Tobias Eigen at Kabissa hails the project:

The founder, Ruthie Ackerman, was recently interviewed on Media Bistro, which you can listen to online here. (via Rising Voices mailing list)

I recommend the interview if you have the bandwidth to listen to it. In it, Ruthie explains Liberia and the project to an American audience - her perspective is very interesting and she's clearly committed to Liberia and to providing a platform for Liberians to have a voice and to connect with each other, both in Liberia and in the Diaspora.

The blogging project is described as “hyper local” which I found illuminating and worth emulating in other communities, the idea being to create blogging clubs in local communities that meet regularly and encourage more people to get involved in blogging - in this case in Staten Island, New York and Monrovia. The benefits then are larger since it is a social media powered online project, so people around the world can participate.

350.org, an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis, thanks Ceasefire Liberia and writes:

On October 24, Ceasefire Liberia, a citizen media project of Rising Voices, joined members of their own community, and the rest of the world, in lending their voices to demand swift action on climate change. The day included a parade, educational programs, and the signing of a global petition, as well as enabled Liberia to connect their efforts to the global 350 movement.

Saki G writes in the CeaseFire Liberia Blog:

In Liberia, the youth of Wood Camp in collaboration with the Youth Crime Watch of Liberia in Paynesville, added their voices to the global chorus, challenging key stakeholders who will be meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009, to commit themselves to the climate deal that will define a new direction in the fight against climate change.  The campaign, which started with a parade through the principal streets of Wood Camp, saw students from three schools in Paynesville forming part of the campaign.

Saki G took this video in the Wood Camp area of Paynesville, Monrovia as part of the day of climate action on October 24, 2009:

In a recent roundup of the project, Ruthie Ackerman notes:

October has proven to be our best month yet (so far). We have hit a new record with the sheer number of blog posts we have published on the site and we are being inundated with requests from bloggers to blog for us. This proves that Liberians want to interact more in the blogosphere and just needed a space to do so collectively. Many of our bloggers are now on Facebook as well so the social media contagion is really catching on.

Read the roundup in details.

Now we will highlight some of the interesting blog posts written and published by the Ceasefire Liberia Bloggers:

Liberia is launching new biometric passports:

The new biometric Liberian passports are being introduced in order to put Liberia on par with all other countries the world over to meet the global requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Compliant Machine Readable Passports.

Photography workshop Monrovia -by Ruthie Ackerman:

Photographer Glenna Gordon recently concluded a UNICEF-sponsored photography training workshop in Monrovia, which trained Liberian journalists on editing, picture taking skills, and street photography.

Glenna Gordon comments on the workshop:

The hardest thing is communicating the idea that you have to spend a lot of time working at taking pictures before you actually take good pictures. And a lot of time in one place, working on one story. Everyone in the workshop wants to do that, but wanting to do that and having the resources to do that are two very different things.

Combating Corruption:

Saliho Donzo urges Liberians to use common sense to combat corruption:

many Liberians are asking themselves this simple question: What is the way out? I strongly believe that there are ways out. Below are some possible solutions:

• 1. Nationalism: We must at all times demonstrate love and devotion to our country. This is the only way forward as a people.
• 2.Government Priorities: One way to minimize corruption is for the government to prioritize the following: construction of infrastructure, building of roads or the reconstruction of already damaged roads, the availability of safe drinking water and electricity, good health system, and education, and paying civil servants on time.

The Rising Voices Grantee Ceasefire Liberia had a remarkable time last month. Its founder Ruthie Ackerman writes:

Not only have we had dozens of new blog posts from our writers — and several fantastic videos — but we are getting noticed too.

Both Feministing and the Women’s Refugee Commission have mentioned our blog on their sites, widening our audience and ensuring that those who do not usually read about the Liberian community now know where to go for updates. We have also recruited some top new bloggers.

Ruthie Ackerman also introduces us to several Liberian bloggers who have not blogged with Ceasefire Liberia, but she met during her trip to Minnesota.

