Stories about Development from May, 2007
Morocco: Restoring Fez
Moroccan blogger Samir updates us about the latest restoration projects in Fez. “While many people are busy restoring old houses in the Fez Medina, there are other projects going on that are making an important contribution to the life of the people in the Medina,” he explains.
Bahamas: Saving Nassau
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit has a few ideas about how to go about improving downtown Nassau and quotes Pat Rahming to emphasize the point: “…The need for thought about both the function and meaning of the downtown can't be overemphasized. That is where the legacy of the nation is...
China: Comparative Studies
Quifeng from bullog writes about the arrogant nature of comparative studies in China [zh]. For example in observing India, researchers like to explain the superior of Chinese developmental path over India.
D.R. of Congo: Should Christian Revivalist Churches Be Encouraging Political Activism?
Continuing an age-old debate--is religion the "opium of the people" or can it be a catalyst for social change?--Congolese blogger Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege says the Congo’s Christian revivalist churches, which he cynically refers to as "for-profit spiritual shops," encourage political disengagement. He argues these churches should inspire their followers to improve their social conditions through political activism, but not everyone agrees that religion and politics ought to be mixed.
D. R. Congo: Park Rangers Attacked, Flying over Katanga, Music meets Social Activism, and Ants 2 – Brian 0
Access to the Internet in the Democratic Republic of Congo is gradually improving (World Bank figures suggest there are already over 6 million users), but will remain prohibitively expensive as long as service providers are dependent on satellite connections. In such a context, it should come as no surprise that there are only a handful of Congolese bloggers. Chatrooms and instant messaging are very popular, however, and with the influence of the Diaspora, it’s easy to imagine that many more young Congolese people will soon be following the footsteps of pioneers like Cedric, perhaps blogging in Lingala, Luba, Kikongo and Swahili as well as French.
Congolese Youth Organization Takes President Joseph Kabila to Task
Kakaluigi posts an open letter (Fr) from COJESKI, an umbrella of Congolese youth organizations, demanding President Joseph Kabila: end the incursions and occupations of Congolese villages by foreign troops from Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazaville, and even as far afield as Chad, the Sudan and Central African Republic; end the pillaging of...
Angola: more than a thousand words
Koluki posts a picture worth a thousand words: “THE STORY IS: about the degradation of Angola's capital city, with its lack of infrastructure, effective public services and basic sanitation. To make things worse, because of the war, whose social and psychological effects are still present and unresolved everywhere, people from...
China: Three Gorges dam
Zhaoshilong wrote a very elaborated report(zh) on the environmental disasters (earthquakes, drought, warming effect etc.) as a result of the three Gorges dam project.
China: Harmonizing Property Ads
DANWEI puts together and translates reports, commentaries on the recent attempt by Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan in harmonizing property Ads: advertisements should be cleaned up because they revealed a massive wealth disparity and threatened social harmony.
Kazakhstan: Educational Reform
KZBlog reports on reforms in Kazakhstan's higher education system, noting that there is an apparent lack of emphasis on some major components of any stellar education system.
Taiwan: Farmers Associations and Rural Politics
Michael Turton has a very elaborated post on the history of farmer associations in Taiwan, which is related with colonialism. In recent year, the farmer associations faced very serious debt problem and the solution seems to be highly political.
South Korea: Cheonggye vendors to be displaced again?
Jamie from Two Koreas blogs about the displacement of Cheonggye vendors from the old Dongdaemun Stadium. As more money is sunk into the Seoul property markets, redevelopment becomes very political.
Touring Libyan Blogs: Bloggers meet, traffic chaos, activism, corporal punishment at schools and more
The Libyan blogosphere is getting stronger - and bolder - with more bloggers putting a face to their names online. Fozia Mohamed sheds light on the phenomena and updates us about the dangers of driving in Libya, the 'shameful' public services and the antics of the Falga.
Botswana: impact of brain-drain on aviation industry
The face of brain-drain: “I found this document the other day at the Air Botswana check-in counter at the recently renamed O.R. Tambo International Airport, Jo'burg. It reads: “NOTICE TO AIR BOTSWANA PASSENGERS & STAKEHOLDERS Air Botswana apologises sincerely to passengers who are affected by the current disruption to its...
Maynmar: Dam Building in Myanmar
Yangon Thu points to an article that talks about the Myanmar government using force to clear the ground for massive dams.
Romania: “Urban Contrast”
Owlspotting posts pictures of Romania's old and new neighborhoods: “As metal rusts on one edge of town, metal gives birth to new neighborhoods at the other. Cities are expanding, people are slowly gravitating outward, traffic jams have become common place, and metal is once again in fashion.”
China: Citizen blogger treading new ground?
With all the hype and money behind web 2.0 citizen media in America, is it possible that one young Chinese vegetable farmer has been able to make more gains more quickly than any Western initiatives have?
Vietnam: Preserving Hoi An
One of the popular tourist destination in Vietnam is the laid back historic town of Hoi An. Vietnamese God visits Hoi An and hopes the authorities would stop new building from coming up and destroying Hoi An's beauty.
Central Asia: Cutting Income Inequality
Bonnie Boyd has an in-depth, two-part post on reducing income inequality in Central Asia: part one; part two.
China: Shenzhen Nailhouse
Zola moved from Guangzhou and carried on his report on nail house in Shenzhen [zh].
Costa Rica: Too Much Noise
Fusil de Chispas [ES] is already fed up with the inundation of “virtual trash” around the upcoming referendum on the signing of a free-trade agreement. Perhaps there might be an alternative site that one can find unbiased opinions. The site notlc.com just might be this alternative that he was looking...
