Global Voices » Juliana Rincón Parra

Argentina: Stand Up Comedian on Women and Catcalls

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:16:08 +0000

Argentinean stand up comedian Malena Pichot, best known for her webshow “La Loca de Mierda” has a new series, Cualca! and on this first episode[es], she shares her perspective on how women really feel when they receive unwanted attention from strange males like catcalls and genital exposure on the street.

Malaysia: Organization Advocates for Human Rights Through Video

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:26:24 +0000

An interview in EngageMedia showcases KOMAS, an organization in Malaysia that since 1993 has been using video production as a tool to educate and advocate for human rights.

Anna Har is the director of Pusat KOMAS (Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat) Community Communication Centre, and she explains the role video has in their outreach programs where they produce resource materials, facilitate processes, organize communities and give media training on the topics of non-discrimination, citizenship and voter education, as well as grassroots advocacy:

KOMAS is not a video production house nor do we specialise in producing films; rather, we see it as part of the strategic and creative use of media tools for the advocacy of human rights.

Freedom Film Fest by KOMAS

Between Love and Race is a short film focusing on racial discrimination, produced by KOMAS on 2006. In it, Angela and Rashid face backlash from friends and family because they've decided to date each other. Angela's parents object because they wanted her to date a Chinese boy,

Rashid's mother wishes he dated a nice Malaysian girl, as do Rashid's friends. Angela's friend Yati at least speaks Mandarin since she went to a Chinese school, so even among Yati's friends, Angela is singled out for not speaking her family's language.

Angela comes to discover that through labels, stereotypes, discrimination and expectations on race and love, what maters is how she and Rashid feel about each other.

In addition, KOMAS has also been running the human rights documentary festival FreedomFilmFest in Malaysia since 2003. The festival includes a documentary film competition where a first time film maker can pitch a proposal that they'll be able make into a documentary if they win, video workshops and film screenings; and it has become a platform for showcasing human rights documentaries that may not have enough commercial backing or space in mainstream media to get otherwise exposed. The 2012 FFF will be on the subject of Democracy, with the slogan of “Democracy – Who is the boss?”

The 2011 festival trailer gives us a perspective on the types of issues and topics the film festival promotes:

One of the 2011 winners of the documentary competition include Afiq Deen, who directed Huruf J, a short documentary on the hardships and discrimination faced by divorcees in Malaysia. A society that sets them apart for their condition, debt, poverty and a legal system which is unable to enforce fathers' financial obligations with their children are some of the hurdles these women have to face when trying to move on with their lives. The film includes some subtitles and audio in English.

With the online premiere of the documentary, the FreedomFilmFestival is asking you to view and review the documentary so they can add the opinions on their site.

Video: 6th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:50:25 +0000

Submissions are being accepted up to February 29th for the 6th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards in four different categories: small, medium and large organizations and best storytelling.

Video: Sociology Cinema Gathers Videoclips for Lecture Topics

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:50:59 +0000

Online video is being used by sociology instructors at the University of Maryland to teach basic concepts and accompany lectures. In The Sociological Cinema Valerie Chepp, Paul Dean, and Lester Andrist edit and publish posts where video clips are tagged and referenced so that other sociology instructors can use videos to make their classes more interesting without having to spend the extra time finding the right video for a specific content.

In their Facebook page they explain:

The idea of The Sociological Cinema came to us over the course of several conversations in which we repeatedly found ourselves discussing our use of video clips in the classroom. Our experiences in the classroom taught us that videos were highly effective at illustrating course concepts and theories, supplementing analyses found in course texts, and keeping students more engaged. With our experiences confirmed by scholarship on teaching and learning, the pedagogical case for using video in the classroom was overwhelming.

Videoclips or videos do not necessarily have to be short: this 50 minute Al Jazeera documentary on the Bahraini Uprising is suggested as an introduction to the study social movements and “exploring the evolution and consequences of state tactics aimed at quelling the protests - both violent and non-violent.”

