Stories about Colombia from October, 2011
Colombia: Law 30 and “Operation Seventh Ballot” on Regional Election Day
Through the Facebook group “Operation Seventh Ballot” [es], citizens are inviting voters to deposit a paper in the ballot box with the words “NO TO THE REFORM OF LAW 30″ in reference to the education reform launched by the national government. This initiative, which will be carried out during the...
Colombia: Photos of Student Protests at Plaza de Bolívar, Bogotá
Mike shares photos of student protests at Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá. “Lots of people protest for lots of causes in central Bogotá, but few of them seem to have as much fun and do it as artistically as do the university students”, he writes.
Colombia: Workers and Students Take to the Streets in Protest
Public sector workers and university students have hit the streets of Colombia to express their dissatisfaction. Cati Restrepo explores some of their concerns.
Colombia: Indigenous Peoples Speak Out Against Hotel Project in Sacred Territory
“The Elder ‘Mamos’ or Spiritual leaders of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, have expressed profound concern over plans to build a new seven-star hotel on their ancestral territory within the Tayrona National Park in northern Colombia” –Ahni reports in Intercontinental Cry.
Worldwide: Dialogue and Peace Through Sport
Joël Bouzou, a bronze medalist during the 1984 Olympic Games and World Champion of modern penthathlon in 1987, is the founder and president of Peace and Sport, an NGO created in 2007 whose motto is "Building sustainable peace through sport".
Colombia: Palestinian Leader Mahmud Abbas Visits President Santos
In Latin America, the countries that don't recognise Palestine are few --including Colombia. As a result, President Abbas visited Juan Manuel Santos in Bogota to discuss relations between Palestine and Israel.
Global Handwashing Day: Changing Behaviors through Song and Dance
Do you know how to properly wash your hands? Through songs and dances, people from different parts of the world teach others the right way to wash their hands to promote health. October 15 is Global Handwashing Day.
Latin America: Music Blog Loves to Discover New Songs
The blog Amo descubrir canciones [es] (“I love to discover songs”) reviews music from around the world, with a special focus on Latin America. The blog includes specials with songs by country [es], song covers [es], and songs recommended by readers [es]. The latter category includes a post on “Songs...
Colombia: You Can Copy This Creative Commons Film Festival
The Creative Commons Audiovisual Festival will be taking place in Barranquilla and Medellin later this month. You can still experience it even if you aren't in Colombia by requesting to Copy the Festival, and getting a full package to replicate the festival, including films, talks and contact information for directors and panelists.
Colombia: Students Protest Higher Education Reform
Mike shares pictures of the October 12 student protests in Bogota: “Striking university students have got classes suspended at many of the public universities and vow to stay on strike until the government gives up on a proposed university reform, called Law 30, which would permit private investment in public...
Colombia: Could Miss Universe be Colombian?
A Mexican newspaper published that Miss Universe is Colombian, and that her documents were forged [es] so that she could represent Angola. Territorio Chocoano adds that Leila Lopes’ place of birth would be Nóvita, in the Chocó department [es] (the department with the largest population with African-descent). A Colombian magazine...
Colombia: Outrage at Conservative Politician over Remarks about Rape and Abortion
On Tuesday October 11, Conservative politician Enrique Gómez Hurtado's statements about abortion caused outrage among Colombian Twitter users. Gómez supports a legislative act to reform an article in the Constitution in order to outlaw abortion under all circumstances.
U.S. Releases Report on Social Media in Latin America
The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean recently released a report titled “Latin American Governments Need to ‘Friend’ Social Media and Technology”. Bloggings by boz helps break down some of the report's main points.
Colombia: First National Evacuation Simulation
Fourteen Colombian cities participated in an exercise of simulating a national evacuation on October 5. The idea was to simulate an emergency (an earthquake) and build awareness of the steps people should assume in the event of an actual emergency.
Colombia: Expouniversidad 2011 in Medellín
The University of Antioquia and Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation) [es], together with other organizations, have opened the sixth version [es] of Expouniversidad 2011 [es] (Sep.29 to Oct.7) in Medellín [es] to promote learning and to show advances in projects related to science, technology and innovation in...
Colombia: El Puente_lab Making a Difference in Moravia, Medellin
In Medellín, Colombia, the project Hiperbarrio (Rising Voices project) is being developed along with other interesting projects that attempt to improve social inclusion and citizen media training. One project we highlight in this article is the El Puente_lab, a production platform for art and culture.
Colombia: Mining Debate Continues as New Minister is Appointed
Colombians are using social networks, blogs and YouTube to comment on issues related to mining in the country, like its effects on the environment, the appointment of a new Minister of Mining, and the murder of Father Reinel Restrepo, leader of a movement against the exploitation of mines.
Colombia: ‘The Poetess of La Candelaria’
Mike blogs about Johanna Henry, a woman who hands out poems “for a small contribution” in a plaza in Bogotá: “I don't know her history well, but her roots are in San Andres, a Carribean island which is probably Colombia's most unlikely territory. She's also lived in different parts of...
Colombia: #Corzotón Protest Against the President of the Congress
Using Storify, journalist Lina Ceballos looks [es] at “why Colombians got excited on Twitter about the #Corzotón“, a protest against Juan Manuel Corzo –president of the Congress whose remarks caused outrage some days ago– since the protest's ‘offline’ version last September 27 was not as successful as expected. Ceballos claims...
