Stories about Digital Activism from May, 2012
Palestine: Agreement Made to End Prisoners’ Hunger Strike
On May 14 over 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails ended their hunger strike after periods varying from 28 to 77 days, when the Israel Prison Service agreed to implement measures ensuring the basic rights of prisoners would be met.
Pakistan: Twitter Goes Through Weekend of Censorship
On Sunday 20 May, Twitter users in Pakistan suffered a total blanket censorship across all ISPs in Pakistan on order of the Pakistan Telcommunucation Authority who cited the reason as censoring blasphemous contents. However, the netizens think that the authorities were testing their url filtering service.
Video: Capacity Building in Rising Voices Media Training
In the border between Burma and Thailand, the Rising Voices grantee project Karen Border News has launched their audio podcast workshop. In this short film, the students of the radio journalism course speak about their experience.
Russia: The RuNet's Enduring Tomatoes & Tusovki
To a casual observer, the RuNet and the Russian protest movement seem current and contemporary. It is easy to forget, however, that the core of the RuNet and the protests it's inspired has now existed for almost a decade. Burning questions asked seven years ago about the true nature of major figures are still prominent today, such as questions about a certain Andrei Morozov.
Cuba: Questioning Digital Expression within the Revolution
The recent Encuentro de Blogueros Cubanos en Revolución [Meeting of Cuban Bloggers in Revolution] brought together a group of “official” bloggers—chiefly journalists and communications professionals who are employed by the state and maintain their blogs as part of their work. Since the meeting, bitter controversy has unfolded around this new iteration of a decades-old question: does the expression of criticism automatically put one “outside” the revolution, especially when the criticism is happening online?
Armenia: Homophobic Firebombing Controversy Continues as Officials, MPs Promote Hate Crime
Controversy continues to surround the firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, as officials and politicians praise the arsonists. Online, however, many are instead speaking out against those nationalists doing so.
Russia: State TV Justifies May 6 Police Violence, Cites Spanish Bill Criminalizing Online Protest Organization as Example
In the final segment of the report [ru] on the May 6 protest in Moscow, which ended in clashes with riot police, the Russian state-owned Channel 1 mentioned, among other things, a Spanish draft law [en] criminalizing online organization of public protests, as an example of the “much tougher” treatment...
Video: Anatomy of a Good Advocacy Video by WITNESS
WITNESS, a site advocating for Human Rights Issues has produced a nice analysis of what makes a good Advocacy video, using Aristotle's’ Poetic regarding story arcs.
Bangladesh: Bloggers March for Murdered Journalist Couple
Three months have passed since the brutal murder of the journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and his wife Meherun Runi in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Till date, the police have been unsuccessful in finding any clues or leads in the case.The couple had been found murdered in their apartment, in the early hours of 11 February, 2012.
Malawi: Kondwani Munthali: Malawi's Blogger of the Year
Victor Kaonga interviews Kondwani Munthali who made history this month by becoming the first blogger to be awarded Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Blogging Award of the year in Malawi. Munthali has been blogging since 2007.
Caribbean: Supporting Our Mothers
Mother's Day, celebrated this past weekend all across the Caribbean, was a hot topic of discussion with regional bloggers - or rather, mothers were. From posts of admiration and thanks to accounts of how women regularly defy oppression, it was a mixed bag, but one that mothers everywhere would have been happy to sample from…
Russia: Website Appears Publishing Civil Servants’ Incomes
The project "Public Profit" was established so that anyone interested could access information about the salaries of civil servants and state deputies. The information is compiled using public records and disclosed in accordance with Russian law. The published data are often surprising.
Yemen: The #NoDrones Campaign
Yemenis have launched a campaign on Twitter to express their condemnation of the United States' drone war in Yemen. They are tweeting under the hashtag #NoDrones, and have asked non-Yemenis to speak out and join them in their campaign.
Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring
The arts have also flourished with the 15M movement. To commemorate the 15M's first anniversary, the 12M--15M events, and to invite everyone to take to the streets again, the blog # Acampadasol has published a series of amazing posters that reveal many of the reasons behind the protests.
Saudi Arabia: May 7 Marked as Saudi Liberalism Day
On May 7 Saudi liberal activists gathered online to celebrate Saudi Liberalism Day, an initiative to acquire recognition and acceptance for liberal ideas.
Brazil: Street Dwellers Share Their Voice on Newspaper
A Laje newspaper features complaints and stories of “street dwellers demanding respect” in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Produced by the National Movement of Street Dwellers (MNPR) in partnership with students of the group Communication and Education for People at the Federal University of Paraná, the newspaper intends to reach...
Jordan: Campaign Launched Against “Rape-Marriage” Law
In March of this year 16-year-old Moroccan Amina Filali committed suicide after she was forced to marry her rapist. Now Jordanians are speaking up about a 15-year-old rape victim who has been married off to the man convicted of raping her, whose death sentence has been dropped as a consequence.
Spain: The First Anniversary of the Indignant Movement
The initiatives to commemorate the first anniversary of the 15-M (15 May) or Indignant Movement keep cropping up. The Catalan group Informatbcn interviewed several representatives of Attac Europe concerning this movement.
Ethiopia: Muslims Take Campaign Online for Religious Independence
Signs of Ethiopian Muslims digital activism are mounting as they protest against government’s meddling in their religious affairs. They have turned to Facebook and Twitter to make their voices heard.
South Korea: Continuing Mad Cow Controversy Over US Beef Imports
Since last week, South Korea has seen continuing protests against importing beef from the United States after mad cow disease broke out in California. Korean government dispatched its inspection team to the US to quell the public anger incited by the government's unkept promise to halt the beef import immediately when the disease was detected. However, the inspection team's lack of control over the investigation process and the biased member selection process further deepened South Korean's distrust of the government.
Mozambique: President Rejects Social Networks
A rejection of online communication tools by Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza to an audience of young voters made waves on social networks. Netizens respond to the leader's comments.
