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The world is talking, are you listening?

Claire Ulrich moderating the workshop “What role for bloggers and citizen journalists within newsrooms?” at 4M 2013 Montpellier (photo by Suzanne Lehn)

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“Worldcrunch Impact, solutions without borders” is a collaborative funding campaign for “the first truly global effort at Solutions Journalism”. With the project, Paris-based Worldcrunch hopes to report on one urgent issue monthly, offering “not just the problems, but real solutions”. The project will be funded if at least $15,000 is pledged by July 3, 2013. With 23 days to go, the Kickstarter campaign has 84 backers donating $6,630.

Explosion at the French embassy in Libya via @Eh4b10 on Twitter

Twitter user @Eh4b10 has posted several photos on twitter of a car explosion near the French Embassy today around 6:50 am local time in Tripoli, Libya.

The Journalism School of Lille [fr], in partnership with Canal France International (CFI), set up a website for online resources on journalism: 24 hours in the life of a newsroom. The objective of the site is that anyone who so wishes can learn through the experience of media professionals. The site unpacks the work of a newsroom in 24 steps for four media categories : print, television, radio and web. It is available in five languages​​, including Arabic and Swahili.

The ramification of the Steubeunville rape case has had an impact beyond the US borders.  Following the sentencing of the perpetrators for rape of a minor, CrêpeGeorgette [fr] tries to unpack the rape culture [fr] that has sneaked in in today's society.

The fact is that we are living in societies that find excuses, normalize and tolerate rape.

Interest for Japan is at its peak among readers in France [fr] despite the Asian nation's gloomy economic outlook. Therefore, French Magazine ZoomJapan [fr] has featured 50 Japanese people that are transforming the archipelago; from architect Kyohei Sakaguchi―who established what he calls “independent government”―, to dancers, activists, business entrepreneurs, and journalists. The compilation is available online in French, Japanese and in English.
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Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression:

The religious wars were never about religion as such. They were about who held the power of interpretation, about who controlled the knowledge and culture available to the masses. It was a war of gatekeepers of information.

Seven European free culture associations issued a statement [fr] protesting against a public-private partnership between the French National Library BNF and Proquest database [fr], whose aim is to digitize a large amount of Public Domain works and privatize them with an exclusivity period of commercialization of ten years. Activist Philippe Aigrain explained [fr] “the genealogy of this disaster” on his blog.

A daily skype conversation (in french)  between Awa Traoré in Bamako and Anne Morin in France (via @annagueye)

Anne Morin and Awa Traoré exchange on daily life in Bamako, fragile wages, cost of living and political uncertainty as the war rages on in the country.

Jihadis venture capitalism extended to an even more lucrative business: kidnapping western hostages all over the Sahara yielded over 90 Million Euros over a decade [..] The modus operandi was very simple: why get killed trying to create an Islamist emirate in “apostate-ruled” neighboring countries when you can build your own sanctuary AND have the West pay for it?

Nasser Weddady unpacks the reasons for the current troubles in Mali. He opines that the roots of the problem are more complex than the existing narratives in the media lead us to believe.

We must regroup so that airplanes can tell us apart from the targeted ismalists fighters who will be on the move.

Tuareg refugees in Borj and Timeaouine in Northern Mali are hurrying to gather around their family members in order to avoid airstrikes by French planes against islamist groups, Tamoudre reports [fr]. Tamoudre adds that Tuaregs are in favor of the military intervention but that they should be part of the post-intervention stabilization.

Puerto Rican students visiting the town of Bastia in Corsica, France – via Vallendrea- Public domain

Puerto Rico and Corsica (France) share a common bond that is often revisited by an exchange program led by the university of Puerto Rico [fr]. Notwithstanding their similar geographic and agricultural traits (Cultivation of Corsican Citron), the islands are also link by history when hundreds of Corsicans immigrated to Puerto Rico as early as 1830.

The “new” pills are not without risks. The risk of phlebitis or pulmonary embolism is increased two fold, from 2 to 4 accidents per 10,000 users. This increase might seem low in terms of public health but it is significant at the individual level considering the fact that other satisfactory alternatives are available..

Dr Pascale This weighs in [fr] on the intensely debated subject of the risks of 3rd generation contraceptive pills in France. France health insurance will stop reimbursing [fr] for these pills in 2013 but others wonder whether the current media frenzy over the issue could also lead to detrimental measures towards [fr] women's health.

 At this point, there is virtually no one left in president Bozize's cabinet. His religious advisors and his sons are the only left to help him in manage a storming crisis that might blow all of them away.

Centrafrique Press Info CPI reacts to the news that rebels are about to seize control of Bangui [fr], the capital city of Central African Republic. The USA have asked their citizens to leave the country [fr] while the UN is only keeping essential staff [fr] in the field.

Ginisty wrote [fr] the following on his blog:

We are part of the Generation X, a generation that knew the world before there was such thing as the internet. We saw the internet blossom and spread to almost all population group and because of that, we might be better suited to grasp its full potential. Not unlike that person who knew what hunger was and therefore appreciates the simple joy of satiety.

