Stories about Ideas from July, 2012
Wales: Imagining the Welsh Language Web
For the 600,000 speakers of Welsh the Internet represents a galaxy of new opportunities to use and see their language. But what exactly is 'y we Gymraeg' - the 'Welsh language web' - and how can it benefit the language's speakers?
Russia: Nepofigism, Free Crowdsourced Legal Consultation
The Russian online group "Nepofigism" offers a free legal consulting service. The project's creators designate no particular direction for the consulting. Their aim is to offer real help to people with any type of problem. The site is a space for professionals and ordinary Internet users with various legal and everyday problems.
Brazil: Project Discusses Political Campaign Sign Litter
Few months ahead of municipal elections in Brazil, the campaign Quem sujou agora, vai sujar depois [Who litters now, will litter afterwards] aims to raise awareness on how political candidates make Brazilian towns dirty during election campaigns. The project's page on Facebook [pt] gathers denouncing photos and videos sent by...
Kazakhstan: Unusual Campaign Uses Sheep to Advertise Road Safety
The authorities in Almaty have launched a campaign aimed at educating pedestrians about the importance of following rules when crossing the street. The campaign includes posters and billboards with a stinging message: "People follow rules when crossing the road. Sheep [cross the road] wherever they wish". Netizens respond to the initiative.
Morocco: Video Explores the Question of Racism
In Morocco, an ethnically diverse country and one that has seen a recent influx of sub-Saharan African migrants, racism is seldom discussed. A video [Ar] posted by Moroccan YouTube user ch3aldaw (Turn on the light) asks: Are Moroccans racists?
Saudi Arabia: The “Faceless” Experiment
Rana Jarbou is a Saudi blogger who has decided to carry out an experiment. For a week she is wearing the niqab or face veil, to see how she feels, and to see if she is treated differently.
Portugal: Tugaleaks Bank Account Deemed as Terrorist and Closed
Website Tugaleaks, which aims to serve since December 2010 as Portugal's Wikileaks, had its bank account for donations arbitrarily closed on July 13 with no official communication [pt]. Tugaleaks contributors were finally told the account had been closed based on Act 25/2008 [pt] of money laundering and terrorist financing, which...
Russia: The Denver Cinema Shooting As A Case for Gun Rights in Russia
Anti-Kremlin blogger Vladislav Naganov responded to this week's shooting in a Denver, Colorado, movie theater by arguing [ru] that American gun violence proves the need for expanded gun rights in Russia, explaining that “gun-free zones,” such as “schools, college campuses, and large stores,” are left defenseless against armed madmen because citizens...
Egypt: Cairo's Urban Future
Cairo from Below has recently launched an urban competition as part of an international initiative entitled Our Urban Futures, in which participants should send their proposals about their vision for the future of Cairo. It should be in a visual format, like a short video, cartoon or info-graphic. Submissions deadline...
Armenia-Georgia: Typography Without Borders?
Behance features a typographic project to write the Georgian word for hello phonetically in an Armenian script stylized in such a way that it resembles Georgian. Although some letters in the Armenian and Georgian alphabets can resemble each other depending on the fonts and case or styles used, they are...
Russia: “Spasibo!” the Russian Charity Thrift Shop
For Europeans, charity thrift shops are well-loved retailers. While this model is still relatively unknown in Russia, the appearance of the “Spasibo!” (Thank You!) community has sparked the development of a new movement in this direction.
Jamaica: Half a Century of Independence
Come August 6th 2012, Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence from Great Britain. In this post, two bloggers - one from the diaspora and the other living on island - talk about how Jamaicans are preparing for the celebrations, how social media has had an impact and what the country has accomplished in the last half a century.
France : World Forum for Democracy Will Take Place in Strasbourg in October 2012
The World Forum for Democracy is organized by the Coucil of Europe in Strasbourg from October 5th to 11th, 2012. The blog Démocratie réelle à Nîmes maintenant [fr] republishes the post of blog d'a. spohr [fr]on Mediapart news website, detailing this large-scale project, entitled “Democracy: between old models and new realities. Bridging the gap”....
Video: Worldwide One-Minute Environmental Film Contest Accepting Submissions
The 3rd Edition of the Tve Biomovies 1 minute environmental film competition has begun. Anyone above the age of 9 with a camera and an idea for a 1 minute video on environmental topics can participate to win a $300 award to produce their video and then compete to win a grand prize of $1500 and participation in the UN COP 18 Conference in November.
Chile: Citizen Campaign Seeks to Eliminate Tax on Books
A citizen campaign to remove the value added tax ("IVA" for its initials in Spanish) on books in Chile has sparked an online debate. Netizens are sharing their views in favor and against the campaign through blogs, and on Twitter they are discussing the issue with the hashtag #LibrosSinIVA.
