Join Global Voices on Instagram as We Hop Around the World

This week our Iran editor Mahsa Alimardani ^[2] brought our Global Voices Instagram account back from hibernation with a poignant reflection on the diversity of Paris.

Mahsa is posting on our @globalvoicesonline ^[3]Instagram account all week from Utrecht and Amsterdam as part of a new initiative to show the beauty, diversity and expansiveness of our community.

Every week, you will be introduced to a unique member of our community through our Instagram account.

In a couple of months — if all goes according to our grand plan — through the unique lens of the Global Voices community, you will meet people, see places and read stories from Bangladesh, Morocco, Lebanon, Peru, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Uganda on @globalvoicesonline. ^[3]

We have contributors from over 160 countries. Within the year, we hope to cover a few dozen countries.  What are we calling this experiment on Instagram? We haven't settled on a name yet, but you can call it #dayinthelifeofGV ^[4] or #GVInsta. ^[5]

Next week, Mahsa will hand over our Instagram reins to Global Voices community leader Marianna Breytman in New York. The week after, our Spanish Translation Manager Juan Arellano will take over from Lima, Peru and Pernille from our Sub Saharan Africa team will follow after that from northern Uganda.

For a glimpse into what that means, take a look at some of the photos and stories shared by Mahsa on @globalvoicesonline ^[3] this week. Mahsa is an Iranian-Canadian Internet researcher, currently completing her Masters degree in New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam. As our Iran editor, Mahsa enriches our coverage with stories about the intersection of technology and human rights, freedom of expression and access to information inside Iran.

Hi I'm @maasalan your Iran editor. I'm kicking off this little experiment we're doing that follows GVers throughout their day-to-day lives for a week. Now we're supposed to launch this experiment with an introductory self-portrait, but I'm doing it a bit differently because of what happened a few hours ago. I feel odd not touching upon the tragic events that unfolded in Paris last night when it has been the only thing my social media streams have been painfully recounting, and the topic that I've been sadly discussing with friends since the news broke. And so I'm posting a photo from a night I spent there a few months ago with two of my favourite Parisians, and consequently also members of the Global Voices community -@lenguarez & @yezkagonzalez Now I find it disappointing that the carnage that happened in Paris outshines tragedies that have hit many other cities this past week, including Beirut, and many parts of Syria and Iraq. There is no scale to measure their importance . This picture I’m posting from Paris is hers because I was recently in that city, and because of that I feel automatically connected and concerned. It’s touched my heart because it is a beautiful city, and mostly for it’s people. Like Laura (who was safe last night) tells me “Paris is colourful, full of different people and cultures.” Parisians come from all kinds of backgrounds and places, and there is much beauty in this diversity. This picture was a selfie taken after a night of dancing at the event ’Salsa in the Seine’. That night I danced with Parisians who were Venezuelans, Cubans, Moroccans and Syrians. It was a beautiful night. A night where a Paris of all colours and shapes came out and put a smile on everyone’s face. I don’t know what is to follow after last night, but I hope the Paris I experienced by the Seine will still keep it's rhythm. I fear the discrimination that lies ahead and regret we have not afforded this kind of attention elsewhere. With this I encourage you all to read a thought provoking article on GV by Joey Ayoub “The Streets of Paris Are as Familiar to Me as the Streets of Beirut.” Wishing us all sober reflection in the days that come. #salsa #dayinthelifeofGV ^[6]   A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 14, 2015 at 1:29am PST

Met Noura Aljizawi a Syrian activist fighting the good fight for the future of free Syria. She works with the Syrian National Coalition for Syrian democracy. She tells me “I have enough hope for Syria to fight for our dignity and our homeland.” She left #Syria in 2013, #instaGV #dayinthelifeofGV #freesyria ^[7]   A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 14, 2015 at 11:47am PST

So I got to speak on a panel about Iran and human rights post-nuclear deal with someone I look up to dearly, the badass @masih.alinejad. Follow her campaign to empower women's voices in Iran on Facebook called “My Stealthy Freedom” #instaGV #dayinthelifeofGV #peoplebehindGV #Iran ^[8]

A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 14, 2015 at 6:24am PST

@sarvaloo eats @mezrab_'s famous #ashreshte while waiting for @kambizhosseini's performance. Mezrab is a popular Dutch storytelling center run by the Iranian-Dutch Sahand Sahebdivani. No show is without his mom's famous ash. #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #IranianDutchLife ^[9]   A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 15, 2015 at 12:57pm PST

@kambizhosseini tells a crowd how he was a troublemaker as a small boy in Mashhad. He's also sick, so he's doing his stand up show next to a bottle of cough medicine, but you couldn't tell by how energetic he is. (Also, remember that time he wrote for @globalvoicesonline? “Confessions of an Angry Iranian” is worth a reread.) #dayinthelifeofGV #instaGV #comedy #iranianSatire ^[10] A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 15, 2015 at 1:47pm PST

They call him the Iranian Jon Stewart. #selfiePerfection #instaGV #dayinthelifeofGV #iranianSatire ^[11]   A photo posted by Global Voices (@globalvoicesonline) on Nov 15, 2015 at 2:54pm PST