Ruthie wonders in a Twitter message:

Why are Liberians in Liberia blogging more, with less-access to the internet than Liberians in the Diaspora?

Now let us look at some of the various blog posts published in the Ceasefire Liberia blog.

Ceasefire Liberia has a new sports blogger who writes about Liberian soccer. Roland Mulbah chronicles Liberian International striker Frank Jean Seator's venture in the Middle East. Check more of his posts.

Denna Gibson opines that women must be given chance to “take their rightful places in coaching the female national (football) team, serving as staff on the team and attending workshops or seminars to prove themselves”. She wonders whether the buses from India will last in the Liberia streets as the infrastructures need repairing.

Nat Nyuan-Bayjay mentions that senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy is still remembered in Liberia. He also describes about a mass burial in Central Liberia, which reveals the untold story of Central Liberia’s massacre. He also discusses the increased cases of rape in broad daylight in Liberia.

Stephen Johnson lists the challenges the Liberian youths are facing in the labor market. Wynfred Russell writes about the lack of visionary leadership among Liberians in Minnesota.

Saki Golafale posts a photo essay on the Red Light Market in Paynesville, Liberia.

Saki also explains that the school children in low-income homes in Liberia are a particular target of child abuse.

J. V. Boima reports that a Nepalese UNMIL police officer committed suicide for allegedly being involved in a sexual abuse case.

Graphic Designer Garretson uses video to display his works:

One thing is noticeable here is that most of the Ceasefire Liberia bloggers are male. Ruthie screams in a Twitter message:

And where are all the female Liberian bloggers?

Images courtesy: Ceasefire Liberia.

Photo of Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and Hillary Clinton by Glenna Gordon

Glenna Gordon, a Monrovia-based American journalist who was involved in a training workshop for Liberian bloggers, notes in an article for Time Magazine that the United States government has given Liberia over $2 billion since 2003, “the highest number of aid dollars spent per capita anywhere in the world.”

Most of the news articles about Clinton's visit to Liberia focus on the basic facts about Liberia. Writing for Xinhua News, the Chinese government's official news agency, editor Li Xianzhi observes:

Liberia is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and the Atlantic Ocean. The history of Liberia is unique among African nations, notably because of its relationship with the United States, according to Wikipedia.”

Few, if any, of the articles quote Liberians or describe what everyday life is like in the capital city Monrovia. For that you will need to consult Liberian bloggers.

Ruthie Ackerman is a freelance journalist who is writing a book about Liberian refugees living on Staten Island in New York. Rather than simply writing about the refugees, however, Ackerman wanted to help them tell their own stories. With a small amount of funding from Rising Voices she started Ceasefire Liberia, a blogging platform for Liberians living in Staten Island and Monrovia. Much to her surprise the Monrovia-based Liberian bloggers have so far contributed more content to the website than their New York-based peers.

Nat Nyuan-Bayjay, a Ceasefire Liberia blogger in Monrovia

Writing from Monrovia, Wellington Railey has described the life sentence handed down to 23-year-old Nigerian Chuku Diwl Afika who was convicted of murdering a Liberian youth after a scuffle outside of Apple Night Club. Nat Nyuan-Bayjay, Ceasefire Liberia's project manager in Monrovia, posted his photos and observations of two opposing protests related to Liberia's controversial Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Describing the pro-TRC group of protesters Bayjay writes:

The demonstration, widely believed to be a state ‘stage-managed’ demonstration was held under the auspices of the National Consciousness Movement of Liberia (NACOMAL), a pro-advocacy group and well organized as hundreds of people flocked upper Broad Street downtown Monrovia where they assembled as they were transported from various suburbs of Monrovia in arranged commercial buses.

A view down Broad Street in Monrovia

Nyuan-Bajay also published a post on Clinton's visit titled “Clinton Reaffirms US Support To Liberia: Pledges US$17 Million But Wants Action on Corruption.” Most impressive though has been Nyuan-Bajay's investigative reporting on issues like Bushrod Island's recent water shortages. He also routinely collects opinions from ordinary Liberians on issues ranging from the death of Michael Jackson to Independence Day celebrations.