When studying globalization, inequality and communities, this next short videoclip titled The Miniature Earth is suggested:

Given that large numbers can be difficult to put into perspective (and thus important information about the world runs the risk of becoming meaningless or unremarkable), this video illustrates for students how the global community fares on such indicators as hunger, religious affiliation, literacy, wealth, education, government expenditures, among many others. The clip is not only useful for helping students understand global inequality and differences, but it also reminds students of the enormity of their own social privilege relative to the majority of the world.

Movies are also sources for videoclips, like this minute long example from Up In the Air, starring George Clooney, which serves to illustrate stereotyping. The Sociological Cinema also provides additional suggestions for reading material to accompany the lessons.

This clip shows comedian Anita Renfroe condensing the phrases a typical mother says to her children in the course of a day to the duration of the William Tell Overture. In the classroom, sociology students can first list role expectations of mothers, and then discuss the roles mothers have and also focus on gender role expectations of fathers.

Beyond being a repository for videos, the site is also a source for teaching advice and shared experiences when teaching sociology. In An Online Video Assignment (that is Fun to Grade!) instructors suggest turning the tables on the students, and asking them to look for videos which they will categorize and tag as a way for them to apply their knowledge:

In the process, students do the same analytical exercise that we do in the classroom with clips found elsewhere on this site. The learning outcomes are for students to 1) become familiar with using and applying sociological concepts; 2) use their sociological imagination to engage familiar content; 3) teach each other through the course blog; and 4) become more critical media consumers. The upside for me is that I have interesting and engaging assignments with which I can evaluate them (of course, the videos must be short to make this a time effective exercise to grade).

Image used to illustrate post is Amo el Cine by Flickr user Román Soto (CC BY 2.0).

Colombia: What is in a name?

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:14:26 +0000

The Born on December 31st documentary by Priscila Padilla exposes a human rights violation the Wayuu indigenous group have been under. Many of their national IDs, mass produced to get important votes in election periods, state they were all born on the same date and feature offensive made-up names; which they were unable to notice because Spanish is not their native language.

Mongolia: The Mining Projects Leaving Herders Without Livelihoods

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:01:13 +0000

Mining projects in Mongolia promise development of social and economic infrastructure and a way to alleviate poverty, but on the wayside, local communities near the mines are feeling the negative impact as their environment and traditional livelihoods are affected.

The environmental NGO CEE Bankwatch Network has been reporting on mining projects both in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, projects which have been encouraged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Bankwatch's concerns, voiced in ‘Rushing into gold can leave people behind, EBRD‘, are around resource depletion, particularly water, and changes in commodity prices:

Whether the promised revenues will help Mongolia to develop badly needed welfare services and build an economy that can sustain the depletion of its resources or sudden changes in commodity prices is an open question however. The dominance of the mining sector has already raised fears of a “dutch disease” or “resource curse”.

Open pit mining in Mongolia. Image by Flickr user pjriccio2006 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

This short video was made by CEE Bankwatch Network in eastern Europe, Urgewald from Germany, the Bank Information Center in the United States and Oyu Tolgoi Watch from Mongolia, who traveled to Mongolia to study the environmental and social impact the Ukhaa Khudag coal mine in Mongolia's south Gobi desert is already having:

If the previous video showed how things are starting to go with mining in Mongolia, in Kyrgyzstan they already have a long history of negative effects mining has had on the environment, health and local communities.

The next video goes into the glaciar region of Kyrgyzstan and visits the areas surrounding the Kumtor open air gold mine, which has been operating for over 15 years. Cyanide poisoning and water contamination is what the communities have; none of the promised development and benefits have reached them.

Both the Mongolian and the Kyrgyzstan mining videos and background were written about in ‘Earth's riches, people's troubles. Mining in Central Asia‘:

The cases in question – the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi mines in Mongolia and the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan – are both important contributors to their country's national income and both receive (or in case of Oyu Tolgoi may soon receive) support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD). Both, however, pose risks to the local communities that can't be compensated in monetary terms.

These countries are not the only ones facing development with the negative impacts mining brings. In nearby Tibet, villagers managed to halt a mining project being established in one of their sacred mountains.

