Stories about Development from May, 2011
Haiti: A Different View of Cite Soleil
“We want to showcase local talents, and change the image of the youth in Cite Soleil. We want to get people planting again and eating Haitian food”: Throwing Down the Water profiles “a neighborhood committee called ‘La Difference’ [which] formed a movement to clean up their few blocks” and is...
Puerto Rico: Video on the Gas Pipeline Route
Historian and blogger Ivonne Acosta posts the video of a reportage on the beautiful route [es] through which a proposed gas pipeline will run through. Environmentalists and community activists are opposing the state-sponsored project.
China: A Murder and Protests in Inner Mongolia
C. Custer from China Geeks has written a very informative post about the recent protest sparkled off by a murder in Inner Mongolia.
Brazil: Photos from the “Different People's” Big Barbecue Protest
It is unclear whether the Higienópolis subway station will become a reality after Brazil's barbecue protest, but the issue has stimulated the creativity of web users. In this post, see a selection of the best photos and videos from the big barbecue.
Kenya: Taking care of orphaned monkey
Taking care of an orphaned monkey in Kenya : “We currently have a baby genet at the Colobus Trust which was found a few weeks ago being played with by a troop of vervet monkeys at the Diani Reef Hotel. The genet was weak and exhausted and showed signs of...
Brazil: New Forestry Code Approved in Chamber of Deputies
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved the controversial new Forestry Code with 410 votes against 63 in an open session. As citizens knew each deputy's choice [pt], they used Twitter to regret the support for the ruralist project, as well as to mourn the murder of the forest defender Zé...
Africa: Africa Day Celebrated on Twitter
Happy Africa Day! Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union. The name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity.
China: Rejected Self Defense Plea A Green Light For Deadly Demolitions
Villager Tong Yihong says a demolition crew drove a bulldozer onto his property, and he acted in self defense. Police say the bricks Tong threw down from his roof left one man with a serious head injury. Tong, now sentenced to four years in prison, still has public opinion on his side.
Azerbaijan: Eurovision winner Nigar Camal's visa criticism
Dissident blogger and journalist Elnur Majidli, now living in France and facing arrest in Azerbaijan for his Facebook activity, has uploaded a screenshot of a status line apparently written last year by Nigar Camal, one of the two singers who won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Germany, on the...
Azerbaijan: Bloggers Divided Over Eurovision Win
Last weekend, Azerbaijan was shaking, with thousands of people flooding onto the streets of Baku, the capital, celebrating their country's win in the Eurovision Song Contest held a few hours earlier. However, not everyone was euphoric about the victory in the international music competition.
Vietnam: Increasing number of high-rise buildings
Luan Nguyen writes about the urban impact of the boom in the construction of very tall buildings in Vietnam.
Chad: How Communities Are Rebuilding Lives
Paul O'Brien discusses his trip to Chad and how communities are rebuilding their lives: “The biggest challenge facing mothers in Chad is to feed their children and keep them healthy. The country has one of the highest rates of child deaths in the world. In the villages in which Concern...
Africa: Will Land Grab Help Africa?
Ken argues that the latest land grab in Africa might help the continent: “This latest land grab on the continent maybe the catalyst of an African green revolution. Most African governments gave up on non cash-crop agriculture in the 1970s. Some, like Nigeria, abandoned agriculture wholesale and quickly became a...
Brazil: Future of Forests at Stake
Across the past few weeks, the Brazilian National Congress has been abuzz with the pressure to vote on a new Forestry Code. The project based on proposed changes of the existing Code is backed by a coalition of Deputies of the so-called “Ruralist Front”. Environmentalists have mobilized against the new Code, and scientists demand more time to analyze the project.
Azerbaijan: Eurovision-induced sexual revolution?
Turkhan's blog [AZ] posts video and photos of a woman celebrating Azerbaijan's Eurovision victory in a less than expected way considering the otherwise traditional and patriarchal nature of local society. Stripping to her waist in the center of the capital, Baku, the blog wonders about the likelihood of a sexual...
Egypt: I Unfollowed Ghonim Because …
Egyptian cyber activist Wael Ghonim, who shot to international fame after being arrested at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, is facing criticism from the very same Egyptians who earlier championed for his release. In a series of tweets today, Ghonim urged the protesters to put their country's economic prosperity ahead of their revolutionary agenda, sparking a flurry of reactions on Twitter.
Ethiopia: Are “Land Grab” Deals a Path to Food Security?
The push by multinational corporations and foreign governments in recent years to obtain fertile land in African countries, such as Ethiopia, has spurred debate. Will the move will lead to development, or is it "land grabbing" that further threatens the continent's food security?
El Salvador: Government Program Seeks to Improve Lives of Low-Income Women
Tim's El Salvador Blog comments and shares information on ‘Ciudad Mujer,’ a government program “creating a series of regional centers which to address specific needs of poor women […] Violence against women is a serious problem which the country is only starting to address. Discrimination against women in employment is common according...
East Timor: Cartoons on Development and Everyday Life
The website Sapo.TL features a photo album from an exhibition [pt] in Lisbon with a selection of illustrations from the portuguese architect and cartoonist João Baptista. Baptista created the blog Timor Cartoon, five years ago, and has published since then dozens of cartoons about the development and everyday life of...
Italy: How technology can help manage emergencies
In a crisis, how can Web 2.0 be of use to social movements and what practical help can it offer to facilitate collective action? In reality, there is no shortage of platforms which, established on a voluntary basis, using free software, harness the internet and mobile phones to gather and share information, sourced...
East Timor: An Alternative Reading of the Human Development Report
Following the launch of the United Nations “Human Development Report 2011 – Timor Leste” [pdf], the portuguese economist Almeida Serra, from the blog É a economia, estúpido! (It's the economy, stupid!) [pt], makes an alternative analysis. Serra claims that a significative share of the oil revenues have no impact in...
