Global Voices » Canada

Latin America: Energy Podcasts in English

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:39:50 +0000

Setty recommends the Institute of the Americas' English-language podcast series on energy in Latin America.

Global Online Community Protests U.S. Anti-Piracy Bills

Jillian C. York — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:39:16 +0000

Today, January 18, is an important day for the Internet. Corporate websites, from Google to Twitpic, along with civil society groups and individuals, have all joined together in a common cause: to protest two American bills that could have grave effects for global online free expression.

As Global Voices' Executive Director Ivan Sigal has written, “there are powerful corporate and government forces who would prefer to see the openness and accessibility of the web restricted.” The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act (PIPA) would both force websites to pro-actively censor potentially copyrighted information, and could, as Sigal wrote, “inflict broad damage on the work of digital activists living under repressive regimes, as well as restrict basic speech freedoms around the world.”

Because these bills have the potential to affect Internet users worldwide, members of the global community have joined Americans in protest. From German digital rights group Netzpolitik to Open Media Canada to individual bloggers and social media users, the sentiment is the same: Stop these bills.

Blacking out

French site https://linuxfr.org goes dark against #SOPA

Many sites have chosen to express their opposition by blacking out their sites, either entirely or with an interstitial page. Danica Radovanovic (@DanicaR), writing for Australian blog network DejanSEO, discusses Wikipedia's decision to join the blackout, a decision that affects the site's diverse global community:

Over the course of the past 72 hours, over 1800 Wikipedians have joined together to discuss proposed actions that the community might wish to take against SOPA and PIPA. This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation. The overwhelming majority of participants support community action to encourage greater public action in response to these two bills. Of the proposals considered by Wikipedians, those that would result in a “blackout” of the English Wikipedia, in concert with similar blackouts on other websites opposed to SOPA and PIPA, received the strongest support.

French organization La Quadrature du Net has joined its American counterparts in blacking out its website, displaying the following image:

The Pirate Party of Catalunya blacks out in solidarity

Pirate parties are among the most stringent opponents of the anti-piracy bills. In Spain, Catalunya, Switzerland, Argentina, Canada, and Sweden (among, almost certainly, many others), local pirate parties have joined in blacking out their websites.

Also blacking out for January 18 are Germany's Chaos Computer Club and Green Party, and international organization Reporters Without Borders. The latter explained its decision, writing:

We have decided to close our English-language website for 24 hours to symbolize the oppressive gag that would spread over the Internet as we know it if SOPA and PIPA are adopted. These bills would affect an incalculable number of Internet users who are innocent of any kind of intellectual property violation by forcing websites to block access to other sites suspected of vaguely-defined copyright breaches.

For more images of sites blacking out in protest, check out Netzpolitik's SOPA blackout gallery.

Translating the importance of activism

In some countries, bloggers have taken it upon themselves to educate their communities about the importance of opposing SOPA and PIPA. Lebanese blogger Mireille Raad has written an explanation for why Lebanese citizens should care about these bills. She writes:

Being a lebanese, doesn’t stop you from being an internet user – the SOPA will affect the internet in a bad way and it involves websites outside the US, and that’s yours…

…You should care and be pissed of, because, like it or not, the internet doesn’t exist in the clouds, it is made of companies that exist in countries and have to answer to local laws despite the fact that internet is “global”. This fact is making people worldwide care about the SOPA legislation – and even though you may feel powerless, you still should care and take online action – because all citizens in cyberspace are created equal and so their actions resonate equally

An earlier post Taiwanese freedom of information activist CK Hung dubs the anti-piracy bills “The Great Firewall of Chinamerica.” In a graphic [zh], the blogger demonstrates his point:

Edit: An English version of the graphic is also available:

He also writes:

掌權者很樂意用「保護智財」或「阻絕色情」、「和諧社會」當做永遠不可能吃到口的誘餌來說服公民支持其強化管制網路的法律和政策 (例如選擇便利管制的工具)，然後藉由這些法律和政策來強化它對公民的資訊監控。掌權者很樂意公民只看見海市蜃樓，卻忽略通往海市蜃樓的道路上，威脅著社會自由民主的 collateral damages。不論最終的掌權者到底是微軟、蘋果、共產黨、民主黨、還是共和黨，受害的永遠都是絕大多數的公民。

Those in power are happy with the “protection of intellectual property” or “denial of sex,” “harmonious society” as a bait that can never feed the mouth to convince citizens to support their policy and legal acts that will strengthen the control over the web (eg, choosing tools to facilitate the control) . And then by these laws and policies they can strengthen its monitoring of citizens' information. Those in power are happy that citizens see only a mirage, but ignore the road to the mirage are the collateral damages threatening the free and democratic society. No matter who the ultimate rulers in the end are–Microsoft, Apple, the Communist Party, the Democratic Party or Republican Party– the vast majority of victims are always the citizens.

