Latest posts by David Sasaki
“Web 2.0 for Everyone” Reinvigorates Bolivia's Digerati
Despite Bolivia's low internet penetration (among the lowest in Latin America at 4.4% compared to neighboring Chile's 36.1%, according to El Deber), the citizen media project and Rising Voices grantee Bolivian Voices is determined to spread Web 2.0 well beyond Bolivia's connected elite. Their latest initiative, Web 2.0 for Everyone, began Friday with a public event in Cochabamba followed by a day of intensive workshops aimed at teaching more Bolivians how to make their voices heard and gain social capital from tools like Twitter, blogs, and various photo- and video-sharing websites.
Protests in Madagascar and the Importance of Citizen Journalism Training
The recent coverage of Tropical Storm Eric, Cyclone Fanele, and the ongoing protests and political turmoil in Madagascar by local citizen journalists reveals the importance of 1.) citizen journalism training programs, 2.) the translation and contextualization of local content for a global audience, and 3.) networks of media groups so that local voices can be amplified and understood when breaking news hits.
Nari Jibon: “Street Children”
Global Voices contributing author Aparna Ray has translated a poem by Nari Jibon blogger Naoshin Tushil entitled "Street Children."
Rising Voices: 2008 in Review
In 2007 Rising Voices, an outreach initiative of Global Voices aimed at bringing under-represented voices from the developing world to the social web, got its feet on the ground. 2008 was a year of scaling up and defining processes. In 2009 we plan on becoming more inclusive to build a global resource and knowledge network centered around citizen media training.
Gates Foundation Invests $2 Million to Increase Participation in the Chilean Social Web
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $2 million in BiblioRedes, Chile's national network of libraries, to promote great inclusion in the modern social web.
Rising Voices Seeks Micro-grant Proposals for Citizen Media Outreach
Rising Voices, the outreach arm of Global Voices, is now accepting project proposals for microgrant funding of up to $5,000 for new media outreach projects. Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to communities that are poorly positioned to discover and take advantage of tools like blogging, video-blogging, and podcasting on their own. Applications are due no later than Sunday, January 18, 2009. The five selected grantees will be announced in early February.
A Campaign for Suso
A project nine months in the making, the bloggers from HiperBarrio are organizing a festive event this Saturday to raise funds in order to finish their all-volunteer construction of a new house for Manuel Salvador, formerly known as "Suso Mugre".
Online Filmmakers Offer New Glimpses of Iran
Despite several unforeseen hurdles, Iran Inside Out has launched an impressive website and published two videos by Iranian filmmakers showing Tehran's underground heavy metal scene and reflecting on the prospects of peace for the country's youngest generation.
Nari Jibon Featured in Venezuelan National Newspaper Tal Cual
One of the many goals of Rising Voices is to help facilitate conversation between countries in the so-called 'Global South'. Last month Laura Vidal, a Venezuelan journalist who publishes the column Blogpodium for the national daily Tal Cual, wrote about Rising Voices grantee Nari Jibon, which is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. What follows is an English translation of her original piece.
A Conversation About AIDS in Kwa Mashu
Discussing AIDS is never easy, but that is especially true in a community like Kwa Mashu on the outskirts of Durban, South Africa. In this conversation with three young bloggers from Kwa Mashu we see that there is still a lot of differing opinions when it comes to HIV testing, the causes of the disease, and what the South African government should be doing to curb infection rates.
REPACTED: Helping Kenya Stay Alive
This video produced by MTV's Staying Alive Foundation shows the inspiring work done by Kenya-based Rising Voices grantee REPACTED. See more videos of the REPACTED project and read the most recent posts by their bloggers by taking a look at the REPACTED category of Rising Voices.
Kwa Mashu Bloggers Tour Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre
The K-CAP bloggers from the Kwa Mashu township outside Durban, South Africa improve upon their digital storytelling skills and offer us an in-depth look at the Ekhaya Multi Arts Centre where they have just recently finished their year-long performing arts certificate program. Thanadanani and Ncebo are our hosts throughout the tour as we learn about local music groups, how the arts helps Kwa Mashu's development, and the good and bad that comes along with increased freedom in post-apartheid South Africa.
Nari Jibon Bloggers Start Writing in Their Own Language
Despite a few posts published in Bengali on their group blog, Amader Kotha ("Our Stories"), most Nari Jibon bloggers have had to write solely in English due to the lack of online and computer support for the Bengali language. Over the past few months Taslima, the supervisor of Nari Jibon's computer section, has been collecting best practices regarding how to blog in Bengali. Yesterday she led a workshop at the Nari Jibon center focused specifically on Bengali unicode, the various Bengali-language blogging platforms, and how to set up a Blogger-based blog in the bloggers' native language.