So far Liberians living in New York have shown less interest in text-based blogging, but are enthusiastic about video. Garretson produced a 4-minute video about his son on his way to school. Some of the members of Ceasefire Liberia in Staten Island belong to the hip-hop collective Genocide which performed at Park Hill Day last month. Their manager Liz shot this video of their live performance. You can hear another Genocide track on the most recent Ceasefire Liberia video of a celebration of Liberia's Independence Day in Trenton, Jersey.

Stay tuned to Ceasefire Liberia to learn more about Liberian realities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Colton 1856 - Liberian Republic. Image by Edu-Tourist, under CC. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdorn/2155874/

Rising Voices grantee Ceasefire Liberia was featured in the Business Lexington by journalist David Wescott. While discussing about the Liberians in Kentucky, David quoted Ruthie Ackerman of Ceasefire Liberaia:

Ceasefire Liberia was started by Ruthie Ackerman, a U.S.-based journalist, with help from a grant from Global Voices, a global non-profit organization of online journalists and advocates. The project's home is virtual — www.ceasefireliberia.com, a blog that links the Liberian community in Liberia with those who have left.

“I am a journalist who is writing a book about Liberian youth in Staten Island,” said Ackerman. “As the project developed over the last few years, it became more multimedia focused. I decided that instead of just documenting the experience of Liberian youth living in this one community in America after they fled their country's 14-year civil war, I wanted to give the youth the chance to document their own experiences.”

The site has become where many Liberians go — to tell their stories — in their own voices with each other. It is also an outstanding resource for people outside the community to learn more about the real struggles of a 21st-century immigrant or refugee.

It also provides a lesson for what is needed most: acceptance. “There is always a struggle between the old and the new,” Ackerman said. “It is important for Liberians, like any immigrant or refugee community, to hold onto their cultural identities and not forget where they came from. But it is also important if they want to integrate into American society to assimilate and acclimate and integrate. The more the communities around Liberians reach out to them and provide much-needed services, the better off they'll be and the more integrated they'll feel.”

Read the complete interview posted in David Wescott's blog.

Ruthie's reaction on this article:

What excites me the most about this article is the hope that someone in Kentucky who may not have known about the Liberian community will now understand that much more about the world outside their four walls. This is the mission of the Ceasefire project — to engage others in a dialogue with Liberians and engage Liberians with each other — and in just a few short months we’ve begun to accomplish that. So to all you Liberian bloggers out there: Keep up the good work! To all of our readers, please keep reading and commenting and supporting our work.

During last May the first official blogging workshop in Staten Island took place. The participants and the instructor, Ruthie met each other and practiced making videos with the Flip video camera. Ruthie also writes about the visit of David Sasaki, the Outreach Director of Global Voices Online.

Now we will highlight some of the contents the Liberian bloggers produced.

Photo by Ruthie Ackerman

Titus Anekperechi Alagba a.k.a Tituschristworld asks “What is Life in Liberia? He also provides an answer:

In Liberia, life is a link that calls for adequate perfection. One is incomplete until he or she is linked with others. If and only if life should exist, there must be existence of BLOG in Liberia…where every body will live in the village of information, message,image and picture.

Titus has a series of interviews of Liberians, which covers these questions among others:

• “Where were you during the Liberia Civil war and what were your experiences?”
• “How is life treating you in Liberia presently?”
• “What are the challenges your Community is facing?”
• “What is your advice to Liberians in Diaspora?”

He has so far interviewed Edward Sammy, a student of University of Liberia, Aminata Cassandra Worloh, a student of African Methodist Episcopal University (A.M.E.U), and Murphee R. Mcgill, a 38 year old teacher from Bong County.

Titus also writes about an anti-torture civil society workshop in Liberia. The goal of the workshop was to make Liberians more aware that acts of torture are offenses under Liberia’s criminal laws and the government is bound by the constitution to punish torturers.