而臺灣，正是這兩大監控勢力交會處的絕佳實驗場所。

And Taiwan is the testing ground right at the intersection of these two great monitoring forces.

Global Voices' own Venezuelan contributor Marianne Diaz explains why she doesn't like the bills [es]:

De cualquier modo, Estados Unidos no es el mundo, y las leyes de propiedad intelectual tienen limitaciones territoriales y varían de país a país. Por ejemplo, en Venezuela, la obra entra en dominio público sesenta años después de la muerte del autor. Sin embargo, mediante la aplicación de SOPA y PIPA, Estados Unidos pretende que a mí, a ti y a cualquier siberiano se le pueda forzar a cumplir unas limitaciones que no le son aplicables de acuerdo a la ley.

…Anyway, America is not the world, and intellectual property laws are territorial limitations and vary from country to country. For example, in Venezuela, the work enters the public domain sixty years after the author's death. However, by applying SOPA and PIPA, the United States wants me, you and any Siberian to be forced to comply with constraints that do not apply according to [local] law.

On Twitter, similar conversations are happening. From the UK, @GokhanKaratay writes:

I really do hope #SOPA and #PIPA bills aren't passed through the senate. Legislation against piracy is needed, but that really isn't the way

Pointing out the participation of Argentine video platform Cuevana, @Gaby_xoa points out:

#Cuevana uniéndose al apagón #ANTISOPA que cuarta la libre expresión!!! twitpic.com/88nzkg

#Cuevana is joining the #ANTISOPA blackout [against the bill that] restricts free expression!

What you can do to stop SOPA and PIPA

Although the international community is limited in how they can affect an American bill, the solidarity expressed in opposition to both bills is certainly helpful to U.S.-based activists. Aside from the aforementioned examples, bloggers have found numerous creative ways to do so, such as adding an anti-SOPA or anti-PIPA Twibbon or blacking out their WordPress blog. Fight for the Future is encouraging the international community to sign a petition to the State Department. But just writing about the implications of the two bills can help.

American citizens, on the other hand, have plenty of options. Here are just a few ways to get involved:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a petition as well as a guide to meeting with representatives.
Fight for the Future's Stop American Censorship project is hosting a letter-writing campaign.
Free Press has a campaign to petition television networks to report on the bills.

Iran: A homeless Iranian killed in Canada

Fred Petrossian — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:17:42 +0000

Several Iranian bloggers reported [fa] Farshad Mohammadi, a 34 years old homeless Iranian in Montreal was killed by a policeman. Canada's police says the victim had attacked a policeman with knife.

COP17: Young Trackers Share Final Thoughts on Climate Change Talks

Andrea Arzaba — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:24:04 +0000

Adopt a Negotiator Project trackers updated their blogs daily during the two weeks of climate change talks at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP17, held from November 28 to December 9, 2011, in South Africa. Trackers followed negotiations from their regional perspectives, writing in languages like Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, French, Polish and English.

One of the major results of the conference was the second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding international treaty to reduce green house emissions. However, the commitment was weak, as major polluters like Canada, US, Japan, Russia, Australia and New Zealand refused to sign into this second period.

Climate activists and organizations of civil society were disappointed about the outcomes of the conference, especially because countries agreed to a new legal instrument that will replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2020, when urgent action is needed.

Here are were some of the most relevant conclusions written by the trackers:

South Africa tracker Alex Lenferna reports on the final events in the post “An Interim Disappointment at COP 17″:

I should be on a bus home now; instead I’m sitting in the ICC waiting for the proverbial white smoke to emerge as ministers try to bring COP17 to a close. Last night was supposed to be the closing night for COP 17, but there has been much disagreement among the global community around some very problematic texts that are being discussed around long-term cooperative action and the Kyoto Protocol…

Farrukh Zaman, following Pakistan, writes in “Decisions at COP17: Delayed or Derailed?”:

So while the delay has happened at COP17, let’s hope the negotiations don’t get derailed by postponing them till next year. But just one thing of caution, even though time has and is running out, we don’t need haste decisions; rather we want fair, ambitious and balanced package out of Durban. If that can’t happen here, then COP bis can be our last resort.

