Mexican Newspaper Reporter Killed by Armed /The mLearning Guru /How to Write for the Web/

JOURNALISM IN THE AMERICAS
A News Blog

Mexican Newspaper Reporter Killed by Armed Group in Durango State

Reporter Eliseo Barrón Laguna was found dead Tuesday (May 26) after being kidnapped the night before in Durango State (northern Mexico), Milenio reports. According to Reuters, drug hitmen are suspected in Barrón's death—the second journalist killed this month in a state that has become a new battleground for drug cartels.
Barrón was at his home in Gómez Palacio when a group of armed men beat and kidnapped him, Milenio adds.
The reporter worked for the newspaper La Opinión de Torreón, where he covered the police beat for 10 years, El Universal adds. Only days beforehand, Barrón had covered the firing of 302 police officers in Torreón for abuse of authority, Milenio adds.
Barrón's death follows the killing of another journalist in Durango state, Carlos Ortega, who was shot earlier this month after writing that he'd been threatened by local government officials.

• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann at 05/26/2009 - 15:06

TOPIC: Press freedom


Venezuelan Government Says it will Eliminate Telecom Monopolies
The public works minister, Diosdado Cabello, says he will not be blackmailed by complaints made by any communications media, and he promises to end what he called the "radio latifundio," comparing Venezuela's broadcasters to great landed estates, El Universal reports. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 05/19/2009 - 08:23

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• Press freedom
• Venezuela

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Costa Rican Journalists Protest Seizure of Colleague’s Photos
The Journalists Guild has protested the seizure of photos and a video by federal agents from a reporter for Diario Extra and Channel 42, who had covered the crash of a helicopter carrying cocaine, El País reports. The Guild says public agencies are not permitted to make such seizures without a court order. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 05/11/2009 - 12:31

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• Costa Rica
• Press freedom

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Bolivian Journalists Report Problems Carrying Out Their Work
An article in La Prensa commemorating 70 years of rights for journalists lists five factors that most complicate the work of Bolivian colleagues. They include a loss of credibility, a lack of values, threats, physical attacks and intolerance.
According to La Razón, intolerance of the media has made journalists the targets of aggression from both pro-government sectors and the opposition, in part prompted by President Evo Morales. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber/DG at 05/11/2009 - 11:50

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• Bolivia
• Press freedom

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Salvadoran Journalists Report Recent Wave of Attacks
The Journalists Association of El Salvador (APES) reported several setbacks to their work due to attacks suffered during the recent electoral campaign, Diario CoLatino reports. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber/DG at 05/08/2009 - 14:55

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• attacks
• El Salvador
• Press freedom

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World Press Freedom Day Prompts Concerns from Latin America, the Caribbean
World Press Freedom Day (May 3) brought reflection on conditions faced by media and journalists throughout the world. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 05/05/2009 - 10:01

• Topics:
• Argentina
• blog
• Bolivia
• Caribbean
• Ecuador
• Guyana
• Nicaragua
• Press freedom
• Trinidad
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

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Global Press Freedom Declines in Every Region for First Time, Study Shows
Press freedom declined internationally for the seventh straight year, and for the first time it worsened in every region, creating increasing difficulties for journalists, Freedom House reports. The non-governmental organization recently released its annual Freedom of the Press Survey, which found that only 17 percent of the world's population lives in countries with a free press. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/04/2009 - 11:45

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Argentine Editor Threatened Over Report About Former Military Official
Daniel Enz, one of the directors of the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), received the phone threats in the newsroom of the weekly publication he edits, Análisis, in Paraná, Entre Ríos, the newspaper La Nación reports. read more »
• Posted by Eva Menezes/DG at 05/01/2009 - 13:07

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• Argentina
• investigative journalism
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Panama Editor Sentenced to Two Years for Trespassing: Persecution or Justice?
The editor of El Siglo newspaper, Jean Marcel Chéry, received a two-year sentence for trespassing in 2001 on the farm of Supreme Court Justice Winston Spadafora, who was Minister of Justice at the time, La Estrella reports.
Spadafora accused Chéry of trespassing on his farm when the reporter was working for the Panama America newspaper. Chéry was investigating allegations that a road financed by public funds led only to the farm, La Estrella explains. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 04/30/2009 - 13:08

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Argentine Media Accuse Government of Tax Persecution
In a deepening conflict with the administration of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) accused the government of "fiscal persecution" and charged that press freedom in the country has seriously deteriorated, Clarín reports.
ADEPA issued a statement harshly accusing the government of failing to find a solution that would help media deal with a number of taxes imposed in 2003. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 04/24/2009 - 16:29

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Brazil's Court Rulings are a Growing Threat to Online Freedom, Report Says
Brazil is a generally open country in terms of internet freedom, but judicial decisions are leading to content censorship, according to a report released by Freedom House, Paula Goés reports for Global Voices. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 04/23/2009 - 09:47

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Venezuelan Journalists Declare an Emergency "In Defense of Democracy"
The National Journalists Guild (CNP) of Venezuela decided, unanimously, to declare a state of conflict throughout the country due to constant threats against democracy and freedom of expression, El Universal reports. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 04/21/2009 - 19:00

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• Venezuela

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Bolivian Journalists Insist That Independent Press is at Risk
The Bolivian National Press Association (ANP) says attacks against independent media and journalists by the government of Evo Morales and radical sectors have increased, El Deber reports. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 04/16/2009 - 20:59

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• Bolivia
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Chávez Urges Sanctions for TV Stations that He Says Backed 2002 Coup
President Hugo Chávez has pressed authorities to impose sanctions on four Venezuelan TV networks that allegedly backed a military rebellion that briefly ousted him, the Associated Press reports. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber/DG at 04/14/2009 - 18:43

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• Chávez
• Press freedom
• Venezuela

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Argentines Recall Former President Raúl Alfonsín for Restoring Press Freedom
Thousands of people filed into the Congressional headquarters to pay respects to Ex-president Raúl Alfonsín, whose presidency in 1983 marked Argentina's return to democracy. Alfonsín died at age 82. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 04/01/2009 - 23:30

