· January, 2012

Stories about Youth from January, 2012

Iran: Police controls a Facebook group, arrests its administrators

  30 January 2012

A Facebook group called “Daaf and Paaf” (means hot persons) fell under control of Iran's cyber police. Iran's cyber police announced [fa] on the group's Facebook's wall that “the administrators of this group have confessed to promoting banality”. This group had an online competition for choosing hot Iranian men and...

Trinidad & Tobago: Abuse of Trust

  30 January 2012

The TnT River says of an incident in which a teacher allegedly stuck a student's head in a toilet bowl: “This is another case of child abuse which comes in a different form and from an institution entrusted with the education and all-round development of this child.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Child Abuse

  27 January 2012

Guanaguanare hopes that the story of Josiah Governor, the child who was beaten to death, will “motivate us to be more humane in the way we treat our children”, while TnT River blogs about Everton Vasquez, a minor who “hanged himself after receiving a beating from his grandmother.”

Philippines: Blogger House Project

  27 January 2012

Baratillo Pamphlet writes about the Bloggers for Habitat YouthBuild Philippines project which aims to gather 2,000 youth that will help rebuild the lives of families whose homes were totally damaged by a typhoon.

Caribbean: TEDx Shows “Ideas Worth Spreading”

  25 January 2012

“Ideas worth spreading.” With this simple slogan, TED.com, which began in 1984 as an annual conference devoted to technology, entertainment and design, has infiltrated the Internet and empowered people in various countries to spark discussions in local, self-organised TED-branded events, dubbed TEDx. This sharing of ideas has found its way to the Caribbean - in 2011, five TEDx events were held: two in Jamaica, two in Trinidad and one in Puerto Rico. Here's a look back on the events that helped change the region...

South Korea: Kids Become Outcasts for Not Having Branded Bags

  25 January 2012

Blogger Hangukdrama wrote on South Korean elementary children's craze over expensive and branded school bags and how this behavior has been encouraged by parents, who concerned that their kids would become outcasts if they are seen with ‘cheaper bags’, kept buying the bags.

Haiti: More Cases of UN Sexual Assault

  24 January 2012

Following new allegations of sexual assault against minors by UN troops in Haiti, mediahacker notes that “the peacekeeping troops accused of sexually abusing the young man in Port Salut have been released from custody and the impunity…continues.”

South Korea : Pizza Appears in Lunar New Year's Ancestral Worship

  23 January 2012

Sharing food with relatives that had been offered in the ancestral worship is regarded as the essence of the traditional Lunar New Year holiday in Korea and there are strict and complicated rules to follow in offering food. However, some young Koreans have started offering unconventional food, such as pizza,...

Brunei: Support Group for Individuals with Autism

  23 January 2012

The Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources – Brunei Darussalam or Smarter Brunei is a family support group and association which was established to protect every individual member with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their family members.

Colombia: Hip hop and rap artists unite for peace

  21 January 2012

The Conspiracy for Peace is the new video the local rap and hip hop artists have made with the support of the local TV network Telemedellin. The song was written collectively by the artists of Medellin and the surrounding cities for the Peace One Day and is a message of...

Puerto Rico: Levels of Crime?

  20 January 2012

In response to an editorial suggesting that the citizenry “may have been complicit in the senseless murder of Karla Negrón, the latest victim of a stray bullet on New Year's Eve”, Dondequiera says: “It is pure hypocrisy for anyone to accuse Karla's murderer of breaking by the law by anyone...

Venezuela: Soledad Ramírez, One of Caracas’ Heroes

  19 January 2012

Ten years ago, Soledad Ramírez created the Rincón Infantil San Edmundo [es], a center that today helps 200 at-risk children from Minas de Baruta in Caracas. Journalist and blogger Mirelis Morales highlights Soledad's work in a video in her blog about Caracas [es].

Russia: Line to a Drug Dealer in Novosibirsk

RuNet Echo  19 January 2012

YouTube user Pepsick80 publishes a video [ru] of a drug dealer's selling point in Novosibirsk (city in Siberia). Several tens of cars and drug users standing in the line to buy drugs can be seen on the video. The voice behind the camera is utterly surprised and angry that there's...

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

  18 January 2012

The recent investigation done by journalists of Plaza Publica in Guatemala has uncovered how government authorities, although legally having to prevent child labor, allow children under 14 years of age to work in their cane fields, a physically demanding and dangerous work.

Cuba: Whither Gay Rights?

  18 January 2012

While Havana Times reports that Raul Castro's daughter “hopes the upcoming January 28 conference of the country’s communist party will help end the stalemate around a draft law intended to grant rights to transsexuals and homosexuals on the island”, babalu counters: “While…Mariela Castro, is busy jetting around the world promoting...

Trinidad & Tobago: “Disturbing” Laws

  18 January 2012

Globewriter points out some “strange and disturbing laws” that are still on the books in Trinidad and Tobago, saying: “Yes, T&T can’t deal with LGBT rights but it is so on the ball for child marriage rights.”