France tracker Sébastien Duyck in “Endless conference towards an agreement on never ending negotiations” concludes:

Regarding negotiations for a comprehensive agreement that would include legally binding targets for emissions reduction, the Presidency proposes yet another extension of the discussions. This approach convinces few among the observers still in the conference venue. It appears that we keep relaying on the same solutions (creating a new ad-hoc working group…), despite the fact that they have already been tested repeatedly in the past and have not delivered any successful outcome since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

Daily Trackers meeting - COP17, Durban. Photo by Andrea Arzaba

In “Do białego rana. Noc kobiet” (”Until dawn. Women's Night”), Milosz Hordun, Poland's tracker, says:

Ta noc należy do kobiet. Po pierwsze jest Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, przewodnicząca obradom. Zdecydowanie zmęczona ostatnimi dwoma tygodniami. Stara się skutecznie prowadzić strony do celu, udowadniając że afrykański COP może być skuteczny i przełomowy. Często jednak się gubi w procedurach, musi prosić o wsparcie sekretariatu. Jest Conni Hedegaard, unijna komisarz. Także na jej twarzy maluje się zmęczenie. Widać, że trudno jest jej znosić ogromną presję psychiczną, związaną z rozbratem między oczekiwaniami wielu Europejczyków oraz środowisk ekologicznych na całym świecie a możliwościami negocjacyjnymi.

This night is a women's night. First of all, there is Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chairs the session. She is definitively tired from the last two weeks. She does her best to lead the two sides towards a common goal, proving that the African COP may be successful and become a turning point. However, she gets lost in the proceedings quite often; she has to ask the secretary for help. There is also Connie Hedegaard - European Commissioner [for Climate Action]. Though tiredness is written all over her face, too. You can see how difficult it is for her to handle this enormous pressure as there is a gap between what many Europeans and environmentalist through the globe hope for and negotiating possibilities.

Priti Rajagopalan, from India, summarized the conference's accomplishments in the post “COP17-This is what happened“:

5.18am, International Convention Center, Durban

The verdict is out. What was accomplished at Durban.

1) Something called the Durban railtrack or trackroad ..oh, wait…platform.
2) Empty second commitment period
3) Empty green climate fund
4) Sleepy people most of whom had left by the time the final verdict was given.
5) How manipulative, apparently transparent democratic , multilateral process works.
6) People are looking for CBDR and Bali. If someone finds it, please return it.
7) Unclear mitigation target.
8) Massive failure of a peaceful kind.

To read other final posts of trackers following the United States, Mexico, Australia, China, Canada and New Zealand, among many others, visit Adopt a Negotiator Project webpage.

Andrea Arzaba participated in COP17 as a Young Tracker for Mexico [es].

Thanks to Krzysztof Pawliszak for translating Milosz Hordun's quote.

Confusing information for NGOs at COP 17 in Durban

Abdoulaye Bah — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:14:57 +0000

Addressing the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban on climate change, René Audet complained on the website blogueaqlpa.com: “Since the arrival of Ministers in Durban, negotiations have been taken to another level, so to speak. Now, this level is inaccessible to observers like us. Information circulates well within NGO networks, but they are confusing.”

Canada: The Start of the SlutWalk Movement

Maria Grabowski — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:46:37 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage SlutWalks 2011.

Global Voices' author, Maria Grabowski, interviews Heather Jarvis, the co-founder of the first SlutWalk initiative based in Toronto, Canada. Here, they talk about the background of the movement and its quick spread to the rest of the world. [See Jarvis' Toronto SlutWalk speech here].

Heather Jarvis came up with the SlutWalk idea as a direct response to a Toronto police officer's advice that female students avoid “avoid dressing like sluts”:

We threw it right back. Let's talk about sluts then, victim-blaming and slut-shaming. […] We had had enough - it had been a harsh year against women’s rights.

She tells the story about a rapist in a local area that wasn't convicted, as the judge concluded that the victim [had] “put sex in the air”, referring to her tube top and make-up.

Hitting a nerve

Heather Jarvis, used with permission.

Heather believes that the SlutWalk concept hit a nerve in many people:

Everybody knows how it feels like to be called a dehumanizing word. Maybe SlutWalk is an entry point for people that didn't know where to go to.

Only six weeks from sparking the idea, the event took place with 3-4,000 people attending. She describes this first walk as unbelievable and inspiring: “It was an amazing multi-layered atmosphere. […] Some were crying, some were yelling.”

Women of all ages attended, together with children, men, sex workers and queer groups. All seemed to be there to back each other up. Heather accounts how everyone around a rape victim is also deeply affected - both family, partners and friends – and that they also need support.

The word spread quickly through Facebook and Twitter for the TorontoWalk and is still rolling throughout the world (see GV coverage on SlutWalks in Costa Rica, Brazil, India, Morocco, Australia).

“We weren't expecting this,” Heather comments. She tells how many independent SlutWalk groups don't even contact the Toronto group, but just go ahead with it and find their own form embedded in their local culture. Slutwalk Toronto provides supports to new groups that want it, but Heather's advice is to do whatever you can, wherever you are, and connect with other organizations to stand stronger.