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• Argentina
• freedom of expression
• Press freedom

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Cubans Sentenced to Three Years in Jail for Selling Access to Foreign TV
A Havana court has sentenced several Cubans to jail or "correctional labor" for selling equipment that receives foreign TV signals, including U.S. programs that seek to "discredit and destabilize the Cuban revolution," Spain's EFE news service reports, citing the official newspaper, Granma. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 03/20/2009 - 14:44

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Press Freedom in Americas Worsens, IAPA Concludes
Press freedom deteriorated in the Americas in the last six months, with attacks by criminal organizations in Mexico making that country among the worse places to practice the profession, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said at the end of its midyear meeting in Paraguay. See this report by the Associated Press. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/17/2009 - 12:00

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• freedom of expression
• IAPA
• Press freedom

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IAPA Warns of Persistent Threats to Press Freedom
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) concluded its mid-year meeting in Paraguay on Monday (March 16). Highlights of the gathering as reported throughout the Americas include:
*IAPA Warns of Worsening Relations Between Media and Governments in Latin America (Reuters)
*Governments Shouldn’t Use State Ads to Reward or Punish Media, IAPA Says La Nacion (Paraguay) read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/16/2009 - 08:20

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• freedom of expression IAPA
• Press freedom

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IAPA Takes New Action on Missing Mexican Journalist; Opens Mid-year Meeting in Paraguay
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced in Asunción that it will submit the case involving the disappearance of Alfredo Jiménez Mota to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/13/2009 - 14:14

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Washington Condemns Venezuela and Bolivia's Treatment of Media
In its annual human rights reports, The U.S. State Department notes a climate of self-censorship in Venezuela, created by laws dealing with libel, broadcast media content and physical intimidation. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 02/26/2009 - 11:04

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• USA
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Nicaraguan Newspapers Lament New Sandinista Control of Journalist Association
Nicaragua's National Journalists Guild elected new officers Saturday. La Prensa newspaper calls the results "A Blow to Journalism," and El Nuevo Diario describes "a Palbable Threat to Independent Journalism."
The problem?
*The Guild's new president, radio reporter José Leonel Laguna, works for the radio station La Primerísima, which supports the government of Daniel Ortega. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 02/23/2009 - 12:16

Kidnapped Canadian Journalist Fears She’ll Die in Somalia Unless Government Helps

Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout, held captive in Somalia for nine months with an Australian colleague, fears she may die in captivity unless the federal government and her family pay a ransom, CBC News reports, citing France’s AFP news agency.
In a brief phone interview with AFP in Somalia, Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan said they are in poor health and want more help from their governments to gain their release. The pair were abducted in August 2008 while on a freelance assignment. Their kidnapping is one of the longest that has occurred in Somalia, one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and aid workers. All previous kidnappings of journalists have occurred with releases, and claims that ransom was paid, AFP notes.
The call took place after weeks of efforts to make contact with the hostages, AFP says. Speaking from an undisclosed location, the two appeared to be reading or reciting a statement, possibly under duress, and there was no outside confirmation of their identities. The kidnappers are believed to be moving the pair from house to house, the Canadian Press adds.
"I have been sick for months. Unless my government, the people of Canada, all my family and friends can get one million dollars, I will die here, OK that is certain," Lindhout said, sounding very distressed, AFP says. She urged the Canadian government to do more to help her family obtain her release.
Lindhout's colleagues and friends are trying to keep her case in the public spotlight through YouTube videos, Facebook pages and the website amandalindhout.com, CBC adds.

• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/26/2009 - 15:00

Chávez's "Hello, President" Broadcasts Mark 10 Years on the Air

As tensions escalate between President Hugo Chávez and Venezuela's private media, especially the Globovisión TV network, the president's weekly TV and radio program, "Alo Presidente" (Hello, President), has marked its 10th anniversary, the BBC reports.
The Sunday program has become required viewing for Chávez's supporters and opponents and has spawned similar programs by the presidents of Bolivia and Ecuador. "Whether Venezuelans dismiss Alo Presidente as a crude propaganda tool or consider it the best thing on television, the programme looks set to remain on air for as long as Mr Chavez remains in office," the BBC's Will Grant concludes.
The program can be accessed here.

• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/25/2009 - 11:55

The mLearning Guru and The eLearning Africa Debate


Enabling flexible learning with mobile and wireless technologies is what mLearning advocate John Traxler is passionate about. There is probably no one who has a broader perspective on the issue than the author of widely known textbooks such as "Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers" and "Mobile Learning in Developing Countries". With an analytical and discursive mind, John Traxler has investigated the African landscape for many years and developed a profound understanding of the role of technology in education. He will be one of the keynote speakers in the eLearning Africa Debate and here he examines some of the key issues surrounding it.
by John Traxler
The eLearning Africa Debate will discuss two alternative propositions; then delegates will be able to express their opinions and vote for the one they prefer.