The topic is controversial; how high a price can a community pay for development of their country? Vladlena Martsynkevych, Bankwatch's Central Asia Officer writes:

The extractive industry can very well contribute to a country’s economic development and bring desired employment and revenues. At the same time mining is a highly disruptive activity with considerable negative impacts on the environment and the livelihoods of local communities. In countries with underdeveloped democratic structures, lack of institutional capacity or simply corruption, the damages can quickly overweigh. Benefits can then bypass the local level and end up enriching the involved companies and – not least - the technological progress and wealth in developed nations.

Video Highlights: Music, Indigenous Initiatives, Indignation and Wonder

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:44:07 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Music and Indigenous Initiatives

Latin America

Brazil: Cultural Debate as ‘Oh if I Catch You' Song Goes Global

Music has spurred an ongoing debate in Brazil, as netizens realize they have a new cultural ambassador which they may not have chosen themselves. In this case, it is Michel Teló's song ‘Ai se eu te pego‘ which not only became the rhythm played over and over during the end of the year festivities, but has also crossed borders, even getting its own versions in English, Polish and Dutch.

Peru: Cápac Raymi, The Andean Christmas

In Peru, the Incan culture is still alive in most of the Andean region, and Christmas is a time when they have united their pre-Columbian traditions with the later Christian festivities. The festival of Capac Raymi takes place in December coinciding with the Winter Solstice and honors the Sun. Although the holiday is no longer observed as it was during the reign of the Incas, it has transformed into an Andean Christmas, where Christmas choirs sing in Quechua with Andean musical instruments and dances:

Another strong cultural group in Peru is the Afro-Peruvian community and they have also left their mark in how Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

The song “Black Christmas” by Cesar Calvo is a lament, where they sing to Baby Jesus who was born in a manger, but with a slight difference, he is black as the people surrounding him:

Washed by the night
Just like you and me
Born among blacks
the Baby Jesus.

Don't come down, Baby,
from your altar,
lest the master
has you whipped.

Venezuela: The Essence of African Music in Videos

African heritage in Venezuela has also strongly influenced the music, and online video is being used to spread the knowledge of the African Diaspora and Afro-Venezuelan Caribbean culture.

From Canada comes a video journalist with a project: To visit one country per week and to record the stories of under-reported minorities.

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

So far she is still raising funds for this one year journey where she would be recording, editing and producing short documentaries from the road. A short video of her visit with the Embera indigenous communities in Panama gives us a promising look into the type of content she'd be delivering once her project takes off:

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Check out the list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues that Indigenous Cry shared.

Indignation

In Guatemala, indignation has overwhelmed citizens after investigative journalism uncovered that the President of the Chamber of Agriculture of that country had children under 14 years of age working in his sugar cane fields. Cane cutting is considered very physically demanding even for adults, and the conditions under which the cane cutters work contrast with the growth of the sugar industry.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

The video, made under the guise of a photographic project to make portraits using an old fashioned camera shows the workers, including children who work long days without even making minimum wage:

In Brazil, the indignation has been caused by the violent forced evictions in what is being called a massacre:

Brazil: “Massacre of Pinheirinho” Causes an Uproar

Urbanist and UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik reported:

Thousands of men, women, children and elderly residents of the Pinheirinho occupation are surprised by a siege consisting of helicopters, armored vehicles and more than 1,800 armed men of the military police. In addition to the exits of the occupation being blocked, the water, electricity and telephone were cut, and the order was for families to gather to begin the process of retreat. Determined to resist - as the repossession had been suspended on Friday - the residents did not accept the command, initiating a dramatically violent situation that lasted all day and that has resulted in homeless families, people injured, arrests and rumors, including of the existence of fatalities.

East Asia

Hong Kong residents are becoming outraged: the cultural clashes have citizens and bloggers in a tense situation where any event is cause for fury:

China and Hong Kong: Train Scuffle Ignites Cross-Border Fury

Hong Kong Rethinks its Relationship with Mainland China

While bloggers in Hong Kong complain about their stretched resources and bubble economy, seeing the mainlanders as the intruders and sharing music videos where Mainland Chinese are compared to locusts, others such as Grey Reporter see both parties as victims of the system:

Actually, Hong Kongers and mainlanders share the same destiny – to end the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and the collusion between the rich and the powerful.

