· July, 2010

Stories about Digital Activism from July, 2010

Nicaragua: 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media in Managua

  31 July 2010

On August 12 and 13 the event 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media (2.0 Encuentro de Blogs & Nuevos Medios) will take place in Managua, with the participation of communication and new media experts from various countries in the region, including some Global Voices authors.

Philippines: Opposition to Rail Transit Fare Hikes

  31 July 2010

Metro Manila commuters of the Metro Rail Transit will be facing fare hikes as the Philippine government plans to abandon subsidies for the public transportation because of rising operation and maintenance costs. Bloggers react

Russia: LiveJournal Under Fire Of Criticism for “Innovations”

LiveJournal, Russia's still most popular blog platform, recently fell under severe criticism for several “innovations”: purging suspended and “inactive” accounts [EN] and closing OpenID registration [RUS] (allowed LJ-users to comment in other blog-platforms). Blogger sviridenkov observes [RUS] more and more bloggers switching to stand-alone blogs, while Artur Welf says [RUS] disappointed users...

Armenia: Doubts about reported suicide in the Army

Unzipped comments on news that a contract officer in the Armenian army has been reported dead. With mistreatment in the military common and of concern to human rights groups, the blog does not appear to believe the official story that Artak Nazaryan committed suicide and directs readers to a Facebook...

Venezuela: Allies in Technology, Women Who are Not Afraid of Mice

  29 July 2010

Venezuelan NGO Aliadas en Cadena (Allies in Chains) created the group Aliadas en Tecnología (Allies in Technology) to promote the use of technology to empower women affected by poverty. Through classes and workshops, many women who saw computers as strange and intimidating objects now find in them a tool for work, learning and self-fulfillment.

Bangladesh: One Child to Rebuild a School

  28 July 2010

All it took was one child to talk about his destroyed school in front of a camera: through the following months, thanks to Shawn Ahmed of the Uncultured Project and Nerdfighters, the world rallied through YouTube and raised enough money to rebuild the school.

Cuba: July 26

  26 July 2010

Cuban bloggers have their say about the observance of the July 26th anniversary of the military action that began the Cuban Revolution.

Azerbaijan: Youth activism and social media

Ali Resh uses online video tools to interview Baku-based Ruslan Asadov, along with now imprisoned video blogger Adnan Hajizade also a co-founder and member of the OL! Azerbaijani youth movement, live from Tbilisi, Georgia. Resh and Asadov speak about the use of new and social media in youth activism in...

Brazil: Training Citizen Media in the Suburbs of São Paulo

  24 July 2010

A new citizen journalism project is underway in the poor, marginalized suburbs of São Paulo. Journalist Bruno Garcez launched blog Mural [pt] where he posts citizen media tips and interacts with his students. The new citizen reporters are also invited to publish their reporting and explain the process they have...

Egypt: Niqab ban in France stirs controversy

The lower house of the Spanish Parliament is debating a proposal to prohibit the wearing of body-covering burqas and face-covering niqabs in all public spaces in Spain, and the French parliament just approved a ban on niqabs (face veils). Bloggers from across the Middle East react.