Global Voices » Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Blogger Interviews President Laura Chinchilla

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:42:19 +0000

Blogger Cristian Cambronero from the blog Fusil de Chispas interviewed [es] Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. The interview was in part filmed by the production team Sürrealista [es], and two photographers (Priscilla Mora [es] and Diego Barracuda [es]) captured the meeting between Cristian and the President through photographs. You can read the 45-minute interview in the blog Fusil de Chispas.

Costa Rica: The Circus that Saves Children's Lives

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:39:27 +0000

To the south of Costa Rica lies the town of Perez Zeledon, home to the Fantazztico Circus that is giving children and youth in the region a chance to stay out of drugs and trouble while opening doors to international travel.

In a video documentary, the story of this 12 year old project by the New Life Asociation (Asociacion Vida Nueva) takes shape. In an interview, a mother explains how young people are left to their own devices, and they end up getting in trouble or addicted to drugs due to lack of opportunities to study or work. The circus gives them a chance to learn skills, discipline and become part of a group where they become valued. It is also the story of Josue, who drifted away from the circus, and almost died from a drug overdose. As he says, he returned to the circus where he knew he'd find the support to go on, and now he tries to steer clear from peer pressure.

The Circo Fantazztico has had the opportunity to travel overseas to Europe, presenting their show and work to audiences while also discovering new cultures and places.

The Sula Batsú Cooperative of Costa Rica which works in training and skill building for cooperatives and other non-government organizations shared through their facebook page a link to the promotional video with the comment:

El viernes pasado nos visitó la agrupación Circo FantazzTico, en este proyecto social se usa la pedagogía circense como medio del trabajo preventivo con niños, niñas y jóvenes en riesgo social. La idea del proyecto es crear un lugar seguro para los niños, niñas y jóvenes que están en una situación social difícil, y que puedan aprender habilidades corporales al igual que adquirir competencias sociales…

Last Friday the Fantazztic Circus group visited us, this social project uses the circus training as a means to do preventive work with children and youth in social risk. The project's idea is to create a safe place so that boys, girls and young people in difficult social situations can learn physical movement skills while they learn social skills…

The Circus is also well received nationally: the following video shows their presentation in the National Stadium of Costa Rica in the capital city of San Jose, to an audience of 10 000 people. The presentation included aerobatics of people twisting on ropes, fabric and tumbling as well as floor exercises and pyramids.

Costa Rica: Climbing up Chirripó, the Country's Tallest Peak

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:15:31 +0000

The tallest peak in Costa Rica is the Cerro Chirripó, at 3820 meters (12,533 feet) above sea level. Throughout the years, it has drawn many locals and foreigners to climb up to the summit: these next few videos bring us two very different experiences. One of the first expeditions back in 1960, and a modern day hike to the top.

In the Hikes of Courage: Climbing Chirripó in 1960[es] documentary, a team of young men and women set out on a lengthy expedition to reach Costa Rica's tallest peak. We follow their progress in car, ox-carts and horseback until they start their week long trek up to the summit.

This expedition was special because it was only the second time reaching the summit was documented through signatures on a mailbox left at the top: those signatures would be evidence for the next mountaineers that the previous team made it to the top. Also, it was the first time women were documented reaching the summit. Narrated by one of the expeditionaries, meteorologist Rodrigo de la Ossa, the story is full of anecdotes on the journey which is now done through another, shorter, path.

Cerro Chirripo summit image CCBySA Peter Andersen

Currently, the hike up Chirripó is about 19.5 Km long (12.1 miles), with a mandatory overnight stay near the summit at a lodging station. This next subtitled documentary uploaded by tetsuo1337 shows their experience climbing up to the summit in 2010.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3 includes a sunrise at the summit, where on a clear day both the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea can be seen. In this case, they also get to see the smokestack blowing out of the top of the Turrialba Volcano.

Part 4 and 5.

