Stories about Timor-Leste
VIDEO: “Myths and Murals” of East Timor
East Timorese and Australian artists have come together to reflect and create around Myths and Murals, “promoting a common sense of national identity through art and story and collaborative strategies for engagement”. The cross-cultural public art and literacy project, between artists from Melbourne and the East Timorese free art school Arte Moris, takes...
Re-Imagining Lusophony and Decolonizing the Mind
The Fourth International Congress in Cultural Studies – Colonialisms, Post-colonialisms and Lusophonies has a call for paper submissions open until October 15, 2013 November 15, 2013 [deadline has been extended]: To demystify, to dehierarchize, to establish a policy of difference, to allow a multiplicity of voices, to constitute so many projects of possible modernities/rationalities...
Film Screening of East Timor's First Feature in Dili
The Díli premiere of East Timor’s first locally produced feature film, A Guerra da Beatriz (Beatriz’s War), takes place today, September 17, 2013. The love story spans the years of Indonesian occupation and beyond (1975 – 2009): [confronting] the issues at the heart of modern East Timor: forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The producers, FairTrade...
East Timor: “Literacy Often Falls by the Way Side”
Marking the International Literacy Day, September 8, The Asia Foundation's blog, In Asia presents striking numbers on the quality of educational outcomes in Timor-Leste, a country where “education, and literacy in particular, too often falls by the wayside”: World Bank research found that 70 percent of first grade students in Timor-Leste were...
VIDEO: “Mermaids of Timor-Leste”
A film about four generations of fisherwomen striving to make a living in the coastal village of Adara, in the small island of Ataúro, Timor-Leste is soon to be released – but you can already have a glimpse on what is coming at the Facebook page Wawata topu (Women Divers): Their daily lives, their...
Whistleblower Protection Urged to Fight Corruption in East Timor
Jose Antonio Belo, editor of Tempo Semanal, discussed the anti-corruption crusade of the paper in East Timor. He also urged the passage of a Whistleblower Protection legislation to fight corruption. We must find ways to support and protect people who blow the whistle on corruption. They must not be allowed...
Drug Trafficking on the Rise in Timor Leste
The East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin features the worsening drug trafficking problem in Timor Leste. It quoted a government report which recognized that the country is being used as a “transit zone for criminals smuggling drugs into both Indonesia and Australia.”
Timor Leste's Bid to Join ASEAN
Julio Gil da Silva Guterres writes about Timor Leste's application to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. He warns that “ASEAN without Timor Leste is the same as a state without sovereignty.”
Foreign Investment Sidelines East Timorese
Olavio Quintas, from the eastern tip of Timor, expresses his frustration with “development” in his country to Radio Liberdade Dili. He says “Timorese people have become observers to foreigners’ investments” lamenting the lack of employment for young people, as investors and government do not trust Timorese to do the smallest tasks.
East Timor a “Failed State-in-Waiting”?
The La'o Hamutuk NGO links to an editorial of the influential Petroleum Economist which discusses the problems faced by East Timor's economy: Timor-Leste was once seen as the poster child for developing nations. It had natural resources, a comprehensive legal framework covering their extraction and an oil fund. Now, almost...
Nobel Peacemaker Ramos Horta's Mission to Guinea Bissau
The political chaos in which Guinea Bissau finds itself embroiled - and more so since the April 2012 coup d'etat - may be a little closer to finding a resolution with the recent appointment of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, to lead the United Nations Integrated Peace-Building Office in the country.
East Timorese Politicians on Social Media
The most popular East Timorese politician on Facebook, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, with a page that counts up to 6,737 likes, doesn't update it at all. Despite having used Facebook quite intensively during 2012's electoral campaign, President Matan Ruak, with 6,603 likes and a Twitter profile (@MatanRuak), seems to have abandoned...
From Indigenous Protests to Online Preaching, Portuguese Language Countries in 2012
As the last day of the calendar approaches, we select a few glimpses of citizen media from the action and imagination of the Portuguese-speaking online world.
Witchcraft and Dispute Resolution in East Timor
Following the report of the murder of an alleged witch in Maubisse, Timor Leste, on December 21, 2012, Australian anthropologist Matthew Libbis writes a comment on witchcraft and dispute resolution on the blog East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin.
Measuring Corruption in East Timor
Great news: Timor-Leste reduced corruption more than every other country in the world! But is it true? We have a rapidly growing state budget, a minister facing prison, reports about corruption in the media every day and falling scores from other rating agencies. La'o Hamutuk reviews the corruption indicators given...
Reflections on Teaching in Portuguese in East Timor
Valdir Lamim-Guedes, a Brazilian biologist, who blogs at Na Raiz [pt], shared an article he published together with Carlos Junior Gontijo-Rosa on the Global Education Magazine about their experience as visiting professors at the National University of Timor-Leste in 2012, focusing on the challenges of teaching in Portuguese. Despite being one...
East Timor: Monument to the Santa Cruz Massacre
On the preparations for the anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre (November 12, 1991), a photo of a monument to be inaugurated in Dili circulated on Facebook.
East Timor: Documenting Traditional Music
The Timorese have a musical culture which is unique, but at present deeply hidden, the world is interested in it, and it deserves to be noticed and survive. The Unofficial East Timor blog publishes an interview with Ros Dunlop, the author of a book titled “Sounds of the Soul: The...
East Timor: Contact Details of Government Officials
La’o Hamutuk links to a page containing the contact details of East Timor's Parliament members and ministry officials.
Southeast Asia: Government Online Media Projects
Southeast Asian governments have been maximizing the internet space by establishing various social media profiles, one stop public service portals, and online transparency tools.
