Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 October 04

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4 October 2011

Daily archive · 10 posts

Stories from 4 October 2011

Tunisia: Palestinian Bloggers Denied Entry to Arab Bloggers Meeting

Written by Afef Abrougui · Middle East & North Africa

The buzz surrounding the third Arab Bloggers Meeting, which opened yesterday in Tunis, is being marred by the absence of Palestinian bloggers, who were refused entry visas. Bloggers have joined forces to demand an explanation.

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China: The Cost of Space Ambition

Written by John Kennedy · East Asia

China's launch of an unmanned space station last week, says the editor of a Tokyo-based newspaper for Chinese expats, has given Japan reason to step up its contribution to the universal endeavor of space exploration - if it can afford it.

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Colombia: El Puente_lab Making a Difference in Moravia, Medellin

Written by Juan Arellano · Translated by Stephen Cairns · Latin America

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.

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UAE: Five Activists on Trial for “Insulting” President

Written by Mona Kareem · Middle East & North Africa

Five activists from the UAE, including bloggers, are on trial for publicly "insulting" the country's president and top officials. The activists, who are in jail where they have allegedly been abused, refused to attend the hearing.

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Arab Bloggers Meet in Tunis

Written by Rebecca MacKinnon · Middle East & North Africa

On Monday in Tunis, the 3rd Arab Bloggers Meeting kicked off with a day-long public conference. The meeting is co-hosted by Global Voices, Nawaat and Heinrich Böll Foundation and is attended by around 100 bloggers from nearly all Arab countries.

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Cameroon: Anglophone Nationalism Pops-up Ahead of Elections

Written by George Esunge Fominyen · Sub-Saharan Africa

As presidential candidates campaigned ahead of the 9 October polls in Cameroon, supporters of English-speaking separatist movements attempted a protest on 1 October in Buea the former capital of British-controlled Southern Cameroons.

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China: Student Interns Or Cheap Labourers?

Written by Oiwan Lam · East Asia

To tackle the labour shortage emerging in China, the government has started encouraging privately run institutes to expand vocational schools. Student labourers enrolled in the so-called “factory in front, school at the back” model have been sharing their grievances online.

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Bangladesh: Bloggers Will Not Be Silenced

Written by Rezwan · South Asia

Blogger Asif Mohiuddin, 28, was recently detained by police for organizing rallies through Facebook and blogs to support students protesting against the privatization of Jagannath University. Asif was later released after submitting a bond to refrain from such activities; here are reactions from netizens.

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Thailand: Prime Minister Cancels Twitter Account

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has stopped tweeting after her Twitter account, @PouYingluck, was hacked a few days ago. Here are reactions from netizens in the country.

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Puerto Rico: Calle 13 Reach New Heights with Music Video

Written by Alfredo Richner · Latin America

With more than two million views since being uploaded to Youtube a week ago, Calle 13's new video "Latinoamérica" has found widespread acclaim online and around the world. The video captures the diversity and resistance of Latin America and its people.

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Updates from 4 October 2011

Updates

A Basij official says [fa] that 17 million Iranians are on Facebook and filtering has been useless.

• Fred Petrossian

Iran

Iranian authorities [fa] confirmedVPN access has been blocked in Iran.

• Fred Petrossian

Azerbaijan

Tamada Tales comments on remarks made by a senior member of the ruling government party in Azerbaijan in response to allegations made by the BBC that a senior official tried to bribe the oil-rich country's way to two gold medals for boxing in next year's Olympic Games to be held in London, England. According to the blog post and news reports, Ali Ahmedov accused the British broadcaster of being “jealous because we are pretty, athletic and rich.”

• Onnik Krikorian

Egypt

Get ready for Maker Faire Africa 2011: “From October 6 – 8, 2011; Inventors, Developer, Makers, Idealist, Entrepreneurs and Bloggers will meet-up on the campus of American University in Cairo for Maker Faire Africa 2011 under the hash-tag: #MFA11.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana

Learn about the African photographer and the camera from Nana Acquah: “Traditionally, the African photographer has been an artisan. He’s not been considered any different from a carpenter or mason or vulcanizer. Photographic Imagery has been as useful as furniture.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Nigeria

Critical Point explains the role of the Internet in spreading humanism: “The internet provides a forum, missing in Nigeria and similar countries, to have on-going debate and develop ideas. With the refusal of the religiously influenced Nigerian media to report humanist stories, the internet is the only way the movement can publicise itself, present issues and outreach.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Trinidad & Tobago

TECHTT turned his “social media streams to gain some insight into what people were expecting or wanting” from Apple's big announcement today and gives out some awards based on the best responses.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bolivia

Dario Kenner updates his blog on the ongoing TIPNIS conflict. Despite last week's police repression, marchers are determined to reach La Paz. Dario says there are two main unanswered questions: “Will the government listen to the signals and change its positions?” and “Who gave the order for the police repression on Sunday 25 September?”

• Silvia Viñas

Cuba

“The month of September 2011 has proven to be the blackest month this year in Cuba”: Babalu explains why and Uncommon Sense adds: “The numbers just don't lie.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Peru

Catherine Binet, in her blog for The Advocacy Project, introduces the series Not One, but Fifteen Thousand Voices by the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF): “Yes, there are 15,000 missing persons in Peru. Yes, that is an impressive number. But to understand the tragedy of enforced disappearance, one must look beyond the numbers and into the particular story of each of the missing and the impact left on each of the relative.”

• Silvia Viñas