Internet Campaigns Invite Tourists to Visit Latin America

Jon Lindsay Miles — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:43:16 +0000

The people of Latin America boast of their land's fine and varied geography, with its beaches, forests and mountains; they are proud of the inheritance left them by the peoples who inhabited these lands in pre-Hispanic times, and which are standing today in the form of its archeological remains, the wonders of which are scattered all across the continent; and then there is the rich mixture of races and cultures that make up the modern cities of the region.

But if this part of the world is so magical, why isn't it also the most visited?

According to statistics of the most visited countries in 2010, Mexico has the highest ranking among Latin American nations, in tenth place on the list, followed by Argentina, which is at number 43. And if we take into account that France, which heads the list, receives 79.3 million tourists, compared with the 22.6 million that put Mexico in tenth place, and the 5.2 million that visit Argentina, it becomes clear that Latin America is not chosen by large numbers of people as a tourist destination.

However, if we look at these statistics from a historical perspective, tourism to Latin America has increased, and, even if not dramatically so, certainly enough to provide governments with reason to grant more importance to the sector. As mentioned [es] in a statement on EnlaRedRadio, there are various challenges for the region when it comes to increasing tourism:

Marco Antonio Serrato, director general de Educación Ejecutiva en el TEC de Monterrey en México, comenta que entre los temas que determinan el debate actual sobre el turismo en la región, destacan “el rol que la industria juega como motor del desarrollo económico y social en los países de América Latina; la puesta en valor de los activos, sean naturales, culturales, arqueológicos o humanos, con los que nuestros países cuentan para posicionar la actividad turística y las marcas país a nivel internacional; y la diversificación del turismo en variantes no solo de playa, sino de naturaleza, cultura, negocios, salud y congresos”.

Serrato añade que “el desarrollo de estrategias e infraestructuras que promuevan y faciliten un turismo sostenible y la mejora de servicios complementarios como los gastronómicos, telefonía móvil, renta de vehículos y hospitalarios, además de la profesionalización de los trabajadores que atienden a los usuarios, al igual que garantizar la seguridad de los turistas y reforzar la percepción de esta, son tareas que vienen aparejadas con los lineamientos de desarrollo más generales”.

Marco Antonio Serrato, Executive Director General of Education at the Monterrey TEC in Mexico, notes that key issues that shape the current debate about tourism in the region include, “the role the industry plays as the engine of economic and social development in the countries of Latin America; attaching a true value to the assets our countries possess, whether these be natural, cultural, archeological or in terms of its people, and which will allow us to locate our tourist activity and national brands at an international level; and the diversification of tourism into activities that move beyond simple beach holidays into offering the experience of our natural environment, and other activities related to culture, business, health and the staging of conferences”.

Serrato adds that, “the development of strategies and infrastructures that stimulate sustainable tourism, the improvement of complementary services in gastronomy, in the mobile telephone network, vehicle rental and hospitality services, as well as the professional training of the workforce that deals with tourists, guaranteeing their safety and security and increasing their perception of the same - all these are tasks that are entailed in the development of the most general of plans.”

Jorge Gobbi, Global Voices author and blogger specialising in tourist matters, wrote [es] in early 2012 about this growth trend in tourism in Latin America in his Blog de Viajes (Travel Blog) [es]:

se pueden señalar al menos dos cosas. La primera, las cifras de crecimiento de las naciones sudamericanas se ubica entre el 8 al 14%, dos a tres veces más que la tasa de crecimiento mundial. Segundo, buena parte de ese crecimiento se está dando gracias al aumento del turismo regional. Lo que es una muy buena consecuencia de la mejor situación económica y del aumento del consumo en nuestros países.

Con esas perspectivas, es de esperar que para este 2012 los organismos de turismo sudamericanos se van a concentrar en incrementar su promoción en otros países de la región, sin apuntar tanto a América del Norte y Europa. Esperemos que 2012 sea la consolidación de una tendencia de crecimiento económico a mediano y largo plazo en América del Sur, ya que las perspectivas globales no parecen demasiado positivas.

at least two points can be identified. First, growth figures of between 8% and 14% among South American nations, which are between two and three times the rate for the world as a whole. Second, a good part of this growth is due to tourism within the region itself. This is one very positive consequence of the improved economic situation and the growth in consumption within our countries.