To the critics of SlutWalk, Heather responds: “We believe in dialogue. It's absolutely okay that not everyone agrees.”

She emphasizes that the purpose also is to build bridges, and her hope is that critics will contact SlutWalk so they can talk about in a respectful way. “We are all in a learning curve,” she explains.

This post is part of our special coverage SlutWalks 2011.

Videos: Homeless But Not Voiceless

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:17:23 +0000

In Colombia, Canada, the UK, and the US, we have different initiatives that aim to bring to the foreground the plight of those who are twice forgotten: the children, indigenous people, immigrants and the transgender community.

Colombian videographer José Alejandro González has been documenting and sharing the lives of the homeless people of Colombia for years, and last year with The Insider Project many of these video documentaries came together in a couple of longer films: The Truth and The House.

Homele$$ by Bob With CCBy

The Truth follows several homeless in Bogota, Colombia, who speak about their lives, touching on political, social and economical aspects of homelessness. One of those interviewed is a 15 year old who tells of his estrangement from his family, his drug addiction, his forays into the most dangerous parts of towns to get drugs and his wish to be able to be “fine” and go home to spend Christmas with his family on the other side of the city:

The House takes us inside the “home” of a homeless person: underneath a manhole cover and into an underground wiring station beneath the streets of downtown Bogota. There, Darío Acosta has his bed, books, radio, battery powered light and his imaginary dog.

Mark used to be homeless in the 1990s, living on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles, addicted to drugs and selling pictures of his iguana to tourists. Today, he heads the Invisible People project, where he goes around the US and Canada asking homeless to tell their stories and advocating for their rights.

On a visit to Canada, he noticed the connection between the First People and homelessness and he then tried not only to get their stories and show the unique situation faced by them while maintaining cultural sensitivity but also, hopefully, to change their situation:

The following interview is with Dave Ward, director of aboriginal relations at Homeward Trust Edmonton. This is an important conversation. David talks about aboriginal culture and solutions to ending homelessness. Too me, I think the biggest is listening. We need to listen to their culture and include aboriginal people in the process of finding and implementing solutions.

One of the striking interviews is the one featuring Alma. She's a homeless grandmother in Winnipeg who is putting herself through college in the hope that having an education will empower her and increase her chances of getting back her granddaughter from child protective services as she becomes able to give her a better life:

There are many other videos in the Invisible People YouTube channel, and you can also follow Mark on Twitter as user @invisiblepeople.

In Bradford, England, Hope Housing provides opportunities for homeless people who don't classify for benefits, most of them because they are immigrants who no longer have their documents, are unemployed and have to turn to squatting or living on the streets to survive.

In their video The Not So Promised Land, they focus on the problems faced by economic migrants, those who came from the Eastern European countries in search of work opportunities in the UK, only to find that it was going to be harder than they thought. Hope Housing gives them a hand so they don't need to stay on the streets and help so they can find what they went to the UK to seek: work.

Diamond Stylz describes herself as a a proud transgendered woman of color from Indianapolis, Indiana but currently living in Houston, Texas. In her YouTube channel she discusses many topics regarding gender, race and sexuality.

In this video she goes back to her experience in homelessness and how she discovered that as a non-HIV positive transgender woman she wouldn't be accepted in shelters for women, men or HIV positive trans people, so had she not had someone to give her a hand and get on her feet, the system would have basically turned its back on her.

CIVICUS: Reflections on the Power of Civil Society

Andrea Arzaba — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:56:48 +0000

For three days several civil society representatives met in Montreal, Canada for the CIVICUS World Assembly to discuss different ways to mobilize people, starting with their own aspirations.

The subjects were (and still are) diverse: from civil movements, social equality, and the effects of new technologies, to climate justice. Participants discussed the role of technology in empowering communities, the necessary changes in the relationship between citizens and governments, the online and offline world, movements in the Arab world, and the role of youth in building new societies.

: Tristan Brand | CIVICUS World Assembly 2011 - Used with permission

Between activists, academics, workers, thinkers and bloggers, the discussions filled webpages, posts, tweets and other media. Ideas where exchanged with the purpose of continuing with the activities that have made changes in civil participation visible.

In order to maintain ideas flowing, here are some posts that covered the assembly, particularly during the end of it. The discussions are far from over, and the more you read and share, the better!

Paul McAdams wrote his reflections in a letter dedicated to his children. He named it “You can make a difference”:

The people I met agreed that “new technologies” like Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and text messages (none of which were ever new to you) are important tools to connect us together and learn more about struggles happening half a world away. But (…) is not enough.

