· March, 2009

Stories about Digital Activism from March, 2009

Haiti, U.S.A.: Immigration Reform

  31 March 2009

Haiti's jmc strategies is very interested in U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden's statements on immigration reform: “Biden did not specifically say that the Administration was backing away from a legalization program. It remains therefore to be seen what steps they will take in the future.”

Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: At the Summit

  31 March 2009

“It seems far-fetched to think that the summit’s news coverage would be dominated by the one country in the region that is absent from the event” – but The Cuban Triangle thinks that “two factors – a no-news summit agenda, and a vocal regional consensus calling on President Obama to...

Puerto Rico: Murder Rate

  31 March 2009

“We. Don't. Give. A. Damn. Because it isn't really ‘Us’ getting killed, it's ‘them.’ We don't see the obvious. There is no ‘them’ on an island. There's only Us”: Puerto Rico's Gil the Jenius links to a study reporting that a 10% increase in graduation rates can reduce murder rates...

Indian Elections 2009: The Impact of Socially Conscious Corporate Campaigns

  31 March 2009

In my previous posts for the Global Voices special coverage on the 2009 Indian general elections, I have analyzed how Indian politicians and political parties are using internet and mobile tools for election campaigning and civil society groups in India are using digital tools to run voter registration and transparency campaigns. In this post, I'll analyze the impact of three election-related socially conscious ad campaigns: Jaago Re by Tata Tea, My Idea by Idea Cellular and Lead India/ Bleed India by The Times of India.

Morocco: Different Names, Same Story

Despite outward progress, Morocco has faced a number of setbacks for press freedom over the past few years. Most recently, it was reported that Ali Anouzla and Jamal Boudouma, managing editor and publishing director of Moroccan newspaper Al-Jarida Al-Oula (الجريدة الأولى) have each received two-month suspended sentences and fines of MAD 200,000 (approximately USD$23,800) for "defamation" and "insulting the judiciary."

Macedonia: Student Protest Ends in Violence

  31 March 2009

Recently, the Macedonian government decided to build an Orthodox church with public financing on the main square of Skopje, a decision that the citizens of the city disapproved of. On March 28, a peaceful protest against the construction of the church turned violent when a group of counter-protesters attempted to prevent it. Elena Ignatova reviews the reactions in the Macedonian blogosphere.

Water: One Take International Video Contest

  30 March 2009

“Is access to clean, safe water for drinking a basic human right? Why? or Why not?”. That is the question One Take is asking for you to answer in your own language, recording it on a video no more than 2 minutes long, uploading it on their site and on DotSub and having it subtitled in at least 1 other language. Just this month, world leaders met in Istambul, Turkey at the World Water Forum to have this discussion, and although they aren't sure what the result will be, it is our chance to show what we believe about this issue, and make our voices heard.

Trinidad & Tobago: Identifying the Problem

  30 March 2009

Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life thinks that the biggest problem with UDECOTT “isn’t that the public thinks it is a corrupt organization…[it's] that the masses who screamed about the corruption with the Piarco Airport Terminal are now silent and indifferent about UDECOTT.”

Barbados: Animal Cruelty

  30 March 2009

Barbados Free Press republishes a letter from an “irate hiker” whose group discovered the body of a dog that was hanged from a tree: “The RSPCA was notified. Their response was ‘write a letter to the newspapers’. Where is the the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ in such a response?...

Jamaica: Going to Calabash

  30 March 2009

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp and Life, Unscripted, on the Rock are pleased to report that the Calabash International Literary Festival is back on.

Armenia: Blogger Interview

  30 March 2009

The DOTCOM project which brings together Armenian, Azeri and U.S. teenage bloggers has now updated its interview with Arzu Geybullayeva with one conducted with Global Voices Online's Caucasus Regional Editor Onnik Krikorian. In particular, the potential for blogs and online social networking sites to cross geographical and geopolitical divides is...

Africa: African Bloggers at G20 Summit

  30 March 2009

Nigerian blogger, Sokari Ekine is one of African bloggers who will cover G20 summit: “My plan of action is to try to cover both the G20 summit and the Alternative G20 along with the mass direct action organized by G20 meltdown in the City. I am doing this because I...

Sri Lanka: New Dissent Voices

  29 March 2009

ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) blog features two new dissent websites, which are voicing critical perspectives on the current affairs of Sri Lanka.

Azerbaijan: Blogger Interview

  29 March 2009

Dotcom, an online project which has participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, has published an interview with Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on blogging and citizen media. In particular, she talks about her work on gender issues and media freedom as well as about her blog, Flying Carpets and...

Digital Civil Society Campaigns in the 2009 Indian General Elections

  28 March 2009

In my first post for the Global Voices special coverage on the 2009 Indian general elections, I had analyzed how Indian politicians and political parties are using internet and mobile tools for election campaigning. In this post, I'll detail how civil society groups in India are using digital tools to run voter registration and transparency campaigns in the run up to the elections.

Latvia: Data Inspectorate vs Penguin Movement

  28 March 2009

Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports that “the Latvian Data State Inspectorate has summoned the administrator of the website of the so-called Penguin Movement to explain what it claims were violations of laws and regulations with regard to handling and protecting personal data.”

Sudan: Chilling Account of the Arrest of an Online Activist

  27 March 2009

Sudanese Internet activist and lawyer Abdel Hakim Abdel Rahman Nasr was arrested in a raid on his house on the night of March 5 - and released March 11. Nasr was detained only a few hours after he expressed his support for the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on the online International Forum for Nubia, where he is a moderator. In this chilling post [Ar], on the forum which is now open to members only, Nasr details his arrest.

Jamaica: Curtains for Calabash?

  27 March 2009

Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp is part of a group that has written an open letter to the Jamaican Prime Minister expressing disappointment over the news “that the 2009 Calabash Festival has been cancelled due to insufficient funding.”