Nat Nyuan-Bayjay, who graduated from the University of Liberia recently, writes how difficult it is to live without proper sanitation for thousands of Clara Town residents.

Denna Gibson informs that the female soccer league resumed in Liberia.

Prince Topkah asks “what is gender equity in Africa?”

Nat Nyuan-Bayjay informs that Michael Jackson's Liberian fans are divided over his death.

Nat also writes about the forgotten story of Sackie Nyanquoi–an armed robbery victim.

There has been a number of posts on the final reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Bill K. Jarkloh and Nat Nyuan-Bayjay discussed the issue in details.

Stephen Johnson discusses the ways how the new government of Liberia should approach to the developmental needs of the destitute and impoverished mass of Liberians. “The road to National Recovery requires a Multi-Dimensional Approach,” Stephen opines. The post invoked reactions from the readers. Jonah Soe Kotee, a commenter thinks that:

Information and Communications Technologies -ICTs, including the Internet, play a very imperative function in the poverty reduction of a developing country; like Liberia.

2tango's blog informs that Lt.-Col. Ershad Hossain from Bangladesh voluntarily donated his blood to save Menemon Jarbo, a pregnant Liberian woman who later gave birth to a set of triplets. He is the team leader of MILOB (UNMIL Military Observer from Bangladesh) Team Eleven in southeastern Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County in Liberia.

Below is a video of Marcus Brown, an 18-year old Liberian living in Park Hill Staten Island, who is now the Golden Glove boxing champ. In the video he explains about his preparations and lifestyle.

You will need Flash 8 (or higher) and a javascript enabled browser to view our videos.

• Download MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
• Download Flash Video (.flv)
• Subscribe to Rising Voices Videos in iTunes

We have already heard from Prince Tolkpah and Titus Algaba about their implementation of Ceasefire Liberia in Monrovia. In this video we head to the other side of the Atlantic to see how members of the diaspora blogging project in Staten Island, New York will use participatory media to encourage more dialog between Liberians living in New York and Liberia.

The website of the Rising Voices grantee Ceasefire Liberia project has been launched with a lot of promise.

Its founder, freelance journalist Ruthie Ackerman wrote in the first post:

Ceasefire Liberia is a project that has grown out of my journalism work over the past several years with Liberian youth in both Liberia and in Staten Island, New York. It started off as one story about the reconstruction of Liberia after its 14-year civil war and has grown into an all-encompassing multimedia project, including a book, documentary film work, and now a blogging project. The blogging project is very exciting for me because it’s a way to hear directly from Liberians about their communities –no middlemen — just their voices about the things they care about. My hope is to connect Liberians living in the Diaspora with those who remained in Liberia during and after the war so they can learn about each others’ lives through blogging, video, and photography.

Liberian soccer kids, image by Oso used under a creative commons license

Another entry discusses about amputees in Liberia, who usually have to beg for money to survive. As casualties of the brutal war what future lies for them in Liberia? Highlighting the success of some of these people in the amputee soccer league, Ruthie writes :

Seeing poverty in Africa is not surprising. Even seeing young men begging on the street for the equivalent of 10 cents is not a shock (it happens in New York City as well). But the part of this equation that baffles me, is that some of these young men who beg on Randall Street and sleep on the beach are the same youth who are praised and handed medals out on the soccer field. On the one hand they are outcasts, marginalized from the larger community for their role in the war, and on the other hand they are held up as symbols of hope for their country.

This entry is about a video highlighting the Only The Walls Were Left Standing project, which aims to document the challenges young Liberians face as they try to integrate into the Park Hill, Staten Island, New York community after years of war:

The bitter relationship between Liberian and the African-American communities comes as a surprise for many Liberian migrants.

Prince Tokpah writes about the increase of armed robbery in Liberia. Even after imposing death penalty as the punishment, the crime rate is not going down. The blogger opines that the government should look into the root of the problem and create job opportunities for the citizens.