Anna Mazgal says in her post “All Kinds of Mushrooms”:

I think big thanks go to both the facilitators and the audience that posed very good questions to inspire the rest and avoided easy answers. Any answer conceived in an hour-and-a-half workshop would be strikingly false on the issue that still belongs to the future.

In the post “When Communities of the Poor Empower Themselves“, written by one of the organizers, there were some interesting thoughts:

The heady events we have come to know as the Arab Spring are just one recent example of the aspirations of millions of people in North Africa and the Middle East for a greater say in their lives, for more just and economically equitable societies. In many other countries, from Brazil to Thailand to Senegal – to name only a representative few – social movements already decades old have also been struggling to define their own development processes.

Finally, in a blog post in French, Sophie Verdon shares her conclusions :

(…) la participation citoyenne est bel et bien présente à travers le monde, les citoyens de partout veulent exercer leur pouvoir citoyen de diverses façons. Le contexte amène souvent des complications à cet exercice, mais la volonté y est! Le pouvoir du nombre et la solidarité pourront amener les citoyens à se mobiliser (…). Profitons de la conjoncture favorable qui nous est offerte ici, et dont nous ne profitons malheureusement pas assez…! Tout cela est en émergence et en évolution constante, tout cela m’a beaucoup inspirée.

Citizen participation is well represented around the world, people everywhere want to exercise their civic power in various ways. This context frequently leads to complications, but the will is there! The power of numbers and solidarity can lead citizens to mobilize (…) Let's take advantage of the connections that favor us here and which, unfortunately, we do not use enough! Everything is still growing and continually evolving, and has been so inspiring for me!

Tristan Brand | CIVICUS World Assembly 2011 - Used with permission

This is just a small sample. It is worth going to the Assembly's blog and reviewing what has been said. Bloggers have shared their perspectives in English, French and Spanish, and through various tweets.

The hope is that after this event more voices in favor of empowering citizens will join in. Ideas and experiences gain strength when they are shared, as we have seen before. Technology has come to the aid of those who did not attend CIVICUS: the videos of the conferences are available here. The public space is open, may ideas keep flowing!

Global Voices Podcast 2: Speaking Our Language

Jamillah Knowles — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:05:16 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.

Hello world!

In this edition of the Global Voices podcast we talk all about language. You can find many articles on this theme on our Languages and Internet special coverage page. The way we speak, write, gesture, code and communicate is such a rich topic for discussion that it was hard to pick what to go for in the podcast. Hopefully you’ll find food for thought in our conversations here.

Global Voices Podcast 2: Speaking Our Language by globalvoices

Updated tradition

To begin, our Managing Editor, Solana Larsen talks to Global Voices Israel author Dr. Carmel Vaisman about her new book Hebrew Online (available for purchase in Hebrew from Keter Books). It’s fascinating to hear about the origins of Hebrew, and how it has grown and evolved with with use over time.

Geography and tongue

Online or offline the languages we speak and write say a lot about who we are. A choice of official language for a nation can also reveal much more than just communication. Sara Moreira is Global Voices’ Portuguese Language editor. She told us about her journalistic patch that is not just geographical or topical but more closely linked to language.

Telling tales

It’s not just where we are talking of course but what we have to say that makes language so intriguing. Claire Ulrich is the editor of Global Voices in French site and the assistant editor for Francophone content. Claire highlights the prolific work of Global Voices translator Boukary Konate and his work communicating life in Mali. Claire tells us about some Tales from the Village that we could all learn something from.

Coded messages

Not all language is something we speak and write of course. It’s also something we use to make things online. Jeremy Clarke is the man behind the code and design of the multi-lingual Global Voices websites. To say the least he has a lot to do, and we can all thank him for making sure GV is here and that all contributors and readers can access it. We talked about what it is like to run such a big site with so many people, and how the language of code can also be political.

That’s all for this edition of the Global Voices podcast, but we’ll be back with more for you to listen to soon. Please feel free to leave us a comment or suggestion for next time.

Music credits

In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. If you want to find out more about these artists here are the links for you.

Thanks to Orb Gettarr for the atmospheric Return of the Atlanteans Lemurian Candidate, to Mark Cotton for his Spiritualized Homage, to Superbus feat. NS for Fujjad! Most of the music was found via OpSound.Org, The Free Music Archive or direct from the artists. Thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together.

Thanks for listening and we look forward to sharing the next Global Voices podcast!

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.

Canada: “First Nation, Last Served”

Solana Larsen — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:53:49 +0000

Writer Mike Morey in Canada questions whether Canada's aboriginal communities will ever be rewarded with the degree of self-governance they seek.