The propositions are:
(1) "Access to technologies alone will not solve the problems facing African education. The enabling role of technology in education should only be considered as part of a wider, all-encompassing solution." and
(2) "Widespread access to technologies has such an empowering and catalytic potential that it is a powerful goal in its own right and should be pursued by all African nations."
These propositions are not necessarily diametrically opposed, and the breadth of their formulations leaves ample space for debate and discussion. The first recognizes that technology is not the only component of improvements to African education, whilst the second lays emphasis on the fact that technology is a major component of wider social change in Africa. Both are arguably true to a greater or lesser extent, but the debate becomes significant, interesting and potentially heated when we ask “access to which technologies?”, “what is access?”, “what education?”, and “what type of social change?”
Two Technologies: Big and Small
In looking at the technology component of the issue, we see two starkly contrasting technologies at work in Africa. On the one hand, millions of Africans choose, buy and use their own personal mobile devices. The mobile phone networks on the Continent are some of the most energetic and entrepreneurial in the world, and the mobile NGOs and not-for-profits are some of the most imaginative and exciting. At the same time, the diversity, power and functionality of these mobile systems and devices continue to increase and in many respects surpass conventional desktop technologies. As platforms for eLearning, they are familiar, agile, sustainable and appropriate technologies, but problematic in terms of equity, stability, access and standards.
The technologies increasingly give individuals opportunities not just to store and consume images, ideas, knowledge and learning but also to generate and transmit them, and to engage and communicate with other individuals and communities beyond centralised organisational and institutional control and supervision.
On the other hand, ministries, institutions and organisations in Africa routinely attempt to deliver eLearning using large-scale static installations: technologies that require or involve networked desktop PCs in clean, secure buildings with reliable mains electricity, software licenses and technician support. These installations require substantial investments and ongoing financial support; they often embody alien pedagogic and cultural assumptions and require specific institutional and organisational settings. And last but certainly not least, they are - for obvious reasons - concentrated largely in those metropolitan areas with adequate infrastructure. The African Virtual University is perhaps the most prominent example of this technology. In terms of sustainability and scalability, this is deeply problematic, but these institutions and organisations are also often seen as the primary agencies for opportunity and participation.
With mobile technologies, people no longer need to engage with information and in discussion at the expense of real life in dedicated or special premises like universities, colleges, schools, business centres and cybercafes. They can use them as part of “real” everyday life, in both town and country, as they move about the world, using their own devices to connect them to the people and ideas of their own choosing. They can even use their own devices to generate and produce content and conversation as well as store and consume them.
This is changing how people relate to technology. It is also changing how they relate to each other and to the content and conversation facilitated by their technologies. Perhaps it means people feel in control of technology rather than controlled by it.
These observations begin to provide answers to the questions about “what education?” and “what social change?” Mobile personal technologies in the control of individuals deliver a rather different vision of education than do static institutional technologies in the control of schools, colleges and universities. Perhaps the debate should look at the question of what constitutes the different types of education that these two technologies have the potential to deliver and enquire about the different types of social change that might ensue from each.
The Real Questions - Sustainability and Resources
John Traxler is Reader in Mobile Technology for e-Learning and Director of the Learning Lab at the University of Wolverhampton and of the UK Co-Lab of the American ADL network. He is a Director of the International Association for Mobile Learning, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning and was Conference Chair of mLearn2008, the world’s biggest and oldest mobile learning research conference. John has co-written a guide to mobile learning in developing countries and is co-editor of the definitive book on mobile learning: Kukulska-Hulme, A. and Traxler, J. (2005) Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers, Routledge. [more…]
Finally, if we look at the activity and the actors that have characterised eLearning in Africa over the last three or four years since the first eLearning Africa conference in Addis Ababa, we see two conspicuous and inter-related facts. First, most of the resources, publicity and endorsement has gone into the big, static installations, the technologies that can be produced and procured by large organisations working together on behalf of “the people“: desktop computers, virtual learning environments, computer suites, interactive whiteboards, etc. Resources, publicity and endorsement have less often gone into small, mobile technologies actually owned by the “the people“. So whilst the two types of technology might be seen as complementary, the preferences and behaviour of policy-makers, vendors, most corporates, and many donors has favoured the big at the expense of the small.
And second, eLearning initiatives and projects based around these large static installations do not have a good record in terms of scaling-up and in terms of sustainability. Small-scale, fixed-term projects may be helpful, but they seldom get bigger, and they seldom last long enough. This may just be a consequence of poor evaluation practices failing to impact on policy and a consequence of the absence of exit strategies and business models. It may, however, also be inherently true that these big technology initiatives and pilots, resource-hungry to start and resource-hungry to sustain, are doomed by their very nature, whereas small technology projects and initiatives, which depend largely on resources that learners already own and value, have an inbuilt sustainability.
eLearning Africa will continue to present inspiring and exciting projects and initiatives, including a slowly growing proportion of those with mobile and personal technologies. The coming debate must look beyond technology and even beyond learning in order to explore the nature of the "wider, all-encompassing solution" and the nature of the "empowering and catalytic potential" being invoked.
May 21, 2009
The eLearning Africa Debate will be chaired by Harold Elletson, Director, The New Security Foundation, UK, and Khalil Guèye, Director, OPENRANGE Media Strategies, Washington, USA
Speakers will include:
Neil Butcher, Project Consultant, OER Africa, South Africa
Astrid Dufborg, Lead Specialist, Sida, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sweden
Stephen Dukker, CEO, NComputing, USA
Richard Niyonkuru, M&E Advisor for ICT Projects, Ministry of Education, Rwanda
John Maurice Traxler, Director, Learning Lab, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Newsportal: News

TOPIC: training


Latin American and Caribbean Journalists Can Apply for New Spanish Online Course: How to Write for the Web
Journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean can apply until May 13 for the Knight Center's new online course in Spanish, "How to Write for the Web," which takes place May 25-June 28, 2009.
The course was developed for the Knight Center by Colombian journalist Guillermo Franco, and based on his recent book How to Write for the Web. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/05/2009 - 10:07

• Topics:
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• Knight Center
• online journalism
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BBC Launches Training Sites in Spanish and Portuguese
As part of the BBC's efforts to open its training resources to the public, the BBC College of Journalism and the BBC World Service have launched micro-sites in Spanish and Portuguese.
The College of Journalism's Spanish site includes video and text modules about impartiality, transparency, precision, responsibility, independence, and good practices of journalism. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/04/2009 - 12:07

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Ecuador's Journalists Face Growing Difficulties Covering News
Practicing journalism in Ecuador is increasingly difficult due to the lack of protection and security for journalists, and inadequate academic training, Radio Equinoccio reports.
The current Law of Journalist Practice, which dates from the 1970s, allows people without academic training to work as journalists, and most newsroom employees have not studied journalism, the story says. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 05/04/2009 - 11:23

