Rayna St.

former research fellow @ Paris Descartes University // now independent researcher and consultant at RS Strategy // Geek & DIYbio hacker // working to achieve gender equality in science & tech // human rights activist // former editor for Global Voices Bulgarian // Columnist for Al-Jazeera English, Nature Middle East, Jadaliyya,… // board member of the French chapter of the Open Knowledge Foundation // founder of OpenMENA // human being

Between Bulgaria, Egypt & France

I tweet under @MaliciaRogue |
Writings |
Me, myself and I

Email Rayna St.

Latest posts by Rayna St.

A Pastebin for Arabic Content on the Web

  3 December 2013

“Arabic is the seventh most spoken language by Internet users but only three per cent of digital content on the web comprises of Arabic material,” estimate experts. Among the most frequent web usages is sharing text, through Pastebin and similar services. Yet these do not properly support Arabic text. Developed...

Egypt: Campaigning for Rights of People with Special Needs

  3 December 2013

Marginalized Egyptians with special needs have been protesting for their rights both before and since the #Jan25 revolution. However, their grievances are yet to be resolved. At the time when the Committee of 50 is voting on the most recent draft of the Egyptian Constitution, Zayee Zayak campaign, which translates...

VIDEO: “No Woman, No Drive” Stuns Saudi Arabia

  26 October 2013

Today, October 26, was the day Saudi activists chose to protest against the driving ban on women in the Kingdom. As social networks were buzzing under increasing number of reports of women driving across the country, a brilliant a capella remake of Bob Marley's “No Woman, No Cry” spread at...

Protests in Iraq Crowdvoiced

  12 October 2013

Crowdvoice is a platform that “works to provide first-hand reports, occasionally coupled with the top mainstream media coverage.” By curating and putting to the forefront the sound bytes of these working to change the world, Crowdvoice compiles a wide range of resources in a meaningful whole thus enabling access to...

VIDEO: Filmpoem “Prayer of Fear” Stuns Egypt

  30 September 2013

The Egyptian citizen collective Mosireen has been tirelessly documenting the #Jan25 revolution and the events that followed in images and documentaries. One of their very last creations is “Prayer of Fear”, a filmpoem by Mahmoud Ezzat narrated by Mosireen member Salma Said. Between roving and painful memories, the filmpoem stuns...

Egypt: Caught Between a Zombie and a Bloodsucker!

The current situation in Egypt is a challenge for everyone: diplomats, citizens and commentators. The army has used excessive force to disperse sit-ins where Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers were camped to support former president Mohamed Morsi. Illustrating this complex situation, Egyptian artist Ganzeer depicts the army as a vampire...

Turkey: “A Tree Dies, A Nation Rises”

The situation in Istanbul turned violent when police cracked down on peaceful protesters on Friday, May 31. The peaceful sit-in started five days ago where several tens of people gathered to oppose plans by the government urban reorganization of Istanbul's only green spot: the Gezi Park. The brutality used by police forces — teargas, water cannons, fists and batons — to expel protesters from the park generated a national outcry.

Egypt: Prime Minister Prescribes Smurf Diet

Hesham Qandil, Egypt's Prime Minister, is an illustruous expert in healthcare issues as attested by, e.g. his insightful comments about ‘dirty boobs breastfeeding’. The Prime Minister delivered another priceless advice to Twitter users, this time about a healthy diet:

Independent French Data Journalism Website OWNI Under Threat of Closure

  11 December 2012

News of the imminent demise of OWNI (OWNI.fr), an independent French data journalism media outlet, surfaced last week. Famous for its close collaboration with WikiLeaks, OWNI developed the WarLogs application and conducted a great deal of analyses on the SpyFiles among others, and has been consistently reporting on surveillance, internet governance and freedom online.