Canada: Indigenous Teens Share their Values on Video Contest

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:27:54 +0000

Indigenous teens in four different Canadian communities share their hopes, stories and dreams in a series of short videos in “My Space. My Story” where they speak about things that matter to them as indigenous youth. The workshop was organized by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, a yearly international festival in Toronto, Canada where Indigenous people show the different artistic ways they create art reflecting the diversity of Indigenous nations in the world.

One of the ten teens will win an opportunity to travel to and have their short screened at the imagineNATIVE festival. The winner will be selected by online votes on the website before May 1st.

Keelan Keeshig of Cape Croker is a senior in the Parry Sound High School and in his video he shares how he dealt with bullying growing up: in his case, it was due to his long hair, a mark of his traditional culture which he didn't know how to explain to his short-haired peers.

Laura Gagnon is Ojibway and her bright future seemed to be full of promise, but bad choices led her to drug addiction and alcoholism. It was through rediscovering her spiritual and cultural roots that she was able to come clean and now she is back in high school, and hopes to go on to college and become an addictions counselor to help others.

Sequin D. Williams of Fort Albany First Nation explains how when he goes hunting for geese with his father he is repeating a pattern: his father was taught to hunt by his father in turn, so for Sequin, hunting is how he connects to his ancestors and indigenous tradition.

You can see the other 7 videos on the imagineNATIVE site, and vote for your favorite one: the winner will have the chance to show his short film to other artists and actors in the Indigenous art community at the Toronto Film And Media Arts festival.

Examining Africa's Growth

Mejasoa Razafimihary — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 13:29:19 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

While the African Development Bank announced three days ago that it will downgrade its forecast for growth in Africa as a result of the turmoil in various regions of the continent, the rate of return on foreign investment is higher in Africa than in any other developing regions.

Still, the perception hold by many investors is that doing business in Africa is a risky proposition and that the continent has yet to reach the status of a land of opportunities.

Many endeavors have proven that perception to be inaccurate. In this video by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Donald Kaberuka and others discuss Africa as a a new emerging markets frontier:

Eric Kacou in Kigali opines that what is needed to succeed on the continent is a new brand of entrepreneurs; the ones he calls the “Archimedes Entrepreneurs”. Kacou explains what he means by that:

besides the unusual spark in [their] eyes, combine obsession to succeed and moral purpose so his heart will drive him to the right direction, wherever it is.

Telephone entrepreneur on the streets around Church Square, Pretoria, South Africa. Image by Flickr user The Wandering Angel (CC BY 2.0).

Beside the recognition of real potentials, many African entrepreneurs are just fighting the general perception of gloom and doom for the continent. For instance, Donald Bobiash, Director-General of Africa at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, wrote the following about the “Africa Rising” conference held in Toronto on March 14-15, 2011:

while the media likes to talk about what is wrong with Africa, we are here to talk about what is right in Africa.

Indeed, as an analysis in The Economist pointed out earlier this year:

over the ten years to 2010, six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa

The reason for this rapid growth in the region are not straightforward though. In a Mckinsey Global Institute report, Acha Leke et al unpack the various reasons behind Africa's growth:

…yet the commodity boom explains only part of Africa’s broader growth story. Natural resources, and the related government spending they financed, generated just 32 percent of Africa’s GDP growth from 2000 through 2008.The remaining two-thirds came from other sectors, including wholesale and retail, transportation, telecommunications, and manufacturing.

Entrepreneurs epitomize this growing trend of seizing the opportunities that the continent presents. Tal Dehtiar from Oliberté Shoes – a shoe manufacturing company with operations in Ethiopia and Liberia- is one of them. He writes in a blog entitled Oliberté, This is Africa the reason for investing on the continent:

we never have and still don't see an Africa that's categorised by negative generalizations. Oliberté believes that with the right partners, each country within Africa has the means to grow and support its people.

Many African entrepreneurs believe that although the triple bottom line -financial, social, environmental- is the new buzz word for companies investing in developing countries, one fact that need to be made clear is that Africa will not able to sustain the growth if the funding are only about “micro-finance”, and financing a woman with “50 US dollars”.

Difference in average transaction size between private equity and international development funds. Diagram to be credited to the author of the article

African Entrepreneur explains:

Development, social and micro-finance are not evil. They have their role and do help keep millions out of poverty. But Africa cannot develop by simply trying to not be poor. We need real multi-million dollar financing for African innovation. Is there risk? Of course there is, but no more than funding an online pet shopping site in Silicon Valley.

She goes on quoting Mfonobong Nsehe in a Forbes article:

Africa has its own Mark Zuckerbergs, Andrew Masons, Mark Pincuses, Larry Pages and Sergey Brins. But it lacks its own Yuri Milners,John Doerrs, Vinod Khoslas and Y Combinators. […] Africans can create hugely successful tech products that will sweep the world off its feet. There are several entrepreneurs out there waiting to break through, but their ideas might never see the light of day because of a lack of seed finance.