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• Ecuador
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Colombia's Investigative Journalists Sharpen Skills at Second Annual Conference
Some 220 journalists gathered in Bogotá April 24-25, for the Second Annual Investigative Journalism Meeting, conducted by the "Newsroom Council" (Consejo de Redacción).
Reporters and editors from throughout Colombia learned of investigative reporting practices and skills that have allowed colleagues to uncover corruption and organized crime in Colombia and other countries in the region. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 05/01/2009 - 16:23

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Latin American Journalists Should Innovate Without Delay (By Gabriel Sama)
Don’t wait for a crisis like the one the U.S. media is experiencing to innovate online.
That was the resounding message during the 2nd Iberian-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism last Sunday, April 19. at the University of Texas at Austin. With more than 40 journalists, news industry executives, consultants, and professors of online journalism in Latin America, Spain and Portugal, the gathering took place in a warmer and more informal environment than the International Symposium on Online Journalism, held the two previous days. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber/DG at 04/24/2009 - 14:14

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• digital journalism
• Latin America
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Latin American Editors Can Apply Until May 3 for Investigative Reporting Workshop
Editors from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia and the Dominican Republic have until May 3, 2009, to apply for the workshop "Investigating Executive Power in Latin America," organized by the New Ibero-American Journalism Foundation (FNPI). The workshop will be conducted in Panama City, May 12-16. read more »
• Posted by Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 04/22/2009 - 17:14

• Topics:
• covering government
• investigative reporting
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Web Site Provides Platform and Training for Budding Latin American Citizen Journalists
The Mi * (asterisk) citizen journalism website was created in Argentina as a platform for Spanish speaking citizen journalists to post their work and receive comments, discuss topics, receive training and share content. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 04/15/2009 - 12:51

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Latin Americans Can Apply Until April 27 for Science Journalism Workshop in San Diego
The Sixth Annual Jack F. Ealy Workshop on Science Journalism will take place July 7-16, 2009, on the University of California at San Diego campus. Scholarships are available for journalists from Latin America and from Spanish-speaking media organizations in the United States. read more »
• Posted by Paul Alonso/DG at 04/14/2009 - 09:09

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• science journalism
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Colombian Journalists to Hold Second International Gathering on Investigative Reporting
The Colombian investigative journalist organization Consejo de Redacción (The Newsroom Council) will hold its second annual gathering from April 24-25, 2009, in Bogotá. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 04/13/2009 - 08:20

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Colombian Journalist Describes Award-Winning Multimedia Project (Knight Center Interview)
Julio César Guzmán and a team of his colleagues from El Tiempo received the Digital Journalism prize this year from the King of Spain International Journalism Award for their project "Diez Historias Inéditas de la Cultura Colombiana" (Ten Untold Stories of Colombian Culture). read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 04/03/2009 - 14:45

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Conference on Narrative Journalism Stresses "Telling True Stories in "Turbulent Times"
Speakers at the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism (presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard) told writers to keep sharpening their story-telling skills, while learning how to adapt stories to audio and video, outlets that younger audiences appreciate, Poynter's Bill Kirtz reports. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 03/25/2009 - 15:00

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Knight Center Launches ‘How to Write for the Web’ in Portuguese
As part of its mission to help Latin American colleagues learn more digital journalism skills, the Knight Center has just published a Portuguese edition of the e-book How to Write for the Web by Colombian journalist Guillermo Franco.
The book was translated into Portuguese by Brazilian journalist Marcelo Soares. It can be downloaded in PDF format in both Portuguese and Spanish for free from the Knight Center’s website: http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/como_web.php. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/20/2009 - 15:33

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Knight Center Offers New Online Course In Spanish: Covering Drug Trafficking
Colombian journalist Álvaro Sierra has developed the online course "Covering Drug Trafficking," for Latin American and Caribbean journalists who are currently covering or editing reports about the drug trade. The Knight Center will offer the course for the first time from April 7 to May 5, 2009 and is accepting applications until March 22. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/13/2009 - 12:45

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Journalists Can Apply for Online Spanish Course: Digital Tools for Investigative Journalism
The Knight Center is accepting applications for its popular online course, "Digital Tools for Investigative Journalism," taught by Argentine instructor Sandra Crucianelli. The five-week class course will last from March 30 to May 3. Applications will be accepted online until March 19. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/13/2009 - 12:30

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Digital Journalism Class Scheduled for Monterrey
Mexico's Autonomous University of Nuevo León continues its series of classes in digital journalism March 19-21, 2009, with the course "Innovative Editing of Digital Journalism."
Colombian journalist Guillermo Franco will conduct the class. Information about the series is available here in English and here in Spanish.
• Posted by Dean Graber at 03/13/2009 - 11:22

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BBC to Open its Virtual Journalism College to the Public
Thousands of pages of skills advice, video and guides to almost every aspect of journalism - from interview techniques to field reporting and sports commentary - that were previously only available to the BBC's 7,500 employees will now be open to the public, BBC's Darren Waters writes in his blog. read more »
• Posted by Maya Srikrishnan at 03/05/2009 - 10:14

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Nicaragua's Journalists and Opinion Leaders to Study Digital Technology
The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation will conduct an intensive workshop March 3-4 to train journalists and opinion leaders in the most recent technology applied to digital communication.
The participants will study the features of Web 2.0 and 3.0, content management systems, and the best use of search engines. They will also be trained to create digital projects and to use tools like Facebook, hi5, Bebo and Twitter to stimulate freedom of expression and citizenship. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 02/27/2009 - 12:05

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Knight Center Trains 160 Latin American Journalists Online to Improve Election Coverage
The journalists from 17 countries are enrolled in two courses that the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is offering simultaneously: "Electoral Coverage and Democracy," taught by Maria Teresa Ronderos of Colombia, and "Mathematics for Journalists Applied to Electoral Coverage," taught by Sandra Crucianelli of Argentina.
Both instructors are well-known throughout Latin America for the excellence of their courses, and both have taught several previous courses for the Knight Center. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 02/10/2009 - 10:44

