Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

1. What do you have in mind when creating a new post? Your personal style? Other blogs? Your experience? Your readers?

2. How do you save your content or remember ideas? Notebooks? Favorites? Pinterest?

3. When publishing a post, do you check the grammar or just publish? …

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Flisol 2013 Banner.

From the Patagonia to Havana, hundreds of computer users across Latin America are choosing freedom over control by installing free software on their computers. On April 27th, groups of free software enthusiasts will be installing free software in dozens of cities across Latin America as part of FLISOL [es], the Latin American free software installation festival.
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Desarrollando América Latina (Developing Latin America) has published a video summary of the regional hackathon DAL 2012, where 400 participants and 70 social experts developed 80 applications. Here [es] you can see Global Voices’ coverage of the event.

Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as the new Pope of the Catholic Church. #Bergoglio and #OrgulloArgentino (Argentinian pride) are current trends on Twitter in Argentina.

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:

“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.

Hernán Haines, from blog El espacio de Hernán Haines [es], provides his readers with some suggestions for a better life in Argentina due to “the constant enquiries I get about my proposals, following up you'll find a list, an incomplete one, by the way”. He then presents a 45-item list and claims that for them “to be effective, [those measures] must be carried out by appropiate, responsible, honest and discerning people”.

From Peru, Global Voices author Juan Arellano posts on his own blog Globalizado [es] pictures of the start of the 2013 Dakar Rally in Lima, as well as links to other posts and articles related to this sports event.

Javier, the blogger of Fin del Capitalismo ¿Salvaje? (End of wild? Capitalism), lists the five top moments [es] in Argentina in 2012.

From Argentina, blogger Rafael, on Fin del capitalismo ¿salvaje? [The end of the wild? capitalism] remembers some of the events [es] occured on December 19, 2001:

On the night of [December] 19, that bastard [former Minister of Economy, Domingo] Cavallo had already resigned, then came the tear gases at the square and the violent repression from the State and the killing of many people ordered by [former President Fernando] De la Rua, killings that are still unpunished.

The recently released Free Software Assessment Report 2012 shows the opinion, assessment and preferences of more than 5,000 people from Spain and Latin America. The study published in its fourth edition is promoted by PortalProgramas and supported by a number of experts and collaborators [es]. The report aims to contribute to a better understanding, use and dissemination of free software in Latin America. The summary of the study can be accessed online [es] and more information can be found on the report's conclusions for 2012 [es].

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced its first contest for bloggers, which will focus on issues related to child development.
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A new BarCamp will be held in the city of Rosario on November 10, 2012. This will be the second BarCamp organized in this city. Photo shared by @barcampros on Twitter.

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Fionuala Cregan reports that Matilde Lucio, an indigenous leader in a Guarani community in Jujuy, in northern Argentina, “will be awarded one of 10 international prizes for her creativity in rural life” on October 15, International Day of Rural Women. Read more about Matilde and her story in Upside Down World.

Moms, students, working professionals and women from all walks of life are the driving force behind a gender revolution that has made huge contributions to our region’s prosperity.

In Americas Quarterly, João Pedro Azevedo and Louise J. Cord write about how Latin American women are driving the region's prosperity.

The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA [es] for its initials in Spanish) presented the results of a survey of more than 70 online news editors in Argentina. Some of the survey's conclusions [es] refer to the use of social networks:

94% of online media editors think that social networks favor journalistic work, mainly because they increase the amount of sources of information.

The complete report can be found here [es].

The blog Juicio V Cuerpo Ejército Bahía Blanca [es] has been following a trial over crimes against humanity committed in the city of Bahía Blanca during Argentina's military dictatorship. In the blog you can read a detailed report about the case [es] and the victims [es]. You can also follow the trial on Facebook [es] and Twitter [es].

The LibreBus project, born in Central America, is getting ready for their upcoming trip to the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay): “Travellers from various countries, with different skills, will set out once again, united by a common objective: the spreading of Free Culture and the promotion of an understanding of knowledge as a common good.” Visit their website to learn more about the route and their objectives.

The Americas Quarterly blog points out that although there is still a lot to do to end gender discrimination at the Olympics, “for the first time in history, every country competing in the London 2012 Olympics will have at least one female athlete, with many – notably in Latin America – achieving  gender parity among their delegations. [...] Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Peru have selected female athletes to represent their teams. “

Lillie Langtry from the blog Memory in Latin America explains that the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo are getting into the spirit of the Olympics by “asking various Argentine sportspeople to feature in their latest video campaign.” Langtry shares a video where Carlo Retegui, the coach of the women's field hockey team, tries to raise awareness about the disappeared children.

Lillie Langtry from the blog Memory in Latin America writes about the 35th anniversary of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina: “On Thursday, 30 April 1977, a small group of women met in the Plaza de Mayo with the aim of handing over a letter to then-president Jorge Videla, appealing for information about the whereabouts of their children, detained by the military regime.”

Deep Dish Waves of Change shares a video of interviews [es] recorded during the first encounter of the indigenous Mapuche group regarding environmental conflicts during February 2012 in Argentina.

Lillie Langtry from the blog Memory in Latin America looks at the Argentine media coverage of the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War. Lillie also shares some cartoons on the anniversary by Pagina/12 cartoonist Miguel Rep.

Ahni announces the upcoming Spanish edition of Intercontinental Cry [es], which will go live on March 31, 2012. “The main objective of IC Espanol is, of course, to provide Spanish readers with the same news that our English readers have come to expect from us; what I consider to be essential news on the global indigenous movement.” Find out about more languages on the IC Translation Project Facebook page.

The Organization of Ibero-American States invites teens ages 12 to 15 to enter a blogging competition about reading. The sign up [es] deadline is May 31, 2012, and judges will consider blog posts written until July 31. The winner from each participating country will receive an iPad. Visit the official website [es] and follow the hashtag #questasleyendo [es] (“what are you reading”) to find out more about the contest.

Simon Kofoed says that the train crash that took place last week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, “is the worst train accident in Argentina since the 1979 head on collision of two trains near Benavidez station when over 140 people lost their lives.” He adds: “Anyone who travels on the Sarmiento, and many of the other train lines in Buenos Aires, will testify that this was one of many accidents just waiting to happen.”

A commuter train crashed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, leaving at least 49 dead and hundreds injured according to the latest reports. Netizens are using the hashtags #Sarmiento [es], #Once [es] and #TBA [es] to tweet about the crash.

A moving short film by Gnarly Bay Productions follows a couple travelling through Chile and Patagonia, showing the beautiful landscapes found in this corner of South America.

Argentinean stand up comedian Malena Pichot, best known for her webshow “La Loca de Mierda” has a new series, Cualca! and on this first episode[es], she shares her perspective on how women really feel when they receive unwanted attention from strange males like catcalls and genital exposure on the street.

The International Center for Arts of the Americas (ICCA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has released a digital archive of 20th-century Latin American and Latino art, which, “is now available, free of charge, to the research and teaching community as well as to the public at large.” Culture magazine Ñ [es] briefly interviewed Mari Carmen Ramírez, the project's director.

Several Latin American blogs like SitioCero [es], alt1040 [es], and Sentidos Comunes [es] have joined the online protests against U.S. anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. Some are speaking out against similar local laws, like the bloggers behind the Mexican blog network Indie Weblogs [es]. Popular series and film site Cuevana.tv is also participating [es].