Rising Voices

We hear the term ‘citizen journalism’ almost everywhere. But to be precise, what is it? Why do we need to embrace citizen journalism? What effects does it have on a society and how can it give a voice to the people who are under reported in the mainstream media?

We will find the answer to those questions in this feature and learn how the Rising Voices projects are embracing citizen journalism.

The ConVerGentes project of HiperBarrio made their way from Medellín to the capital city, Bogotá, at the end of June to attend Campus Party, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s largest technology conferences. Organizing the trip required the participation of all involved, but as we see, it was well worth it.

The second day of the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit projected different works and achievements of Global Voices Online. The Rising Voices project was certainly in the spotlight as it involves in giving the voice to those who need it the most and improves the lives of people who are neglected by the media and the communities. We look at the presentation of the Rising Voices project in the summit and the reactions of the participants and the media.

ConVerGentes, the San Javier La Loma-based group of young journalists who form part of HiperBarrio, have started a podcast in Spanish. Have a listen to learn more about their community, how it is different from the rest of Medellín, and why they are headed to Campus Party.

Why do we blog? Because we want to express ourselves, to be heard, to learn about others, to augment networking, and most importantly to enhance a new social imagination, engage in social causes among other things. Emerging bloggers in two of the Rising Voices funded projects have done commendable jobs in taking personal initiatives to help others and promote the cause to a greater scale.

Today’s video features Carmen Paniagua, the lyrical poet and songwriter of HiperBarrio. Carmen is incredibly shy, especially behind the lens of a camera, but her eyes and ears are always observing, keen observations about herself and her community which make their way into each of her poems and posts published frequently on her blog, Baúl de Letras. Carmen is also one of the authors of Nunca Será Suficiente, a group blog novel.

Five representatives from Rising Voices will present their experiences - either as trainers or trainees - in citizen media outreach projects in Colombia, Bolivia, Madagascar, and Kenya at this year’s Global Voices Summit on June 28 in Budapest, Hungary.

One of the most exciting developments from last week’s batch of posts is that many Rising Voices participants are using their blogs as more than just spaces of communication. They have realized that by tapping into the support of a community, they are able to start campaigns to help their neighbors in need.

The HiperBarrio project in Colombia has taken advantage of the Medellín’s network of library park facilities which include internet rooms to teach the citizen media skills to young people from the working class northern hills. In this week’s feature we will read some of the experiences of the participants to know how these libraries are carrying out a social role to keep the youth engaged in creative citizen media activities.

Public libraries are transforming from centers of reception to centers of creation, transmission, and communication. In Latin America, the movement toward a more participatory library system is being led by a small satellite library in Medellín, Colombia and BiblioRedes, the national library network of Chile.