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• election coverage
• Knight Center
• Latin America
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Brazilians Can Apply for Online Course: Introduction to Journalism 2.0
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has opened applications for its popular online course Journalism 2.0: Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Era.
The course will be offered in Portuguese to Brazilian journalists from March 5 to April 9, 2009. Details and a link to the application are found here.
• Posted by Dean Graber at 02/06/2009 - 14:19

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AMERICAS
Colleagues from Nine Countries Begin Knight Center's Online Course: Covering Elections
The Knight Center has begun the online course in Spanish "Electoral Coverage and Democracy" taught by well-known Colombian journalist and instructor María Teresa Ronderos.
Demand was very high for only 75 spaces. Preference went to journalists from those countries where national, regional, or local elections are scheduled this year.
The print, broadcast, and online reporters and editors enrolled in the course come from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, and Venezuela. read more »
• Posted by Dean Graber at 01/26/2009 - 08:25
COMPLEMENT, NOT COMPETE - ST. MAARTEN SHARES ITS VISION
By Bevan Springer
NEW YORK (May 25, 2009) - The scriptures teach us that there is safety in the multitude of counselors, and following a recent visit to the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten I got the impression that tourism leaders there - from the director of tourism to the head of a local destination management company - have expelled insularity from their thinking, opting instead to embrace a regional identity and spirit of cooperation.
Earlier this year a retired New York television producer made a comment to me that suggested she couldn't understand why Caribbean nations would combine resources to promote competing experiences. Aren't you each in competition with each other? she wondered.
I told the lady that Martinique, for example - which is essentially a part of France - was only a short ferry ride away from St. Lucia. And while our nations do compete for business, wouldn't it be powerful to see St. Lucia and Martinique holding hands in the marketplace to promote a French Creole twin-island experience? After all, the Caribbean's real competition comes from outside the region.
On another occasion, integrating a second Caribbean hotel for a foreign press itinerary I was preparing for a primary hotel client may have been surprising to some. While maximizing exposure for one's client clearly is important, I also believe it is important for visiting journalists to understand and appreciate the diverse accommodation attractions which can lend to multi-vacation experiences even in the same country. Not only does it stimulate demand in the marketplace, but also fosters healthy relationships among partner hoteliers on island.
Life is too short for us to overlook opportunities to set a new standard for our children's children.
Every Caribbean country is increasingly becoming a melting pot, comprising nationals from within and without our waters, and while we ought to develop a manageable approach to the movement of people, we must also fervently strengthen our familial ties.
Regina Labega, St. Maarten's Director of Tourism, believes that since "we are friends, neighbors, family and relatives," it not only makes sense, but it is also imperative that Caribbean countries work together to raise all sails.

Regina Labega, St. Maarten's Director of Tourism (left) stands next to Ida Zin-Ka-Ieu, President of French St. Martin's Tourism Office at the SMART Regional Tradeshow last week.
Photo available here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgsbbfz_1070hdqjgqfn
In her country of St. Maarten, tourism officials have attracted enviable airlift from both the legacy and low cost carrier thanks in part to this partnership philosophy.
Speaking in between appointments at the recent SMART travel show at the Radisson St. Martin Resort, Marina & Spa, Labega explained that St. Maarten is blessed with a strategic geographic position and her Caribbean neighbors have become very dependent on the newly unveiled Princess Juliana International Airport to attract visitors to their shores. "We recognize that people who go to Anguilla, for example, for their primary vacation experience also come to St. Maarten for a day or two to experience the shopping and nightlife. Similarly, the converse is also true. Therefore, instead of competing with one another, we complement each other."
The tourism director admits that regional cooperation is not as easy as it sounds, but lauded her neighbors Anguilla, St. Barts and St. Martin for partnering with St. Maarten to support a US$300,000 cooperative marketing campaign to attract JetBlue Airways' non-stop services from the northeastern seaboard to the island. "We went together to JetBlue. We discussed the relationship, how the public and private sectors will work together and that was extremely successful. If we would do that more often it would bear more fruit for sure."
African/Caribbean author Fabian Badejo, a veteran media practitioner on St. Maarten who recently started the East Caribbean Destination Management Company, writes that the St. Martin-St. Maarten experience is neither Fantastically French nor Delightfully Dutch. "It is really neither French nor Dutch. The soul of its people is undoubtedly Caribbean, charismatically Caribbean."
And so are our Caribbean island nations and countries, who have produced some of the world's greatest authors, poets, scientists, mathematicians, lawyers, politicians, engineers, surgeons, trade union leaders, business professionals, cricketers, athletes and the like.
As we march onwards, let our successes and our failures teach us that the sum is greater than the parts, and maybe one day we'll identify ourselves as Caribbean first, then St. Maartener, Barbadian, Jamaican and Trinidadian a distant second.
The region should be thankful to St. Maarten for showing us what the future could possibly look like. Maybe we should seek its counsel.
Bevan Springer, who writes frequently on travel and tourism issues, is the President of the New Jersey-headquartered Marketplace Excellence LLC - a full-service public relations, marketing and media company. He is also the executive producer of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism - CMEx.
ENDS

Empowering Youth to Change the World with ICT and Entrepreneurship
Sunday 29 Mar 2009
Rinalia Abdul Rahim


By Rinalia Abdul Rahim
Strategy Council Member of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development
and former Executive Director of the Global Knowledge Partnership (2001-2008).


Young people are the world's largest resource in development. Forty percent of the world's population is under 20 years of age and over 1 billion people are between the ages of 15 and 25. In some developing countries, youth constitute more than two thirds of the population.

Young people who are given early access to information and communications technologies (ICT) tend to become early adopters and adapters of the technologies, skills valued for spurring innovation and economic growth. Youth are at the forefrontof societal transformation through ICT because technology is what they have grown up with, what they know more about than their parents, and what gives them an edge. 1 With the Internet, young people have acquired a powerful new tool to connect, communicate, innovate and take action on things that matter to them on a scale that transcends their locality, making them global actors.