Image from Liberia by Flickr user Tweefur, used under a creative commons license

Titus Alagba writes about the challenges Liberian communities are facing like flooding due to poor sanitation. He also writes about the ‘Social and Economic Inequality in Liberia”:

Robbers are stealing the nations money every day in the name of misappropriation. Corrupt government officials have decided that the poor masses will not enjoy their economic human rights.

Garretson Sherman is a visual and graphic artist from Liberia based in Park Hill, Staten Island, NY. He promotes peace and awareness through his creative mural and canvas paintings.

Garretson's mural, image by Sierra Beecher

In a recent post in Global Voices Ndesanjo Macha highlighted some more bloggers from Liberia.

Ruthie has this request for the readers:

I hope everyone who comes to the site can join us by writing an encouraging comment, reflecting on their own experiences, or telling us about their communities. The dream is that by communicating here the boundaries that keep us divided will disappear.

Emmanuel Tobey (AKA “Tango”) is a photojournalist working for the United Nations Mission in Liberia. In the following video Tobey explains how he was introduced to photojournalism during the Liberian civil war.

Nat Bayjay was perhaps the most motivated of all the participants of the new media workshops last week in Liberia. On Nat's personal blog he has already published two very informative posts: “Cleaning The Capital of Africa’s Oldest Republic” and “Intensive Labor Malpractices at Guthrie [Rubber Plantations].”

Nat has also started a second lifestyle and entertainment blog, Entertainmentlib, which is reminiscent of Tanzania's wildly successful Swahili-language blog, Bongo Celebrity. In the first post we are introduced to Liberian gospel singer Kanvee Gains.

Varney Karneh is a student of the University of Liberia's Mass Comm department. On his new blog he has written about the recently concluded international colloquium on women and the donation of photographic and computer equipment by Syracuse University to the University of Liberia's Mass Communication department. Photojournalist Kathleen Flynn has a great portrait of Varney on her blog.

Denna Gibson is also a student of the University of Liberia and an aspiring sports journalist. So far she has blogged about the lack of support for female soccer players in Liberia and the shortcomings of the Liberia National Soccer League.

Titus and Prince Tokpah are student activists and volunteers of the Liberian chapter of Amnesty International. Both young men are also involved in Project Ceasefire, a new Rising Voices grantee project led by journalist Ruthie Ackerman.

The above-mentioned bloggers have all displayed the passion, motivation, and natural talent to lead Liberia's nascent blogosphere forward, but the obstacles standing in their way are still enormous. Cybercafes - dependent on gas-powered generators for electricity - are still expensive, and the internet connection is painfully slow. Furthermore, with unemployment around 80%, Liberians must work hard at their day jobs in order to not lose them. Still, with enough encouragement and support, Liberia has just entered a new chapter in new media.

You will need Flash 8 (or higher) and a javascript enabled browser to view our videos.

• Download MPEG4 Video (.mp4)
• Download Flash Video (.flv)
• Subscribe to Rising Voices Videos in iTunes

Just west of Ivory Coast lies Liberia and its roughly 3.5 million inhabitants. Settled by free slaves from the United States in the early 19th century, Liberia fell into a 14-year dark period of civil war and lawlessness that concluded in late 2003 with the presence of ECOWAS and the United Nations. Today Liberia is slowly recovering despite inadequate infrastructure, unemployment at around 80%, and former combatants (many of them minors) who must be re-integrated into society. Many unemployed Liberians have put their hopes in friends and relatives living abroad in the United States. However, there is often a lack of communication and understanding between Liberians at home and those living in the diaspora. By partnering with African Refuge - a drop-in center for West African youth - and the Century Dance Complex in Park Hill, Staten Island (the largest Liberian community outside of Africa), and Amnesty International in Monrovia, freelance journalist Ruthie Ackerman aims to help foster a transatlantic Liberian blogging community.

Those Liberians who lived through the war — whether soldiers or not — experienced some type of trauma or displacement. By creating a community and sharing experiences with others, it has helped give these youth a purpose and vision that there is something larger than themselves. This will benefit the community (on both sides of the ocean) on many levels: Liberians, many of whom have difficulty adjusting to life in America, can reconnect with their families and dispel myths about what life is like in the U.S. There are also left-over tensions from the war, which may be able to be diffused through the dialogue created between the communities.

