· May, 2008

Stories about Education from May, 2008

Videos: Creativity in facing the water crisis

  20 May 2008

With two very recent natural disasters in mind: the cyclone in Myanmar and the Earthquake in Sichuan, China, the topic of getting pure and drinkable water to needy populations has come back into the conversation. Following, several videos which propose different solutions to supply clean water or at least make it easier for people to have a healthful liquid to drink.

Trinidad & Tobago: Failed State?

  19 May 2008

Jumbie's Watch links to an article in the Trinidad Guardian which makes reference to the twin island republic as one of 96 countries “in danger of becoming a failed state”, adding: “Much work is needed in 4 areas…security, health, education, and in the judicial system.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Masquerade

  19 May 2008

“There is so much to do in Trinidad and Tobago, not just to make it a “developed” nation…but to keep it civilised, to protect what is left of its humanist traditions. And so little of the work is being done: crassness, violence, corruption and neglect are slowly but surely eating...

Cuba: International Day vs. Homophobia

  19 May 2008

“It'd be churlish to criticise Ms Castro's work on behalf of one of the most marginalised minorities in Cuba. But her ability to essentially whitewash the atrocious treatment of Cuban homosexuals over the past 50 years…is, well, breath-taking”: Child of the Revolution blogs about recent celebrations in Havana to mark...

Blogger of the Week: Jillian York

Today's Blogger of the Week celebrates the work of Jillian C York, our Morocco author, and a regular contributor to Voices without Votes. A freelance writer, blogger, and author of a guidebook to Morocco, Jillian currently lives in Boston, US, after spending two memorable years in Meknes, Morocco.

Diaspora: Armenian-American Homophobia

Writing on its blog, The Armenian Gay & Lesbian Association of New York reports on a recent anti-homophobic event at a Glendale school and the ensuing battle of words that materialized in the local press between ethnic Armenians living in the United States.

Kuwait: Zero Hour for Elections

Kuwait is all set for its National Assembly elections on Saturday (May 17). A total of 246 male candidates and 27 female candidates are running for 50 seats in the hotly contested elections. Abdullatif AlOmar brings us a selection of posts on the elections and other matters from the Kuwaiti blogosphere.

Caucasus: Creative Commons

Social Science in the Caucasus posts more details, including a video, on Creative Commons and comments on the importance of introducing the licensing concept to the South Caucasus. My Caucasus Knot also weighs in on the significance of promoting Creative Commons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Jamaica, Barbados: Human Rights

  15 May 2008

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp is joining in Bloggers Unite‘s awareness campaign for human rights, “especially in Jamaica where the rights of our gay men and women are denied almost daily”…while Barbados Underground chooses to “highlight the plight of many women in our own backyard.”

Guyana, USA: Speaking With Soul

  15 May 2008

Signifyin’ Guyana is enjoying reading a book about Ebonics, but says: “If I ketch any one of my students writing that way, he or she gon get a straight up F.”

Paraguay: Universities for Change in the Country

  14 May 2008

“The universities should become an important pillar for president-elect Fernando Lugo on his quest to bring about change in the country,” writes Viviana Benítez Yambay of Panambi News [es]. She writes that the new Paraguayan president, as a former professor himself, should recognize the importance of higher education and provide...

Uruguay: Community Meeting for OLPC Information

  12 May 2008

Fernando da Rosa was in Guichón, Uruguay where the community assembled to discuss the Ceibal Project [es], and which will be one of the sites to receive the OLPC laptops. The meeting was to exchange information and to answer any questions from the excited public.

PangeaDay: Impressions from Brazil

Pangea day took place this Saturday, May 10 2008, and the world watched together a selection of films broadcast via the internet and TV simultaneously to every corner of the planet and with live broadcast in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro. See here a comprehensive wrap up: PangeaDay as seen by a Brazilian blogger.

China: Nationalism vs. nationalism in Korea

  11 May 2008

It feels like trampling on an already well-trampled Chinese flag at this point as millions have begun their Olympic host celebrations on the mainland, but carrying on from an earlier post, here is how discussion over the actions of a few Chinese students who resorted to violence as the torch...