March for Mariage Rights for All in France by Pierre Selim on FlickR. License CC-BY-2.0

Hundred thousands people marched in France in support of marriage rights [fr] for all on December 16.

We are flabbergasted that the (French magazine) Le Point would stigmatize in such manner a category of the French population in the article “The intriguing success of Chinese people in France” [..] No, not all Chinese Frenchmen are criminals. No, not all Chinese Frenchwomen are prostitutes. They are french citizens like any other citizens.

The Chinese Youth Association of France via its representative Sacha Lin is suing French Magazine Le Point [fr] for racial defamation in an article [fr] published on August 22, 2012. The article depicts Chinese entrepreneurs with clichés such as: “a Chinese entrepreneur will not pay its employees because they are members of his family”. Le Point director F-O Giesbert claims that the article was meant to be humorous [fr].

Photo of the protest posted on Facebook by one of the organizers

The coordination of Mauritanian Opposition held a massive rally on Wednesday [November 21] asking France to stop interfering in the country's politics.  The protesters also reiterated their demands to end the military regime in Mauritania.
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Ivorians should abstain from bombing the Head Quarters of the UMP (The main Conservative Party) in France and help them move forward with the recount.

Notre Vision in Côte d'Ivoire draws a humourous parallel [fr] between the fiasco during the latest election [fr] to select the new leader of the UMP party in France and the post-electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire in 2010-11. La Voix de Russie in Russia cheekily observes that France might need some election observers from China or Russia [fr] to make sure there are no fraud during the next electoral process.

The Patience Stone has won the main award at a film festival in Tajikistan. Image from Wikipedia.

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Respecting the soil is fundemental to us. It is where we get our food from and how we will provide for our children

Suelia explains [fr] how the agroecology approach (bringing ecological principles to bear in agroecosystems) has helped many in her community grow a sustainable business model by diversifying their products and therefore letting the soil rest. Thee programme is also suported by french NGO CCFD-terre solidaire.

I don’t know whether we will need gasoline, electric or hydrogen cars tomorrow. I don’t have to know, because I designed my car so that I can change the motor in about the same time that it takes to change a tire.

Joe Justice, founder and Team Lead of Wikispeed, explains on Ouishare how the Wikispeed team worked to build a 100 mile per gallon car in three months coordinating via free tools such as Skype, Dropbox or Google Docs. Wikispeed recently presented workshops in Rome, Barcelona and Paris.

“@weddady: The official version on Aziz being “wounded lightly” was completely nonsense. He is seriously injured à la Dadis Camara.. #Mauritania“

Twitter update from Mauritanian activist Nasser Waddady upon hearing official reports that Mauritanian president Aziz was accidentally shot (video of Aziz at a Nouakchott hospital). Aziz was then airlifted to a Hospital in Clamart, France for treatments (video).  Mauritanian blogger Vlane wonders why Aziz did not seek treatments in neighboring countries instead of France [fr].

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) via its speaker Oumar Ould Hamaha  has threatened the lives of hostages and French President [fr] because of the planned military intervention in Northern Mali that the UN security council has unanimously approved [fr]. Activist associations Coren and the FDR organized a march on October 12 in Bamako [fr] to support the military intervention. After being initially reluctant [fr], Algeria has also approved military actions.

Abidjan Net writes [fr] that General-Secretary of La Francophonie Abdou Diouf demanded at the opening of the 2012 Francophonie Summit [fr] that the African continent be granted a seat at the UN security Council. He argues that the current situation allows for some nations to be blamed for human rights violations whereas others nations are getting away with similar actions for the sake of commercial and geopolitical interests.

Le Potentiel writes that [fr] French president Hollande's assessment of Human Rights violations in DR of Congo were not taken lightly by the Congolese government as the Francophone Summit is set to take place in Kinshasa, DRC. The two governments seem to be at odds on the death of Human right activist Chebeya, the national electoral commission and the need for a human rights committee.

The first edition of the World Forum for Democracy is currently taking place in Strasbourg, France (5-11 october, 2012). The theme of the forum is “Bridging the map: democracy between old models and new realities”. You can follow the discussions under the Twitter hashtag #CoE_WFD. Director of International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Global Voices author Jillian C. York was a panelist at the debate about “Media resposability and potential to foster democracy”, and acclaimed A Tunisian Girl blogger and activist Lina Ben Mhenni was awarded the “Alsatian Prize for Democratic Commitment” [fr].

Our partners and friends at Rue89 [fr] won the Online News Association (ONA) prize for “General Excellence, Non-English” in San Francisco last weekend. Pierre Haski, co-founder, tells of the adventure [fr] that is Rue89. Launched in May 2007, it became a great success based on the concept of “Information from 3 Voices”. Global Voices, a partner of Rue89 since 2009, would like to sincerely congratulate the entire team. We are very proud of them for receiving this award.

Screen shot of blue honey made in Northern France from a FranceTVinfo report.

Vkarole writes [fr] that bees in Ribeauvillé, France (Alsace region) started to produce a mysterious blue honey. After an investigation, the beekeepers determined that the color came from a dye used by M&M's factory in the vicinity where a few bees would gather.