· February, 2009

Stories about Video from February, 2009

Hong Kong: Budget report: university students on sale!

  28 February 2009

Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang made the budget speech for the fiscal year 2009-2010 at the Legislative Council on 25 of February. This is the first budget report after Hong Kong felt the pain from the downturn of global financial crisis. Unlike other areas, our government's finance remains...

USA: Activists Incensed after Fatal Shooting by Police

  28 February 2009

Several people recorded mobile phone videos of a police officer shooting and killing a young man named Oscar Grant on a train platform in Oakland, California, on January 1. Since then, citizen media have been central in the ensuing campaigns for justice.

Video: Community Radios Fill the Information Gap

  28 February 2009

In a highly globalized and digitalized world, sometimes we may forget that in many regions of the world, not even electricity is available, and the possibility of using internet as an alternative information source is still a distant dream. It is in locations like Guatemala, Chad and India that community radio rises as the alternative for native communities to speak about their concerns, hear news and stories, receive information and all this in their native languages.

India: Environmental Scholars On a Very Cool Mission

  27 February 2009

About two weeks ago, I read in Tom Friedman's column in the New York Times about two young scholars from the U.S who were on a very impressive mission in India. Alexis Ringwald and Caroline Howe are touring the country in an electric/solar powered car to raise awareness about the...

Bangladesh: Mutiny Is Over, But Question Remains

  27 February 2009

Yesterday it was a tensed day in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The 33-hour long mutiny and siege by aggrieved lower rank officers of paramilitary forces BDR ended as they surrendered their arms in the evening at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters. According to news paper reports seventeen BDR members...

Mexico: Urban Artists in Monterrey Take to the Internet

  24 February 2009

In the streets of Monterrey, a city best known for being the industrial and technological mecca of Mexico, graffiti and other urban artists are utilizing user-friendly electronic media in order to showcase their painted works and murals on the internet, but also in some cases to take advantage of the anonymity needed when painting illegally on public spaces.

Hong Kong: Defending freedom of speech

  24 February 2009

On 22 Feb 09, more than a hundred Hong Kong people took on the street to voice out their concerns about the alarming shrinking of freedom of speech in Hong Kong. The protest was proposed by the Citizens’ Radio and supported by other democratic institutions including Save RTHK Campaign, Hong...

Global: Convoy to Gaza Makes History

  23 February 2009

History was made yesterday in the Maghreb as a convoy headed from the UK to Gaza was allowed to pass through the border between Morocco and Algeria, which has been closed for nearly 15 years. The border closed in 1994 after Morocco suspected Algerian involvement in the attack of a Marrakesh hotel.

Chile: NGO for Victims of Delinquency Brings Together Citizens

  22 February 2009

The NGO Víctimas de la Delincuencia [es] (Victims of Delinquency) was created in Chile's capital city of Santiago in 2006 to protect, guide and inform the victims of violence in this city. On their website, citizens have been marking episodes of violence (muggings, assault, robbery, rape and abuse) on a map, uploading videos and testimony of when and how they were victimized. The organization's goal is enable the changing of laws in Chile, which so far, according to Víctimas de la Delincuencia, tend to benefit delinquents instead of their victims.

Georgia: Eurovision Controversy

  19 February 2009

Following its recent war with Russia, Georgia had initially planned to boycott this year's Eurovision Song Contest to be staged in Moscow, but later changed its mind. However, if reversing that decision might have initially seemed an attempt to repair damaged relations, yesterday's national song contest proved otherwise. Eurovision bloggers react.

USA: Native Americans, “Yes we can”

  17 February 2009

Kept invisible for centuries, Native Americans in the United States are increasingly using blogs and online citizen media to promote and preserve their rights and traditional ways of life. With the election of President Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish (Barack Obama’s adopted Crow Tribe name) indigenous peoples see new reasons to be optimistic.

Arab World: Gasping for Air!

  16 February 2009

A massive dust storm engulfed the entire Arabian peninsula, leaving the people of Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, gasping for air. Here are some videos, photographs and blog entries on the crazy weather, which was unusual for this time of the year.

Hong Kong: Network Mobilization Against Religious Hegemony

  16 February 2009

Yesterday (Feb 15), more than 800 people participated in a demonstration against Christian Right Wing in Hong Kong. The rally has no traditional NGO back up and it is mainly mobilized via facebook groups. Sidekick reported about the rally via twitter during the rally and put the messages together in...

Jordan: Ikbis New Feature

  16 February 2009

Arab video sharing site Ibkis, launched from Jordan, has just added a new feature to their site – webcam upload. It means that now you can record directly from your webcam and publish to Ikbis.

East Timor: Suai Media Space Challenges the Digital Divide

  15 February 2009

In this second post of a series to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the arrival of the Internet in East Timor, Sara Moreira interviews Australian documentary-maker Jen Hughes - founder of Suai Media Space, whose main objective is to make the voices of Suai youth heard all over the world - and discusses the fight to minimize the digital divide even without broadband connection in Suai.

About our Video coverage

Juliana Rincón Parra
Juliana Rincón Parra is the Citizen Video editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.