Stories from Quick Reads from March, 2015
Video: Campaign to Stop the Sale of Steve Biko's Autopsy Report
Artist and social entrepreneur Nomsa Mazwai (Nomisupasta) and some friends got together to collect signatures for a petition to stop the sale of Steve Biko‘s autopsy report. Watch the YouTube video of the campaign:
You Will Never Find Stories About Famine, Idi Amin or Joseph Kony on This Site
Talented Ugandan writers take to the Internet to tell positive stories about the country: We will be honest with you. Stories about poverty porn, hunger, Ebola, tribalism and all negative stories about Uganda, you will never find them here. This is a site to celebrate the positive stories about The...
Worst Drought In A Decade Hits Taiwan
As a subtropical/tropical island, Taiwan usually covers with wetness and green. However, last year, there were only two typhoons, the island is now facing the worst drought in a decade. Independent reporter Chu Shu Chuan reported that the storage of 12 major reservoirs is reduced to less than 50%, according...
Gun Attack Kills 5 in Bamako as Mali Tries to Consolidate Peace
A shooting in a restaurant in Bamako, capital city of Mali, claimed the lives of five people on Friday night, March, 6. The attack took place around midnight in a restaurant called La Terrasse in Downtown Bamako and a dozen people are seriously injured. Two suspects are in detention and...
Epic Car Chase in Moscow's Red Square Caught on Video
A towing truck chased by police drove through the Red Square in the heart of Moscow—and went viral on the RuNet.
Spain and Latin America Celebrate Open Data Day
One again, bloggers, hackers, designers, experts, as well as citizens interested in open data and transparency will meet to celebrate International Open Data Day 2015 all over the world to promote the opening of government data. The event is expected to have online meetings but also in-person activities all over...
Here Are Kenyan Technology Companies That Were Funded in 2014
Do you know Kenyan technology companies that got funded in 2014? Erik Hersmann lists them in this blog post: Early stage capital Angani – Public cloud computing provider BRCK – Rugged, wireless WiFi device CardPlanet – Mobile money payment system aimed at business and NGOs iProcure – Software for optimizing...
14 Open Source Products Based in Africa
Despite many problems facing the African continet, African open source innovators are not lagging behing. Here is a list of 14 open source projects coming out of the continent.
Fast-Growing City of El Alto Turns Thirty
Relatively young by Bolivian city standards, the city of El Alto celebrates its 30th anniversary on March 6th, 2015. What initially started as a small suburb of the city of La Paz, the seat of government located 4,070 meters above sea level, it became its own municipality in 1985. It...
More than 200 Academics Sign Statement Supporting Anti-Junta Professor in Thailand
More than 200 academics from all over the world have signed a statement expressing support to historian and college professor Dr Somsak Jeamteerasakul who was recently fired by Thammasat University. The Thai scholar, who has been teaching for two decades, is critical of the junta government which grabbed power last...
Mexican Protesters Show Creative Activism
@faeriedevilish, blogging for Infoactivismo, reflects on the need to be creative in communicating our protests. Along those lines, the author explains the importance of creativity while referring to protesting events in Ayotzinapa, where photocopies of the victims’ faces were used to attract and generate awareness about the terrible incidents. Illustrators...
Smart Cities Hackathon in Venezuela
Global Datafest is organizing the Smart Cities Hackathon, held simultaneously in 27 different cities around the world. The Venezuelan edition of the Smart Cities Hackathon calls on programmers, big data experts, urbanists, public officers and communications specialists who have an interest in developing technological solutions for issues related with the...
Indigenous People, Afro-Colombians and Peasants Unite Against Illegal Mining in River Ovejas, Colombia
Despite threats, indigenous people from the Laguna Siberia, members from five different areas within the ancestral territory of Sat Tama Kiwe de Caldono, Afro-descendents from the La Toma Community Council and resident campesinos in the surrounding areas joined together to protest against illegal mining in the area of Río Ovejas...
Mining and Ecocide in Santander, Colombia
Illegal mining is a problem affecting the Colombian department of Santander, where residents have seen first-hand how extraction and other processes linked to mining cause pollution. The video below was produced by Corporación PODION, as part of the project “Caravan for the awareness and collection of complaints in defense of...
Macedonian NGO Develops First Ever Android and iOS App to Battle Hate Speech
Macedonian Metamorphosis Foundation has developed a first among mobile applications – an app against hate speech, aiming to bring information from this area to the fingertips of mobile phone users and help them battle this odious occurrence on the Internet. The app, available for free download both Android and iOS users, was...