From this perspective, it is to be hoped that tourist organisations across South America are going to focus in 2012 on increasing their promotional activities in other countries in the region, and not give so much attention to the North American and European markets. Let's hope that 2012 will be the year of consolidation towards both a medium and long term trend in economic growth in South America, particularly as the global picture isn't particularly positive.

A question follows: What concrete actions are governments or businesses taking to increase the flow of tourists into their countries? Apart from the infrastructure works and service sector training that needs to be carried out, one of the most common strategies is that of the publicity campaign.

Colombia is host to one of the most well-known tourist promotion campaigns, with its slogan, “Colombia, the danger is you'll want to stay“, which was preceded by the establishment of the country brand: “Colombia is passion” [es]. There is an official travel guide to accompany the campaign, which has produced various promotional videos:

Neighbouring Venezuela is also attempting to attract tourists through its Venezuela Turismo, since the country possesses many interesting [es] destinations.

Another Colombian neighbour, Panama, has recently launched [es] its “Disfruta Panamá” or “Enjoy Panama” campaign, which makes use of a YouTube channel and Facebook pages in both Spanish and English, as well as Twitter accounts, also in Spanish and English. The website Visit Panama provides an additional resource.

As for Central America, although there is a regional campaign to promote tourism within the region, several of its countries have their own campaigns, as in the case of Guatemala with its “Corazón del Mundo Maya” [Heart of the Mayan World], or Costa Rica's “Sin Ingredientes Artificiales” (No Artificial Ingredients).

Mexico is running several campaigns, one of which, Mundo Maya 2012 [Mayan World 2012, es], places the same emphasis as Guatemala on the ancient Mayan civilisation. Another is Visit Mexico. The Federal Executive Authority in this country has its own Ministry of Tourism, which initiates the development of tourist destinations and activities at the same time as promoting these among both Mexicans and those from abroad. And then there is the Mexican Tourist Board (also an arm of the Federal Government), which coordinates, designs and develops both national strategies and those targeting the overseas market.

Moving south, we find “Chile es tuyo” [Chile belongs to you, es], a campaign mainly targeted at the internal tourist market. Something similar can be found in Argentina's “Viajá por tu país” [Travel your own land, es]. But we also come across local initiatives here, as in the case of that of the Tourist Secretariat of Santa Cruz Patagonia [es] or that of Mendoza [es].

In neighbouring Uruguay there are several websites that promote tourism in the country, including Tourists Club Uruguay, Viaje a Uruguay [Journey to Uruguay, es] and Turismo en Uruguay [es].

Several campaigns have been put into motion in Peru as part of the activity that takes place within its country brand, with the launch of a new campaign [es] in the coming days. One of its previous campaigns, “Perú: Vive la leyenda” [Peru: Live the Legend] was a prizewinner in Brazil last year. This is the video:

I had the opportunity earlier this year to speak with the Argentinian journalist and blogger previously cited in this article, Jorge Gobbi, and we recorded a short podcast [es] about tourism in Latin America today.

Although the above is not an exhaustive survey, it does give a rough idea of how the promotion of tourism is currently taking place in a region with an infinite number of attractions to offer to both local and international visitors.

Thanks to our Latin American collegues at Global Voices for the information and links they provided.

Post originally [es] published in Juan Arellano's personal blog.

The small image of Machu Picchu is from the Flickr account of Benjamin Dumas, used under license Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.0 Genérica (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

‘Mujeres Construyendo': Empowering Women, One Blog at a Time

Kathryn Morgan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:00:34 +0000

“Una bloguera es, ante todo, una mujer valiente, que se atreve y se compromete. ¿Por qué? Porque a través de su blog se expresa, dice lo que piensa, siente, lo que es. Si tiene miedo de hablar o darle cuerpo a sus ideas, enfrenta ese miedo y lo supera.”

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?”, Mujeres Construyendo

A female blogger is, first and foremost, a brave woman, one who dares and one who commits. Why? Because through her blog she expresses herself, she says what she thinks, what she feels, what she is. If she is afraid to speak of or shape her ideas, she confronts this fear and overcomes it.

