Stories about Development from November, 2008
Waxal: First African Blog Award for Journalists
The first Waxal Blogging Africa Awards have been just launched. All African bloggers who work as journalists can register. The deadline is the 7th of December 2008. The individual winners - one for an English blog, one for a French blog - and one for a blogging organization, will be rewarded with a cash prize, and all best blogs will be promoted by the organizers through various channels.
Blogging Positively: Live Chat about HIV/AIDS on December 3
Rising Voices and Global Voices are holding a live online chat for bloggers and activists on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 (3pm Nairobi time) on how to use citizen media to...
Mozambique: Different views of condom use in Africa
In a country which struggles to combat AIDS, twenty million condoms are distributed every year. Considering that at least 4 million Mozambican men are sexually active from a population of 17.4 million inhabitants, this makes a personal allowance of five condoms for the whole year. Surprisingly, kids are the most faithful users of them.
Japan, S. Korea, China: the Second International Congress of Asian Hemp Industry
Blogger Takashi reports [jp] on the Second International Congress of Asian Hemp Industry (第２回アジア大麻産業国際会議) held in Donghae (Korea) at the Hangzhong University from the 20th to the 23rd of November,...
Philippines: When a City is Not a City
GV Author Karlo Mongaya looks at the reactions of bloggers to the recent Supreme Court decision voiding the cityhood of 16 new cities in the Philippines.
Are Women making Egypt Poorer?
Women: Should they stay at home and raise kids or should they work and have a contribution? A controversial question that Fantasia's World tried to answer in her post: Are you making your country poorer?
Puerto Rico: Status Quo?
“Our struggle for self-determination, to be free from outside impositions, is ideological and it is not what's best for the majority of the people who live here”: Gil the Jenius...
Egypt: Locking Al Azhar students in the dark ages!
Al Azhar English Training Center is funded through a partnership agreement between Al Azhar University, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund and the British Council. The Center was supposed to provide English Language courses in its first semester to 125 students from various disciplines until Ali Laban, a Muslim Brotherhood deputy, decided otherwise. One enraged instructor speaks up on Facebook.
Is Secularism the answer to Egypt's Sectarianism?
Egypt has always been known as an Islamic country where Muslims, Christians, and Jews peacefully co-existed. Today this is no longer the case. Is secularism the solution? Following is an outline of the discussion taking place on Egyptian blogs today.
Jamaica: Punishable by Death
As a country struggling with spiraling rates of violent crime, Jamaica has voted to re-introduce the death penalty, despite appeals from Amnesty International and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The atmosphere on the island nation is tense, with the prevailing attitude appearing to be, in the words of blogger Kadene Porter, "Blood fi blood and fyah fi fyah."
Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago: Letter to Zoellick
HaitiAnalysis.com republishes a letter from the former Trinidad and Tobago Ambassasdor to the US (and special advisor to the UN on Haiti) to the President of the World Bank.
Madagascar: Land deal with Daewoo finally rejected by authority
Mahefa Rakotomalala writes at L'express de Madagascar that the alleged land deal with South Korean company Daewoo has been officially rejected by the Malagasy government. The minister of land reform...
China: An Eviction In Futian
ESWN translated a brief post with a number of pictures from MOP on a violent eviction in Futian, Shenzhen.
Trinidad & Tobago: Gender Gap
“The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2008 not only listed Trinidad & Tobago as the regional leader in both the Caribbean and Latin America in closing the gender...
Jamaica: The Real Story
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp weighs in on the discussion about literary authenticity and the Caribbean writer: “Storytellers come and go, but the story of the Caribbean continues to evolve–waiting for...
Senegal: Billionaire hopes auto rickshaws can create thousands of jobs
A plan to create 60,000 new jobs by importing tens of thousands of auto rickshaws to Senegal has sparked an impassioned online debate.
Burkina Faso: Fertility and Underdevelopment
According to new official statistics, Burkina Faso's population is growing [Fr] at an annual rate of 3.1%. Quophybloguer writes [Fr]: “Will the government have the courage to officially limit births in...
China: Photos of Longnan Mass Incident
ESWN collected a series of photos showing the Longnan Mass Incident happened last week.
Philippines: Hunger and poverty
Filipino journalist Joe Torres writes about hunger and poverty in the Philippines and Asia.
Laos: Street lighting
Samakomlao uploads an article about the street lighting project in Vientiane, Laos.
Malaysia: The Plight of Penan
The Penan tribe, indigenous people of East Malaysia, have taken quite some press and blog space this year. Bloggers react to stories of abuses committed against the Penan Tribe.
