Stories about Digital Activism from March, 2012
Chile: Open Letter to Daniel Zamudio Goes Viral
Chilean netizens were deeply moved by an open letter to Daniel Zamudio, a young gay man who died after a brutal beating, written by Felipe E. Mercado and published on...
Georgia: Tongue-in-cheek development forecast
A satirical video posted on YouTube takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the development of Georgia ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential vote in 2013. With the...
Human Rights Mapping in Cambodia
Human rights advocates in Cambodia have been using online maps to document, monitor, and expose human rights violations across the country. Some of the maps track land conflicts, media killings, freedom of expression violations, and prison overcrowding
India, Bangladesh: Caught In The Cyber War
A cyber war between Bangladesh and India broke out last month as Bangladeshi hackers defaced Indian border security Force's website in protest of the recent border killings by BSF. Indian hacker groups retaliated by defacing Bangladesh government ministry websites and a cyber war followed.
Bahrain: Tweeting Against Formula 1
As Bahrain gears up to host the Grand Prix, from April 20 to 22, netizens are rallying for the cancellation of the car race claiming that human rights violations are still continuing against protesters seeking more democratic rights in the Arab country. Mona Kareem sheds light on one Twitter campaign to draw attention to this.
Spain: General Strike Across Cities and Neighborhoods
Hundreds of people took the streets around cities and neighborhoods in Spain yesterday to participate in a general strike (29M) to protest against proposed government cuts to indispensable social services. March 29 became a new important date in the movements' agenda.
Ghana: Social Media Use in 2012 General Eelections
As Ghanaians are getting ready for presidential and parliamentary elections that will be held on 7 December 2012, BloggingGhana community has lauched a social media initiative that seeks to train activists, political groups and students to use social media tools for election monitoring and reporting.
South Korea: Politician Ridiculed for Twitter Account “Explosion” Accusation
In South Korea,a politician's ridiculous comment that his Twitter account was "exploded" by the opposition has come under fire. The politician's remark and the governing conservative party's rhetoric have drawn numerous jokes and sneers online.
Macedonia: Video Streaming for the Civil Society
Vo živo.mk (“Going Live” in Macedonian) is a new service dedicated to providing video streaming and recordings of civil society events in Macedonia. The first event to be covered is...
This Week in the Caribbean Blogosphere
Again this week, the regional blogosphere was dominated by talk of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba. With reports of repression at an all-time high, Cuban bloggers were dismayed by the outcome of the trip.
South Korea: Youtube Video on Saving Jeju Village from Naval Base Construction
A video with English subtitle explaining why protesters are against constructing a naval based in the Jeju island was posted on the Youtube site. The opposition accused the construction of...
Chile: Daniel Zamudio, Victim of a Brutal Hate Crime, Passes Away
Daniel Zamudio, a young gay man, became the victim of a brutal attack on March 3. In this post we show some of the reactions from blogs, online news sites and Twitter since the news broke and until March 27, when his death was announced.
Chile: Blogging About Government Transparency in ‘El Vaso’
Ciudadano Inteligente, an organization that aims to make Chilean politics more transparent, has created a blog titled ‘El Vaso’ [es] to inform and promote a discussion about technology and government...
Bolivia: Promoting Internet Connectivity in the ‘Real’ and ‘Virtual’ World
Blogger Mario R. Durán from Palabras Libres [es] lists the recent accomplishments of a group of activists that make up the Facebook group “Más ancho de banda para Bolivia” (“More...
Cuba: Who will the Pope Support?
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Santiago de Cuba on Monday, the second visit by a Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church to the island in 14 years. The web, especially Twitter, has become a battleground for dissidents and government supporters.
Brazil: Thoughts on Access to Science on Document Freedom Day
In the Document Freedom Day, March 28, Brazilian blogger and professor Ladislau Dowbor writes [pt] about open access to science, and questions the price of information. He also shares his...
‘Mujeres Construyendo': Empowering Women, One Blog at a Time
Mujeres Construyendo, the first platform for female bloggers in Spanish, wants to convert Hispanic women into creators of internet content. We talk to its founder, Claudia Calvin, about this growing community of bloggers.
Armenia: US Ambassador urges free, fair and credible elections
Ambassador Heffern's Video Blog's comments on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia. Posted on the U.S. Embassy's YouTube Channel, the American diplomat stresses the need for free and fair elections,...
Senegal: The Provisional Tally of the Presidential Elections
The provisional tally of the second round of the presidential elections were published on March 27: The incumbent candidate Abdoulaye Wade is projected to have obtain 999,556 votes which is...
India: Young Women Learning About Participatory Video
A group of young women in the slums of Hyderabad in India are learning how to make videos to change their communities, and in this next film the group of young girls explain what they've learned and how they are helping their communities and themselves through their work.
Malawi: Meet Malawi's Most Followed Lawyer on Facebook
Facebook has become one of the main platforms for updates and socio-political discussions in Malawi. For example, Malawian lawyer Wapona Kita broke the news of the arrest of Malawi's prominent lawyer and activist Ralph Kasambara in February on his Facebook page. The mainstream media had to follow his Facebook updates to keep their readers, listeners and viewers informed.
