Stories about Digital Activism from June, 2020
Students arrested for demanding internet facilities in Balochistan
A number of students were manhandled, baton-charged and arrested in Quetta, Balochistan, for protesting against non-availability of internet after their classes shifted online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
June 2020, a month of #BLM in Japan
Black Lives Matter rallies and marches were held in cities across Japan throughout June, part of a global display of solidarity with demonstrators in the United States and other countries.
Taking down statues: France confronts its colonial and slave trade past
Amid global action against racism, France has been divided for several weeks over what to do about statues of historical figures that are connected to slavery and colonialism.
Activists demand end to year-long internet disruption in Myanmar's Rakhine and Chin States
In the middle of a global pandemic, access to information is even more critical than usual.
Migrant workers face racism and rampant human rights violations across the Gulf
Migrant workers in the Gulf region are being subjected to a fierce campaign calling for their deportation that is riddled with racist speeches and hatred.
How can Nepal's literary tradition make its mark on the global scene?
Director of Global Literature in Libraries Initiatives shares insights into how Nepali literature can reach wider audiences.
A new game plays with ideas about how disinformation works in East Africa
"Chose Your Own Fake News" is an online game that teaches new internet users how to be more discerning about the information they receive and encounter in digital spaces.
COVID-19 diaries from Wuhan: When diaries become citizen reports
"As time passes, diaries are like caterpillars transforming into butterflies."
Post-crisis hackathon: Ecuadorian NGOs crowdsource for a world after COVID-19
More than 550 people registered for a hackathon to find solutions for Ecuador's post-COVID-19 future.
Amid Black Lives Matter protests, fresh calls to remove statuary that hijacks the Caribbean's historical narrative
BLM protests have inspired the denigration and defacement of symbols of black oppression. The Caribbean, with its long history of occupation, has its own symbols of oppression to reconsider.
How Kazakhstan's youth are forging their own national identity
A feud between a lesbian activist and a boxer has galvanised a new generation's interest in pushing at the boundaries of Kazakh national identity
Black Lives Matter protests in Trinidad & Tobago spark discussions about race
The Black Lives Matter movement brings racism into sharp relief in the twin-island Caribbean nation.
The mural will not be whitewashed: How dissident poet Joseph Brodsky continues to inspire free-thinking Russians
The 80th anniversary of the birth of Russian poet Joseph Brodsky was marked in Russia by an incident highlighting the special place writers still hold in Russian political culture.
The future of protest in Uganda
There are parallels between police brutality in the US and Uganda, a country still haunted by the ghosts of its violent past.
Silicon Valley tech giants race to build Africa's internet infrastructure. Should Africa worry?
Google and Facebook are building undersea internet cables for Africans with access to high-speed internet — but 33 nations in Africa still don't have comprehensive data privacy laws.
For black and indigenous people in Central America, Black Lives Matter
"It's a racist, predatory and murderous system that they have been selling all over the planet as the best place on earth to live."
‘A possible violation’: Mexico's biggest telecommunications operator is blocking Tor network
The Tor network is a free and open-source software used throughout the world by those who wish to exercise their freedom of expression and information while maintaining their privacy and anonymity.
Who fact checks online disinformation in West Africa’s Bambara language?
Kpénahi Traoré, a language activist and journalist, battles the online dissemination of false information in Bambara, one of West Africa’s most widely spoken minority languages.
Password hack claim puts cyber security on the public agenda in North Macedonia
The government said that no user data was compromised in the apparent attack.
Making Swahili visible: Identity, language and the internet
Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, but its visibility online is dismal. Kenyan language activist Bonface Witaba is working to change this.
Hongkongers strive to remember Tiananmen crackdown despite ban on candlelight vigil
The pretext for the ban this year is coronavirus, but an incoming national security law will likely make the three-decade-old vigil illegal.