Stories about Western Europe from March, 2012
Portugal: Visualising Economic and Social Indicators on the Crisis
Conhecer a Crise (Meet the Crisis) [pt] is the name of a recently launched website with info-graphics and visualisations on the main economic and social indicators that describe the current crisis in Portugal. The website has a customisable section [pt] – “The crisis as I see it” – where users...
France: The Human Rights Film Festival Awards
Youphil [fr] published the full list of the recent 2012 Human Rights Film Festival awards in France [fr]. This year, the jury award went to an investigation documentary, Affaire Chebeya: un meurtre d'Etat? [fr] (The Chebeya case: murdered by the State?) by Belgium director Thierry Michel on the murder of human rights activist Floribert...
Macedonia: Fuel Prices Continue to Rise
Continuous increase of fuel prices is a cause of much concern for citizens of Macedonia, and some vent the tension through humor.
A Documentary of the History of Black People in France
The blog Afro Europe reports on a new film about the black community in France: ” Noirs de France” (“Blacks of France”) is a new documentary of the history of black people in France. It's based on the book “La France Noir” of French historian Pascal Blanchard. The documentary is aired on...
Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?
The ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty (ACTA) by the European Parliament has been delayed in expectation of an opinion from the European Court of Justice on its conformity with fundamental rights.
Intercontinental Cry Will Launch Spanish Edition
Ahni announces the upcoming Spanish edition of Intercontinental Cry [es], which will go live on March 31, 2012. “The main objective of IC Espanol is, of course, to provide Spanish readers with the same news that our English readers have come to expect from us; what I consider to be...
France: Why Celebrated Film ‘The Artist’ Isn't Such a Hit at Home
In February 2012, French and world cinema history was made after five Oscars were awarded to the film 'The Artist' and its leading actor Jean Dujardin. But despite winning Oscars, the film did not enjoy critical acclaim in France.
Video: 10 tips to make your videos better
Adam Westbrook shares 10 tips to make your online videos look better. Paired up with good storytelling, things like tripod use, closeups, controlling thumbnails, sound, bitrates, color correction, compression and meta data can help your video make its mark.
Video: Share Your Challenges and Win an iPad2 in Contest
The Bertelsmann Foundation's FutureChallenges initiative wants to hear about the challenges faced by people all around the world. By making a video and uploading it to their Facebook page, you could win a new iPad2.
Greece: Folk Musician and Researcher, Domna Samiou, Dies at 84
Greeks all over the world express their sorrow for the death of Domna Samiou on March 11, the great singer of traditional Greek folk music, as well as their appreciation for her work and research.
Germany: Email Monitoring #Bomb(e) Drops
German intelligence agencies examined more than 37 million emails containing particular search terms, for instance "bomb". Reactions in online media ranged between outrage and humor.
Italy Condemned for Violations of African Refugee Rights
On February 23, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg came to a historic judgment that Italy had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by intercepting and sending back Eritrean and Somali migrants to Libya. Abdoulaye Bah reports.
Ghana/London: The Taste of Ghana in London
Davida reviews restaurants offering Ghanaian food in London: “Eating soul food in London is a unique connection with the motherland that cannot be broken. Indigenous food – or ‘home chow’ – is a big deal. Thankfully, nestling among the various boroughs of London is a proliferation of African markets from...
The Best of the Blogs Awards: Have You Submitted Your Blog?
Nominate your favorite blogs in 17 categories and 11 languages to the Deutsche Welle Best of the Blogs Awards (BoBs) before March, 13, 2012. Bloggers, writers, artists, citizen video reporters, activists and educators are invited to participate in this respected global blog competition.
Ibero-American Blogging Competition Asks Teens: “What are you reading?”
The Organization of Ibero-American States invites teens ages 12 to 15 to enter a blogging competition about reading. The sign up [es] deadline is May 31, 2012, and judges will consider blog posts written until July 31. The winner from each participating country will receive an iPad. Visit the official...
NATO Invites to Citizen Dialogue on New Website
A new website, WE-NATO, invites to citizen dialogue on issues related to the agenda of the intergovernmental military alliance, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Website contributors include senior members of NATO leadership, including a video blog by the General Secretary and a live webchat with the Assistant Secretary General for...
Spain: Ten Years Without the Peseta
Biljana Veljanoska, a Macedonian woman living in Spain, wrote [mk] about the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the Euro, and the related PR campaign from 2001, which argued that prices will not increase. In general, they have increased (31%), more than the salaries (13%). On the other hand, prices...
La Réunion : A Dynamism far from the Cliché of Dependence on Public Aid
Sandrine Dionys interviewed [fr] Emmanuelle, a young entrepreneur from La Réunion for the Bondy Blog. She rails against the cliché of the Réunion Islanders being dependent on the French government for aid.
Spain: Head of Journalist Association Threatens Activist With a Belt
The Head of the Press Association in Granada, Antonio Mora, threatened to hit pro-Palestinian activists with his belt when they protested during a photo exhibition of the relations between Israel and Spain.
Macedonia: Animated Hitler Meme as a Free Resource
As a reaction to the corporate efforts to enact an even more draconian legislation and in response to the attempts of the distributor of the film Downfall to take down the Hitler meme on copyright grounds, Ribaro published [mk] an animated parody of the iconic scene, free for download and...
Azerbaijan: Singer-Activist calls for Eurovision Boycott
News and Noise! calls for a boycott of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan by featuring an interview with activist and singer-song writer Cirttan (Azer Mamedov) seeking asylum in the Netherlands. The post also includes a clip, produced by the NIDA civil movement in Azerbaijan, parodying a promotional video...