Last October nine Liberian journalists learned how to blog at a workshop at the American Embassy in Monrovia. Thanks to the support of the Center for Democracy and Development at UMass Boston, I am now back in Monrovia with Kathleen Flynn and Ken Harper to help facilitate more blogging workshops. The above video introduces some of Liberia's most recent journalists and students of journalism to try their hands at blogging.

Denna Gibson writing her blog post

Varney Karneh wrote about the recent International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security and how it will benefit teenage girls. Emmanuel Tobey, a photojournalist for the United Nations, plans on using his blog to show off photographs of Liberia's natural beauty. Saturday H. Seke featured a literacy training workshop put on by local NGO ALFALIT INTERN. Denna Gibson lamentes the lack of opportunities and respect given to female athletes in Liberia. Aremita believes that illiteracy and teenage pregnancy are two of the greatest obstacles standing in the way of Liberia's development. Moses B. Togbah thinks that bad roads are also a major impediment. Finally, Laurina Honore, a journalist for Sky FM radio, describes her experience at the workshop:

I MIGHT HAVE MORE BLOGS WITH IN TIME TO COME. RIGHT NOW I’M STUDYING MASS COMMUNICATION AND POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA. I AM ALSO A BROADCAST JOURNALIST AT SKY 107 FM IN MONROVIA. I MIGHT DO ALLOT OF THINGS IN TIME TO COME. I LOVE MUSIC WHICH IS MY INSPIRATION, SO I WILL GET ALLOT DEEPER INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD. IF I DON’T GET THROUGH I WILL WORK IN MY GOVERNMENT AS AN IMPORTANT FIGURE, THAT’S WHY I AM GOIN TO SCHOOL. BUT I FEEL LIKE A CELEBRITY CUZ THA’S HOW I AM REFER TO. MY BEEN ON THE RADIO HAS MADE ME INTO A POPULAR FIGURE AND I HAVE SO MANY FANS. I FEEL GOOD EVERYDAY. I AM BLESS, I’M GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR MY LIFE.

Make sure to add their blogs to your RSS reader and to leave some encouraging comments.

Of the 270 project proposals, the following five are most representative of the innovation, purpose and goodwill that Rising Voices aims to support.

Abidjan Blog Camps

Théophile Kouamouo has long been one of Francophone Africa's leading bloggers. Based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Kouamouo is one of the founders of the Ivoire Blog network and started the wildly successful meme “Why I Blog About Africa.” (Elia Varela Serra summarized many of the resulting responses in a two-part series on Global Voices.) Kouamouo is now trying to bring many more of his countrymen and women to the blogosphere by organizing a series of “blog camps” around Abidjan in which current Ivorian bloggers can discuss the issues affecting them and show new bloggers how to join their ranks. Kouamouo first proposed the idea on his blog back in August last year, which attracted a number of enthusiastic commenters supporting the idea. Blog Camps have a long history of attracting new citizens to the participatory net. A number of blog camps have taken place in India, including in Chennai in 2006 and, more recently, in Mumbai. Blogcamp CEE last October brought many new participants to the Russian-speaking blogosphere. For the most part, however, West Africa (and particularly Francophone West Africa) has been left out of the booming global blogosphere. That is starting to change. Panos West Africa, in partnership with Highway Africa and Global Voices, recently announced the winners of the Waxal - Blogging Africa Awards. Next year we can expect to find many more Ivorians on that list as Théophile Kouamouo sets out to organize a series of events that will bring dozens if not hundreds of Ivorians to the blogosphere. Abidjan Blog Camps will also promote more pan-African online interaction by teaming up with existing blog camp movements in Madagascar, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius, and South Africa.

