Stories about South Africa from December, 2010
Africa: 15 African Breakout Artists of the Year
Ladybrille's 15 African breakout artists of the year: “2010 has been a terrific year for African music and its music industry. As a quick recap, the first World Cup held on African soil put African music center stage in the homes of millions…”
Africa: Tech Success in Africa is Built on the Ordinary
Meeting the needs of ordinary people is key to success in tech industry in Africa: “In fact, you can take this one step further. Almost any meaningful success in Africa’s mobile or web space has been from companies focused on meeting the needs of ordinary people.”
South Africa: Corrective rape is a hate crime
Corrective rape is a criminal practice, whereby men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of “curing” the woman of her sexual orientation. Despite South Africa being the first nation on earth to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, the first African country to legalize same-sex marriage and the world’s first republic to guarantee LGBT citizens equal rights in all realms of life (including adoption and military service), cases of corrective rape have been on the rise.
Christmas Recipes in Global Food Blogs
Christmas means ‘coming home’ to many people - but if this isn’t possible, preparing a magic meal can be a consolation. Bloggers of many continents have shared their favorite holiday recipes. With these you can dream yourself back home or even visit a place, you’ve never been to before. Where are you celebrating Christmas this year and what are you serving?
COP16: Conclusions from Young Trackers
Young trackers from the Adopt a Negotiator Project blogged throughout COP16, United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in Cancún, Mexico. These were some of their concluding statements and thoughts on what happened at COP16 from their country's perspective.
South Africa: Bloggers’ take on Wikileaks
Like much of the world of late, everyone has been affected by the revelations contained in WikiLeaks cables. South Africa is no exception. Here's South African bloggers' take on WikiLeaks.
Africa: Corrective rape testimonies from around Africa
Rose highlights corrective rape testimonies from around Africa: “it’s really important to point out how the increasing incidences of violence against gay people in Africa include the grotesque practice of corrective rape, where women are raped, and in some cases, infected with HIV and/or made pregnant.”
South Africa: An evening with FW De Klerk
An evening with FW De Klerk, the last State President of apartheid-era South Africa: “Last Friday, December 10, 2010, I had the privilege of listening to a talk by former South African President Frederick W De Klerk about the transformative power of change.”
South Africa: Media pluralism is bigger priority than press ownership
Guy Berger maintains that Pluralism is a bigger priority than press ownership: “There's renewed focus on newspaper ownership by the ANC, even as the ruling party is becoming less hardline about the Media Appeals Tribunal and the Secrecy Bill.”
South Africa: Wikileaks lessons for South Africa's Secrecy Bill
WikiLeaks lessons for South Africa as the South African Parliament considers passing the draconian Protection of Information Bill (POIB): “Governments which mire themselves in secrecy can quickly become enemies to their own people.”
South Africa: The Vuvuzela gets a makerover
Vuvuzela's new role: Regrdless of its irritating “virtues”, the Vuvuzela’s place in history as the symbol for the first African World Cup is assured. Thanks to Matt Blitz and his colleagues at advertising firm Leftfield launched, the Vuvuzela is gearing up for a new role.
Africa: ICT terms in African languages available online
ANLoc partners have completed work on 2500 Information and Communications Technology terms, with a particular eye to software localization, for the following languages: Akan, Amharic, Arabic, French, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Luganda, Songhay, Yoruba, and Zulu.
COP 16: Young Bloggers Track Negotiations
Adopt a Negotiator, part of the TckTckTck campaign focusing on climate change, is an initiative where several young people from different parts of the world become “trackers.” Their role is to be interpreters and communicators of what their national delegations say and do at the UNFCCC conferences on Climate Change.
South Africa: Lesbian activist Ncumisa Mzamelo murdered
Black Looks on the murder of the South African lesbian activist Ncumisa Mzamelo: “Three weeks after Ncumisa Mzamelo was found dead her story was published on page 16 of the South African newspaper, The Star. This is a story of a brutal murder of a Black lesbian from Bhambayi in...
South Africa: Don't get drunk, black men will rape you!
Brett Davidson and Sean Jacobs analyse a new public service announcement by the South African alcohol beverage company Brandhouse with evidence of racism that circulates in South Africa’s advertising industry: “For those clueless to South Africa’s realities, the PSA basically warns white men what could happen to them if they...
Africa: What is your African theme song?
What is your African theme song?: “While I love all types of music from classic soul hits to Latin jazz, at my core I’m an African hip hop baby. This ranges from songs I heard my parents play to some more modern classics making waves today. It was diifucult narrowing...
Africa: SABMiller, Schtop Tax Dodging
ActionAid published a report on Monday exposing how international corporations dodge millions in taxes all over Africa. The report found that SABMiller has avoided paying an estimated £20m in taxes. ActionAid has launched a campaign (‘Schtop’) to encourage more accountability and transparency.
South Africa: Sound of the year: Vuvuzela
Terry nominates the Vuvuzela as The Sound of the Year: “Not to mention that what the vuvuzela has come to represent is not simply a single moment in sports history, but also a moment in our collective global history. And this moment sings out with a distinctive, jubilant and multinational...
