PH International's DOTCOM - Special Guests

MODULE #6: Talking with DOTCOM Special Guest Bloggers! (March 30 - April 13)

2009-03-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Our next two week MODULE CHALLENGE/CONVERSATION (March 30 through April 13).

After reading our DOTCOM interview with our two professional bloggers Arzu Geybullayeva and Onnik Krikorian, below, please ask one question (right here in the COMMENTS box) about media, blogging, social change, and citizen action here - and feel free to add to the conversation as it unfolds.

Meet Arzu Geybullayeva!

DOTCOM Q&A:

Arzu Geybullayeva is an analyst and writer, focusing on issues as gender and development, conflict resolution and analysis, corruption, state transparency and sustainable development. Currently, she works for European Stability Initiative- European think tank (Berlin based) in Istanbul where her main focus has been gender in rapidly changing Azerbaijan. In addition to her analyst work at ESI, she started her own semi- political blog- Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines. She has written for Turkish Policy Quarterly and Turkish Daily News, as well as for Economic Intelligence Unit.

1. What social issues are most important to you? Why?

Over the last year and a half I have been working on gender issues in Azerbaijan. As a result, one of the social problems I came across was violence against women in Azerbaijan as well as other Muslim countries. I have become more active in helping women in my community regarding this problem- talking to the victims or women in general about their rights and referring them to the right people in case they were subject to any form of violence. This is an important matter and trying to do something about it has become part of my goals.

Another social problem I consider important is suppression of human rights and freedom of speech. Referring to Azerbaijan, these two have become a growing problem in this country. And while the state claims that it is the most transparent country where respect for human rights and freedom of speech are in no way limited, the recent events- arrest of several journalists, foreign radio stations shutting down, unlimited presidency- have proved to be otherwise. The reason why these issues are important to me, is because when I talk about Azerbaijan I want to say positive things about it and not talk about country’s low ranking on Transparency International scale, or Human Rights Watch.

2. How have you used technology and citizen media to raise awareness about important social issues?

For a while I thought of ways to get my voice out there and after some time (especially after I saw my boss’s blog) I decided to start up my own blog, where I could write about politics, general issues and just personal stories. The idea was to share my views, have an online space where people could freely comment on things I wrote and share their ideas and thoughts as well. Thus, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines was created.

Right now, I use my blog to reach out to the international community as well and raise their awareness of the problems Azerbaijan has in terms of human rights, freedom of speech, and political shortcomings as well as other issues.

3. In what ways have you been exposed to opaque media (i.e. government-moderated messaging) in your work? How have you overcome this?

If I was to start up a blog on one of the Azerbaijani domains it would have been very hard to write independent thoughts (at times critical) on politics and events taking place in Azerbaijan. However, because I am using an international domain I haven’t yet come across of any type of government- moderated media.

4. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve confronted as you’ve tried to inspire action on important social issues?

So far, the biggest challenge for me has been not to be regarded as a political activist. This wasn’t my intention when I started the blog. I simply wanted to create a place where I could freely write and express myself, and not something I would be labeled for. And this is why I have tried to keep my blog as diverse as possible, not just focusing on politics but write about things like food, travel, and health.

I simply want to get the message out there- as much as I want people to know how pretty countries are, or where to get great truffles and what one can do to quit smoking.

5. How do you stay motivated in your work?

I am fascinated with the work I am doing on gender in Azerbaijan as well as my blog. I enjoy writing posts on different matters. And I think this is what makes me motivated. It’s the satisfaction I get from what I do that keeps me going and of course, the eventual outcome.

6. What concrete steps would you encourage young people to take as they work to serve their communities and their world?

Getting involved is the first step. Some of us think that life is long and you can leave something for the next day. I believe if there is something one can do today, then it should be done. So, if you think the street you live on needs additional trees, get involved, and plant some trees. Though, some bigger things wont be as easy as planting trees, having the initiative changes everything. The will and the initiative are important. The rest is easy.

