Stories about Technology from April, 2012
A Global Voices Guide to re:publica Berlin 2012
This week (May 2-4, 2012) thousands of minds will join in Berlin, Germany at an annual gathering called re:publica. A number of Global Voices community members will participate in over 200 hours of scheduled program.
Kenya: Chronicles of a Kenyan Farmer Nominated for Award
Chronicles of a Kenyan Farmer has been nominated for the Agriculture Category has been nominated in this years BAKE Blogger Awards: “BAKE(Bloggers Associaton of Bloggers) is a body that promotes content creation on the web in Kenya…”
Cuba: Diaspora Reacts to Ferrer García's Release
Cuban prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was released over the weekend. Diaspora bloggers comment on this most recent development.
Barbados: Racial Slurs for Winning Goal
Joel Ward, an Afro-Canadian ice hockey player for the Washington Capitals, who is of Barbadian parentage, was subjected to racial slurs on Twitter after he scored the winning goal in overtime of the decisive seventh game against the defending champion Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League playoffs.
India: Five Legal Points The Bloggers Should Know
Apar Gupta discusses about the legal concerns of a blogger and five legal points one should know while blogging in India.
Africa: Does Copy/Clone Strategy Work in Africa?
Mbwna Ally wonders whether copy/clone strategy works in Africa: “Every so often I hear venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley ask a recurring question regarding Tech Startups in Africa- why not just use the “copy to” strategy? Clone an e-bay, clone a Groupon… After all there are 1,000s of...
Nigeria: New Media and Governance Conference
Enough is Enough (EIE) together with other partners wish to expound the rising profile of new media and governance in a conference "New Media and Governance: Tools and Trends". The aim of this intellectual gathering of "government policy makers, civil society, academic institutions, private sector and youth" is to analyse "the use of new media for improved governance, accountability and civic engagement." The conference is slated for May 14-15, 2012 in Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.
Refugees: Online Media and Technology to the Service of Refugees
Two different organizations are using online media and technology to aid refugees and improve their lives. The first uses online and mobile tools to reunite refugees who have lost track of family members, and the other provides legal information to refugees in Hong Kong through YouTube videos.
India: Protests Against the New IT Rules
In April 2011 the Indian government quietly issued amendments to the IT rules restricting web content that are designated as “disparaging,” “harassing,” “blasphemous” or “hateful.” The Indian netizens are campaigning against it online and are organizing street protests.
Iran: Opposition sites under cyber attack
Several blogs and sites reported [fa] in recent days several Iranian reformist and green sites such as daneshjoonews have been under cyber attack.
Ethiopia: Netizens Outraged as Ethiopia Steps Up Internet Censorship
Ethiopian bloggers are outraged and expressing their concern on different social media platforms as the Ethiopian government increasingly engages in blocking and surveillance of selected websites, blogs and Facebook pages.
Chinese blind lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng flees house arrest
Chinese blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng has reportedly escaped from his well-guarded house in Dongshigu (Shandong) after more than a year of house arrest. Sources report he entered the US embassy in Beijing. He has put out a video denouncing corruption, exposing abuses and expressing “extreme concern” about the consequences...
Cuba: Bloggers Summit in Matanzas
The bloggers from La Joven Cuba [es] have organized a Summit of Cuban Bloggers [es] that will take place April 27th and 28th in Matanzas. Follow the conversation on Twitter under #BlogazoxCuba (@BlogazoxCuba).
Cuba: Hopeless Information?
“Information in Cuba is hopeless,” says Bad Handwriting, but she thinks it can be helped.
Cuba: Resorting to Hunger Strike
Cuban netizens, primarily from the diaspora, are once again blogging about instances of police abuse in the country and how the island's justice system routinely makes hunger-strikers out of prisoners of conscience.
South Korea: Youtube Video Accusing Samsung of Labor Workers Death
While Apple factory workers’ suicides are widely known, not enough data on Samsung's labor workers is available online. A Youtube user posted a video entitled “Samsung's Truth” with English subtitles explaining how labor workers suffered under the biggest corporations in South Korea.
South Korea: International Media Coverage on Continuing Attacks on Stanford Grad Singer
It has been over years several net users harassed a famous rapper named Tablo by questioning his Stanford diploma to the point of almost ruining his career. A Wired.com article presented evidences that the rapper did not lie about his education record. ROK Drop blog approached this case from the...
China: New vBlog Weibo Today
Blogger Elle Lee launched its new vBlog Weibo Today a month ago, a weekly online show in English about the hottest topics on China's social networks.
Ecuador: Local Creative Commons Chapter to Hold Event on World Intellectual Property Day
Creative Commons Ecuador [es] is holding a free event on April 26 to discuss the impact of technology on copyright. Participants will also talk about other related topics, like free culture and open access to government information. You can follow the event on Twitter through the hashtag #ccSalonQuito [es].
Mexico: Netizens Speak Out Against Geo-Location Law
Mexicans used the blogosphere and Twitter to comment on the reforms recently published and identified as the “Geo-Location Law”, which allows authorities to access real time reports on the location of mobile communication devices.
Bahamas: Elections Getting Closer
With just two weeks to go until the country's general elections, the Bahamian blogosphere has been filled with political discussion. Blogworld yesterday compiled her usual Twitter Weekly Updates, which gave a good overview of the issues being discussed.
