Stories about Development from December, 2010
Ghana: Takoradi, More Than a Tale of Two Cities
There are two incontrovertible truths about Takoradi city in Ghana: “it made news in the oil world on 15 December, 2010 when Ghana officially became an oil-exporting country; secondly, the...
Glimpses of Citizen Media from Portuguese language countries in 2010
Throughout 2010 the lusophone blogsphere has given new perspectives on important issues that mainstream media tends to ignore. Read this post and discover a selection of the voices that Global Voices has amplified - from citizen media phenomena, to politics, governance and indigenous peoples.
Africa: Formal education is not advancing Africa
Nana argues that formal education is not advancing Africa: “Let’s admit it – formal education in Ghana and much of Africa is structured to teach young people to read and...
Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom in One Sentence
From Saudi Arabia, Mustafa Hussain tweets (Ar): “Unemployment, corruption, tribalism, weak education curricula, state-owned media, full prisons, bad government services, oil which is not its own – all this and...
Africa: MDGTagger available in Swahili
MDGTagger, a simple tool to help people track Millennium Development Goals is now available in Swahili: “After quite a bit of searching we found an ‘official’ translation of the the...
Bermuda: bird's eye view
FreshieBlog posts high-resolution aerial photographs of Bermuda from 1940 and 1973, “a valuable tool for seeing how Bermuda has developed over the past 70 years.”
Cuba: cheaper remittances
The Cuban Triangle explains how the removal of a government surcharge makes remittances “cheaper”.
Barbados: abolish income tax?
The Bajan Reporter covers a recent panel discussion on abolishing the income tax in Barbados.
Sri Lanka: Development, Not Aid
Indi.ca discusses the importance of development assistance rather than aid as a system for lifting Sri Lankan citizens out of poverty.
China: Press conference held following suspicious death of rural activist
It has not been a peaceful week in the news, with a crossbow-shooting bomber-petitioner in Beijing, a city administration official killed with a screwdriver today in Fujian province, and the...
China: Christmas Day death of a Zhejiang village leader
After more than 5 years of leading and serving prison time for protests against fixed elections and illegal land expropriation, the former leader of Zhaiqiao village in Zhejiang province, Qian...
Tragedy bookends Year 2010 for Francophone Citizen Media
It appears that tragedy will bookend yet another year rich in remarkable events in the world of francophone citizen media. The month of January set the tone with the fallout from the earthquake in Haiti and December saw the elections in Cote d'Ivoire take a dramatic turn. Here is the year 2010 reviewed through the lenses of francophone citizen media users.
China: Rich state, poor people
Andy Yee translates and analyzes Mo Zhixu's article on the political system that results in “rich state and poor people in ChinaGeeks.
“In the beginning was the Word”: Blogs by Bible translators
This week Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christianity appears in many forms around the world and has around 2.2 billion adherents. In this post we take a look at the blogs of the people trying to make sure Christian scripture can be understood in as many languages as possible – Bible translators.
Sri Lanka: A Rational Approach to Re-settlement
Blogger Ratmale at Serendipity hopes that there will be rational and consistent approach taken in the re-settlement of the 150,000+ people currently living in Colombo, who will be re-settled as...
China: South-North Water Transfer Project
Yin Mingwan, a senior engineer at the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, explains in China Dialogue that the South-North Water Transfer Project won’t solve Beijing’s chronic water...
Colombia: During a Harsh Winter, President Santos Proposes Creation of New Cities
“President Juan Manuel Santos proposes the creation of new cities for that population that lives under risk, as we have seen this 2010 winter in Colombia. It is a great...
2010 Chinese blogosphere: Peace and conflict
The top stories among Chinese communities in Northeast Asia in 2010 can be summarized in two words: Peace and Conflict.
Africa: The Scandal of the “Ill-gotten Gains”
In the scandal of the wealth accumulated by some African politicians, the French Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the verdict pronounced by Paris Court of Appeals a year ago. The court of appeal deemed that the claim of embezzlement filed by Transparency International against the leaders of RDC, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and their entourage was valid. Bloggers discuss the implications of this wealth accumulated by African leaders in contrast with the poverty of the rest of the population.
Chile: Prison Fire Sparks Debate on Social Networking Sites
A fire in a prison in San Miguel in Santiago, Chile, which killed more than 80 prisoners after one of its towers caught fire, caused mixed reactions on social networks. The fire has opened the debate on human rights of prisoners and the media coverage of events like these.
Africa: Banana leaf packaging for street food
Banana leaf packaging for street food in Africa: “…banana leaves are a packaging solution that has existed for thousands of years, still exists today, and that could benefit the environment...