Wonder

Middle East & North Africa

Jordan: Let it Snow

Snow in Jordan had people whipping out their mobile phones and documenting the long awaited snow fall, even if it didn't stick.

But in case you are in a place where the snow does stick, what about checking out the video tutorial on how to build an igloo with just snow and a knife?

Eastern and Central Europe

CEE: A “Safe House” and an Igloo

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:26:18 +0000

Intercontinental Cry has a list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues, some made by indigenous people from Brazil, Australia, Panama, USA, Northern Kenya, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:23:49 +0000

Video journalist Maggie Padlewska will travel alone for one year, visiting a country each week for a total of 52 countries. During her journey she'll be recording, editing and producing videos of her interactions with communities, organizations and people under-represented by mass media and uploading them to the web, so that the stories of these people in lesser known communities come out into the world. This is the One Year One World.

One year One World is an initiative to raise awareness of people and communities living in some of the world's most fascinating but under-reported regions through an independent multimedia production. The mission is to provide lesser-known communitites with an opportunity to share their stories wth the world, to educate and inspire youth and adults to think about the global community, to help bridge the “communications gap” in media coverage and to promote peace and understanding around the world.

The idea to do this project came to Padlewska when she was filming a medical mission to a remote indigenous community in Panama. As she explains on this next video, during her trip, she realized that she didn't want to just report what the medical community was doing, she wanted to go beyond that.

Her pilot project took place with the Embera communities in Panama. The Embera are one of the few traditional pre- Columbian tribes remaining in Central America, and recently, their ancestral lands, mostly forests and jungles were declared a National Park. This meant that they weren't able to hunt anymore, which meant they had lost food security and needed to buy food from outside their community. They had turned to cultural tourism as a way to earn income, and this intrigued Padlewska:

Were the Embera peoples forced to embrace tourism as a means of survival after being prohibited from hunting? What implications has this had on the tribe's traditional lifestyle and cultural survival? Is the tribe being exploited? These are some of the questions that I asked the Embera Drua and Embera Quera, two indigenous communities currently living on government land.

This journey's video shows us how these communities are dealing with this new way to interact with outsiders, and what impact it is having on their traditional ways:

Padlewska plans to travel to Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Asia and South and Central America as soon as she finishes her fundraising to back her year of travel.

Colombia: Hip hop and rap artists unite for peace

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:25:22 +0000

The Conspiracy for Peace is the new video the local rap and hip hop artists have made with the support of the local TV network Telemedellin. The song was written collectively by the artists of Medellin and the surrounding cities for the Peace One Day and is a message of peace, unity, coexistence, respect and positive energy.

Cuba: Imprisoned dissident dies after 50 day Hunger Strike

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:23:39 +0000

Political dissident Wilmar Villar Mendoza died after a 50 day hunger strike. He was serving a four year sentence for disobedience; he was arrested while leading a peaceful demonstration. The Latin Americanist includes a video of Villar Mendoza protesting last November.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:31:27 +0000

The recent investigation done by journalists of Plaza Publica in Guatemala has uncovered how government authorities, although legally having to prevent child labor, allow children under 14 years of age to work in their cane fields, which is a physically demanding and dangerous work.

Sugar Cane Pieces by Chris McBrien CCBy

In the article Child labor and exploitation in Guatemala's sugar Alberto Arce and Martín Rodríguez Pellecer explain how children work in the sugar fields where workers are paid by tonnage cut. While most adult workers cut two to three tons, that doesn't even add up to minimum wage, about 7.5 USD per day. One of the families interviewed, where the father works with his two sons, one 12 and the other 13, don't even make minimum wage between the three of them.

Para llegar al salario mínimo, con un salario de Q20 por tonelada es necesario superar las tres toneladas diarias. Para el finquero, la media normal que un cortador puede extraer es de seis toneladas. Los cortadores dicen que a partir de dos o tres es inhumano.

