· February, 2011

Stories about Ideas from February, 2011

Haiti: Preventable Suffering

  28 February 2011

“The earthquake did not kill people. Bad buildings killed people. Lack of medical care killed people. Lack of infrastructure killed people. Lack of caring government officials kill[s] people”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “most Haitian suffering is not necessary and is preventable in the first place.”

Caribbean: Bocas Announces Longlist

  28 February 2011

“The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature — which will be awarded for the first time this year — has announced its 2011 longlist of ten books”: Caribbean bloggers discuss.

Argentina: Hackathons and Budget Transparency in Bahía Blanca

  28 February 2011

As we have witnessed in the last month, there are moments in civic life that drive citizens to change and challenge institutions, to create solutions and to express their concerns about things that matter. In a short interview with Renata Avila for the Technology for Transparency Network, Manuel Aristarian, an...

India: Are You A Toybanker Yet?

  25 February 2011

Toybank is a bank with Toy Deposits and Joy Dividends, an idea which comes with a vision of reaching out to needy children through fun and play, using toys. Debolina Raja Gupta interviews Sweta Chari, the CEO of the Toybank project, to learn more.

Kenya: #KenyaFeb28: Online Call to Nationalism

  25 February 2011

Monday 28, February 2011 seems to be significant for Kenya's netizens. Kenyans have been using Twitter, Facebook and even email to discuss whether they should use the twitter hashtag #KenyaFeb28 to marshal protest over political issues or whether the same platform should be utilized to spur a sense of nationalism.

Chile: Electronic Textbooks for Schoolchildren?

  24 February 2011

The school year is starting in Chile, and Enzo Abbagliati in Cadaunadas wonders, “why aren't textbooks in Chile digital?” after he spent almost $300 USD in textbooks for his son. He presents possible advantages to giving schoolchildren electronic textbooks they could read on a tablet or e-reader.

Cuba: The Memory of Zapata

  23 February 2011

“Sometimes the end of person cements his name in history forever”: Generation Y blogs about Orlando Zapata Tamayo on the first anniversary of his death.

Jamaica, Haiti: Insensitive Treatment?

  22 February 2011

“The Haitians are clearly hurt and humiliated” over the treatment of its youth football team, writes Active Voice, some of members of which were found to be suffering from malaria.

St. Lucia, T&T, Cuba: Literary Festivals

  21 February 2011

“All indications are it promises to be a grand affair with an eclectic mix of creative offerings that are sure to appeal to literature fans from all over the world”: Caribbean Book Blog is excited about the Bocas Lit Fest, while Iván's File Cabinet blogs about the Havana Book Festival.

Brazil: Learning culture and portuguese language

  21 February 2011

In the International Mother Language Day, take some time out to check the Portuguese Blog by Transparent Language and read about the Brazilian culture and its Portuguese language variant. Have fun learning how to use sarcastic expressions such as “para variar” and “depois“.

Turks & Caicos: Now Is The Time

  18 February 2011

The tcipost is calling on “every Turks and Caicos Islander with access to the Internet [to] please use all the social networks at our disposal to demand our right to self determination and bring awareness to our plight.”

Jamaica: Get Up, Stand Up

  18 February 2011

“Next year…Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of being an independent nation, but unless we take Bob Marley's words to heart and emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, our jubilee will represent nothing more than a fleeting, insignificant figure on time's continuum”: Ruthibelle thinks its time for Jamaica to grow up.

Turks & Caicos: Using Social Media for Democracy

  17 February 2011

The tcipost wants fellow islanders to “remember that the people of Egypt this month used the internet to strengthen their voices and share information”, suggesting that they can use the same tools to have their voices heard when it comes to the new constitution “that will dilute our vote as...

Cuba: New Technology, Old Ideas

  17 February 2011

“What century is Cuban television living in?”: Octavo Cerco is amazed by the claims of a television program, saying: “That the new technologies have arrived, there is now no doubt, because they themselves say it’s so. But it’s thanks to the tenacity of the Cuban people in accessing everything the...

Russia: Recreating a Traditional Village Hospital

RuNet Echo  16 February 2011

Mikhail Shlyapnikov (LJ user michael-077) writes in detail (RUS) about plans to set up a communal village hospital – old-style, but functional – in Kolionovo, Moscow region: “This, perhaps, is a rare case in contemporary history of rural Russia when, contrary to the general tendency, a village hospital is not...

Trinidad & Tobago: “Arima” in Kiddies Carnival

  16 February 2011

“Arima — which means both ‘place of the beginning’ and ‘water’ — is an indigenous Amerindian place name for what is now a large town in eastern Trinidad”: Alice Yard blogs about its children’s Carnival masquerade band, which “attempts to bring these two definitions together”.

Latin America: Conversations About OCD Iberoamérica

  15 February 2011

Juan Arellano spoke to Soraya Sacaan [es] and Juan José Retamal [es] of OCD Iberoamérica [es], a Chilean initiative whose mission is to “contribute to knowledge of digital communications in the private sector, academia and government to promote and understand its scope and application in society.” Juan added both videos...