Stories about Portuguese from August, 2012
Portuguese, a Global Language?
A community page on Facebook, Língua Portuguesa: Uma Língua Global? (Portuguese Language: A Global Language?) [pt], provides a diversity of materials to promote the debate about the expansion of Portuguese language and its consequences. Several critical issues on the policies of this language of around 200 million speakers are addressed,...
Angola: Before Polls, Serious Questions Arise
On the eve of Angola’s elections, leader of the country’s largest opposition party was loud and clear to the media, stating the electoral process was the worst ever. Citizens report on lack of transparency around the electoral rolls, problems with polling staff assignments and lack of accredited observers.
Brazil: 13 Year-Old Exposes School Problems on Facebook
Diário de Classe [pt], a Facebook page created by Isadora Faber, a 13 year-old from Santa Catarina, Brazil, has already gathered more than 176,000 “likes”. Aiming to “show the truth about public schools”, Isadora shares photos that show the repairs needed in her own school and reports on other general problems.
Angola: Citizens Report Electoral Irregularities
The website EleicoesAngola2012.com [pt] receives and shares denouncements of irregularities concerned with the preparation for Angola's general elections that will take place on August 31. Any citizen can submit reports via SMS.
Angola: Pre-Election Media Coverage Undermines Political Process
At the end of this month, Angolans go to the polls. Expectations are high but the feeling on the streets is calm and festive. The party in power MPLA increases the number of openings of public works and promises to captivate voters. National bloggers, always attentive, report what is happening behind the scenes.
Cape Verde: “A Real Hell for Stray Animals”
Cape Verde: white beaches, beautiful sea and luxuriant vegetation: a paradise for humans but a real hell for stray animals. The alert (with photos) comes from the International Organization for Animal Protection.
Guinea-Bissau: Women, Citizenship and “Mandjuandades”
Informal voluntary associations predominantly made up of women and sustained through solidarity and the sharing of individual and collective interests, may play an important role in strengthening participative democracy in Guinea Bissau: meet "mandjuandades".
Angolan Tourists Spend Big Bucks in Portugal
'Little by little we see Angolan money starting to dominate businesses and the economic sectors in Portugal.' According to a netizen this is in stark contrast to 70% of Angola's population which 'is barefoot, have empty stomachs, (and) live in a slum.'
Portugal: The Dark Side of the National Dam Program
The dams in the Programa Nacional de Barragens (National Dam Program) will cost the Portuguese government €16 billion, to be spent on construction, subsidies and interest on loans. Together with wind farms, they are going to make Portuguese electricity the most expensive in the world.
Guinea-Bissau: “Our Culture” in Photos
The Facebook profile of Nôkultura Associação (“Our Culture” Association), launched by Teodoro Gomes in late July, 2012, features a rich – though still small – set of photos on culture and traditions of Guinea Bissau.
Brazil: Land Dispute Between Slave Descendants and the Navy
An online petition [pt] demands the suspension of the order of eviction of Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, one of the oldest slave descendent communities in Brazil. A Technical Identification and Delimitation Report from the National Institute of Colonisation and Agrarian Reform (Incra) determined that the territory belongs to the quilombola...
Brazil: Bicycle Brings Books to the Homeless
If good ideas transcend boundaries, this one does it by bicycle. That is, by Bicicloteca, a bicycle that carries a small library through the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
Brazil: Belo Monte Halted, but for How Long?
When it seemed that all was already lost, the movements opposing the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant were surprised by an order suspending the works, which were being carried out on the Xingu River in the state of Pará. News of the decision, which was made on the night of the 13th of August, spread like a wave of hope for the activists, who inundated social media with exuberant reactions.
Brazil: Belo Monte, the Film
The film Belo Monte, Announcement of a War was recently launched in the Internet. It is the result of a collective effort that involved the independent producer, Cinedelia, and a crowdfunding campaign mobilized by Catarse. The film shows the reactions of indigenous people, inhabitants of Altamira, Pará, Brazil, and activists against...
Brazil: Judge Orders Halt to Belo Monte Dam
Brazilian judge Souza Prudente ordered halt to the construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam, in Altamira, state of Pará, on August 13, 2012, reports [pt] independent researcher Telma Monteiro on her blog. Netizens’ reactions on Twitter are being shared under the hashtag #BeloMonte.
East Timor: Crowdmapping Humanitarian and Community Development Projects
East Timorese NGO Belun, in collaboration with FONGTIL and Fundasaun Alola, have recently launched a crowdmap platform that features a National Database of Humanitarian and Community Development Projects.
Brazil: Claims Under Electoral Law Lead Two Parana's Blogs to Justice
Brazilian blogger Esmael Morais writes [pt] about two blogs from the state of Paraná which have been taken to justice under accusations of disobeying electoral law: Olho Aberto Paraná and Blog do Tarso. The country is preparing the municipal elections that will take place in October, 2012.
Brazil: Will the Pioneering Internet Bill of Rights Pass?
The Marco Civil, a “bill of rights” for Internet users proposed in Brazil, will come to a vote on August 8. While the majority of the community seems to support the approval of the law, some are against the broad freedom that the initiative will bring about. Whatever the result, Brazil once again has the opportunity to pioneer in the arena of digital policymaking.
Angolan and Mozambican Politicians Among Most Influential Africans
Brazilian blogger Marcio Pessoa comments [pt] on personalities from Portuguese language countries who have been featured on the list of the world's most influential Africans of the magazine The Africa Report: the Angolan Manuel Vicente, former president of the state oil company (Sonangol), and the Mozambican Daviz Simango, the founder and...
Brazil: Sexist Reporting Taints Olympic Coverage
"Female athletes who got into this competition representing their countries, after long years of training.. are simply summarized to the excess or lack of weight, to their hair style, smiles and, of course: buttocks."
Europe: Dutch Designer Tells Visual Stories on the Crisis
Portuguese journalist Ana Maria Henriques interviews [pt] Noortje van Eekelen (@spectragedy) the Dutch designer who created The Spectacle of the Tragedy, a blog that “tells a visual story about the politicians that navigate the Euro crisis.”
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