There are millions of groups focusing on issues such as violence, genocide, AIDS, human rights and many more. Once you decide what you want to do join any of these groups. This is almost the same when you are just starting university and on the first day there are hundreds of different clubs and groups offering you membership. You decide what you want to engage in and you join.

7. What advice would you give young people with an eagerness to change the world?

Behind every big change there stands a person or group of people. It’s the same for any blog, website or media tool. Nothing would be possible if it wasn’t for certain individuals. Always keep that in mind.

Don’t get frustrated when things you want to change don’t change straight away and it takes time. Be patient as things never happen/change over night (unless it’s a military coup or a revolution).

Make sure you stick to your goal and don’t deviate. Change things one by one, not everything all at the same time. It may end in chaos.

8. Other advice? Personal insights? Illustrative examples of effective citizen media?

After having started Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines, I was surprised how many people you can meet, networks you can join, other blogs you can read and websites you could discover. The online media is like a door that opens into unlimited space of information, ideas and thoughts. And the best thing about it is that it never has an end because there are always new and fresh ideas expressed.

I never thought that Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines would get so much attention and comments. But I never thought of stopping it either, because I believed, eventually it will be discovered. So never give up on your ideas. Tell about them to your friends, share them in your community and you will succeed eventually.

---- SNIP -----

Part 2: Meet Onnik Krikorian!

Onnik Krikorian is a journalist and photojournalist from the United Kingdom now based in Yerevan, Armenia. He has been published by publications such as the Los Angeles Times, New Internationalist, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, and EurasiaNet among others as well as by international organizations such as UNICEF and EveryChild. He is also the Caucasus Regional Editor for Global Voices Online and blogs for the London-based Frontline Club as well as on his own The Caucasian Knot.

What social issues are most important to you? Why?

The most important issues for me concern matters of social justice, and especially poverty, human rights and individual freedom. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, and while such problems exist there as well, the situation is very different in the South Caucasus. Perhaps we even take what we have in the UK for granted so it becomes particularly important to fight for such issues here.

However, another issue that concerns me is the lack of tolerance in society throughout the region. This is particularly true when it comes to religious and ethnic minority rights. Unfortunately, ethnicity is put above citizenship and the region is divided as a result.

How have you used technology and citizen media to raise awareness about important social issues?

I set up my first web site at the end of 1994 thanks to some friends at the University College of London who introduced me to what was then a pioneering web browser, Mosaic. Although I’m a journalist and photographer, I had a background in computing and computer-based graphic design so the technology was easy to understand and I could see its potential.

Using multimedia and the web I started to publish my own work even if no newspapers or magazines were interested in the subject matter I was covering. The same continues to be true 15 years later and as Internet use is huge compared to back then, there is now a much larger audience out there. In some cases, covering under-exposed issues online has led to commissions from international publications.

Before the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was adopted by the Armenian government, for example, I was perhaps the only photographer to really openly tackle the problem. The same is true about covering minority issues although I am now more interested in conflict-resolution in the South Caucasus and the Internet is a perfect medium to do that.

In what ways have you been exposed to opaque media (i.e. government-moderated messaging) in your work? How have you overcome this?

I’m not entirely sure what you mean by this, but if you mean my work sitting alongside partisan propagandist information, this actually sometimes drives it. Indeed, when I moved to Armenia at the end of 1998 it was precisely because there was no independent or realistic news coming out of the country that prompted me to especially cover pressing issues such as those relating to poverty, corruption and democracy.

However, if you mean in terms of government control or restrictions, I’ve so far had no problems. That said, perhaps the biggest government-connected problem has been the lousy Internet connection in Armenia. Although my new Wimax connection has opened up the Internet some more for me, it’s still 10 years behind what we have in the U.K.

How has media stereotyping (perceptions propagated the media) impacted your work?

