Stories from 14 May 2014
Women and the Exercise of Political Power
EnGenerada asks [es] its readers if they have what they need to exercise political power. Every day, we read, hear, and speak the phrase: “Politics is the tool for society's transformation”. As we mature our thinking, we look into some certainties of our context, those pre-concepts that we have incorporated for...
Argentina and Open Access
Fernando Ariel López writes [es] for Infotecarios about Law 26899: Creating Digital Institutional Repositories of Open, Owned, or Shared Access [es], also known as the Open Access Law, approved in Argentina in November 2013, after a long process initiated in 2009. The scientific-technological production resulting from the work, training, and/or projects funded...
Scientific Communicators Responsibility
In relation to the new Cosmos series, Víctor R. Ruíz reflects [es] on how the search for scientific knowledge is becoming a question of social responsibility, and the role of scientists in the public sphere: Both before and then, private companies and governments have agendas that don't always coincide with general...
Jamaica: Where the Hashtag Stops
Active Voice shares an eye-opening collection of tweets that offers different perspectives about #bringbackourgirls.
Guyana: Laugh & Learn
Guyana Gyal blogs about the power of laughter: Through the use of humour, she was able to help a young woman be confident enough to learn.
Meet Joshua Beckford Who Attended Oxford University at the Age of 6
Omg Ghana reports about Joshua Beckford's outstanding academic achievement: At age 8, you were probably practicing a sport or was preparing for the third grade. Well, meet an 8 year old with a twist, Joshua Beckford. This particular young boy is by far not your average 8 year old. He studied...
4G and other Indonesian Inventions
4G, the fastest data transmission technology of our time, was developed by an Indonesian. Another interesting Indonesian invention is the electric shoes which give women the tool to defend themselves by stunning an attacker with an electric shock.
Civil Society Resumes Watchdog for Guinea-Bissau's Presidential Run-Off
Getting set for Guinea-Bissau's presidential run-off on May 18, 2014, the Group of Civil Society Organizations for the Elections (GOSCE) resumed its monitoring activities of the electoral process on May 14. Live updates from the ground can be followed in the website bissauvote.com, which provides a map of reports that are being collected by a...
‘When I Heard the Sounds of Bullets, I Knew They Had Come for Me’
Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi recalls the attack on his life that left his 25-year-old driver dead in March.
VIDEOS: Vintage Southeast Asia in the British Pathe Archive
Many of the films in the British Pathe collection are valuable resource that could teach us a lot about Southeast Asia's recent past and even the present.
Mother's Day According to Mexican Government
Osiris Jasso reflects [on] recent Mother's Day and how it was “celebrated” by the Mexican government on social networks. Mother's Day is an excellent occasion to highlight the importance of providing every woman with education and opportunities for them to become mothers just by choice, to demand better working conditions...
A 5-Minute Video Could Be Your Ticket to New York
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) invites young people under the age of 25 to submit original 5-minute videos on migration, diversity and social inclusion to the Plural+2014 film festival. Three winning videos will receive $1000 and the makers will be invited to New York City to attend an...
Japan's Yu Terasawa Named ‘Information Hero’ by Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders, a France-based non-governmental organization that defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, has for the first time created a list of 100 Information Heroes. From Japan, Yu Terasawa was among them. He is an investigative journalist and has written books exposing police corruption. Reporters Without Borders...
Blogger Reflections: What Does a Woman Want?
Bernardette Tristan Amiel blogging [es] for Mujeres Construyendo brings up a story about King Arthur to reflect on the expectations women have regarding men: Camelot would have a new king, unless Arthur could answer a simple question. Arthur agreed upon giving the answer. The question was: what does a woman...
Libraries and Free Culture
The blog from Parque Biblioteca Tomás Carrasquilla – La Quintana, in Medellin, Colombia, expresses [es] its support for free culture. After explaining the liberties [es] free culture brings, the blog describes how can this fit together with a librarian's work: Public libraries can learn from these liberties to share the...
Costa Rica: Ongoing Teacher Strike
On Tuesday, May 13, the teacher strike in Costa Rica had been going on for 13 days, and President Luis Guillermo Solís called educators’ [es] attention asking them to get back to their classrooms and calling on their patriotism: “With all due respect and humility, I am asking the teachers...
Is Breastfeeding in Public indecent?
Is breastfeeding in public “indecent”? That's the question raised [es] by Alejandra on Verde Alegría, after she was forced to breastafeed in private and realized she was not the only one: To me, breastfeeding was -and still is- something absolutely normal and I thought everybody shared that idea. Nevertheless, I've...
