Youth for change in the Middle East!
MideastYouth.com is a network of students and young bloggers that wants to inspire and provide young people with a platform for free expression and promotes constructive dialogue and understanding within the Middle East and North Africa.
The need for MideastYouth.com is clear. In a region where speech is censored and controlled, where stereotypes and conspiracy theories abound, and where minority voices are suppressed, it is imperative to nurture a dialog that can bring us closer to peace and stability. All of their volunteers and bloggers are committed to tell their stories and, more importantly, to listen to the stories of others. MideastYouth.com uses their online platform to fight for the rights of religious minorities, highlight the plight of the region’s migrant workers, and promote independent, grassroots journalism in Afghanistan.
In the Middle East the internet is a place that affords the modicum of protection necessary to practice free speech. This is what MideastYouth.com does!
www.mideastyouth.com
Kloop
A small group of graduated journalism students in Kirgizia wanted to inform, inspire and give a voice to young people. An interactive web portal was born. Within months Kloop grew to be one of the most popular blogger community, of which the main contributors are high school and university students.
Kloop’ strength is that it offers young up en coming journalism talents and people who like to blog a platform to present their own views on their society and current events. This young bloggers initiative is a welcome change to the dominant traditional state media. Kloop aim is to stimulates communication and diversity of information. To encourage the youth to blog and professionalise citizen journalism in Kirgizia Kloop regularly holds free journalism workshops.
According to Bektour Iskender, one of the founders of Kloop, “it is great that everyone can be a journalist thanks to a blog” and offer alternative information.
www.kloop.kg
TV-Wagues
TV-Wagues is initiated by the Burkinabe ICT-training center Yam-Pukri, a local organisation working on making ICTs accessible for the common user. TV Wagues is an online video platform showing original initiatives and development in Africa, in particular in Burkina Faso. The number of African online video platforms is very limited and its content often does not do justice to the real Africa.
TV Wagues shows videos of innovative people or activities contributing to African development. Since its launch in 2002 hundreds of locally produced videos have been put online and the number of international visitors is growing everyday. One of the people responsible for this is Bavala Marie Laurentine (28). Thanks to TV Wagues some of the activities published on the web have gained more visibility leading to support or interest from (international) partners wanting to help them further develop their activity. Some of the local NGOs use the platform to share ideas and report to their funding partners. TV Wagues also contributes to presenting a different Africa where innovative people and ideas exist just like in other parts of the world.
www.wagues.net