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?” [es] (Who is a female blogger?), Mujeres Construyendo

Women make up almost half of Latin America's Internet users. However, in spite of their high web-presence, women are mainly content consumers. Mujeres Construyendo [es], the first platform for female bloggers in Spanish, wants to transform Hispanic women into creators, not just consumers, of internet content.

Its founder, Claudia Calvin, answered some questions about this platform and community of Hispanic female bloggers.

Global Voices: How and when was Mujeres Construyendo created?

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo surge como proyecto en el 2008, después de un tiempo de haberme hecho bloguera. Su origen se encuentra principalmente en mis andares por internet y después de descubrir una realidad que llamó profundamente mi atención: que las mujeres de habla hispana que participamos en internet seguimos transmitiendo en este espacio una creencia profundamente arraigada en nuestra cultura. ¿Cuál es? Aquella que nos inculcaron de niñas y en la que nos decían que “calladitas nos veíamos más bonitas”. Descubrí que nuestra participación como blogueras era muy distinta a la participación de las blogueras estadounidenses: ellas en la actualidad representan casi un 60% de los blogueros en su país y las blogueras en internet de habla hispana representamos un escaso 27%. Cuando inicié Mujeres Construyendo, la cifra era más desalentadora aún: 15%.

Busqué afanosamente un espacio de convergencia de mujeres blogueras, un espacio que no fuese un directorio, sino un lugar de convivencia, una comunidad como tal. Al no encontrarla, decidí hacerla, y así es como surge Mujeres Construyendo.

Hablé con unos amigos desarrolladores y lograron darle vida a esta idea que tenía en mi mente. La plataforma Mujeres Construyendo surge como tal en el 2009.

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo came about in 2008, after a period of establishing myself as a blogger. It came from my internet browsing and the discovery of a reality that really caught my attention: Spanish speaking women who contribute to the internet continue to transmit a profound belief that is deeply-rooted in our culture. What was it? The belief that has been instilled in us since we were girls, the idea that “the quieter we are, the more beautiful we are”. I discovered that our contributions as bloggers were very distinct to that of American women. They currently constitute almost 60% of bloggers in their country and Spanish speaking female bloggers make up just 27%. When I began Mujeres Construyendo, the figure was even more discouraging… 15%.

I frantically looked for a space where female bloggers could get together, a space that wasn't a directory, but rather a place of coexistence, a community, as it were. After failing to find this, I decided to make it myself, and that is how Mujeres Construyendo came about.

I spoke with some developer friends and they managed to bring the idea I had in mind to life. And so the Mujeres Construyendo platform sprung to life in 2009.

GV: What is Mujeres Construyendo's mission? What does it want to achieve with this female blogging platform?

CC: El objetivo de Mujeres Construyendo es que las mujeres aprendamos a hacer uso de las nuevas tecnologías y las herramientas que brinda internet para empoderarnos, crecer, desarrollarnos. Los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento para nosotras: nos permite comunicar lo que hacemos, pensamos, visualizamos y participar en un diálogo central en el nuevo espacio público, que es internet.

Hemos participado más como observadoras y consumidoras de contenido que como proveedoras y en este espacio vacío se está perdiendo una enorme oportunidad para construir una realidad que refleje nuestros intereses y manera de entender y participar en el mundo, tanto en el ámbito de lo social, como lo político y empresarial, y ni qué decir de lo personal y familiar.

Las mujeres vivimos muchos tipos de marginación en el mundo, no necesitamos sumar una más a las existentes: la digital.

CC: The objective of Mujeres Construyendo is for women to learn to make use of new technologies and tools that the internet offers in order to be empowered, to grow and to develop. Blogs are empowering tools for us - they enable us to communicate what we do, what we think, what we see. They allow us to participate in a central dialogue in the new public space, the internet.

We have been more involved as observers and consumers of content than providers. We are missing out on a great opportunity to construct a reality that reflects our interests and way of understanding and participating in the world, in a social sense, as well as a political and business sense, not to mention the personal and familial.

Women deal with many types of marginalisation in society, we don't need to add digital marginalisation to those that already exist.