Again, it has pushed me to provide an alternative which avoids such tendencies which in my opinion have no place in a mature and constructive media. In fact, few people believe that there is an “independent” media in Armenia with most outlets either being pro-government or pro-opposition. This is where citizen media has the potential to fill the gap although at present it is largely polarized along the same lines.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve confronted as you’ve tried to inspire action on important social issues?

In many cases the biggest problem is apathy among an audience both inside and outside Armenia, and especially in the Diaspora. Although this has changed since the 1 March post-election unrest last year, the problem is that many Armenians still consider that dealing with sensitive issues threatens national security and the image of the country abroad.

For the Diaspora, this is made worse because it remains unaware of the situation here thanks to news and information which largely reinforces an unrealistic image of the country as some kind of imaginary utopia. That situation is changing, but it’s taken a long time.

Probably, too much time was wasted when such issues could have been tackled and potentially resolved much earlier, but even now it is difficult to get my work published in the Diaspora media so I instead concentrate on the international media or online via blogs.

On a brighter note, this at least allows for some kind of sorely needed discussion to be initiated through comments on blog posts.

How do you stay motivated in your work?

Well, it’s hard because when you cover some very depressing issues and see very little changes as a result, you have to wonder from time to time why on earth continue with it? Every day I can see people who exploit a sometimes very corrupt system for their own financial gain while the rest of us pretty much feel as though we’re banging our heads against a brick wall.

However, it’s also true that some things can change. For example, my work on homelessness in Armenia through a local online media outlet as well as on my old blog forced the government to finally admit there was a problem and to open a homeless shelter in Yerevan. Ultimately, however, it’s worth understanding that change is never quick and never easy.

As Arzu says, don’t get frustrated when things don’t change immediately and always remember that nothing will unless you try.

What concrete steps would you encourage young people to take as they work to serve their communities and their world?

I think the most important step is simply to keep an open mind and to look at the situation in other countries, but not if the reason is simply to excuse the situation in your own. There are many things we can all learn from each other and we should understand that first and foremost. People should also understand that they have the RIGHT to have their voices heard and shouldn’t feel intimidated if others disagree.

What advice would you give young people with an eagerness to change the world?

Be tolerant and understand that the world is such a huge place with many different cultures which can actually make life interesting and refreshing. Although local culture is important to citizens of a particular country, it’s always nice to listen to music from other countries, or to taste another culture’s cuisine. As I consider that much of the world’s problems exist because of rivalries and hatred between countries, as well as within society, tolerance and respect towards others is key.

Other advice? Personal insights? Illustrative examples of effective citizen media?

I think it’s worth realizing that citizen media is just a tool and like most tools can be used constructively or not. For example, until recently, online blogs and web sites were used to perpetuate hatred between Armenians and Azeris because of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

This was simply because the tools were used by those with such views. Now, however, as these tools become more widely available and cheaper, there is the possibility to use them to encourage proper discussion and to also cross ethnic and geographical divides.

For example, when I look at the Facebook pages, websites or blogs of Armenian and Azeri friends I can see that there are more similarities between them than differences. And even though I’m a British citizen so is impossible for me to visit Azerbaijan because of my Armenian surname, he situation online is very different.

In recent months I’ve made many new Azeri friends and use Facebook and Internet chat to build on those relationships. In many cases those friendships were first made via our blogs with social networking sites and utilities such as chat reinforcing them. This has very definitely made my life more interesting and refreshing.

It has also showed me how the power of citizen media has the potential to circumvent the negative propaganda and stereotyping the media in both countries pumps out on a daily basis. Going back to your previous question about how do I stay motivated, this aspect of citizen media has given me hope and makes me feel very optimistic about the future.

I especially hope that when Armenians read Azeri blogs and vice-versa, or notice that I am leaving comments on the Facebook pages or blogs of Azeri friends as they do on mine, they realize that we’re not so different after all. Blogs such as those set up by Dotcom participants particularly show that to be the case.

