Stories about Youth from October, 2011
Chile: Education Reform Triumphs in Unofficial Plebiscite
After five months of protests and school takeovers, Chile’s student movement continues to mobilize for an overhaul of the country’s education system. Over the weekend an overwhelming majority of Chileans voted in favor of education reform in an unofficial and symbolic plebiscite.
Malawi: Death of a Student Activist and a Campaign of Terror
Early on the morning of Saturday September 24, a University of Malawi Polytechnic student was found lying stiff on a paved surface, next to a pool of blood. His name was Robert Chasowa, a student activist, and he was dead.
Curacao: Triple 10 – Fooled Again?
A year after the dissolution of the Dutch Caribbean federation formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA examines the fallout: “They still whipping us with a refurbished copy paste Dutch colonial constitution. Same old problematic political coalition system. New government old tricks new business elite same greediness as...
Bahamas: Women's Right to Safety
“Crime in the Bahamas denies women and their children the right to safety, which is a human right,” says Womanish Words, adding: “The new Nobel laureates I hope will remind Bahamian women of this human right to safety , and inspire us to courage enough to speak out when this...
Trinidad & Tobago: Striving to be Better
“It’s when you know your weaknesses and work on them that you become truly remarkable. And that’s what I want for T&T”: Outlish blogs about the things Trinbagonians won't (but probably should) do.
China: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped?”
A new crowd-funded documentary, Living with Dead Hearts, tells the story of the thousands of children in China who are victims of kidnapping. Through interviews with both parents and formerly kidnapped children, the filmmakers hope to give a human face to this serious problem.
Angola: Youth Protest Movement Consolidates Against Odds
After the imprisonment and sentencing of some of the organizers of the September 3 Angolan protest against the 32-year rule of President José Eduardo dos Santos, the youth movement behind the protest movement has carried on in spite of intimidation.
South Korea: Movie Prompts Outrage Over Disabled Child Sex Crimes
In South Korea, the movie 'Crucible' has brought a long-forgotten rape case of disabled kids by school officials to life. The movie has been a major hit for several consecutive weeks and has sparked calls for a reinvestigation of the case.
Bangladesh: Internet Safety For children
As several internet festivals start in different cities of Bangladesh, Badruddoza stresses the need for making internet safe for the children before letting them use it freely.
Bahrain: Teen Protester Shot Dead
Protests erupted in Bahrain this weekend as angry mourners buried 16-year-old Ahmed Al-Qattan, who was allegedly 'killed by birdshot' according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Netizens dispute this - Mona Kareem reports.
Macedonia: Nude Swimming in Alexander the Great Fountain
A big hit in the social media in Macedonia last week was a video of a nude young man who apparently jumped in the new fountain beneath the grandiose monument to Alexander of Macedon and his horse Bucephalus, built as part of the Skopje 2014 project.
Taiwan: Tribute to Steve Jobs
Programmer and open source activist Timdream wrote a tribute to Mr. Steve Jobs, about how his life matches with Mr. Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement address, in which he ask Stanford graduates to “look backwards and connect the dots”.
Dreamwork China: The Workers of Foxconn
China Digital Times introduces a documentary, Dreamwork China, on the lives and dreams of the Foxconn workers who make (authentic) Apple products (among others) at their massive complex in Shenzhen.
Brazil: Mobilization on Twitter Takes Down Pedophile Blog
Following wide mobilization in social media, Brazilian netizens managed to take down a pedophile blog in a matter of hours after the first alert was made on Twitter, on the morning of Monday, October 3.
Mauritania: Black Mauritanians Fear for their Citizenship as Census Proceeds
Bakari Guèye in Magharebia reports that the city of Kaedi erupted into violence on September 24 and 30, 2011, because the black community feared that the census would be used as a discriminatory tool to relegate them to second class citizen status. Babacar Justin Ndiaye explains that only Black Mauritanians...
Colombia: El Puente_lab Making a Difference in Moravia, Medellin
In Medellín, Colombia, the project Hiperbarrio (Rising Voices project) is being developed along with other interesting projects that attempt to improve social inclusion and citizen media training. One project we highlight in this article is the El Puente_lab, a production platform for art and culture.
North Korea: Kim Jong-il's Grandson and His Footprint in Social Media
Kim Han-sol, a teenager believed to be the grandson of Kim Jong-il has blocked access to his social media accounts after media made numerous reports on his admission into a Bosnian school. Many have succeeded in capturing his comments and pictures before access has been denied. North Korea Tech blog...
China: Student Interns Or Cheap Labourers?
To tackle the labour shortage emerging in China, the government has started encouraging privately run institutes to expand vocational schools. Student labourers enrolled in the so-called “factory in front, school at the back” model have been sharing their grievances online.
Bangladesh: Bloggers Will Not Be Silenced
Blogger Asif Mohiuddin, 28, was recently detained by police for organizing rallies through Facebook and blogs to support students protesting against the privatization of Jagannath University. Asif was later released after submitting a bond to refrain from such activities; here are reactions from netizens.
Meritocracy in Singapore
Elvin Ong proposes some reflective questions in understanding meritocracy in Singapore society. Some scholars blame the system for being ‘elitist and heartless.’
India: Goa Takes Steps To Stop Female Foeticide
Ali Waris at Youth Ki Awaaz reports that the Goa local government is offering a special monetary scheme to girls born in the state to stop female foeticide and help change the skewed sex ratios.