill the gap. Do citizen journalists hold the key to the future of in-depth investigative journalism? Perhaps.
Global Lullabies: The Arrorró Project
Artist Gabriela Golder from Argentina has taken it upon herself to discover, record and collect lullabies from all over the world, and to find connections among them in the Arrorró project. Rising Voices director David Sasaki wrote about the project on the 80+1 website, where he interviewed Gabriela on camera, and got authors and editors for Global Voices involved by inspiring many to record themselves singing the lullabies they remembered from their childhood.
