Stories about Ideas from January, 2014
Have Acne? South Korea Will Tax Your Treatment
Taxing your pimple outbreak? It is indeed a creative way to collect more taxes.
According to Google Autocomplete ‘Colombia is Passion’ and ‘Mexico is Culture’
Colombian blogger Javier Moreno typed “[Name of country] is” on Google search to see auto-complete suggestions for each country in Latin America and Europe. He modeled his experiment after the English version of the Google search “Why [country] is.” From his search in Colombia he got results like “Ecuador is...
A Business Model Competition to Ignite Start Ups in Madagascar
Harinjaka, founder of the co-working space Habaka and Madagascar-based blogger, created the 2014 Antananarivo Start Up Cup [fr] whose objective is to select and support the best business ideas in Madagascar. He thinks that there is a bright future for entrepreneurship and innovation [fr] in Madagascar. Here is a poster for the event [fr] :...
Putting Faces on the Mysterious Disease Killing Nicaraguan Sugar Cane Workers
A fatal disease is killing sugar cane workers in Nicaragua. Photojournalist Ed Kashi wants to raise awareness about this mysterious epidemic through a documentary project that is looking for funding.
South Korea: ‘Less is More’, Net Users Turn Sour on Typical Movie Poster
A massive Disney hit movie, Frozen is rapidly gaining traction also in South Korea. However, more young Koreans are turning sour on typical Korean-style movie poster, which has long been criticized for being either too confusing or overly interrupted [ko] by extra-bold text dropping names or media/net users’ reviews ridden with cliche [ko]....
INNOVATION: Containers as Student Housing at European Universities
In order to alleviate the lack of student housing available across Europe, a few universities in Denmark, Germany, France (Le Havre) [fr] and Spain have tried to turn containers into student dorms. Containers appear to be the structure of choice because they are less costly and readily adaptable to include the necessary amenities....
Fairy Tales in the 21st Century
On the column Breviario [es] from the website El MalPensante [es], Argentinian author Hernán Casciari [es] concludes that many timeless fairy tales that are part of children's imagination and many other stories would have never taken place had their main characters had access to the current technology: What happens with...
What Does Climate Change Mean to You? Documentary Competition
Young filmmakers from all over the world are invited to produce and submit a 1-12 minute video documentary telling a story about climate change. What the #Action4Climate video challenge wants to know is: How is climate change impacting your community? What are you doing about it? What needs to be done to...
Massive Credit Card Data Theft Hits 20 Million South Koreans
In an effort to quell public anger, authorities have released tougher regulations, but people remain livid.
South Korea: I Would Rather Sell My Personal Info
Personal information of about 20 million people, which amounts to two fifth of the entire South Korean population, has been compromised in the country's worst identity theft. Customers of the affected three major credit card firms gasped at the sheer extensiveness of the breach; it is not just the user's real name,...
From Barcelona to Madrid for the Love of a Candidate
Blogger Denise Duncan makes a confession [es] on her blog: ¿Por qué voy a viajar 1400 kilómetros para votar por Luis Guillermo Solís? ¿Por qué ir y volver de Barcelona a Madrid en 24 horas? ¡Pero es un voto, nada más!, podría pensarse. ¿Qué diferencia hay? Una: estoy enamorada. Why...
As Darkness Falls – Berlin Conference
Berlin is welcoming the digital intelligentsia to a conference this weekend (January 25-26) on “self-empowerment in the age of digital control”. Speakers at the event, As Darkness Falls, include Jacob Appelbaum, Bruce Sterling, Micah Sifry, Evgeny Morozov and from Global Voices, Asteris Masouras (@asteris). See program in English and German....
Trinidad & Tobago: Little Things Make a Difference
ban-d-wagonist posts a video that offers “simple suggestions on how ordinary citizens can create a better T&T.”
Cartoon Character ‘Meena’ Changes South Asian Attitudes Towards Girls
"Since her inception 14 years ago she has shown millions of women and girls what can be achieved."
Young Romanian Builds First Car Entirely Made of LEGO Blocks
20-year-old Raul Oaida from Romania has built what many dreamed of as children – the world’s first life-size LEGO car. The car, including the engine which actually runs, was built using 500,000 LEGO pieces. The vehicle can only achieve a speed of some 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, but...
Korean Seniors Prompt Boycott of McDonald's and Get McResolution
Korean elderly made headlines in New York City, as they loitered at McDonald's from early in the morning till well after dark - a not unfamiliar scene to South Koreans.
Talking Trash In Chennai – Through Blogs
There are about 4,500 tons of waste generated in Indian city of Chennai per day. Talking Trash in Chennai blog discusses how to deal with them.
Suriname Gets “An Eye For Art”
Srananart's Blog highlights an exciting new initiative, An Eye For Art: Every fortnight, an esteemed art critic discusses a piece of work from a Surinamese gallery's collection.
Preserving The Hidden History Of Old Dhaka
Writer and blogger Jenny Gustafsson highlights the works of The Urban Study Group, a non-profit voluntary organization, which is campaigning for the conservation of the rich architectural /urban heritage of old Dhaka.
Shall We Start with the Good News?
Global Voices launches a new 'Good News' category for solution driven stories. Are you put off by too much injustice and human suffering? This year, we're making a change.
Intonaspacio: a New Digital Musical Instrument Made in Portugal
Mailis Rodrigues, a young talented Portuguese women has invented a new musical instrument and now needs help to show it to the world in an annual event to find the world’s best new ideas in musical instrument design: Hi, I was selected as one of the 20 semi-finalists of the...
