· September, 2012

Stories about Ideas from September, 2012

Jamaica: Storm Saulter on Film & New Media in the Caribbean

  27 September 2012

The 2012 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival continues this week and one of the most high-profile regional attendees is Storm Saulter, the Jamaican director whose first feature film, Better Mus’ Come, received critical acclaim upon its release in late 2010. In this post, he talks about his new offering, filmmaking in the Caribbean and how new media is helping to change the landscape.

Jamaica: In Whose Image?

  27 September 2012

Whose conception of Jamaican identity resulted in the decision to market our country in this colour-coded way?  Why are we still rubbing out black people from the big picture?  Or, at best, downplaying blackness?  Which Jamaica are we selling?  And who to? Professor Carolyn Cooper writes about class, colorism, branding...

Chile: Interview with Poderopedia Founder

  25 September 2012

Jessica Weiss from IJNet interviewed Miguel Paz, founder of Poderopedia [es], a data journalism project which seeks to reveal links among members of Chile's elite: Poderopedia's team will collect and verify data from an array of sources, including news sites, public databases and information disclosed by other companies and institutions....

Tunisia: Civil Society and the Sharia State

  24 September 2012

Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni argues that belonging to any religion or culture is a “product of chance.” She says: And when, together with bloggers from my country, we attempted to participate in one manner or another in the awakening of our people and the uprising against the dictatorship, it...

Saudi Arabia: Celebrating National Day in Style

  23 September 2012

Saudi Arabia marks its National Day today [Sept 24] and young Saudis are celebrating the day in style. On Twitter, the day's events are tagged with a special hash tag #اليوم_الوطني, which translates to National Day. According to accounts on social media, young men took to the streets to celebrate the day, with dancing and street parades in their cars.

Philippines: TEDxDiliman Trends on Twitter

  23 September 2012

More than 100 attendees trooped to the University of Philippines campus in Diliman to witness TEDxDiliman 2012. Several recognizable personalities were invited as this year's speakers. Meanwhile, on the internet, netizens eagerly followed the event via livestream. The hashtag #tedxdiliman quickly became a local trending topic.

Brazil: Reflections of a Country Searching for Peace

  22 September 2012

Brazil is 83rd among 158 ranked nations in 2012's edition of the Global Peace Index, having fallen nine places since last year's. In the wake of International Peace Day Global Voices shares reflections and initiatives by Brazilian bloggers on the subject.

Video: Mini-Documentaries Showcase Venezuelan Artists

  20 September 2012

Through their YouTube account, the creative team Mostro Contenidos has released a documentary series called 'Memorabilia', where they present a collection of short interviews with Venezuelan personalities who have stood out -nationally and internationally- in film, entertainment, and the arts.

Mozambique: Photos of Bike-Taxis in Quelimane

  20 September 2012

A photo album by António Silva on Sapo illustrates the widespread use of bicycles as taxis in the flat city of Quelimane, in Mozambique, a place where there the lack of public transports has opened the path for a healthier environment.

Japan: Imagining Future Japanese-Korean Relations with ‘Free Hugs’

  15 September 2012

A "free hugs" video filmed in Korea by a young Japanese man attracted another round of attention this summer. The creator's intent was to "prove that there is hope for the future of Japan and South Korea". The deterioration in international relations between the two countries, reported upon daily in the media, has been causing a stir recently.

Jamaica: The Modern Sonnet

  15 September 2012

Jamaican diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp interviews author Pamela Mordecai about her new work, ” Subversive Sonnets”.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: International Day of Peace

  14 September 2012

Following an increase in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, locked as they are in a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, Mountains of Peace looks ahead to the International Day of Peace. […] enough is enough. It is time to make a stance, time to speak out,...