Nicaragua: 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media in Managua  · Global Voices
GV Contributor

Flyer for Event 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media
Experts in digital communities will come together for the 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media (in Spanish, “2.0 Encuentro de Blogs & Nuevos Medios”) which will take place on August 12 and 13 at the Central American University (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua. The activity is a practical assessment of web tendencies and the power these alternative ways of communication have to influence public and private spheres.
The gathering [es] will include the participation of experts from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, who will give lectures, workshops and more. The main subjects will be: New Media and Cultural Diversity and Development; Citizen Participation and Advocacy; Content Production for New Media; New Scenarios: mobile applications, new uses and methods, perspectives on the future.
“It is a culturally enriching experience, but it also involves a proposal to emphasize that web activity is not only a novelty, but also a learning method that generates real debate that may influence public opinion,” comments David Ruíz López-Prisuelos, Coordinator at Spain Cultural Center in Nicaragua (Centro Cultural de España en Nicaragua, CCEN).
To help visualize the lectures, the event will begin with a panel discussion about the use of these tools. The panel includes La Carpio Online Project (“Proyecto La Carpio en Línea”) [es]” from Costa Rica, Everything for the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (“Todo por la Costa Caribe de Nicaragua”) [es] from Facebook and Another World is possible (“Otro mundo es posible”) [es]: Organization and action of Nicaraguan social movements on the web. An interesting element will be the use of an open microphone for bloggers to share their experiences.
“It is an activity to discuss the current state of mass media and the tendencies toward other formats that range from micro-blogging to podcasting, and how the media is adapting to various uses and needs that range from basic social organizing to its use in large companies,” says Rodrigo Peñalba [es], an author for Global Voices, a specialist in cultural production in new media and CCEN's special guest to help organize the event.
During the second day, journalist Cristian Cambronero [es] from Costa Rica, Global Voices author Renata Ávila from Guatemala and Yuliana Isabel Paniagua [es] from Global Voices’ project “Hiperbarrio” in Colombia will present on experiences in citizen participation on the web. There will also be a teleconference from the BBC in London, workshops on content creation and a conversation with Nicaraguan bloggers Emila Persola [es], Freddy Quezada [es], Space for Alternative Communication and Sexual Diversity (Espacio de Comunicación Alternativa por la Diversidad Sexual [es]), and Fabio Buitrago [es], who will talk about video-blogging as a channel for environmental education and action.
The lecture series will conclude with a presentation about new tendencies on the increasingly common use of blogs and new media by business corporations,  and with case studies on the management of social networks in the world of advertising. The event will be open to the public until full capacity is reached, giving priority to those who register on the official blog where news and updates will be posted.  For more information visit El encuentro de blogs [es], and also the program [es] and list of Confirmed Presenters [es].