· March, 2009

Stories about Youth from March, 2009

China: Names to be remembered

  24 March 2009

The death toll and identity details of school children victims in the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake last year has been sealed in a black box by Chinese government officials, like a state secret. Last December, Ai Wei-wei, a most respectable intellectual and blogger, decided to compile the names of school...

Student Elections in Nepal

  24 March 2009

Last week Nepalese students exercised their democratic rights. Student elections were held at public universities and colleges campus throughout the country. Private institutions do not hold elections. The call to include them in the process has been growing over the years but fearing vapid political interference in college environment, private...

Brazil: A Private Nature Reserve – Is It Possible?

  24 March 2009

Society demands green action and Brazil’s policy that motivates land onwers to join the National Conservation Units Systems is having a great impact on society. Under the program known as RPPN, land onwers receive investments and credit too. Land use is restricted to research, environmental education and ecotourism. Blogs are one of the tools used to report experiences and document the work being carried out to keep Brazil green.

Palestine: Robbed of a Childhood

Gazan blogger Ayman Quader describes the plight of children who are forced to work because of the desperate economic situation in the Gaza Strip: “It is true that Palestinians have honed a collective resilience in the face of historic hardships. But this strength should not be sentimentalized. Children, who remain...

Is Egypt on the verge of a cultural revolution?

Between Bahaa Taher's first Arabic Language Booker Prize, bloggers' books, Youssef Zidan's Azazeel's Booker prize, writing competitions on Facebook, the Sawiris Foundation Competitions, and new creative initiatives to nurture new blood, Egypt's literary scene has been revived over the past few years. Marwa Rakha digs up even more projects being discussed on the blogs.

Israel: Learning to Drive

Brian of This Normal Life writes about the cultural differences between Israelis and Americans on the road and his son's new driving license. “But 17…that’s the year you transcend being a mere passenger to taking command of a 3,000 pound metal death machine and hurtling it through – and against...

Bahamas: Society of Fear?

  20 March 2009

Sidney Sweeting wonders what kind of society the Bahamas has become when “unifomed goons can force their way into our homes at night, terrorize us (or worse) and just leave without an explanation.”

Jamaica: V-Day

  20 March 2009

Abeng News Magazine reports that Jamaica is an active part of the international V-Day 2009 campaign – “a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.”

Nepal: On Individualism

  19 March 2009

Thinking About Nepal believes that: “if Nepali parents are able to indoctrinate in their children a sense of individualism along with respect for community and elders, Nepal will have a citizenry that will able to deal with most challenges faced today and in the future.”

India: The Menace of Ragging

  19 March 2009

Sam's Lodge [chai-coffee] describes how the trend of ragging is becoming severely violent in India. The blog comments: “a clear distinction must be made between ragging and bullying. When ragging becomes bullying, it crosses all lines of decency.”

Guatemala: A Violin in Silence After Murder of Youth

  19 March 2009

The latest victims to violence in Guatemala are a young violinist, Hans Castro and his two companions Andrea Robledo and Edwin Urrea. The murders took place in the outskirts of Guatemala City and bloggers are mourning the loss of Castro, who was a member of the Guatemalan Symphonic Orchestra Conservatory.

Bahamas: To the Mothers…

  18 March 2009

Bahamian blogger Womanish Words missed International Women's Day and pays a late but meaningful tribute to the mothers of the world “who are most at risk globally, because of poverty, war and victimization”.

Japan: The work of art in the age of digital reproduction

  18 March 2009

A cross-generational debate over the value of art, and culture in general, has arisen among users of the social bookmarking service Hatena. The debate, originated by an anonymous entry titled: ehm… Isn`t it weird the idea that we have to pay money for music?, has brought many bloggers to ask...

Maldives: Video Games And Violence

  16 March 2009

Abdullah Waheed informs that there could be at least 3000 video games sold per day in Maldives capital Male. The blogger wonders whether there is a link between the increasing violence on Male streets and these video games.