Stories about Youth from September, 2011
Philippines: The President's Zero Love Life
The bachelor Philippines President Noynoy Aquino's comparison of his love life to a soft drink in a five-day state visit to China not only drew laughter but also criticism online. Activists also used the metaphor to condemn the 'zero' performance of the government on human rights and social spending.
Bulgaria: Ruling Party Uses Children's Holiday Posters in Election Campaign
Bulgaria's ruling party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) has been using children's holiday posters in the city of Plovdiv in their campaign for the upcoming Oct. 23 presidential election. This poster, posted in the Facebook group of the left-wing Solidarna Bulgaria (Solidarity Bulgaria), shows how the ruling party...
Bangladesh: Human Trafficking – A Modern Slavery
Khairul Kuader at Bangla Rights tells how girls from Bangladeshi villages are being lured into prostitution in India offering them better jobs abroad.
Trinidad & Tobago: Addiction Advice
“What every single one of us have found is that at some point…it stops being your decision. You lose control over it, and using becomes involuntary. Willpower has nothing to do with it at that point”: Plain Talk blogs about addiction and offers solid advice to families.
Cameroon: Hackers Worthy of the Name
Ntrjack writes [fr] in his blog: “So the youth of Cameroon have discovered the gold mine of the free Internet and everyone now wants to go online using multimedia telephones, which are getting more and more common. This in theory is not possible, because the operators restrict access, but crafty...
Sri Lanka: Youth-Led Reconciliation
Dilinika Peiris discusses whether youth-led reconciliation could put Sri Lanka back on the map.
Morocco: Blogger Arrested in Northern City of Fnidaq
According to activists, Moroccan blogger and web programmer Mohamed Douas was arrested on Monday morning in the city of Fnidaq. His supporters say the arrest is related to Wikileaks Fnidaq, a website Mohamed helped create and in which documents intended to expose corruption within the local administration were published.
Haiti: UN Troops Must Go, Say Haitians After Rape Scandal
An online video showing four UN peacekeepers from Uruguay allegedly raping a 19 year-old man at a military base in Port-Salut has generated outrage and renewed calls for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to withdraw.
Morocco: The Twitter Opposition Party
On Monday, the Moroccan government launched a campaign to showcase its "achievements" since attaining power. A website was created to spearhead the campaign which comes only two months before a much expected parliamentary election later this year. Moroccan Twitter users used the platform to mock their government's claims.
9/11 Retrospective: The Birth of a Generation
Ten years have passed since the coordinated 9/11 attacks on the USA by al-Qaeda, an event that changed the world in many ways. All this is discussed through short videos by young people from around the world who came of age in the post 9/11 era.
Guinea: Nadine Bari's Fight to Reduce Poverty in Guinea
Nadine Bari is a French citizen who has created one of the oldest humanitarian organizations in Guinea, Guinée-Solidarité. With donations from Europe they have helped supply schools, hospitals, and helped homeless, orphaned and disabled children to receive an education.
Libya: Blogger Jad is Missing
Libyan blogger and programmer Abderrazak al Dokaly Assary (better known as Jad) has been missing since mid-August. According to the blog Made in Libya [Ar], Jad may have been executed or kidnapped by forces loyal to Gaddafi in the city of Zlitan before the fall of the city in the...
Morocco: SlutWalk Gets a Toehold
"Stand out for yourselves and demand respect. Shame has to switch sides!" This is the cri de guerre of Majdoline Lyazidi, the 20-year-old founder of SlutWalk Morocco, a Facebook page which aims at raising awareness against sexual harassment in the Moroccan society.
Trinidad & Tobago: Ramifications of “Granny Quila”
Of the controversial “Granny Quila” video, Mark Lyndersay says: “It’s clear that for many locals, Facebook and to a lesser extent other Internet based media such as blogs and Twitter have become a kind of virtual Woodford Square for airing opinions…Unfortunately, unlike a hotheaded argument in the square, posts and...
Haiti: How News of Alleged Assault Spread
mediahacker explains how he obtained the video of “the apparent assault by Uruguayan UN troops on Johnny Jean. The answer is simple: The video is circulating on cell phones in Port Salut.”
Uruguay Looks at Monitoring Social Networks After Teen's Death
Sixteen year old Álvaro Froste died after he was shot in the chest during a gang fight which was allegedly incited through Facebook. Pablo Gutiérrez at FayerWayer reports [es] that as a result of Álvaro's death the Uruguayan government is looking into monitoring social networks.
Azerbaijan: Eurovision and visas
Aaron in Azerbaijan comments on a request from the management of the Eurovision Song Contest to the Azerbaijani authorities to simplify visa procedures ahead of next year's competition to be held in the capital, Baku. While such a move would be a boost for the country's tourism industry as well,...
Chile: ‘Influential’ Twitter Users Have Lunch With the President
On August 24, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera invited 15 influential Twitter users to have lunch in La Moneda - the presidential place - to hear their opinion and to discuss current national issues. The meeting caused controversy over issues such as the real popularity of these Twitter users and the chosen date.
China: “Free Lunch” for Rural Students via Micro-Donations
To help improve education in rural China, a new project by Guangzhou-based charity activist Liang Shuxin called “Free Lunch” is raising online micro-donations to deliver lunch meals to impoverished school children in collaboration with a semi-official agency.
Pakistan: Empowering Youth for a Better Tomorrow
Institute of Peace and Secular Studies is a humble, community youth organization in Lahore, Pakistan which aims to empower Pakistani youth and encourage them to face up to today’s challenges so they can shape a better future for tomorrow.
Greece: Students Blocking Universities in Protest
Teacher Dude informs that “over 300 department in institutions of higher education nationwide are now being occupied by students unhappy with changes designed to overhaul Greece's ailing universities and technical schools.”
