Stories about Ideas from July, 2011
Vietnam: TEDx Mekong
TEDx Mekong will take place on August 18 in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. This year's theme is “Entrepreneurship in Vietnam”
Vietnam: More than 500 Attended Barcamp Saigon
The fourth Barcamp in Saigon was held last Sunday, July 24, at RMIT International University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was the biggest Barcamp in Saigon in terms of attendance.
Puerto Rico: Libraries and Reading
Gil the Jenius puts forward a theory about why “there are no decent libraries on the island”, adding that with the current levels of Internet penetration, “We don't have any excuses anymore.”
Cuba: Differences of Opinion are Healthy
“‘The People's Path‘ is…a vision statement of what the movement for a free Cuba should be striving for,” writes Uncommon Sense, who, along with Babalu, thinks that despite Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet's lack of support, “the debate that the document, and Biscet's disapproval have sparked, are nothing but healthy for...
Jamaica: Public Outbursts from Diasporan Women
“How can we not say to ourselves – was any enterprise ever so doomed to failure? Was anything ever so sad?”: An eye-opening post from Under the Saltine Flag about the underlying issues that could possibly have sparked public tirades by two Jamaican women.
Angola: Bloggers Meet Rappers for a Socially Responsible Soccer Match
Dino Cross, from the blog Hip Hop Angola, announces [pt] a soccer match between Angolan bloggers and rappers that will take place on the 30th of July. All the attendees are invited to bring goods to the stadium which the organization will take care of donating to social institutions afterwards.
China: Prominent ‘Independent Candidate’ Denounces Upcoming Elections
Nearly 100 people have now declared themselves independent candidates in upcoming legislative elections in China, but this week alone has seen one of the more prominent would-be politicians announce his withdrawal, and another accuse one city of trying to keep voters away from polls.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Beauty of Imperfection
Attillah Springer shares some “things [she discovers] from eating a mango in the morning.”
Republic of Congo: Is the New ‘Made In Africa’ Tablet Actually Chinese?
A new ‘made in Africa' tablet computer from the Republic of Congo was announced in June 2011 to much fanfare. While technical innovation in Africa is worth celebrating, it's worth double-checking whether the new VMK tablet is actually designed, developed and engineered in Congo as advertised.
Bolivia: What needs to improve in La Paz?
Luis Ramos in Citizen of La Paz [es] asks, “what do we need to change in La Paz?”. He answers his own question with a list of ten ideas, including improving transportation, planting more trees, building a convention center, more malls, a theme park, among other things.
Caribbean: Commonwealth Stories for Online Time Capsule
The Royal Commonwealth Society is creating the world's largest online time capsule in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and wants regional/Commonwealth bloggers to share their stories. Get involved, here.
Tunisia: Time to Register for Elections
Registration for electoral lists in Tunisia started on July 11 and will be closed on August 2, but statistics have shown that Tunisians are reluctant to register on the lists. A group of Tunisian bloggers have launched an online campaign to urge people to register for the October elections.
Jamaica, Haiti: On Creole Language
“Well, I’ve always known that my views on Jamaican Creole or Patwa, the native language here, were contentious but sound”: Annie Paul is vindicated.
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival is Business
Outlish takes a look at some Carnival entrepreneurs.
Hungary: Nation or State?
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum takes a critical look at Prime Minister Orban's difficulties with balancing between Hungary as nation and state.
Iran:Remembering Iranian prisoners in Persia, Iowa
Jahanshah Javid, from iranian.com,displayed the names of 150 current Iranian prisoners on stickers along with ribbons in Persia, Iowa.
Norway: The Online Traces of a Mass Murderer
Bloggers and journalists in Norway and abroad continue to look for any online traces of murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik in hopes that it could help explain his actions on Friday, 22 July 2011.
Russia: Envisioning the “Cloud Democracy” Utopia
'Cloud Democracy' is the title of the new book written by Leonid Volkov and Fyodor Krasheninnikov, two political bloggers from the Urals region of Russia. The book displays the authors' vision on how a system of 'future' democratic governance can be built with the help of online tools.
Cuba: Approaching “Adulthood”
As her son approaches the age of majority, Generation Y says, “without maternal excess, that they are too young, too fragile, to face the burden of being considered adults by a legal system that does not correspond to international norms.”
U.S.V.I., St. Kitts: On Belonging
A Nation or Nobody “wonder[s] about the place of writers like Phillips within the Caribbean literary community, and what they might be able to tell us about belonging and diaspora.”
Puerto Rico: Perform & Get Paid
All jokes aside, Gil the Jenius wonders why not pay according to performance when it comes to lawmakers?
