All posts tagged civil society

4 Posts
December 19, 2009 · thoughts

Armenia’s New Media Landscape

Last week I was in Armenia looking at the current media landscape. It was a pleasure to be back again after I was there for Barcamp Yerevan back in April. It was fun to be back and exploring the media sector in more detail, applying what I learned from the civil society tech brainstorm sessions I held.

The country has been through a lot since facing a difficult transition from being a part of the Soviet Union to the present, having gone through a war to do so. Now the country witnessed a lot of growth that stagnated after the economic crisis. A lot of wages had been imported from Russia and this is now suddenly cut off, throwing many into turmoil. However, things didn’t seem as bad in December as in April. Which says a lot given the brutality of local winters. Even cabbies switched back to saying things were “same as always” rather than “difficult”.

November 8, 2009 · Huffington Post Articles
"On Sept. 26, the protests were still going strong. It was 11 am, and Aung Aung Ye was juggling two computers and a mobile phone from his office in Thailand. That morning he was on his mobile talking with contacts in Burma’s commercial capital, Rangoon. At 1:34 am EST, he told me that more than 10,000 people had gathered near Traders Hotel in downtown Rangoon. By 1:40, the mood, still palpable electronically, changed. He had received frantic calls – the military had begun using tear gas and bullets against the peaceful demonstrators. His status message read, "Now, shooting in North/Oakalapa." Two minutes later, it changed again – “Don't brake my heart into a million pieces.”"
July 11, 2009 · thoughts

Participation Camp

Participation Camp 2009 @ ITP

Participation Camp 2009 @ ITP

Tish Shute has a fantastic overview of Participation Camp. It was fantastic to be a part of it and brainstorm about the Open My City project and ideas with such a smart group of people at the cutting edge of government 2.0. Read all about it on her blog.

June 15, 2009 · thoughts

Barcamp Yerevan

I’m always excited to go back to Armenia, my old stomping grounds. Not only did I get the chance to explore new bars with old friends, this time I was coming for Barcamp Yerevan.