Stories about Digital Activism from August, 2009
Russia: Photos and Drawings of Opposition Rally
Photos from the Aug. 31 opposition rally in Moscow – by LJ user mnog (RUS); drawings and an observation – by LJ user pshevelev (RUS): “A few people are chanting ‘Shame!’ and are being seized [by the police], and the other 60 are taking photos and keeping silent. If you're...
Iran: Protest in Second Life
Max Burns wrote an article on the Iranian opposition's presence in Second Life.
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS
To combat the spread of AIDS, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives. Today we will discuss some of them who use ICT and citizen media to augment their cause.
Anguilla: The Fly
Corruption-free Anguilla says that a fly infestation at a particular garbage dump “results from a failure to deal with the garbage correctly”, adding: “The culprit is one of our biggest hotel developments.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Tackling Domestic Violence
“I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that yet another woman has been the victim of appalling domestic violence,” writes Abeni, adding: “I can only hope that Debbie's biggest impact will be to mobilise Vincentian women into meaningful action…we simply cannot afford to pay...
Iran: “United for Baha'i Human Rights”
The Muslim Network for Bahai's Rights share with us a short animation video about Bahais’ problems in Iran since 1979.
Israel: Social Media Advances Jewish Identity
How can social media enhance identity? eJewishPhilanthropy reports: “For a people who have fretted over a loss of identity for generation after generation… innovations like Twitter and Facebook are nothing less than, dare we say, a godsend.”
Afghanistan: Voting Day in Photos
On the nation's second-ever election day, Afghan photo bloggers shared pictures from the polls showing military presence as well as voter enthusiasm.
Azerbaijan: Washington DC protest for detained activist bloggers (updated)
With detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli now facing an additional charge in their native Azerbaijan, The Collegian says that support for the two imprisoned youth activists yesterday transcended the digital world and spilled out thousands of miles away onto the streets of Washington DC.
East Timor: Abe Barreto Soares’ Poetry for Nation Building
He calls himself a “wanderer like anyone else” but Abe Barreto Soares is also a poet, a translator and an active blogger. In this interview, he talks about Timorese nationalism, language and poetry.
Anguilla: Discussing Freedom of Information
“Writing the law is the easy part. Getting it to work is another matter. But, even discussing it is a really important step if we are really serious about accountability and transparency…”: Corruption-free Anguilla examines the issue of Freedom of Information.
Azerbaijan: Washington DC demonstration in support of detained bloggers
Melissa_Ys tweets that a protest demonstration in support of detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli is set to take place outside the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington DC tomorrow at 4pm. The two youth activists have so far spent 51 days in pre-trial detention and...
Hong Kong: “Compensated Dating” and the use of Pejoratives
The life imprisonment of the “girl butcher” might have halted the case against “compensated dating” in Hong Kong for a while, but what have Hong Kong people learned from the incident? It all started with the conviction of a 17-year-old girl for soliciting compensated dating online. In Hong Kong, it...
Pakistan: Bloggers Vs. The US Citizenship And Immigration Services
Talkhaba informs that “a newly formed network of Pakistani Bloggers namely Union of Patriotic Bloggers for Sovereign Pakistan (UPBSP) has started (the) ‘Containment of USA’ Campaign which aims at containing US and confining it to its diplomatic role guaranteed under the international law.” Their first target was to take the...
Sri Lanka: Video Evidence Of Extra-Judicial Killings Sparks Debate
Prathapa Madhav posts the controversial video clip which was first uploaded in YouTube by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) and was subsequently removed by YouTube for violating the terms of use. The gruesome video evidences the way extra-judicial killings were executed by the Sri Lanka’s army during...
Bahamas: A Woman's World
“When women of the Caribbean and the Americas are truly equal, stay at home mothering will be a paying job”: From the Bahamas, Womanish Words is celebrating Women's Equality Day “by imagining a better world for women, and for mothers and their children especially.”
Barbados: Illegal Fishing
Poachers at Barbados’ Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary are reportedly released from police custody, leaving The Bajan Reporter to question how committed the Environment Ministry is to its cause.
Trinidad & Tobago: Gender Policy
From Trinidad and Tobago, gspott asks: “Where's the Gender Policy?”, noting that while they can't say what exactly the new version of the Policy contains, they can can “offer…a special preview of all the really scary stuff on homosexuality that’s caused the Policy to turn into such a national mess...
Barbados: Boycotting
As Barbados Underground joins the call for the boycott of a local newspaper, citing “another case of a weak media exposed”, Living in Barbados examines the power of boycotting, saying: “To boycott effectively you have to have self-sacrifice.”
Sri Lanka: Citizen Media Contest
Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Groundviews announced a new competition “aimed at encouraging more citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka – the conditions facing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and growing reports of Police brutality”, informs ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog.
Azerbaijan: Activist bloggers face additional charge as trial approaches
Youth activist video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli have been held in pre-trial detention for 48 days. However, in an unexpected development, the authorities in Azerbaijan have now decided to add an additional charge of assault.
