Stories about Youth from November, 2011
Gabon's UNESCO Bailout: International Solidarity at What Price?
Ali Bongo, President of Gabon, has agreed to offer $2 million USD to UNESCO, following the launch of an emergency fund to compensate for the loss of funding from the United States and Israel. Activists in this oil-rich Central African nation urge the public to look beyond the announcement.
Trinidad & Tobago: Bull S**t Artists
Plain Talk explains why he thinks that Trinidad and Tobago needs a National Bullshit Council.
United States: What Your Kids Talk About on Facebook
For the online exhibition “Voices of Motherhood” by the International Museum of Women, Kathy Halper in the U.S. was inspired by the experience of “friending” her own daughter on Facebook to embroider copies of photos posted by teenagers on the social network. The embroideries show drunken parties, sexual innuendo, and...
China: Photo Captures Plight of 58 Million ‘Left Behind Children’
A photo showing a little girl caring for her baby brother in a classroom in rural China has caused an online stir. It reflects the country's long-standing social problem of children who are left behind by their parents going to work in the cities.
Barbados: Contemporary Caribbean Art
Regional bloggers are excited about Barbadian artist Sheena Rose's latest work, here, here and here, with A Girl Named Natalie saying: “The clean, monochromatic lines, sparing use of colour, and subject matter that encompass Sheena’s current style in this exhibition is the epitome of what contemporary Caribbean art is about.”
Italy: End of the Road for Berlusconi
Amidst scandals and controversies, the Italian Prime Minister resigned on Saturday, after losing his parliamentary majority during a crucial budget vote. As the technocrat Mario Monti is appointed as head of the new government, many Italians celebrate (on the streets and online) this historic event.
Trinidad & Tobago: Post-Curfew Questions
“Between the celebratory reflex actions and simultaneous grumblings”, Outlish “got to thinking about all the things that some of us have been too quick to do [since the lifting of the curfew in Trinidad and Tobago].”
Trinidad & Tobago: Parental Disconnect?
West Indian Mother wonders if “by being so connected – so technologically available – [parents are] potentially losing touch with the little people who should be their priority.”
Cuba: Athlete Forgotten
“The [glorification of] the standing of our athletes in the medal count and categoris[ing] this ‘as an achievement of the revolution’” gets Ricardo Medina thinking about “Rauler Castellanos Moreno, a black youth from Pinar del Rio who, despite his victory [in the 2007 Special Olympics] now lives in inhuman conditions.”
Colombia: Students Gather in Bogotá's Bolívar Square
On November 10, public university students participated in marches throughout the country and gathered in Bolivar Square in Bogota, the principal administrative center of the country. The event aimed to pressure the government to definitively repeal Law 30 for higher education reform.
Macedonia: Interior Ministry Responds to Invitation for Debate
The response of the Ministry of the Interior to an invitation for public debate on ways to bring about positive social change through civic activism and reform, organized by the Movement Against Police Brutality, has caused an outrage in Macedonian social media. Filip Stojanovski reports.
India: Love Marriage And Arranged Marriage
Anjali Garg discusses why Indian families are reluctant to accept love marriages and they tend to get their daughters married early as a consequence.
Côte d'Ivoire: When Will the Universities Reopen?
During the post-electoral crisis in Ivory Coast, at the beginning of 2011, the country's three universities were closed and those living in the university halls of residence made to leave. Today many are now questioning the uncertainty surrounding the reopening of the universities.
Trinidad & Tobago: Controversial Show Suspended
Plain Talk “congratulate[s]…the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad & Tobago for their intervention in the issue surrounding the continuous breaches of the law, the Broadcast Code and common decency that has become the hallmark of the Crime Watch show and its subsequent suspension from broadcast”, while Facebook comments left by the...
Brunika: Brunei's Instagramers Community
Brunika is Brunei's official instagramers network whose vision is for each members to “Share, Good Communication and Own Creativity”
Movember Brunei
Delwin Keasberry blogs about the Movember Brunei campaign which asks twitter users to put a moustache on their profile in support of the campaign to raise awareness on men's health.
Taiwan: Updates from “Occupy Taipei”
Green Party member and active participant of Occupy Taipei MingWangX(王鐘銘) updates the recent activities of the movement: “On the 15th day, 10/28, the police and the park administrators came again and tried to confiscate the tents for the 3rd time. They didn’t succeed because the member in one of the...
Uruguay's Unemployed Youth
Denisse Gelber in the blog Reasons and people: rethinking Uruguay [es] writes about youth unemployment, presenting the stories of two young Uruguayans from different socioeconomic backgrounds but with the same problem: a lack of employment opportunities in their chosen field.
Bahamas: Fear of Crime or Denying Kids a Good Time?
Womanish Words has a message – albeit a late one – for “all you people who say you don't like Halloween so that you can relieve yourselves of the responsibility of contributing to a fun, safe, community, holiday event for children – I say to you: you are the reason...
Pakistan: The ‘Captain’ Makes His Presence Known
Imran Khan, the cricket-star-turned-politician has sent ripples through Pakistan’s political arena with his mega-rally at Lahore sporting a crowd of well over 100,000 people. The former captain of Pakistan cricket team has infused a new spirit into Pakistan’s politics by stirring the urban youth.
Trinidad & Tobago: Towards Civic Journalism
“I think it’s time to move away from the low standards of citizen journalism to a higher standard of civic journalism”: Gerard Best explains.