Young people's high level of social consciousness are often underestimated, but they care about many things including climate change and the environment, the spread of HIV and other diseases, economic inequality and the lack of employment opportunities, social justice and human rights. Because of their ideals, those among them who are proficient with ICT and are motivated to create change have apropensity for linking the use of the technologies to development goals. However, without entrepreneurial skills, they lack the necessary ability to sustain their efforts and overcome challenges that stand in their way.

As enablers of ICT-facilitated development and as social entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in the world, empowered youth can be a potent force for change. Yet there are still few strategies and initiatives that truly empower young people tobecome leaders in creating sustainable social, environmental and economic impact worldwide. There are many initiatives that engage youth through conferences and connect them for virtual networking, but few go on to provide a comprehensive support structure that enables youth to create development impact for themselves and for others.

The World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 acknowledged that young people are the future workforce, leading creators and early adopters of ICT, and that they must be empowered as learners, developers, contributors, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.2 The reality is that some young people are already part of the global workforce due to poverty and circumstances. A large number of them are unable to find employment. The International Labour Organization reported 76 million youth were unemployed in 2008, comprising 40% of total world unemployment. Little progress has been made in improving the position of youth in the labor market and young people still suffer disproportionately from a deficit of decent work opportunities. Moreover, youth who are employed often work long hours under informal, insecure and intermittent work arrangements characterized by meager earnings, low productivity and reduced labor protection.3 The issue of youth employment is and will continue to be an important variable when considering effective youth empowerment strategies and it makes a focus on entrepreneurship critical.

To break the cycle of poverty and unleash youth potential in creating change for themselves and for society, a multiple focus on ICT, learning (formal or informal), and entrepreneurial skills development is required, but this alone is not enough. Mechanisms that facilitate youth action, support their learning and help them mobilize resources are also needed.

Key learning on youth empowerment strategies can be drawn from the experience ofthe Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), which has worked for more than 10 yearsin the field of ICT and knowledge for Development. Since its inception in 1997, the GKP understood the importance of realizing the potential of young people as stakeholders in development and in building knowledge societies. The GKP youth strategy evolved over time by learning from young leaders around the world, who use ICT to produce and use knowledge to initiate or support sustainable development initiatives. In 2006, the GKP Youth Strategy converged into a core focus on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship via the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) program. The strategy focuses on five elements in empowering young people: Community-Building, Knowledge Generation and Sharing, Projects Support, Skills Development and Policy Advocacy.

Community Building
Young people need support networks that can help them communicate, draw inspiration and gather resources to take action. These networks include not just their peers who share the same interests, but also mentors and others who support their cause. To facilitate the emergence of a global community and network of and for young people working on ICT policy and practice, the GKP and its members have initiated and supported various youth networking and community-building initiatives involving face to face as well as online interactions.4 More than 3000 young leaders in ICT have been networked through these mechanisms and their engagement was brought to a higher level through knowledge sharing activities.

Knowledge Generation and Sharing
As young people gain experience and move on to other things, they often take their valuable experiences with them, leaving others to relearn the lessons of the past. To ensure continuity of learning, it is important to have mechanisms for capturing the lessons from the past as knowledge resources as well as to share that knowledge as widely as possible. GKP and its members have generated various knowledge resources based on programmatic experiences that can help young people learn from past initiatives. The resources include a series of guidebooks on a wide range of topics such as how to develop national youth campaigns based on youth activism during the World Summit on the Information Society; how young people can build communities and engage in Internet Governance issues at the national level; and how to plan social enterprises and solve problems innovatively. A wikipedia for young social entrepreneurs, which serves as a dedicated and expandable knowledge resource, has been developed under the YSEI program. Moreover, ICT success stories based on the projects of young people worldwide have also been published and disseminated widely. Complementing the knowledge resources are inspiring peer-to-peer, face-to-face knowledge sharing activities targeted at young leaders in ICT where they learn from each other's experience and build their network of peers.5

Project Support
Young people usually lack substantial mainstream support in terms of funding for the sustainable implementation and replication of their initiatives. During the World Summit on the Information Society process (2003-2005), the GKP organized its Youth Awards to bring international recognition to the outstanding work of young people around the world that used knowledge and ICT to promote development.6 In 2004, the GKP introduced an experimental Projects Fund that provided seed funding for small and innovative ICT projects targeted at youth, women, the poor andindigenous or displaced communities.7 The learning from the Awards and Projects Fund enhanced the understanding of what is needed to support the involvement and leadership of young people in ICT projects that align with development goals. In 2006, after two years of deliberation involving its members, GKP launched the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) as a program that provides comprehensive supportfor young social entrepreneurs in developing countries between the ages of 17 to 30, who use ICT to achieve broad sustainable development objectives. The program, which started with a focus on Asia, provides support in the form of seed financing, essential knowledge, mentorship and access to diverse networks. In addition to the program's seed funding, selected young social entrepreneurs in the program were provided with opportunities to present their social business proposals for start-up andscale-up funding from potential investors including venture capitalists.8


"To date, YSEI has supported over 100 early stage social enterprises in South Asia andSouth East Asia with capacity development and networking, and out of these, 18 young socialentrepreneurs have been selected to be YSEI Fellows and receive financial support based onthe strength of their social business proposal. 94% of them have achieved sustainabilityfor their social enterprises through YSEI support. The support process starts with the callfor proposals, the selection of early stage social enterprises that fit the investment criteria, thedue diligence, the social venture plan development workshop as final due diligence activityand the financing coupled with mentorship and incubation. The support process has aduration of roughly 18 months per round."