GV: Why is it important for women to have a blog?

CC: Como mencionaba anteriormente, los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento en la medida en que posibilitan que las mujeres puedan comunicarse, expresar, proponer y dialogar en internet y con ello contribuir a la definición y construcción de una realidad que refleje sus intereses y visión. Las voces de mujeres en la blogósfera son importantes porque son el reflejo de la mitad de los habitantes del planeta y en el medida en que sean actores sociales, políticos, voten, consuman, tomen decisiones y vivan de manera cotidiana los diversos contextos de su entorno (desde violencia, hasta crisis económicas, pasando por desastres naturales o guerras) su voz es importante. Son actores de la vida cotidiana y su visión y mirada cuentan, valen, reflejan una circunstancia. Su silencio resulta -sin que ellas mismas los sepan- cómplices de realidades sexistas o que marginan y en la medida en que paulatinamente vayan apareciendo y expresando su voz…irá cambiando el entorno. El silencio jamás ha sido socio del empoderamiento.

CC: As I mentioned before, blogs are tools of empowerment insofar as they make it possible for women to be able to communicate and express themselves, make suggestions and converse on the internet. They are tools with which women contribute to the definition and construction of a reality that represents their interests and vision. Women's voices, in the blogosphere, are important because they reflect half of the planet's inhabitants. Their voices are important in the sense that they are social players, politicians, they vote, they act, they make decisions and everyday they live through different environmental contexts (from violence, to economic crises; from natural disasters, to wars). They are players in everyday life and their vision and perspective counts, they are valued, they reflect a situation. Their silence, although they themselves are unaware, acts as an accomplice for a sexist reality, or it means they are marginalised. As long as their voices continue to gradually appear and be expressed, this environment will keep changing.

GV: How many women have a blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: La comunidad de Mujeres Construyendo está constituida por la plataforma Mujeres Construyendo (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) y las redes sociales a través de las cuáles se conecta su comunidad. La suma de personas conectadas a esta propuesta y a este espacio suma hoy cerca de 9 mil personas.

CC: The community of Mujeres Construyendo is made up by the Mujeres Construyendo platform (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) and the social networks that connect this community. The total sum of people connected today is around nine thousand.

GV: What is the profile of the women who blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Cabe decir que participan hombres y mujeres en nuestra plataforma. Somos un espacio incluyente y consideramos que no se puede hablar de equidad partiendo de un principio de exclusión, por ello, las voces masculinas son bien recibidas. La mayoría, estamos hablando de más del 96%, son mujeres. Su perfil es principalmente urbano, de entre 25 y 45 años, en su mayoría de México, España, Argentina, Venezuela y Estados Unidos. Quiero destacar a una de nuestras blogueras más activas, y que inclusive ha sido entrevistada en televisión: Bertha, una extraordinaria mujer de 82 años que nos enseña que no hay edad para seguir aprendiendo y que las herramientas digitales son poderosas y permiten a las personas seguirle dando sentido a su vida.

CC: I should say that both men and women use our platform. We are an inclusive space and we don't believe that you can talk about equality while at the same time exercising a principal of exclusion, so male bloggers are also welcomed. The majority, we're talking more than 96%, are women. Their profile is mainly urban, from 25 to 45 years of age, and mainly from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and the United States. I want to focus on one of our most active bloggers, who has even been interviewed on television. Bertha, an extraordinary 82 year-old woman who shows us that there's no age limit to learning and that digital tools are powerful and they can continue to give meaning to people's lives.

GV: What will 2012 bring for Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Empezamos el año con el pie derecho, estrenando nueva casa y nuestro nuevo sitio nos permite interactuar mejor, conocernos y convivir de manera más cercana. Detrás de esto hay trabajo y compromiso y queremos consolidarnos como un espacio central para que las mujeres participen, tengan voz y con ello contribuir con nuestro grano de arena no sólo a su empoderamiento, sino al fortalecimiento de la democracia. Queremos incrementar el número de blogueras participando y vinculadas a nuestra comunidad, estamos trabajando en ofrecer herramientas a las blogueras que les permitan fortalecer su presencia y cumplir sus objetivos, sean estos personales, familiares, profesionales. Detrás de este trabajo hay alianzas y proyectos que podrán ver en un futuro muy cercano y del que con gusto les platicaremos en su momento.

