Stories about Development from November, 2009
India: Corruption Is The Hindrance
“India needs to be made free of corruption before it can become developed. But the entire existing Indian governance ecosystem will prevent this from happening,” opines Rajesh Jain at Emergic.
Lebanon: Bulldozing Ancient Ruins in Beirut
Lebanese Blogger finkployd at Blogging Beirut posted photos of a bulldozer clearing ancient ruins facing Martyr Square in Downtown Beirut to make way for another building.
Bangladesh: Spreading the Warmth
Bangladeshi blogger Sadiq Alam, who blogs at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts, has taken an initiative called ‘Spreading the Warmth‘. The goal is to distribute winter clothes for those who live on the street in Dhaka, especially the children and the elderly.
Barbados: 43rd Anniversary of Independence
Today, the 43rd anniversary of Barbados’ independence, has bloggers talking about what the occasion means.
Yemen: An Architectural Gem
Yemeni Omar Barsawad shares with us information on the Yemeni capital San'aa. “Be it in Sana'a Old City or the mud bricked houses of Hadhramout, Yemen's architecture remains very much traditional and unique. And is still being preserved in most parts of the country,” he notes.
Afghanistan: Empowering trading potential
Sanjar shares his idea of creating opprtunities for market linkages between small entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, sellers and businesses in Afghanistan via the use of mobile technologies.
Namibia: A quick update from VSO volunteer
A quick update from a VSO volunteer in Namibia: “As part of the immunisation program I’ve been on two crazy adventures into the deepest darkest Namibian bush, over mountains and through deserts (literally) to take nurses and other health staff out to do health education and immunisations.”
Ghana: Who Will benefit From Oil?
When UK firm Tullow Oil announced its discovery of 600 million barrels of oil in Ghana in 2007, the blogosphere responded with variegated tones of hope and cynicism.
Russia: Official Government Web sites Will Be Regulated By Law
A new law “On Ensuring Access to Information about Activities of Government Bodies and Municipal Authorities” [RUS] will require, among other things, creating public Internet terminals all around Russia. But netizens question [RUS] the feasibility of the law.
Russia: Free Wi-Fi To Be Installed At Moscow Railway Stations
The Russian Railroads company announced [RUS] today that free wi-fi hotspots would be installed at every passenger terminal in Moscow by December 7, 2009. The company expects around 1,500 wi-fi users per day but many Russian bloggers think the figure will be much larger.
Could the U.S. learn something from China?
Could the world's lone but weary superpower actually learn something from China? This is a question the Time magazine posted when President Barack Obama began his first visit to China. The article said this is a time when China has ‘emerged as a dynamo of optimism, experimentation and growth’, while...
Russia Begins Registering Domains in Cyrillic
November 2009 will take a special place in the history of the Russian Internet. It is the month when a Cyrillic domain zone was born - .РФ (Russian Federation). Russia became the first country that allows top-level domains in non-Latin characters. Up until now, governments, companies and individuals could register domain names based on different languages only in Latin transliteration. The current Internet domains system will go much further allowing to use Cyrillic characters in a URL.
China: Protest against garbage incinerator
Cochina posts a series of videos showing yesterday's protest against the construction of garbage incinerator in Guangzhou Panyu. ESWN has translated the details of the protest.
Broadband In India: Ideas
Rajesh Jain at Emergic publishes a multi-part series on the state and potential of broadband in India – emphasizing on ideas and solutions regarding devices, pipes, services and Business models
Morocco: Peace Corps Community Honors So Youn Kim
The Peace Corps bloggers are mourning the loss of a fellow volunteer, 23-year-old So Youn Kim, who had worked at a youth center in the southern Moroccan village of Tamegrout. Bloggers who knew her and those who didn't have memorialized Kim in a set of posts describing her ambition, her beauty, her incredible drive, and the important work she was doing in Morocco.
Africa: Women's rights across Africa
Sokari writes about Pambazuka News special Women’s issues focusing on the last 15 years since Beijing Platform for Action and the future for women’s rights on the continent.
Global Health: World Toilet Day Raises a Stink
While it may sound like a bad joke, today's World Toilet Day focuses on a not-so-funny issue impacting almost half the world's population -- a lack of toilets and sanitation.
Barbados: Mini Monaco?
Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground question the vision of the island being transformed into another Monaco.
Azerbaijan: News of IRI departure met with concern
Following the cessation of radio broadcasts from foreign stations, as well as the sentencing last week of two video blogging youth activists, comes news of what some see as yet another threat to a fledgling process of democratization.
Nicaragua: Farmers express thoughts on Rural Development through video
The Alzar las Voces (Raise the Voices) project in Nicaragua brings farmers in rural communities the possibility to speak out through video telling of their concerns, their projects, their wishes and ideas.
Impact of ICT on Indigenous Cultures: Rejuvenation or Colonization?
Can ICT truly preserve and protect distinct identities and culture? The cultural debate surrounding deployment of ICT in the field of indigenous/ knowledge and culture simply refuses to die down.
