· September, 2012

Stories about Citizen Media from September, 2012

India: Build Your Own Map to Improve Your City

  29 September 2012

Transparent Chennai is a platform for citizen engagement to help the citizens of Chennai counter inaccurate or incomplete government data with crowdsourced maps, and make better claims on the government for their rights and entitlements.

Russia: Nation's Top Blogger Headed to Prison?

RuNet Echo  29 September 2012

The criminal investigation targeting Russia's most prominent oppositionist blogger, Alexey Navalny, is heating up. Viacheslav Opalev, the former director of a logging firm in Kirov, has confessed [ru] to participating in the embezzlement of 16 million rubles (over half a million U.S. dollars), and named Navalny as the scheme's mastermind.

Russia: Ridiculing the Winter Olympics Slogan

RuNet Echo  29 September 2012

The just-announced slogan of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (“Hot. Cool. Yours.”) has spurred a brief episode of merrymaking on the RuNet. At first that may seem surprising, while the English version of the slogan may sound slightly confusing and a bit corny, it isn't particularly rich fodder for jokes or double entendres.

Portugal: Unionists Take to the Streets in Protest

  29 September 2012

Following the biggest popular protest of the last decades in Portugal, on September 15, 2012, every week people have been taking to the streets. More demonstrations were called for September 29, “against the theft of wages, pensions and retirements” by the union confederation CGTP. On Twitter hashtags #29s, #29sPT –...

Ukraine: Protesting the Controversial Defamation Bill

  29 September 2012

A bill that calls for penalties of up to five years in jail for defamation passed a first reading in the Ukrainian Parliament on Sep. 18. Following the online campaign against the adoption of the bill, its author submitted a request to recall it. The bill isn't history yet, however, and the protest continues.

Panama: Controversial 510 Copyright Bill Approved

  28 September 2012

The 510 Bill that would regulate copyrights in Panamá was approved on September 26, 2012, by the National Assembly. The outrage against this bill is coming to a boiling point on social networks and Panamá's mainstream media since, among other things, it establishes unprecedented liberties to the legislative body charged with enforcing it.

Spain: Creative Alternatives to an Economy in Crisis

  28 September 2012

Since the start of the crisis that continues to embroil Spain's economy, many Spaniards have opted out of that economic model and instead created viable alternatives to their economy in crisis, such as networks for sharing goods and services or new systems and currencies that promote responsible consumption.

Zambia's “Imaginary” Terror Plot

  28 September 2012

Zambia appears to be on the brink of ethnic conflict after a separatist group from Southern Province claimed to have killed members of the President’s tribe. However, many Zambians regard the threat posed by the Tongas Under Oath as the latest attempt by the government to discredit opposition parties.

Russia: The Kostin Report & the Trojan Horse of American ICT

RuNet Echo  28 September 2012

Earlier this week, the media got a sneak peek at a new report on the foreign penetration of the RuNet and the potential manipulation of the country's future elections. The Internet's growing popularity is transforming it into a political weapon: a weapon that is increasingly guarded by American, albeit private, media firms.