Stories from 11 December 2012
A Festival to Celebrate Free Software in Nicaragua
Talks, workshops, and exhibitions are all part of the schedule for the National Free Software Festival to be held in Managua, Nicaragua on December 12, 2012. There will also be a celebration of Creative Commons’ 10th Anniversary with a featured round-table discussion about free licenses and copyright issues.
Online Tools for People with Disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
UNDP's Voices From Eurasia writes about the new web-based tools aimed at promoting the rights of people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
India: The Menace Of Eve-Teasing
Main Toki at The Broken Scooter highlights the challenges to tackle Eve-teasing, sexual harassment of women in public places. In India the law exists but it does not define eve-teasing in proper terms and the fines are negligible.
Croatia's EU Negotiation Model: A View From Turkey
At BlogActiv.com, Kader Sevinç shares highlights [en] from her interview [hr] with the Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija, in which she talked about Turkey’s accession to the EU and the Croatian model for the EU negotiations – “a multi-party model overcoming deep political fractures over the EU membership target.”
Independent French Data Journalism Website OWNI Under Threat of Closure
News of the imminent demise of OWNI (OWNI.fr), an independent French data journalism media outlet, surfaced last week. Famous for its close collaboration with WikiLeaks, OWNI developed the WarLogs application and conducted a great deal of analyses on the SpyFiles among others, and has been consistently reporting on surveillance, internet governance and freedom online.
A Research On Gender Sensitive Speech Online
The Internet Democracy project in India is conducting a research project that looks at how women in India, who are social media users, deal with speech addressed to them online that makes them feel uncomfortable as women. You can also participate – details are here. Deadline 15 December, 2012.
Voices of Dignity – Women Survivors of Colombia's Armed Conflict
Through the powerful testimonies of Yoladis Zúñiga and Petronila Mendoza -two Colombian women who fled their homes after paramilitaries killed their husbands and raided their villages- the multimedia project Voices of Dignity provides an intimate and necessary look into the struggles of the victims of Colombia's armed conflict.
Global Voices: Where Every Voice Counts
The idea that every voice counts is one that is very close to the notion of Global Voices as a platform and as a community. As netizens unite to have their voices heard when the world's authorities argue on who should run the internet, we decided to ask our diverse community speak out on issues that matter to them and look back at issues we have covered over the year bearing in mind that every voice counts.
Trinidad & Tobago: How the Grief Stole Christmas
Christmas just isn't the same when you've lost someone close to you. Outlish discusses grieving at this time of year.
Netizens “Bow Farewell” to Guyanese Writer Jan Carew
Guyanese writer Jan Carew passed away at his home in Louisville, Kentucky on December 5th. One of the most prominent West Indian writers of his generation, Carew was a poet, playwright, novelist and scholar, best known for his 1958 novel “Black Midas” and his 1964 polemic “Moscow Is Not My Mecca”. Caribbean netizens pay their respects.
What is Web Mapping?
In this post we learn more about web mapping with MapBox's Ian Ward, as he explains some of the organization's recent projects and how these visualization tools are improving communication locally and globally.
Egypt: “Which Article of the Constitution Are You Objecting?”
Recent events in Egypt demonstrate the deepening rift between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and an increasing proportion of the population. Rayna St is bringing us up-to-date with the situation on the ground days ahead of a referendum on a controversial constitution.
Mexico: “What is it like to live in Monterrey, really?”
The city continues to have several positive and unique aspects to it. But what has changed? We are not caught between crossfire, held at gunpoint or witness beheadings on a daily basis, but the difference from years back is that now is the presence of fear for these things actually...
Access Innovation Prize 2012 Recognizes Costa Rican Facebook App
Access.org announced the winners of the 1st Annual Access Tech Innovation Prize Awards, a new initiative that awards ideas that use information technology to promote human rights and address issues that are important to communities from across the world. Costa Rican Facebook-integrated app FueraJustoOrozco.com ("out Justo Orozco") was announced as one of the winners.
Land Grabbing for BioFuel in Madagascar
The Association for the Protection of Malagasy Lands and its representative Mamy Rakotondrainibe bemoans [fr] the manner in which the Tozzi Green group is approaching the development of jatropha exploitation over 100 000 ha of lands in Southern Madagascar. Local farmers are quoted as saying [fr] : We, small farmers, are forced to leave...
Rare Protest in Beijing Against Express Train Catches China by Surprise
A protest against the Shenyang-Beijing Express Train Route in downtown Beijing on December 9, 2012 has caught many Chinese netizens by surprise. Some believe that it is a sign for further political reform, while some are holding their breathe and crossing their fingers.
When a Coup is not a Coup in Mali
This is not a coup. The president is still in place but the prime minister was no longer working in the interests of the country Bakary Mariko, spokesperson for the former military junta, explains why [fr]the army has arrested the former prime minister of Mali Cheikh Modibo Diarra who resigned...
China's Weibo Guru Kai-fu Lee Talks About Higher Education Issues
Prominent figure in Chinese internet sector Kai-Fu Lee pointed out the problems in China's higher education. He tweeted on Dec 10[zh], translation here: China doesn't need so many universities. In order to meet the high expectations of parents, schools have expanded the enrollment. Many private universities have developed too fast...
China: Fake RMB Donations Triggers Online Debate
On December 8, foreign consulates in Guangzhou, Southern China held a Christmas charity bazaar to raise funds for disabled children. The event raised 330,000 RMB (about US$53,000), but the Belgian consulate found out that 5,000 RMB turned out to be fake currency. The news led to a heated discussion online. TeaLeafNation...
Mehzar – Pakistan's Youngest Victim of Violence Against Shias
Mehzar Zahra is one of the youngest victims of the ongoing assault on Shia Muslims by terrorists and extremists organizations in Pakistan. The 12 year -old girl was shot while her father was taking her to school. Her father died instantly and she is battling for her life in a hospital in Karachi.
Lao Startup Wins ASEAN Award
Lao IT Dev, a startup based in Laos, has won the 1st Asean ICT Award in the Digital Content category. It publishes the e-corner magazine which is the major source of IT-related news in Laos.