Sunit Shrestha, Managing Director, ChangeFusion
& Program Lead, GKP Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI)



Skills Development
The GKP Youth Fellowship Program in 2004 provided internship opportunities for 14 selected youth from developing countries and placed them with 12 GKP member organisations working on ICT for development issues at the grassroots level in Africa and Asia.9 The program yielded valuable insights in understanding the kind and range of skills that young people need to be effective in supporting and driving development initiatives in developing countries. Due to lack of experience, young people are usually not able to initiate and sustain their initiatives effectively. To compensate for lack of experience they need to be trained to develop problem solving and entrepreneurial skills. The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) began providing a series of training workshops for selected young socialentrepreneurs as well as young people with the potential to become social entrepreneurs in 2006. The training covered aspects of business plan development, problem solving, and fundraising. To expand the training to more young social entrepreneurs worldwide, YSEI has entered into partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2008 to develop modules on social entrepreneurship for the ILO's "Know About Business" training program targeted at aspiring entrepreneurs. YSEI has also identified over 100 professionals and seasoned entrepreneurs interested in becoming volunteer YSEI mentors. As part of the mentorship process, the volunteers will be matched with young social entrepreneurs in the program for coaching and guidance on management and business issues.

Policy Advocacy
Youth input in ICT policy development is important as the policies can provide the necessary framework, support and legitimacy for young people to initiate and sustain their initiatives. As young people usually lack the opportunity to participate in national, regional and international ICT policy development processes, GKP has implemented various initiatives to channel their input and also enable their participation in a meaningful way. In 2001, the GKP recommendations to the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force on ‘Bridging the Digital Divide' included input gathered from consultations with youth from over 50 countries across 4 regions.10 In 2003, GKP and its members provided support for the Youth Caucus of the WorldSummit on the Information Society (WSIS), which successfully engaged 200 youth participants at the international level and more than 80,000 young people at the national level in 25 developing countries. 11 Support was also provided for NationalInformation Society Youth Campaigns in 21 countries to foster the active participation of youth in national level policy-making during WSIS. 12 GKP also supported efforts to create a stronger voice for women and girls in the WSIS process, particularly for young women in the Arab world13, while ensuring that the concerns of other marginalized groups were addressed.14 New areas for policy engagement to nurture youth entrepreneurship worldwide emerged in 2007 from GKP's Third Global Knowledge Conference (GK3)15 and in 2008 from the inaugural Science with Africa policy conference.16


After 10 years of working with youth on youth empowerment issues within the context of ICT and knowledge for development, the Global Knowledge Partnership's focus on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship is the correct one in tackling the problem of youth unemployment while addressing sustainable development needs worldwide. The GKP strategy has not only enabled the inclusion of youth, but also helped young social entrepreneurs create development impact for themselves and for others. It is to be noted that the collaboration and leadership of key GKP members, who were passionate about youth, were instrumental in the learning and evolution of the GKP youth strategy.17 For further impact, the learning needs to be leveraged, similar initiatives need to be linked for increased synergies via partnerships, and the collective capacities and effectiveness of the initiatives need to be enhanced while encouraging investments on youth initiatives involving ICT and entrepreneurship at all levels (i.e., national, regional and international).

As enablers of ICT-facilitated development and as social entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in the world, youth should continue to be empowered as a potent force for change in creating sustainable social, environmental and economic impact.The comprehensive approach of the GKP youth strategy represented by the five elements of Community Building, Knowledge Generation and Sharing, Projects Support, Skills Development and Policy Advocacy has proven to be effective as mechanisms for mobilizing youth engagement, leadership and action. The approach has further value in that its application is not limited to the field of ICT or youth and can be deployed across target groups such as women and indigenous communities as well as across issue areas such as agriculture, education, health, climate change adaptation, and more. The degree of success will be dependent on how knowledge is harnessed and how partnerships are managed in the process.

For more information, visit http://www.globalknowledgepartnership.org


GKP Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) Program
http://www.ysei.org

The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is a high-engagement social venture program ofthe Global Knowledge Partnership for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developingcountries. Led by GKP members ChangeFusion (previously known as ThaiRuralNet), MitraTechnology Foundation and Orphan IT, YSEI provides young social entrepreneurs whoqualify for its Fellowship with support in four key areas:

Knowledge: Essential development knowledge and tools on social entrepreneurship
Financing: Seed funding, start up funding and scale up funding for selected enterprises
Mentorship: Technical consulting through mentorship
Networks: Access to diverse networks


Social Enterprises and Young Social Entrepreneurs in the GKP Community

GKP MEMBERS

ChangeFusion (http://www.changefusion.org) - GKP Member; GKP Youth Social Enterprise Initiative Program Lead
ChangeFusion group, formerly known as Thai RuralNet, is a provider of social innovation design, investment and incubation services with a specific focus on catalyzing high-impact, scalable and sustainable social innovation. ThaiRuralnet began as an initiative of university students in Thailand.

eHomemakers (http://www.ehomemakers.net) - GKP member; Winner of the GKP Gender & ICT Awards 2005
eHomemakers is South East Asia's only community network that promotes self-help, business partnerships and entrepreneurship development for those who want to balance work and home life, especially for women.

Digital Divide Data (http://www.digitaldividedata.com) - GKP member; Winner of the GKP Youth & ICT Awards 2003
Digital Divide Data is an innovative, internationally acclaimed non-profit based inCambodia and Laos that uses a strong business model to generate profits that are invested back in the growth and development of its staff.

MITRA Technology Foundation (http://www.mitra.org.in) - GKP Member; GKP Youth Social Enterprise Initiative Program Partner
MITRA is an entrepreneurial initiative by a group of graduates from the Institute of Rural Management working towards promoting the spirit of volunteering in India through its flagship program 'iVolunteer'.

Orphan IT (http://www.orphanit.com) - GKP Member; GKP Youth & ICT Awards Winner 2003; GKP Youth Social Enterprise Initiative Program Partner
OrphanIT is a capacity building non-profit organization created to provide an effective and results driven consultancy services to telecentres and ICT groups in developingnations and communities.

Taking IT Global (http://www.takingitglobal.org) - GKP Member; YCDO Program Partner
TIG is a social network that connects millions of youth to provide opportunities forlearning, capacity-building, cross-cultural awareness, and self-development throughthe use of Information and Communication Technologies.

