Stories about Citizen Media from October, 2011
Trinidad & Tobago: Outcry over Airing of Child Assault Video
Women Speak is outraged by a local television show which “aired video footage of a 13 year old girl being beaten and raped” and wants the show off the air; Bahamian blogger Womanish Words stands in solidarity.
Open Access Africa: Spreading Knowledge, Increasing Collaboration
We celebrate Open Access Week with a special focus on Open Access Africa. As the internet lowers the bar for publishing and disseminating information, print-era publishing models still keep African researchers and students separated from colleagues in different countries and their ideas. How has Open Access changed scholarship in Africa?
Cuba: Internet & Human Rights
“2011 will hopefully be looked back as the year when both the right to internet access and the threat to internet freedom were both recognized and tech companies collaborating with human rights organizations set out standards to address the problem and uphold a fundamental right”: Notes from the Cuban Exile...
Cuba: Dissident Fired
Pedazos de La Isla blogs about a young man whose political views have allegedly “cost him serious impediments such as detentions, threats, and other violations, one of the most recent being that he was fired from his job for being a dissident.”
Greek Financial Crisis and Anti-Austerity Protests: The Story So Far
The Greek indignant movement seemingly foundered during the summer, but appears to be picking up steam again in September, at the imposition of yet another round of austerity measures. Asteris Masouras gives an overview of the protests so far.
Russia: Prison Officer Who Abused Female Inmates Arrested After a YouTube Leak
Anonymous male prison officer from Amur region who had been captured beating and abusing female inmates was arrested, Ria.ru reported [ru]. The arrest was conducted after the shocking video [warning: graphic content] of prison violence was uploaded by the YouTube user MrArtur113.
Global Voices Russian Partners With Neweurasia.net
We are pleased to announce partnership of Global Voices in Russian with Neweurasia.net, one of the most prominent citizen media platforms in Central Asia and about Central Asia, which has a large Russian and English speaking audience.
Taiwan, Taipei: Occupiers’ last front torn down
Green Party member Wang Zhong-ming posts his picture on facebook of he sitting in a damaged tent torn down by the police near Taipei 101, the counterpart symbol of WallStreet in Taiwan. On the other hand, open data advocate Schee Zhu-han analyzed the flaws[zht] of the online strategies in different phases of the...
Sri Lanka: Working Towards Uniting the Nation
The 26 year long civil war in Sri Lanka has left many scars and it is an uphill task to bridge all divides and start the reconciliation to unite people. 'Sri Lanka Unites' is engaging the youth across the country to build good leadership with hope and reconciliation who will unite the nation one day.
Colombia: Photos of Student Protests at Plaza de Bolívar, Bogotá
Mike shares photos of student protests at Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá. “Lots of people protest for lots of causes in central Bogotá, but few of them seem to have as much fun and do it as artistically as do the university students”, he writes.
Guatemala: Three Generals Finally Arrested and Indicted for Genocide
Guatemalan courts are set to face a challenge without precedent in the country: prosecuting genocide. After three decades of failed efforts to prosecute the Guatemalan Army, three generals stand accused of perpetrating genocide and other war crimes against the Maya Ixil people.
France: New Visa Restrictions for Foreign University Graduates
France has taken a legal step which makes it more difficult for foreign students who have graduated from French universities to work on French territory and thus change their student visa permit into a working visa. Julie Owono reports on reactions to the new immigration rules.
Mexico: Discussing the Possibility of Recall Elections
The Chamber of Deputies in Mexico has been discussing a political reform for weeks. But the initiative that reached the floor lacks elements that its supporters considered essential, like the "recall of the mandate", most commonly known as recall elections.
Algeria: Algerian Journalists Reactions to the Tunisian Elections
Algerian blog Algérie-Politique published a round-up of Algerian journalists’ comments [fr and ar] on the October 23 Tunisian constituent election. Many were very impressed and inspired by this “example of democracy”.
Egypt: A Class Project That Became One of Egypt's Biggest Charities
From a class discussion after a lecture at Cairo University, to the building one of the biggest charity and volunteer organizations in Egypt. Here's the story of how university professor Sherif Abdel-Azim helped create Resala.
South Korea: Warning to Twitter Influencers Fails to Discourage Voters
South Korean capital, Seoul, elected a new mayor on October 26. The mayoral race was a fierce battle between an elitist female candidate from the ruling party and an outsider from democratic party. Despite warnings from the authorities, influential Twitter users continued to encourage people to vote throughout.
Brazil: Is the Ruling Party an LGBT Ally?
Marcelo Gerald published a series of posts (part 1, 2 and 3) [pt] on the blog Eleições Hoje (Elections Today), that analyses the position of the ruling party in Brazil, PT (Worker's Party), towards the LGBT community.
Cuba: Lessons from Libya
“Watching the fall of dictators, one after another, thousands of miles away, we can only reflect on the sequel such a process could generate on our own island”: Yoani Sanchez thinks that Qaddafi's death holds some lessons for Cuba.
United Kingdom: At Age 77, a Life of Inspiration
Julie Kertesz started blogging and photographing at the age of 70. Now at 77, she has become a role-model to people of all ages who desire to lead full and active lives of learning and doing. Paula Góes reports.
Guatemala: Photo Essay Tells Story of Staunch Anti-Mining Activist
Photojournalist James Rodríguez has published a photo essay on the conflict around the Canadian-owned Marlin gold mine. He highlights the bravery and persistence of anti-mining activist Diodora Hernandez, who “was shot point-blank on the right eye outside her home in the small community of San José Nueva Esperanza – only...
Russia: Author of “the Barracks Blog” De-Anonymized, Allegedly Threatened
Vasiliy (@sosigusyan [ru]), military conscript and the author of “the Barracks Blog,” a Twitter-account telling about the life in the army (see transcripts of his tweets here [ru] and here [ru]) had been de-anonymized by the military authorities. The content of the micro-blog had been deleted and someone else started...