The Africa Rising Conference concluded on the following remarks by Dr John Preece:

The overall feeling was one of great positivity and potential, with the general perceptions of Africa not matched by the reality of strong economic growth and exceptional creativity (I was often reminded of a Hans RoslingTEDtalk: Let my dataset change your mindset)”.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Hollaback! Mobile Technology Against Street Harassment

Ernesto Priego — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:48:03 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Hollaback! is a crowdsourced platform seeking to harness the power of mobile technologies to denounce street harassment. More than a tool or series of tools, Hollaback! is self-described as a “movement”:

Hollaback! is a movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile technology. Street harassment is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and one of the least legislated against. Comments from “You’d look good on me” to groping, flashing and assault are a daily, global reality for women and LGBTQ individuals. But it is rarely reported, and it’s culturally accepted as ‘the price you pay’ for being a woman or for being gay. At Hollaback!, we don’t buy it.

Based on the premise that “the explosion of mobile technology has given us an unprecedented opportunity to end street harassment,” the project is encouraging women around the world to use the tools available to them to share their stories and geo-locate incidents and reports.

Incorporating a smartphone “app”, YouTube videos, Google maps, a Facebook group, a Twitter account and a multi-blogging platform, Hollaback! is a call to arms that requires an active involvement from the participants, based on the clever and articulate use of web and mobile tools, but above all it is a campaign to change the cultural attitudes towards street harassment.

Hollaback! suggests several ways of getting involved. The project originated in the United States, with presence in several American cities, but local Hollaback! web sites have already been created by women in cities like London, Mumbai and Buenos Aires, and countries like the Czech Republic and France.

Hollaback! is a positive model of citizen journalism, where women with access to mobile technologies can end the silence and have their voices heard. Are you listening?

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Tunisia: The Cry of Protestors Echoes Around the World

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:24:13 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

The cries of Tunisians, protesting against corruption and joblessness for the past two weeks, is gathering momentum on the World Wide Web. Netizens from around the world are rallying behind them and echoing their calls.

It all started when an unemployed man set himself on fire in protest against his unemployment in Sidi Bouzid. According to the Los Angeles Times:

The death triggered violent clashes between young demonstrators and
police forces that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old after
National Guard members opened fire on angry protesters in a nearby town
two days later.

Further marches and protests later spread to the capital and the cities of Sfax, Sousse and Meknassi.

From India, Anja Kovacs hits the nail on the head. She tweets:

Tunisia's seen a genuine revolt over last few weeks, but outside of Middle East, it's hardly reported. Why? http://bit.ly/he2Let #sidibouzid

She adds:

To know more abt what is happening in #Tunisia & get continuous updates, good people to follow are @ifikra , @weddady, @nawaat #sidibouzid

Egyptian Wael Nofal poses a similar question in this tweet:

@stephenfry Are you following what's going on in #SidiBouZid #Tunisia ؟It's odd why western media turned face away, unlike #Iran last year

And DanersB, who splits her time between Beirut, Dubai and Montreal, notes:

Ever the optimist! @dr_davidson: Heavyhandedness from #Tunisia 's despot, #BenAli, may well set the tone for the #Arab world's next decade

From the US, HarvardDr brings up yet another reference to Iran - this time referring to the end of the Shah's era. He writes (Ar):

مثل شاه ايران اسياده تخلوا عنه: فرنسا تقول: بن على فقد الاتصال بالواقع! تونس حرة السراق برة تونس حرة ليلي برة #sidibouzid #tunisia #tunisie

Just like the Shah of Iran, whose masters ditched him: France says: Ben Ali lost contact with reality! Tunisia is free! The thief should leave! Tunisia is free! Layla (in reference to Ben Ali's wife) should leave!

From Washington DC, Priyanka Joseph is stunned by the wall of silence. She writes:

Someone's channeling Kundera. Shit's going down in #Tunisia, not a word of it on the news here (no surprise) nor on TTrends/my timeline.

Anne Eksten, from Denmark, notes:

Government #Tunisia respond to peaceful protest by Live Ammunition, Security Siege, Violence http://goo.gl/rnL0p /@Elicoopter_mid @RamyRaoof

And from the Netherlands, Mark adds:

“We are unhappy with the policies in Tunisia, we are unhappy with everything - it is not just unemployment.” #tunisia

Egyptian writer Mona Eltahawy urges her colleagues in the media to make a stand:

Friends, esp those with media connections, please tweet and RT #Tunisia and #SidiBouzid. Let's stand with Tunisians fighting oppression.

