Stories about Youth from July, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: Hoping for Medals
The MEP Blog takes a look at the country's past Olympic greats and 2012 medal hopefuls.
London: Triumph Beyond Medals for Bangladeshis
Five Bangladeshi athletes are in London to participate in the 2012 Olympics. Bangladeshis are not optimistic that their athletes will come back with medals. However, this is not the end of the Olympic dream for Bangladesh. Their main triumph is not on the field, but off the field.
Zambia: Pupils Expelled For Facebook Activities
Twenty one pupils at a secondary school in rural western Zambia have been expelled over vile messages against their teachers on Facebook. Meanwhile, ruling party boss wants Zambian citizen news website shut.
Jordan: Thousands of Syrians Seek Refuge
The situation in Syria has led hundreds of thousands of Syrians to flee the country to neighbouring Jordan. A Jordanian government source has said that officials are preparing for the possible arrival of up to one million Syrians.
Kenya: Schoolgirl Skirts-How Short is Too Short?
Kenyan Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo defense of schoolgirls who want the length of their skirts reduced has sparked a debate about culture, modernity and morality in Kenya. Kenyan media quoted the minister saying, "These girls do not want to be nuns; they want to be modern like Mutula!"
The Bahamas: Comments on the Colorado Shooting
There has not been a significant reaction in the Caribbean blogosphere about the Colorado movie theatre shooting - which is being cited as one of the deadliest in recent U.S. history - save for two Bahamian bloggers, for whom the news hit close to home.
Brazil/Portugal: Homophobia and the “Apparent Invisibility” of LGBT
On the blog No que tange, Maycon Lopes shares [pt] his experiences of being a homosexual in Brazil, where homophobia “motivates terrible killings”, and compares to situations he faced while living in Portugal for a year: “Portuguese society isn't violent […] however gays aren't so on sight”. He felt an...
Colombia: #Yodigoaquiestoy, a Tool for Denouncing Child Labor
"Yo Digo Aquí Estoy" ("I say I am here") is the title of an interesting project by Fundación Telefónica which aims to put an end to child labor in Colombia, counting on citizen participation. We hereby reproduce an article by Paula Gonzalo, published in Periodismo Ciudadano, where she tells us more about this tool.
Morocco: 22-Year-Old Arrested For Posting Cartoons of Prophet Mohammed on Facebook
According to online news magazine eMarrakech, a young Moroccan was arrested on Friday in Casablanca on charges of posting “insulting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.” The accused, whose name has not been disclosed, has, according to local newspapers, published cartoons depicting the Prophet in the form of different...
Greece: Fake Dyslexia Certificates for Children
In ‘Where Everything Is Possible‘ [el], blogger Theodoris Georgakopoulos criticizes the news that Children's Hospital employees in Athens, Greece, have been involved into issuing fake documents certifying dyslexia. He mainly puts the blame on those parents who labelled their children with a disability to facilitate their final high school exams. @Haris_Nk...
Tajikistan: Young People Learn to Blog
Matrix [ru], a Central Asian youth TV project focusing on Internet and new technologies, has produced a video [ru] about bloggers in Tajikistan. While few Tajiks presently run blogs, some local organizations teach young people how to start blogging.
Peru: Graffiti Overshadows Coverage of Anti-Mining Protests
During a recent protest march in Lima against the Conga mining project, the monument to the liberator Jose de San Martin was defaced with slogans against the government and the mining project. The media attention, and even in the blogosphere, was more focused on this "graffiti", obscuring the message of the protests.
Syria: Videos Document a Sharply Escalating Conflict
News from Syria set social media ablaze. Videos uploaded by activists on YouTube allowed viewers to follow key stages of a sharply escalating conflict.
Indonesia: Charismatic Entrepreneur Charmed Jakarta Voters
Residents of Jakarta, Indonesia went to the polls to elect a new governor of the country's capital. In a surprising twist, voters supported Joko Widodo, an entrepreneur and mayor of central Java city of Solo. For the first time in Jakarta elections, social networks were recognized as tools that promote voters' education and campaign awareness
Trinidad & Tobago: Irresponsible Advertising
“The new tagline for the rum’s advertisements was ‘When it pours, you reign.’ My brain exploded. Really? Show images of soaking wet, drunk-looking women, in a campaign that explicitly gives complete domination to the “you” to whom the ads appeal?” Lisa Allen-Agostini wonders “what on earth [the advertising agency was]...
Mozambique: Scholarship Students Kicked Out of Sudanese University
An open complaint letter published on social media by a group of scholarship holders from Mozambique at the International University of Africa, in Khartoum, Sudan, regarding their precarious social and financial situation, led to five of them being expelled and sent back to their home country.
Zambia: More Officials Than Athletes Travel to London Olympics?
Sports and Youth Minister Chishimba Kambwili recently said Zambia does not expect any medals from the London Olympics. Well, how can Zambian win medals if there will be more officials than athletes in London?
China: Netizens Reaction to National Education in Hong Kong
Ministry of Tofu reports on mainland Chinese netizens comment and discussion on the debate about national education in Hong Kong. Many of them are sympathetic with the students and criticize the brainwashing nature of the new curriculum.
Peru: 20 Years Later, Bloggers Remember Bomb Blast in Tarata Street
At 9:15 pm, on Thursday July 16, 1992, a bomb blast rattled the small and then almost unknown Tarata Street, in the Limean district of Miraflores. Days before the blast, Lima experienced many bomb blasts, but none had the same impact as the blast in Tarata. Twenty years after, netizens remember and reflect on that day.
Mauritania: Military Plane Crashes Killing Seven
On July 12, 2012, a Mauritanian military plane crashed in Nouakchott airport. The accident took the life of 3 soldiers (among them one officer) as well as two custom officials, in addition to two contract security guards working on the behalf of the Canadian company. Netizens had their say about the incident. Here is a collection of reactions by Ahmed Jeddou.
Iran: Is the State Afraid of a 13-Year Old Girl?
An Iranian security court created a stir recently by banning foreign travel for jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband and their 13-year-old daughter, Mehraveh Khandan. Nasrin Stoudeh has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