In many cases, the participants have the same concerns about the environment or poverty, and I’ve also noticed that tastes in music and films are the same too. I think that’s definitely reason to pause and think. Does being born in one country rather than another make us so different? To be honest, I just see the similarities.

Anyway, I think that we are all people and citizens of the world and we can all enrich each other’s lives. Blogs and other online tools make that world smaller, and even if some would rather us not communicate, the Internet has given us the freedom and ability to cross closed borders and to carry on regardless. I find this incredibly liberating.

MODULE #4: Talking with DOTCOM Special Guest Josh Levy (March 2 - March 16)

2009-02-20T09:32:00.001-08:00

Meet Josh Levy!

Here is Josh's brief biography:

Josh Levy is a writer and web strategist exploring the intersections of technology, politics, and activism. In addition to being managing editor of Change.org, he has been a frequent commentator on the use of the web in the 2008 election as associate editor of techPresident and Personal Democracy Forum. Levy was a blogger and podcaster for National Public Radio's Sunday Soapbox, and his analysis has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Salon, NPR, ABC News, AOL Politics, and XM Radio, among others.

Our next two week MODULE CHALLENGE/CONVERSATION:

After reading our DOTCOM interview with Josh, below, please ask one question to Josh (right here in the COMMENTS box) about media, blogging, social change, and citizen action here - and feel free to add to the conversation as it unfolds.

1. What social issues are most important to you? Why?

Since the work I do involves a deep awareness and interest in almost two dozen social issues, from Autism to Homelessness to Genocide, a lot of issues are important to me. But one issue has come to the forefront lately: sustainable food and agriculture. The food we eat -- and the way it's produced -- is going to be one of the biggest problems facing our world in the next century. The current industrial agriculture system exists to produce huge amounts of food for both humans and animals, but to do so it destroys the environment and makes us sicker.

The reasons behind this are long and complicated, but the result is that I've become more and more interested in local forms of agriculture in which all of the food we eat is grown in the surrounding areas. If we can encourage the growth of small farms and local economies, we may be able to beat back one of the biggest threats to the climate and our health.

2. How have you used technology and citizen media to raise awareness about important social issues?

I've been trying to figure out how to use technology for social issues for many years - the key phrase is "figure out." We're all continually learning about the best ways to use technology to make the world a better place.

For me, the process started with my interest in using blogs and wikis in the classroom to encourage collaborative forms of learning. That led me to documentary video, which I studied in an MFA program in New York City. But as I played around with video I found that I kept wanting to work more on the web. I was particularly interested in the social functions of the internet: the way we can use it to form groups, organize around issues, and engage in politics and civic life.

This interest led me to create the Bronx Blog Project, in which I taught English-language students from the Dominican Republic how to blog and recorded the lessons on video. Then I created a website that collected all of the participants' blog posts, the videos I’d shot of their classes and of time at home, and interviews with the students. The idea was to create an ongoing online documentary that was itself a part of the education process. It was moderately successful.

The goal was to help the students develop a sense of community-building and advocacy. I’m not sure that happened, but by the end most of the students seemed to have a better understanding of the social web.

Since then, I’ve focused on blogging myself, mostly about technology and politics. With Change.org, I've helped build a network of blogs that focus on specific social issues. I’m still very interested in the ways that blogging and other kinds of online conversations -- like those that take place on Twitter and Facebook -- can be used for social change.

3. In what ways have you encountered opaque media or highly moderated media messaging in your work? How have you overcome this?

Because we work on several specific social issues, we also work with many nonprofits who are advocates for those issues. While I greatly respect that work that these nonprofits do, many of them are still struggling to adapt to the openness of the social web. Because many of those organizations are structured in a very top-down way -- meaning that even the smallest decisions are made at the highest levels -- they are resistant to the bottom-up nature of the web. As a result, their blogging can be very formal, reading like a press release, and their videos not very engaging.