Muchas gracias por su interés en conocernos y ojalá a través de Global Voices más mujeres se animen a sumar su voz a nuestra comunidad. Juntas podemos hacer una diferencia.

CC: We're going to start the year off on the right foot. Opening a new house and our new site will allow us to interact, get to know each other and live together in a closer way. Behind this there is work and dedication and we want to consolidate it into one central space so that the women who participate have a voice with which they do their bit, not just towards their own empowerment, but also towards strengthening democracy. We want to increase the number of female bloggers who participate within and are linked to our community so we are working on offering tools to the female bloggers that enable them to strengthen their presence and achieve their goals, whether these be personal, familial or professional. Behind this work there are aliances and projects that will be seen in the very near future, about which we'll talk about nearer the time.

Thank you very much for your interest in getting to know us and hopefully through Global Voices more women will be encouraged to add their voice to our community. Together we can make a difference.

Claudia is also a blogger [es] and she tweets under @LaClau [es]. You can follow Mujeres Construyendo on Facebook [es], Twitter, [es] YouTube [es], and LinkedIn [es].

Costa Rica: Hacktivism and ‘Operation Fiscal Plan'

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:30:37 +0000

José Medrano from Carepicha Blog [es] writes about ‘Operation Fiscal Plan,' a Denial of Service Attack planned by Anonymous Costa Rica against government websites to show the public discontent regarding the government's Tax Plan. José also analyzes what the government's response to this attack should be, and concludes: “In this blog we do not support the use of criminal actions for activism, but we also live and let live as long as this does not affect national security.”

Intercontinental Cry Will Launch Spanish Edition

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:23:14 +0000

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.

Ibero-American Blogging Competition Asks Teens: “What are you reading?”

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:17:26 +0000

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.

Costa Rica: Turning to Facebook to Fund TV Show

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:09:33 +0000

Sürrealista is a media producer in Costa Rica that has worked with many local bands. Now they want to have a 30 minute TV Show and to make that happen[es], they are asking for people to watch their pilot show online, give it a “like” on facebook and share it.

Costa Rica: Videos from the Past

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:07:20 +0000

A video by geographer Homer Dávila is making nostalgia grow on Facebook as people are reminded of the light traffic that used to be the norm between the capital city of San José, Costa Rica and neighboring city of Alajuela.

Costa Rica: Young Entrepreneurs Present Mobile Game

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:42:44 +0000

Six young Costa Rican entrepreneurs have created a mobile game platform called TweetLand. In the blog Fusil de Chispas [es], Cristian Cambronero writes about the debut of Route 140, the first game in the collection.

Latin America: Museum Releases Digital Archive of 20th-Century Art

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:22 +0000

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.

Costa Rica's Online Community Joins Fight Against SOPA and Censorship

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:56:06 +0000

Following the virtual strike against the the United States' Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the subsequent shutdown of Megaupload, a file-sharing website, Costa Rica's online community is no longer staying out of the fight against Internet censorship.

On January 17, Costa Rican blogger community TicoBlogger [es] announced its support for the fight [es] led by Wikipedia (which “turned off” its English page for 24 hours). TicoBlogger published the following statement [es]:

Porque somos una comunidad unida de personas que piensan diferente, pero creemos firmemente en el derecho que tiene cada uno de nuestros miembros de expresarse libremente es que desde el día de hoy y mañana, representativamente nos uniremos a Wikipedia, para hacer una lucha simbólica en contra de SOPA y PIPA.

Los visitantes de cualquier blog de ticoblogger, se encontrarán mensajes en contra de la Censura de Internet, y el contenido parcialmente bloqueado en la primera visita.”

Logo against SOPA. Taken from Ticoblogger.com

Because we are a united community of people who think differently, but we firmly believe in the right that each one of our members has of freely expressing him or herself, and starting from this day forward, we are joining Wikipedia to form a symbolic fight against SOPA and PIPA.

