Stories about Education from December, 2010
Puerto Rico: Videos for a Cause
The digital magazine 80 Grados [es] posted another video of their series “UPR, a common cause” [es] which aims to present different voices of the University of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico: Dialogue with Students on Strike
Student activist Arturo Ríos Escribano used social media networks to inform the public about the dialogue [es] between student leaders of the University of Puerto Rico, governor Luis Fortuño and the state secretary Kenneth McClintock. As a result of the meeting, the Governor decided to remove a special unit of...
Sri Lanka: The Story Of The Wife Of An Army Personnel
Cerno from Sri Lanka posts an inspiring story of the wife of an army sergeant who was delighted to see her husband coming home intact after the war.
Africa: Formal education is not advancing Africa
Nana argues that formal education is not advancing Africa: “Let’s admit it – formal education in Ghana and much of Africa is structured to teach young people to read and write, no more.”
Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom in One Sentence
From Saudi Arabia, Mustafa Hussain tweets (Ar): “Unemployment, corruption, tribalism, weak education curricula, state-owned media, full prisons, bad government services, oil which is not its own – all this and more in Saudi Arabia.”
Zambia: Tina Banda, The Facebook Agony Aunt
To many people Facebook is a tool to announce what they are doing or what they have done, yet to some Zambians, it is being used as ‘Agony Aunt’ from which they are seeking advice on many social problems affecting them.
Chile: Students from Citizen Journalism Project “Young Reporters” Talk About Their Work
A group of school-age citizen journalists who create content for Jóvenes Reporteros [es] (Young Reporters) describe their work in a video for the site Periodismo Ciudadano [es] (Citizen Journalism).
Ethiopia: Run Across Ethiopia aims to raise $100,000 for education
The Run Across Ethiopia , a project of On the Ground (OTG), a US-based non-profit organization, aims to raise $100,000 for Ethiopian education projects, including the construction of schools in other coffee-growing communities.
Puerto Rico: Violent Clashes at the University of Puerto Rico
Students on strike at the main campus of the state-run University of Puerto Rico were beaten and arrested last Monday, December 20, after violent clashes with the Police. Students oppose an annual $800 tuition fee that will be imposed in January. Bloggers in Puerto Rico have analyzed and commented on this recent strike and the crucial moment the student movement confronts.
USA: Indigenous Youth Media Project Recovers History
For a Navajo community, video has become a way to connect youth with their ancestors and the history of their people through the story of the Yellow Woman.
Russia: Is Internet Guilty of Organizing Nationalistic Riots?
Russian media and blogosphere ponder who is responsible for the nationalists’ riots in Moscow in mid-December. But the authorities found their own scapegoat – the Internet.
Dominican Republic: Demanding 4% of National Budget for Education
In the Dominican Republic there is a heated debate about the quality of education that focuses on the fact that the General Law of Education establishes that annual public funding on education must reach at least 4% of the GDP. Actually, only around 2% is destined to education. The Internet and social media networks have become important spaces for grassroots campaigns and communication.
Venezuela: Police Repression During Protest Over University Law
Miguel Octavio in The Devil's Excrement says that students faced severe police repression during a protest against a new law that gives the government more control over universities. Furthermore, in Venezuela News and Views Daniel Duquenal reports that an AFP journalist was hurt while taking pictures of the protest.
Korea: Preferential Treatment to Kim Il-Sung Univ. Graduates
Giving preferential treatment to prestigious school graduates is South Korea's chronic disease. @Heoyeonism tweeted a North Korean defector's comment that North Korean defectors who went Kim Il-Sung University, one of the top universities in N.Korea is more likely to get a job in South than other defectors.
Macedonia: Scholarships for African Students
Ivana Dimitrovska published online her letter [MKD] to the editor of Utrinski vesnik daily, objecting discriminatory overtones in an article [MKD] about several scholarships for African students provided by the Macedonian government, blaming this program for a lack of scholarships for locals.
Africa: (The Lack) of African ICT Research
The lack of African ICT research: “It’s no surprise that most of the ICT research comes from South Africa, followed by Nigeria and Botswana. But even if you added up all the research done in all of Africa, it is only 9% of the research done in Africa is done...
Puerto Rico: The Politization of the Supreme Court
Law professor and blogger Hiram Meléndez Juarbe analyzes the institutional crisis the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico [es] is facing, and its recent decision to restrict the space and place of the protests at the University of Puerto Rico.
Dominican Republic: 4% for Education
Blogger and journalist María Isabel Soldevila supports the grassroots campaign [es] that is demanding the government to invest 4% of the national budget in education.
Vietnam: BarCamp and EduCamp Saigon 2010
Around 500 participants attended Barcamp Saigon 2010 this week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Saigon Educamp was also held where participants discussed technology as well as teaching and learning. Here are blog and twitter reactions
Thailand: Addressing youth sexuality needs
Love Care Station and Teen Path, both based in Thailand, are online portals that provide sexuality education and counseling to young people in Thailand.
Student condition in Indonesia
EngageMedia uploads a video featuring university students from Jakarta, Indonesia who talk about their education and the condition of students in Indonesia.