To reach the minimum wage, with a salary of Q20 per ton it is needed to cut more than three tons daily. For the plantation owner, the normal amount a cutter can extract is of 6 tons. The cutters say that more than two or three is inhuman.

At Flamenco, Picture by Alberto Arce, CC BY

Following is the short video they shot as they went into a sugar cane plantation to take photographs using an antique wooden camera. From the article:

Plaza Pública ingresó sin pedir permiso a la propiedad privada de Kuhsiek para hacer unas fotografías artísticas sobre trabajadores de la caña. En ese momento, no se sabía quién era el dueño de la finca. Ya dentro se descubrió el trabajo infantil. Allí, en una conversación informal entre el empresario agrícola, uno de los reporteros que escriben esta nota y el fotógrafo Rodrigo Abd, se acordó una entrevista formal en su oficina de la capital.

Plaza Pública went in without asking permission to the private property of Kuhsiek, to take some artistic photographs of cane workers. In that moment, it wasn't known who the owner of the plantation was. Once inside, the child labor was discovered. There, in an informal conversation between the agricultural businessmen, one of the reporters writing this note and the photographer Rodrigo Abd a formal interview in his office in the capital was agreed upon.

The greatest irony is perhaps that the owner of the Flamenco plantation is no other than Otto Kuhsiek, the president of the Guatemalan Chamber of Agriculture. In the interview, he didn't deny that children may go to the fields, but suggested that they don't actually work there:

El presidente de la Cámara del Agro se define como una persona que trata de cumplir con la Ley: “No conozco las edades de los niños que se encontraban en mi finca, que estaban, en todo caso, en su período vacacional. Usted vio que había una escuela en frente de donde estaban. Y esos niños no son trabajadores, sino que vienen acompañando a sus padres. Son sus ayudantes (…) .

The President of the Chamber of Agriculture defines himself as a law abiding person: “I don't know the ages of the children found in my farm, who were, in any case, in the holiday season. You saw that there was a school in front of where they were. And those children aren't workers, but they come with their parents. They are their helpers “.

He went on to explain that workers are not exploited since they are free to go when they are tired. However, the journalists point out that at 5 pm workers can still be seen in the fields and because they are paid for what they can cut, they may be forced to chosing between feeding their families or getting some rest.

On twitter, under the hashtag #11deazucar, Guatemanal journalist Alejandra Gutierrez tries to take the focus from placing blame into the lives of these children:

¿Los cañeros? ¿los azucareros? ¿los compradores? ¿los padres? ¿el Estado? La tragedia es que esos niños tengan que trabajar. #11deazucar

The sugar cane cutters? the sugar workers? the buyers? the parents? the state? The tragedy is that these children have to work. #11deazucar

Child labor in the sugar cane fields is not new: back in 2007, this video with pictures of sugar cane workers in Guatemala, including children was uploaded on YouTube.

Although the sugar industry in Guatemala is one of the fastest growing and highest grossing in Guatemala, this growth and wealth is not passed on to the people farther down in the chain. In fact, the sugar association that brings together the 13 sugar processing plants in Guatemala, Asazgua, only guarantees a minimum wage for those who work processing the sugar, not those who cut it and believes the problems of the cane workers exposed are neither examples of child labor or, in fact, their problem, since they are cutters and not sugar workers: since they are providers they are not part of Asazgua and it is not up to them to stop this from happening.

At Flamenco, by Alberto Arce, CC BY

In the Plaza Publica article, Arce and Rodriguez tell of how the plantation owners and Asazgua show themselves as victims, suggesting that child work at the plantations is the farmers' choice, and that not allowing children to work at the fields might lead to the farmers or their children burning down the fields and sabotage the production.

The article and investigation had results, but sadly, not as expected. Journalist Alberto Arce posted on twitter that althought the Finca Flamenco farm ceased operations as a consequence of the article on sugar in @PlazaPublicaGT, there are cane workers who lost their jobs in Retalhuleu.

