Stories about Digital Activism from May, 2014
Japan's Yu Terasawa Named ‘Information Hero’ by Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders, a France-based non-governmental organization that defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, has for the first time created a list of 100 Information Heroes. From Japan, Yu Terasawa was among them. He is an investigative journalist and has written books exposing police corruption. Reporters Without Borders...
Libraries and Free Culture
The blog from Parque Biblioteca Tomás Carrasquilla – La Quintana, in Medellin, Colombia, expresses [es] its support for free culture. After explaining the liberties [es] free culture brings, the blog describes how can this fit together with a librarian's work: Public libraries can learn from these liberties to share the...
Peru and NetMundial: Same Old, Same Old… or Worse
Chillinfart writes [es] on V de Vergüenza about NetMundial, which he considers as a farce. To him this was: a meeting just for the sake of the picture, with core topics revolving around the share-out for Internet domains and concerns about cybersecurity (ring a bell?), leaving aside topics as neutrality...
Remixing Videos on Communication Tapping
[All links direct to pages in Spanish.] Henry El Sucio reflects about telecommunications tapping, or chuzadas as they are known in Colombia, as a result of the tappings from months ago to negotiadors in the so called Peace Process between the government and the Colombian guerrilla. Furthermore, Henry comments about...
Technological Activism on Campaign Against #LeyTelecom
In the context of the campaign against Ley Telecom in Mexico, Juan Manuel Casanueva from SocialTic briefly analyzes [es] different citizen technological initiatives that the population is using in the movilization to express insatisfaction with this bill of law. He mentions the platform for petitions on AccessNow [es] to submit...
Ugandan Bloggers Demand the Release of Ethiopian Bloggers
Ugandan bloggers Prudence Nyamishana, Javie Ssozi, Florence Naluyimba, Muwonge David and Chris Igune delivered a letter to the Ethiopian ambassador in Uganda demanding the release the jailed Ethiopian bloggers and journalists: #Ugandan #bloggers demand for the release of #Zone9Bloggers in #Ethiopia. We went to meet the ambassador but he's out...
Two Activists Arrested During Electoral Crackdown in Algeria
Mohand Kadi and Moez Benncir had the misfortune of sipping a coffee on a terrace at the same time as opposition movement Barakat! staged a demonstration ahead of presidential elections.
Join the #FreeZone9Bloggers Tweetathon on May 14
Join Global Voices bloggers for an Africa-wide tweetathon in support of the nine bloggers and journalists arrested in late April and currently being detained in Ethiopia.
Macedonian Blogger Warns About Resurgent Neo-Nazi Iconography
Commemorating Victory in Europe Day, Macedonian blog Anfas (“en face“) recently documenting images used by Facebook users to warn about resurgent fascism in a post titled “Images of shame – Current Macedonian Neo-Nazi Iconography”. The blogger also explained the importance of raising awareness of resurgent neo-Nazi iconography in Macedonia: Овој...
Death and Twitter: Reports from Ukraine
Today Russian journalist Ilya Azar reported on Twitter that members of Ukraine's newfangled National Guard had fired on civilian bystanders in Krasnoarmeysk.
Why Blogging is a Threat to the Ethiopian Government
Beza Tesfaye explains why blogging is a threat to the Ethiopian government following the arrests of nine Ethiopian bloggers: As I write this, I am eerily reminded that in Ethiopia, expressing your views can get you a first class ticket to prison. From April 25 to 26, 2014, nine Ethiopian...
Saudi Blogger Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, 1000 Lashes
Yesterday, a Saudi court sentenced Raif Badawi to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes for setting up a liberal website.
Shamed Macedonian Government Caves in to Student Demands
Amid elections and economic instability, a student digital movement shames the Macedonian government into issuing a tender to fix appalling living conditions in the largest Skopje university dormitory.
Trinidad & Tobago: An Argument for Gay Rights
One Trinidad and Tobago-based blogger, who is also a Director of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation, debates the issue of gay rights with a zealous religious group.
Bolivia's Internet at a Snail's Pace
Digital activists in Cochabamba, Bolivia took to the streets on Saturday May 3, dressed as snails [es] to represent the slow Internet speeds faced by users across the country. The grassroots movement “Más y Mejor Internet Para Bolivia” [es] (More and Better Internet for Bolivia) has been calling for lower...
The Pakistani Blogger Who Couldn't Walk But Inspired Others to Run
Sarmad Tariq never let his paralysis stop him from traveling the world as a motivational speaker and marathon athlete. He died April 30 at age 38 in Pakistan.
Caribbean Joins Fight to #BringBackOurGirls
If our own children were to go missing we would want the world to come to a standstill and help us find them. We…ask that…you consider why so often women’s bodies become the battlefields upon which wars are fought. This is not a problem that involves a small town in...
#BringBackOurGirls: Statement from Concerned Nigerian Bloggers
Nigerian bloggers have added their voice to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign: We, the under signed Nigerian bloggers, view with grave concern the continued detention of the innocent school girls who were abducted from Chibok on April 15, 2014. We are of the strong view that no amount of social grievance either against...
Live Fire for Russian Historical Reenactor Spy
Military commander of the Slavyanks separatists, Igor Strelkov, is a historical reenactor, and, allegedly, works for Russia's military intelligence.
Japan's Citizen Media Meet at Mikawa Medifes 2014
Citizen media makers in Japan are gathering in the Mikawa region of Japan's Aichi prefecture this weekend for the 12th annual citizen media conference Mikawa Medifes 2014 [ja]. Dozens of sessions about civic media will be held at the Kariya City Cultural Center from May 3 to 5, 2014. Themed in...
