· March, 2011

Stories about Ideas from March, 2011

Trinidad & Tobago: Education – Leaving Kids at Sea

  31 March 2011

“All children now go to secondary school. But it remains an unfortunate truth that the majority of those innocents who sat SEA Tuesday will not have the secondary schooling they deserve”: Lisa Allen-Agostini blogs about the state of education.

China: The Interrogation (A Tale of AI and Revolution)

  31 March 2011

Stainless Steel Mouse, aka Liu Di, has seen many of her peers arrested or disappeared over the past several weeks. Looking at the unusual way in which China's failed Jasmine Revolution began, she has imagined a scenario which mixes fact with fiction.

Debate about China Model

  31 March 2011

The China Media Project has translated two articles written by Zhang Weiwei, a CCP think tank and Yang Jisheng, an experience retired reporter on their understanding of China Model.

Russia: Real Life Super Hero From Chelyabinsk

RuNet Echo  30 March 2011

Metkere.com shares [ru] a video-address of a real life super hero calling himself “The Avenger.” (see his Vkontakte fan group [ru]) The avenger, a man in a black costume with a green letter “M” (apparently M for Mstitel’, the ‘avenger’ in Russian) on it and a black mask, says he...

Qatar: A World Cup in the Clouds

A report of a remote-controlled, solar-powered hovering shade, which could be used to cool soccer stadiums in Qatar, has taken on a life of its own, putting the small but wealthy Gulf nation in the spotlight once again. Whether or not these US $500,000 constructs will be gracing the stadia of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar though, remains to be seen.

Russia: Unexpected Results of Radiation Mapping

RuNet Echo  25 March 2011

The crowdsourcing project of mapping radiation levels in Russia measured by private dosimeters not only became an interesting case of digital activism, but also showed some effects its creators didn’t even think of.

Philippines: Manila Twestival

  24 March 2011

Proceeds from the Manila Twestival which will take place today will go to JeepneED. The group aims to provide mobile science and tech materials for rural schools in the Philippines.

Haiti: Developing Aid

  23 March 2011

“The agenda of development aid should not be set by people so far removed from the uncertainty of life that has dominated human existence for the majority of time”: Throwing Down the Water wants to get everyone speaking the same language.

Macedonia: Meme of the Day – on Envy

  23 March 2011

Jasna Soptrajanova Vrteva posted this message on her Facebook profile [MKD]: “When tempted to envy someone – they've a charmed life, they have it so easy … and they're always cheerful, joyful, smiling, in high spirits … – stop and think: they might have a charmed life because they work...

Trinidad & Tobago: “Bocas” Launches

  22 March 2011

“Literature doesn’t just mean fiction and poems — it’s also about ideas, questions, and debates, and using the tools of reading and writing to understand the world”: The Bocas Lit Fest announces its programme and list of participating authors for its inaugural event.

Cuba: Curating Clandestinity

  22 March 2011

“In my neighbor city of Holguin, they are about to inaugurate the Museum of Clandestinity”: Crossing the Barbed Wire explains why, to him, it is a “museum of violence.”