Because of this, we’re always working with nonprofits to help them connect to online communities, mainly through initiating and sustaining conversations with activists and building communities.

4. How has media stereotyping (perceptions propagated the media) impacted your work? Specific examples?

The Bronx Blog Project was in part a response to media stereotypes of immigrants, and the conservative politics that often go with them. Social media gives people the chance to create their own narratives and to promote those narratives among a wide network of people. By helping people learn how to do this, I felt that I was helping them learn how to combat negative stereotyping.

Another example comes from our End Human Trafficking blog, which is always fighting stereotypes about sex and prostitution. Our blogger, Amanda Kloer, tries to push back on those stereotypes by turning them upside down, for example posting a series of “Red Light Special” posts that uses the language of sex trafficking to help sell goods that actually help trafficking victims.

5. What are some of the biggest challenges you've confronted as you've tried to inspire action on important social issues, particularly using technology as the tool?

The biggest challenge as been realizing that blogging or shoot video are not on their own forms of political empowerment. Early on, I went in to some projects with the assumption that just teaching people how to use social media tools, and having them create their own media, will grant them a social and political consciousness, and they’ll automatically want to form groups and advocate for issues they care about.

In really, things aren’t that easy. Being aware of your political situation, and wanting to change that situation, is dependent on hundreds or thousands of things and requires an education and a desire to engage in one’s community. Just learning how to shoot a video camera or write a blog isn’t going to get you there.

6. How do you stay motivated in your work?

Everything in my life seems to be connected to the work that I do, so motivation is never a problem. I’m very involved in politics, so working on social issue blogs and documentaries is a natural an extension of that.

I’ve found that the best way to stay motivated is to do focus on the things that you believe in, those things that get you out of bed in the morning, the things you want to change. If you’re satisfied with things as they are, why do anything at all? The best kind of work is about making the kind of difference you’d like to see in the world.

7. What concrete steps would you encourage young people to take as they work to serve their communities and their world?

First, join up with the groups that are engaged in the issues you care about. If you want to stop the genocide in Darfur, connect to groups on Facebook or Change.org or elsewhere that are interesting in stopping it. Use Meetup.com to meet people face to face (the best kind of group). Go to Google Groups and join a group there. If no group exists, create it.
Second, learn about the issues that affect your immediate community: your street, your neighborhood, your city. Go to community meetings and learn how people get organized and get things done. Organizing is the key component to any social or political work, and the fundamentals haven’t changed much, even if the tools have.

8. What advice would you give young people with an eagerness to change the world?

Don’t be seduced by the lure of shiny new tools. Twitter is fun, but Twitter won’t change the world: people will. Behind any fun technology or new invention are real, live people, and it’s the people that make them important. So the next time you think that video will the change the world, or blogging will change the world, remember that it’s always people, organizing with other people, that change the world, and focus on them. The internet helps us organize better than ever before, and it certainly can be the engine behind social change. But the actual vehicle is you and your colleagues.

9. Other advice? Personal insights? Illustrative examples of effective citizen media?

The site/project that first got me interested in using social media for social change was Global Voices (http://globalvoicesonline.org/). It collects blog posts from around the world written by journalists and dissidents, and functions as an avenue of free speech and political expression for people living in repressive countries. Also, it's run by some brilliant people who fully understand the potential of citizen media and are among its biggest advocates. The minute I discovered I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

In my work I've tried to emulate the successes and avoid the pitfalls I've encountered. I think that's good advice no matter what kind of work you do -- there's no shame in copying someone's good idea, as long as you add your own spin on it and use it was a way to learn.

One of the things I love about working in online media is how process-oriented it is; unlike a film, which is a finished, fixed product, a successful social media project develops over time and continues to adapt and innovate. So if your project doesn't at first succeed, keep working at it, include more people in it, and eventually you'll have something you can be proud of.