Ceasefire Liberia

Just west of Ivory Coast lies Liberia and its roughly 3.5 million inhabitants. Settled by free slaves from the United States in the early 19th century, Liberia fell into a 14-year dark period of civil war and lawlessness that concluded in late 2003 with the presence of ECOWAS and the United Nations. Today Liberia is slowly recovering despite inadequate infrastructure, unemployment at around 80%, and former combatants (many of them minors) who must be re-integrated into society. Many unemployed Liberians have put their hopes in friends and relatives living abroad in the United States. However, there is often a lack of communication and understanding between Liberians at home and those living in the diaspora. By partnering with African Refuge - a drop-in center for West African youth - and the Century Dance Complex in Park Hill, Staten Island (the largest Liberian community outside of Africa), and Amnesty International in Monrovia, freelance journalist Ruthie Ackerman aims to help foster a transatlantic Liberian blogging community.

Those Liberians who lived through the war — whether soldiers or not — experienced some type of trauma or displacement. By creating a community and sharing experiences with others, it has helped give these youth a purpose and vision that there is something larger than themselves. This will benefit the community (on both sides of the ocean) on many levels: Liberians, many of whom have difficulty adjusting to life in America, can reconnect with their families and dispel myths about what life is like in the U.S. There are also left-over tensions from the war, which may be able to be diffused through the dialogue created between the communities.

Real Experience of the Digital Era - China

View Larger Map

Shenyang, literally meaning “the city to the north of Shen River” and capital of the Liaoning province, is touting itself as China's “next tourist destination.” But whether you are visiting the ancient pagodas of Old City or the official “High-tech Industrial Development Zone” the tourist brochures won't mention the city's male and female sex workers who mostly come from poor rural communities in search of talked-up urban opportunities. In partnership with the Ai Zhi Yuan Zhu Center for Health and Education documentary filmmaker Wei Zhang will train male and female sex workers who use the AZYZ center how to maintain a blog and upload short video documentaries to share their experiences, opinions, and troubles in order to promote more understanding of the region's sex worker population.

Nomad Green - Mongolia

Environment officials from throughout Northeast Asia met in Ulaanbaatar this week for the first time to discuss climate change and how to enhance energy efficiency in the region. Mongolia's capital city was a fitting location for the meeting as the country's environmental deterioration has accelerated recently due to rapid urbanization, industrial growth, and increased coal consumption. Ulaanbaatar is frequently shrouded in a haze of thick pollution:

Desertification from climate change is threatening the livelihoods of nomadic Mongolian tribesmen and the country's saiga antelope was just named the most endangered antelope species in Asia. It is amid so much negative news that Portnoy Zheng, in collaboration with the Mongolian and Tibetan Foundation and the Mongolian Green Party, will train Mongolian citizens how to spread awareness - both at home and abroad - about their country's environmental crisis. Nomad Green aims to 1.) train citizen journalists how to use blogs, digital video, podcasts, and map mashups to report on environmental news, 2.) create a network and community of environmentalists sharing and spreading information about related threats, solutions, and opportunities, and 3.) translate content into Chinese and English to promote more regional and international cooperation in facing Mongolia's environmental challenges.

Empowerment of Women Activists in Media Techniques - Yemen

With international coverage of the Middle East focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the war in Iraq, Iran's nuclear program, and the financial markets of the Persian Gulf States, little attention is given to one of the region's poorest countries, Yemen. The few spikes in media coverage of Yemen over the past few years are all related to fears of al-Qaida presence.

In collaboration with the Hand in Hand Initiative, Ghaida'a al-Absi will organize a new media training course for female politicians, activists, and human right workers in order to bring a new perspective to the Arabic-language blogosphere and to build an online network of Yemeni gender activists. It is fitting that today, on the 98th anniversary of International Women's Day, we announce al-Absi's initiative to bring more women's voices to the internet. The deteriorating status of women's rights in Yemen is frequently documented and discussed, but rarely do women themselves take part in those discussions. By reaching out to NGO's and political parties throughout Yemen al-Absi aims to change that.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming the newest five grantee projects to our community.