Visitors to any blog on ticoblogger will find messages against Internet Censorship and partially blocked content on the homepage.

Various blogs pertaining to the TicoBlogger network joined the protest, re-posting the statement, censoring parts of their posts or contributing their own reasons to fight against SOPA, like El Alumbrado Público [es], whose author asserts:

Como bloguero, no puedo estar a favor de una ley que busca privar a la población mundial de información, entretenimiento, y sobre todo de cultura y conocimiento.

As a blogger, I cannot be in favor of a law that looks to deprive the world of information, entertainment, and above all, of culture and knowledge.

On his own behalf, Julio Córdoba, author of Ciencia Ficción affirms [es]:

Internet ha crecido por hombres y mujeres que libremente comparten sus ideas. La recreación, conocimiento y amistad nacional e internacional es uno de los grandes frutos de la herramienta. Son los menos quienes violentan derechos ajenos y soluciones equivocadas solo atentan contra el espíritu mismo de la red. Hoy, como miembro de ticoblogger, este blog se une a la protesta contra SOPA.

The Internet has grown because of men and women that freely share their ideas. National and international recreation, knowledge and friendship are some of the greatest results of this tool. Those who force alien rights and flawed solutions only undermine the very spirit of the web. Today, as a member of ticoblogger, this blog is joining the protest against SOPA.

Another of the collective's blogs, Conejitos Suicidas [es], shared an excerpt that derechoaleer.org [es] elaborated upon, which explains how SOPA can affect users even outside of the United States. With respect to this, they cite [es]:the following:

si bien la ley sólo regirá en territorio estadounidence, al concentrar ese país la mayor parte de la infraestructura de la red, casi todos los servicios y sitios que utilizamos diariamente se verán afectados: Youtube, Wikipedia, Google o Twitter, como ejemplos.

Por otro lado, Estados Unidos aloja servicios básicos de la red, como el control sobre los dominios genéricos (.com, .net, .org) que aunque pertenezcan a sitios fuera de su territorio, a partir de su aplicación podrán ser inhabilitados desde Estados Unidos, sin considerar el sistema judicial del país afectado, según la campaña “anti SOPA” publicada por el sitio.

If the law will truly only govern on U.S. territory, upon concentrating the majority of this country's web infrastructure, almost all of the services and sites that we use daily will be affected: Youtube, Wikipedia, Google, or Twitter, to name a few.

On the other hand, the United States houses basic web services, such as control over generic domains (.com, .net, .org) that, while belonging to websites outside its territory, after its application can be disabled from the United States, without considering the judicial system of the affected country, according to the “anti SOPA” campaign published on the website.

The news of the FBI's shutdown of Megaupload and Anonymous' counterattack against the U.S. government (closing the FBI website, among others) also generated commotion on social networks in Costa Rica.

As such, Twitter users were swift to react. Heidy Murillo (@Sancarleña77) [es] wrote:

El FBI tiene el olfato político del un oso de peluche, cerrar #Megaupload después de #StopSopa fue una provocación gacha. #OpMegaupload #SDP.

The FBI has the political instinct of a teddy bear, to close #Megaupload after #StopSopa was a terrible provocation. #OpMegaupload #SDP.

In response to this outlook, the author of El Alambrado Público expressed the opinion [es] that:

Una gran parte de la Internet, tal cual la conocemos hoy, ha desaparecido. Miles de blogs y foros quedaron inservibles. A comenzar de cero, ¿nada más eso queda? ¿Entenderían mi punto si pasara lo mismo con Taringa?

El contenido de entretenimiento es una mínima parte del gran error que cometió el Departamento de Justicia Estadounidense. No se trata de velar por el bienestar económico de Hollywood o Universal Music; se trata de garantizar y facilitar el acceso al conocimiento, a la cultura y a la información a la población mundial. Decenas de tutoriales libres, documentales de libre distribución, fotografías, documentos culturas e históricos han desaparecido”.

