· February, 2011

Stories about Governance from February, 2011

Iran: A Blogger Who Prayed to See Protesters Beaten

  28 February 2011

After widespread protests in Iran on February 14, Iranian cyber-activists flooded the internet with videos, photos and tweets from the demonstrations. Meanwhile, a different interpretation of events exists on the internet too. Iranian pro-government Islamist bloggers are also prolific when it comes to sharing their thoughts online.

Haiti: Preventable Suffering

  28 February 2011

“The earthquake did not kill people. Bad buildings killed people. Lack of medical care killed people. Lack of infrastructure killed people. Lack of caring government officials kill[s] people”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “most Haitian suffering is not necessary and is preventable in the first place.”

Jamaica: Nothing for the Youth?

  28 February 2011

“We too busy having dramatic, Days-of-our-lives type enquiries to stop for a minute and realise that this year, more than any other year to date, is all about us. It's about the African people. It's about youth”: Ruthibelle is dismayed that the UN International Year of Youth is not being...

Malaysia: Rally against ‘racist’ book

  28 February 2011

A rally was held by Malaysian Indians in Kuala Lumpur to protest the continuing use of Interlok novel in schools. The controversial book, according to protesters, discriminates against the Indian community.

Argentina: Hackathons and Budget Transparency in Bahía Blanca

  28 February 2011

As we have witnessed in the last month, there are moments in civic life that drive citizens to change and challenge institutions, to create solutions and to express their concerns about things that matter. In a short interview with Renata Avila for the Technology for Transparency Network, Manuel Aristarian, an...

Africa: Let's Talk About African Governments

  28 February 2011

lgazissax discusses African governments: “The uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle East had gotten me wondering about certain things I’d read about problems of African government in general, and I wanted to see how they played out in different countries.”

Cambodia: Who Ordered the Blocking of Opposition Websites?

  27 February 2011

Since January, certain anti-government websites have been inaccessible in Cambodia. Service providers blame it on technical issues while the government claims it does not promote censorship. But media groups leaked a government letter asking companies to block critical websites.

Azerbaijan: Join Us

  27 February 2011

Pro-opposition activists in the Armenian Diaspora are starting to use rap music to communicate their message ahead of next week's demonstration in Yerevan while youth movements in Azerbaijan have long been doing so. Uploaded to YouTube in October, one example is Shirbənd with Bizimlə ol (Join Us) as opposition groups...

Armenia: Rapping the Revolution of Reform

  27 February 2011

Even if the use of social media ahead of an opposition rally scheduled to mark the 3rd anniversary of bloody post-presidential clashes which left 10 dead remains low, some activists are at least using the new online tools at their disposal. In particular, those behind a Facebook page to increase...

Angola: Mysterious call for youth revolution

  27 February 2011

“Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” (clearly a composite of the names of deceased Angolan figures) created a website [link now broken] with a call for Angolan youth to revolt on March 7. Subsequently a Facebook page appeared. The online home of this mysterious group/individual moved [Pt] in recent days due...