Warisan Global (http://www.warisanglobal.com) - GKP Member
Warisan Global is a social enterprise that works to bring about fundamental change through projects with social impact especially for youth and rural communities.


YOUTH SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INITIATIVE: ASIA FELLOWS 2008-2009

More information at http://www.ysei.org
Rinalia and Sunit with the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) 2008 Fellowship finalists
during the launch of the Fellowship at the GKP Pavilion in the WCIT 2008 Exhibition
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (May 2008)


Thepparat Tantikalayaporn - Chivalry Silk, Thailand
Chivalry Silk's mission is to increase the income of 30,000 silk artisans in Northern Thailand by 2013. Silk production in Thailand currently is not providing a stablesource of income to artisans, who suffer from middleman exploitation.

Cyril Devan - Elevyn, Malaysia
To generate income on a fair trade basis for artisans in remote areas of Malaysia who often suffer from middlemen exploitation, Elevyn is using an innovative, web 2.0-based, online platform that links the selling of handmade products to the support of social and environmental causes.

Aysha Saifuddin - Kaarvan, Pakistan
Kaarvan's aim is to provide 4,000 women entrepreneurs a "one stop" shop for business development and fair trade services by 2010 through a marketing and salesstrategy that would culminate on an online platform for e-commerce.

Ragvendra Singh - Krishak Mitra, India
Krishak Mitra is improving the livelihood of small and marginal farmers in India by employing an agriculture decision-making software. By collecting small fees from the usage of the software, they intend to maintain their operations and at the same time improve farmers decision-making capacity.

Stephanie Caragos - LetIThelp, Philippines
LetIThelp takes on solving structural unemployment and underemployment in poor communities by providing capacity building on specific IT skills that are in market demand and match trainees to job opportunities.

Ajay Shakya - Microfinancejobs, India
Microfinancejobs developed an online jobs platform to bridge the gap between 1,500 microfinance institutions in India and 10,000 professionals who are willing to work inthe microfinance field.

Khristine Lopez - Mobile Telecentres, Philippines
In metro Manila most public schools students have limited or no access to computers and Internet. Mobile Telecentre provides onsite ICT skills training and career opportunities to over 6,000 students in metro Manila by using ICT tools.

Patipat Susumpow - Open Dream, Thailand
Open Dream provides low-cost web and application development service to social groups and organizations by leveraging the network of social software developers forproject collaboration.

Alexander Reyes - Rural Light, Philippines
Rural Light aims to electrify a prototype community centre that also acts as an intermediary to a wide range of services such as refrigeration, lighted facility foreducation and ICT-based information for the purposes of marketing the products/services of the community.

Ali Khan - Youth Engagement Services, Pakistan
The absence of youth-focused programs in Pakistan makes youth highly exposed tocrime, unemployment and terrorism recruitment. By providing seed financing andincubation for youth-led micro social enterprise Youth Engagement Service Network is filling this gap.


YOUTH SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INITIATIVE ASIA FELLOWS 2006 - 2007

More information at http://www.ysei.org

Salah Uddin Ahmad - XayanIT, Bangladesh
XayanIT works with skilled but underprivileged youth interested in careers in the information and communications technologies (ICT) field.

Brinda Ayer - School and Community Horticulture Enterprise, India
The School and Community Horticulture Enterprise aims to supplement the national mid-day meal scheme with an appropriate level of vegetable nutrition to improve overall school enrolment and child health in India.

Audrey Codera - YouthWorks, Philippines
YouthWorks is a micro-finance institution that incubates grassroots youth in setting up and maintaining their business to develop economically independent and socially aware youth entrepreneurs through microfinance leveraging on ICT.Md.

Faisal Islam - Padma, Bangladesh
Padma is social development organization in the south west region of Bangladesh that aims to provide marginalized farming communities with access to an agricultural knowledge management system to improve their livelihoods.

Jaspal Shakya - Community Friendly Movement, India
By leveraging on technology and the power of retail, CFM seeks to create wealth for its primary stakeholders-artisan communities at the bottom of the supply chain, by creating a market for quality handmade products at competitive prices.

Marielle Punzalan Nadal - Idea!s, Philippines
Idea!s is a communications consultancy that empowers non-profits by utilizing information and communication technologies (ICT) as the most effective tool foradvocacy and fundraising activities.

Raj Ridvan Singh - SOLS 24/7, Timor Leste
SOLS 24/7 offers a comprehensive two year training and boarding program on lifeskills education for youth from disadvantaged families and is expanding the program founded in Cambodia to Timor Leste.


2005 GKP YOUTH & ICT AWARDS WINNERS

More information at http://www.globalknowledgepartnership.org/awards

The 2005 GKP Youth & ICT Awards aimed to highlight the outstanding work of young people who have transformed social development opportunities into a sustainable social enterprise through innovative use of ICT.

Audrey Codera, Philippines - "Community-based youth entrepreneurshi program"(http://www.youthtoendpoverty.org)

Jean-Paul Bauer, South Africa - "Operation Fikelela (Operation Access) for fighting poverty through access to education" (www.ikamvayouth.org)

Mark Okowa, Kenya - "Development of an ICT centre for the youth, to build their capacity in information technology, fight HIV/AIDS and poverty"(http://www.abckenya.org & http://www.elci.org)

Nileshni Sekar, Fiji - "Deaf handmade card project" (http://www.fijifriend.com)

Raj Ridvan Singh, Malaysia - "Providing education and life skills to poor school dropouts especially girls from rural areas" (http://sols247.org)

Rana Gulzar, Pakistan - "Youth empowerment skills capacity building programs for young women"

Salah Uddin Ahmed, Bangladesh - "Xayan IT: Enabling ICT skills development and employment creation for youth in Bangladesh" (http://www.xayanit.com/)

Wu Yang, China - "Household wastewater recycling management" (http://www.wiseuse.org)



(EDITED BY :MUKTI MAJID,DACCA,BANGLADESH)