Costa Rica: I'm Happy In That Water

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:27:20 +0000

This wordless short film follows Doña Norma, a 78 year old woman who goes to swim every day at a local swimming pool outside of the capital city of San José.

Video Highlights: Activism, Freedom of Speech, Identity and Culture

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:57:18 +0000

Middle East North Africa:

Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa
From Yemen we have the amazing story of the historic 264km Life March, which is the longest since Mahatma Gandhi's 390km long Salt March in 1930. During the Life March, villages and towns came together to give food and drink to the thousands of people who marched for four days straight through winding mountain passes protesting the immunity that outgoing President Saleh asked for himself and his aides and family for the killing of protesters in the Yemen uprisings.

However, the march didn't seem to sway the newly formed cabinet members who approved the bill: it will now go on to parliament for it to become a law.
Yemen: Saleh Gets Away With Murder…He Gets Immunity

It is those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the rest of Yemen to live a life of freedom and democracy, whom Yemenis feel they must never be forgotten nor should their blood go in vain.

This next video is a silent remembrance for those who died during the peaceful uprising:

Some online activists are also promoting an online campaign against a stimulating herb chewed by many Yemeni men and women for hours on end, sometimes daily. The campaign is for a day without using the leafy green plant, Qat:
Yemen: January 12, a Day Without Qat

As blogger @Afrahnasser, proposed on Twitter:

An average citizen in Yemen wastes 8 hrs in searching money for qat, another 8 hrs in chewing qat & the rest 8 hrs in sleeping @NoonArabia

The idea of the campaign is to turn those hours spent on qat into active endeavors which build up Yemen.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Ethiopia: Swedish Journalists Found Guilty of Terrorism Charges
Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson crossed from Somalia to Ethiopia illegally which caused the Ethiopian authorities to detain and put them on trial for supporting terrorist activities and crossing illegally into the territory, although the defense claims that they were performing their duty as journalists to report both sides of the conflict. This next video was used as evidence during the trial, where the journalists are seen planning their journey as journalists

Western Europe:

Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home

Families who got into debt to buy a home and ended without jobs or income to pay for them are being helped by an organization aiming to stop families from being evicted and to give them temporary homes in foreclosed and empty houses when they aren't able to stop the banks. The video on this post shows their success in avoiding an eviction and keeping a man and his 13 year old son off the streets.

Eastern and Central Europe:

Hungary: Memories of Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp
Growing up Roma in Europe can make children feel stigmatized and rejected by their peers, causing them to hide their origins and feel ashamed of their heritage. The Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp aimed to give Roma youth a chance to discover their roots by learning the language, history and cuisine of the Roma people.

East Asia:

Hong Kong: Protest Against Luxury Brand to Defend Local Identity
A luxury brand which doesn't allow for photographs to be taken of its store is not news, but when they stated that the rule only applied for local residents of Hong Kong and not tourists from Mainland China, the people of Hong Kong made their anger known through a flashmob outside the store.

Latin America:

Chile: Wildfire in Torres del Paine Shocks Netizens
The wildfire in one of Chile's top touristic spots, National Park Torres del Paine had netizens blogging and tweeting about the fire, both as experienced by those inside the park at the time of the evacuation and recorded it on video as well as from concerned people following the news and updates.

Central America: LibreBus Project Presents its Documentary
The documentary follows the activists who climbed on board a bus driving through 5 different Central American countries to spread the message of free software, the defense of freedom of speech and content sharing.

Colombia: Salsa Song Criticizes Bus Rapid Transport System
Public transportation makes it easier for people to get from one location to another without having to use their own vehicle, however, when that public transportation system is overcrowded, it can become a torture instead of a relief. The salsa song (with translated captions) shows what it is like for people to use the popular Transmilenio System in the capital city of Bogota.

South Africa: Braille Burgers and Social Media

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:34:56 +0000

A fast food chain in South Africa delivered 15 burgers to organizations for the Blind: through social media, the story of those 15 burgers reached more than 800,000 people, letting them know about the restaurant's new Braille menu. What made that strong impression? The burgers' buns had messages in Braille written with sesame seeds.