Stories from and

Spain: Unconceivable Oblivion of an Atlético Madrid Football Club Fan

  26 May 2014

In an exciting football soccer match, Real Madrid team defeated with a final score of four goals to one the Atlético de Madrid for the Champions League championship, in the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Fans from one and another team cheered their favorites in the Portuguese stadium. All but...

European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism

  20 January 2014

“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...

New Global Voices Podcast in Portuguese

  15 January 2014

The prolific team of Global Voices in Portuguese have launched a new monthly podcast, Vozes Globais, with alternative news gleaned from the internet in all Portuguese speaking countries. Portuguese journalist Vanessa Rodrigues (@lunacronica) is heading up the podcast in partnership with community radio station RadioManobras.pt. The goal is to partner...

Understanding Human Rights in Portuguese-Speaking Countries

  15 January 2014

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except where otherwise stated] The Portuguese language version of the educational manual for human rights “Understanding Human Rights” is available online. The website provides the complete manual in pdf format or divided into chapters, as well as training material, bibliographical references and institutional information specifically aimed at...

“Beyond Brazil”: European Journalists Wanted for Reporting Trips

  21 December 2013

Coolpolitics in Portugal announces [pt] an open call for European journalists who want to go on a reporting trip to Brazil in 2014. Twenty-one young reporters from Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Bulgaria will be selected to take part of three different groups that will cover events in Brazil,...

Social Movements of Portugal Get Together to Debate Massive Protests

  12 November 2013

“What is the purpose of the massive protests?”, a question that many Portuguese citizens have repeated since the economic crisis started, has become a motto for a Laboratory of Democracy organized by the non-profit association Academia Cidadã (Citizen Academy). The “informal debate about the occupation of the public space in...

Portugal Says “Thank You Troika”, Really?

  25 October 2013

Subverting the discourse of austerity, a protest was held in Lisbon earlier this week to “thank” the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission for the ongoing measures to tackle the economic crisis in Portugal. The protest took place on October 21, 2013, and gained the attention of mainstream...

Future Places: Digital Media Tools for Citizenship

  24 October 2013

Future Places, a former digital media festival that is turning into a “media lab for citizenship” for its sixth edition, will take place in Porto, Portugal, from October 28 to November 2, 2013. “A festival without an audience, where everyone who is present participates and discovers in real time ways of collaborating”,...

Elderly Care in Portugal Highlighted on Blog Action Day

  17 October 2013

The Community Center of Gafanha do Carmo [pt], in Ílhavo, was highlighted by João Paulo Pedrosa as a positive example [pt] concerning elderly care in Portugal. On October 16's Blog Action Day dedicated to human rights, the blogger, from Malfadado o Contestatário, started by questioning: Quantas pessoas idosas vêem os seus direitos ignorados, esquecidos ou até...

Portugal: A Digital Narrative Around Food, Crisis and Territory

  16 October 2013

The historical Mouraria neighborhood in Lisbon, Portugal, can now be explored in a ground breaking web documentary, Mundo Mouraria. In a true digital narrative form, the documentary makes a map available to help visitors wander the streets, sounds and flavors of Mouraria while getting to know the stories of six local dwellers. Its synopsis reads: Here...

Re-Imagining Lusophony and Decolonizing the Mind

  11 October 2013

The Fourth International Congress in Cultural Studies – Colonialisms, Post-colonialisms and Lusophonies has a call for paper submissions open until October 15, 2013 November 15, 2013 [deadline has been extended]: To demystify, to dehierarchize, to establish a policy of difference, to allow a multiplicity of voices, to constitute so many projects of possible modernities/rationalities...

Crowdsourcing Accountability of the Electoral Campaign in Portugal

  25 September 2013

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages.] In the run up for this week's municipal elections in Portugal, the platform Campanha Limpa (Clean Campaign) invites all citizens to help monitor electoral spending, by sending pictures of campaign materials such as posters, banners, signs, gifts and treats, rallies and events. The platform, an...

Portugal: One Arrested in “Screw the Troika” Protest

  17 April 2013

An anti-austerity flashmob called by “Screw the Troika” [pt] in front of the the Ritz Hotel in Lisbon, on April 16, 2013, ended with the detention of a 49 year old woman. The protest against the visit of the IMF, ECB and European Comission representatives in Portugal, was recorded in video...

Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe Make Music

  28 February 2013

Until March 1, 2013, Pantalassa, a cultural association working with Portuguese language countries, is organizing a multidisciplinary program of artistic residences in the “marvelous islands” of São Tomé and Príncipe, together with CACAU. The mutual sharing of experiences and affections is presented in a photo-album, which is being updated throughout the...

“A Thousand Europeans Staring Back at You”

  15 February 2013

The Portuguese website Variações Sobre a Europa (Variations on Europe) [pt] invites one thousand citizens to create a digital avatar and to participate with their opinions for the construction of a democratic Europe.

Rethinking Public Service: Portuguese Bloggers Translate IMF Report

  11 January 2013

Whether you agree with its content or not, it is unacceptable that the only available version is in English. The author of the Portuguese blog Aventar refers [pt] to a recent report released by the IMF, ‘Rethinking the State – Selected Expenditure Reform Options’, which “may be the basis for...

Call for Portuguese Blogs of the Year 2012

  3 January 2013

Around 380 blogs have already registered on the ‘Blogs of the Year 2012′ competition launched by Aventar.eu. The most interesting citizen media initiatives from the Portuguese and Portuguese language blogosphere can register until January 4, 2012. Voting starts on January 7.