And Hisham Kassem, also from Egypt, is baffled:

رئيس إسرائيل السابق ادين منذ قليل بتهمة التحرش بموظفه في مكتبه وزين العابدين بيتحرش بتونس كلها #SidiBouzid #Tunisia وماحدش قادر يحاسبه

A few moments ago, the former Israeli ~~Prime Minister~~ President was charged with harassing a female employee in his office and Zainalabdeen has been harassing the whole of Tunisia and no one is able to hold him accountable

Meanwhile, from Portnoy, from Taiwan, is left wondering:

What's happening in Tunisia? #tunisia

For more tweets on Tunisia, check the hashtags #Tunisia and #sidibouzid

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

COP 16: Young Bloggers Track Negotiations

Andrea Arzaba — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:29:04 +0000

UNFCCC COP16 Sign. Image by Flickr user linh.m.do, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

The first week at the COP 16 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) was inspiring for some and disappointing for others. Negotiations were made, draft proposals were discussed and several decisions were questioned between different international actors such as Canada, The United States, China and Australia, among many others. Young bloggers from around the world have been actively participating in communicating the developments at the conference from their country's perspective.

Adopt a Negotiator, part of the TckTckTck campaign focusing on climate change, is an initiative where several young people from different parts of the world become “trackers.” Their role is to be interpreters and communicators of what their national delegations say and do at the UNFCCC conferences on Climate Change. In their own words:

As young people who will live with the decisions that are being made at the UN for the rest of our lives the fact these negotiations were going on with very little scrutiny or public participation did not seem right. For years negotiations about our future have been happening in a bubble. We thought it was time to burst it!

One of the reasons engagement in the UN process is so hard is because it is complex, dry, and full of language that no one outside the system can understand.

That’s where we come in…

By going to the UN and trying to translate this process into real life situations, we hope to make it open and understandable to many more.

Tracker Laura Tyrer from South Africa gave a perspective on her national delegation:

Internationally, a great deal of pressure is being placed on our country to lead the way towards a legally binding global climate deal. South Africa is considered to be a bridge builder between developing and developed countries and a source of clever ideas in the negotiating process. Add to this the fact that South Africa will be hosting the next COP and you get a large burden of responsibility placed squarely on the shoulders of our negotiating team.

However, they haven’t been particularly visible in the corridors, lunch areas or halls either.

Thus far, I’ve been warmly welcomed into the fold of the Malawian delegates, and chatted extensively with the Zambian delegates. The delegates from our neighbouring countries are extremely enthusiastic about the Adopt a negotiator project, going so far as to ask if could please track them. So where are the South Africans?

Canada's position is well represented in Joanna Dafoe's tracking blog:

In our stakeholder meeting today with our lead negotiator, we discussed the round-about ways in which Canada will abandon the Kyoto Protocol. Ultimately due to the fact that the KP commitments do not align with Federal priorities, Canada has answered (in every way but obvious) that we do not want a second commitment for the Kyoto Protocol.

But our lead negotiator emphasizes the urgent need for action. Rising insurance costs related to climate change, developing markets that raise the price of carbon – these are all quoted as reasons for Canada to act.

French tracker Thomas Matagne gave his own take [fr] on France's progress during the first week of COP 16 :

Les bruits de couloirs sur la situation générale ces derniers jours était plutôt négatifs. Les questions de la structure légale et du niveau de réduction des émissions sont très difficiles ; mais cela était attendu. En revanche, des difficultés plus importantes qu’anticipées se sont révélées sur quelques chapitres, sur le financement et sur le Protocole de Kyoto notamment. Sur ce dernier point, Brice Lalonde, Ambassadeur pour le climat, s’est dit préoccupé, ne voyant pas d’issue de sortie.

The rumors in the hallways were rather pessimistic. The issues of legal structure and level of emission reductions are very difficult, but that was expected. However, unexpected difficulties were found on a few topics, namely on financing and on the Kyoto Protocol. On this last point, Brice Lalonde, Ambassador on Climate Issues, expressed concern, since he saw no way out of the deadlock.

Finally, Mexico's tracker and Global Voices author Andrea Arzaba gave a general perspective [es] on the first week at COP 16 :

La actitud de compromiso se tiene por parte de los diferentes negociadores, los activistas siguen ejerciendo presión y el público en general, todos estamos esperando a las negociaciones que ocurran a partir de la próxima semana … al fin y al cabo es el futuro del planeta con lo que se esta jugando.

The attitude of commitment is part of the various negotiators, activists continue to exert pressure and the general public, we are all waiting for negotiations to occur starting next week … after all it is the future of the planet that is at stake.

Readers can follow trackers from Australia, Canada, India, USA, China, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, France and England during the final week of the UN Climate Change Conference.