One of the key elements of our original blog question was to investigate the relationships between improving media freedom and new digital technologies. Global Voices Online started as a simple blog, but has trancended into an online medium for groups all around the world, who might normally be ingored by the mainstream media.
One of the projects facilitied by this website is Blog about Jordan day which was celebrated on March 12th. Typically , Jordan rarely features positively on the global news agenda, but this day encouraged Jordanian bloggers to post words, pictures and videos of their country.
March 12th saw Jordanian bloggers coming together to tackle tough political questions about the country, as well as celebrating it's culture and natural beauty.
With only 16% of Jordanians having access to the internet and heavy government restrictions on Internet content, such a day as this one is important in that it allows bloggers to air their views on the country in a way that would not normally be allowed in print or broadcast media.
A high proportion of bloggers participating in the day were Jordanian ex-pats, but many of the contributors were residents of the state, one of whom Princess N tells of the political and criminal unrest within the country She says:
Since when does a brother kill his brother for raping his own sister? Since when does a girl kill all her family members for 30 Jds? Since when do we accept prostitution? Since when do we accept Jordanian Gays Blogs? Since when do we accept seeing our youngsters every Monday and Thursday night drunk in bars? Since when is Jordan filled with such amount of fraud cases? Since when do you see such amount of beggars at the traffic lights? Since when does a sentence that says “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” describes our beloved country Jordan? Since when do neighbors do not know each other? Since when do our children compete about who’s dad has more money? Since when does Jordan get bombed? Since when do we get checked when entering a mall or a hotel? Since when does with every new assigned prime minister comes a petroleum raise? Since when do we have 3 people dying everyday from car accidents? Since when are we rated the most expensive Arab country? Since when do we not care?
Global Voices Online uses it’s sister arm Rising Voices to set up projects which give people in countries where media is restricted a voice or an outlet to air their views. In January, over 270 applications were made for media grants, the highest number in the charity’s two years of operation. Out of the applications, the folliwing five projects were chosen:
- Blog camps in Abidijan on the Ivory Coast
- Ceasefire Liberia-a new transatlantic blogging community
- Shenyang digital documentary-training local sexworkers to manage blogs in order to raise the profile of the issues in this part of China
- An environmentalist online network in Mongolia-highlighting desertification and farming issues
- Female media training in the Yemen
It is clear by the demand for project grants, that social media and citizen journalism can help to bring about social change, which could ultimately improve and defend media freedom across the world, however, in only giving five grants, it would seem that there is a lack of capital funding for the multitude of potential projects, meaning that there is still more scope for different voices to be heard within the global news arena.
Filed under: developing countries, newly industrialising countries, warzones | Tagged: blogging, china, citizen journalism, grant projects, ivory coast, Jordan, liberia, mongolia, rising voices, Yemen
Hi Jules,
you mention ‘Jordan Day’ but that only 16% of the population there have internet access, I can see that there was a good intention there but surely a day for a country in which so few can partake is itself incredibly exclusive. I wouldn’t call it UCFJourno day if only 16% of us took part. Surely it’s ‘rich and powerful Jordanians who can circumvent the establishment day’. Is that ‘fair comment” or is it just bringing the inequalities already in the world on to the net?
That’s a really good point Katie, and to some degree it is true, there is a huge gap between Jordan’s rich and poor. However the point of the day was to encourage anyone, visiting/visited/living in or ex-pat to share their experience of the country, and also to promote social activism. Jordan also came up last year on blog action day and this blog highlights how NGOs and social activism can help in getting issues heard on the global scale:
http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/15/blog-action-day-2008-poverty-in-jordan-and-the-needed-social-activism/
I believe that the fact that only 16% of Jordanians have access to the internet is reason enough to have a national blogging day in order to give what is a too-often marginalised country a turn on the global stage, and as you can see in my original post, emotions from some Jordanians run high as to the state of their country. Whilst I agree that there is a degree of technological poverty, sitting back doing nothing about the issue is in my view, somewhat worse than standing up and fighting it with the limited resources available.
The success of the day, and range of support for it is evident on globalvoices own blog review:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/03/14/jordan-bloggers-come-together-in-celebration/
Hope that puts it all into context a little bit more clearly
Jules
I think the main point to consider here is that the national blogging day has actually happened successfully, 2 years running. It’s giving people a voice that they would not have had before and as Jules said, a chance to air their views on the global stage. Where Jordan is not by any means as repressed as many Arab states, it’s still not easy for Jordians to speak completely freely about their country , and particularly in front of an international audience. This has given them, albeit only 16% of them, the opportunity to do so and i think it’s a step in the right diretion that will work in setting a precedent for bloggers in other Arab states.
Again the fact that Rising Voices has commisioned 5 projects, giving a chance to people in countries where media is restricted to speak out, is a start. It’s not ideal when you consider there were 270 applicants… However, these kind of projects which rely on digital technoloy like blogs, give a voice to the voiceless- something that will surely aid news gathering and press access.
Nina
Interesting post Jules,
I have visited Jordan and it is still a male dominated society. While we were in Amman, one sees a sporadic network of internet cafes which are mainly used for entertainment purposes. In general, very few people come forward and talk about their take on society, political structure or current affairs. The younger generation or the repressed class do use the opportunity of blogging their view points, although the percentage is relatively small, but it’s a sign of progress. Issues are being voiced. Also, as you know ‘monarchy’ is still in rule, but compared to the other Arab states, things are far liberal atleast on the outer surface.