A huge part of the Internet, as we know it today, has disappeared. Thousands of blogs and forums were left unusable. We have to start from zero, what else is left? Would you understand my point if the same thing happened to Taringa?

Entertainment content is a small part of the huge mistake that the U.S. Department of Justice has committed. It's not about watching over the economic well being of Hollywood or Universal Music; it's about guaranteeing and facilitating access to knowledge, culture, and information to the world. Dozens of free tutorials, freely distributed documentaries, photos, cultural and historical documents have disappeared.

A Guide to Crowdsourcing in Latin America

L. Finch — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:16:36 +0000

Crowdsourcing, also known as “mass collaboration,” allows anyone with an Internet connection to generate useful content for the masses. In Latin America, numerous crowdsourcing projects have arisen that respond to the various needs and emergencies that the continent is facing, such as Heroreports [en], which geotags acts of kindness in Mexico, or LluviasVe [en], which maps events caused by strong rains in Venezuela. Crowdsourcing has become a fundamental tool in Latin America to foment and utilize citizen participation in an effort to inform.

On January 14, 2012, Jacinto Lajas published “A guide to crowdsourcing in Latin America [es] on Periodismo Ciudadano, an online blog that hosts discussion and debate about citizen journalism. Below we have republished the article under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 Spain license (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Americas Society (AS) is the leading forum dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas. Its mission is to foment understanding of current political, social, and economic issues that Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada are facing, as well as to augment public awareness of and appreciation for the diversity of the New World's cultural heritage and the importance of interrelationships between the diverse peoples of the Americas.

Within this mission falls the logical observation of changes effected by technological advances in the Americas, and in that same spirit comes the publication of a guide to crowdsourcing in Latin America, highlighting projects that have developed in different countries throughout the region.

The preface to the list of projects explains how crowdsourcing has become a popular method of citizen participation in compliance with the law, public health, consumer rights, and social issues in Latin America, one of the regions with the largest growth of Internet penetration in the world:

El número de usuarios de Internet creció a 112 millones en enero de 2011 –un aumento del 15 por ciento respecto al año anterior. En Brasil, Colombia, México y Venezuela, las tasas de crecimiento del uso de Internet aumentaron en un 20 por ciento o más durante el mismo período. También va en aumento es el uso del teléfono de última generación: en 2011, uno de cada cinco teléfonos celulares vendidos en América Latina fue un smartphone y, en 2010, las ventas de estos teléfonos en la región aumentaron en un 117 por ciento. Con un mayor acceso a Internet, más latinoamericanos están utilizando las redes sociales: 114.500.000 personas utilizaban sitios como Facebook y Twitter en junio de 2011.

The number of Internet users grew to 112 million in January 2011 -an increase of 15 percent over the previous year. In Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, the growth rate of Internet use increased 20 percent or more during the same period. An increase in high-end telephone use also was observed: in 2011, one out of every five mobile phones sold in Latin America was a smartphone, and in 2010, sales of these telephones in the region grew by 117 percent. With such widespread access to the Internet, more Latin Americans are using social networks: 114.5 million people utilized websites such as Facebook and Twitter in June 2011.

A promising prospect. Just as the proliferation of participatory projects –some mentioned here [es]– is in Latin America. Below you will find the list of projects included in the guide. You can find more information about each project in the original publication in Americas Society [en].

Argentina
- Mapa del Narcotráfico [es]
- Mapa de la Inseguridad [es]
Brasil
Chile
Costa Rica
- LocalCrime.org [available in en, es, fr]
- Quien Paga Manda [es]
Honduras
- Honduras Health Mapping [en, available in 24 languages]
México
Panamá
- Mi Panamá Transparente [es]
Perú
- Que No Te Roben [es]
Venezuela
- Quiero Paz [es]
- Victeams [es]

Costa Rican Blogs Protest SOPA and PIPA

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:19:35 +0000

Ticoblogger [es], a network of Costa Rican blogs, has joined the global protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act (PIPA). Ticoblogger blogs like Ciencia Ficción [es], Carepicha [es], and El Infierno en Costa Rica [es] posted a message against the U.S. bills and “censored” part of their content.