· November, 2008

Stories about Advocacy from November, 2008

MEPs urge European internet and telecommunication companies to sign Human Rights code

  25 November 2008

According to a press release we've received from MEP Jules Maaten of the Dutch conservative VVD party, eight Members of the European Parliament called today European internet and telecommunication companies to join The Global Network Initiative and sign the Human Rights code, designed to safeguard human rights and freedom of speech online. The Human Rights code was recently signed by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!

Blog for a Cause guide is now available in Chinese!

24 November 2008

Nine months too late, but thanks to the same gracious individual who translated GVA's Anonymous Blogging guide, we are now able to present you with the Chinese version of Blog for a Cause!: The Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy: Download PDF “[T]o inform and to inspire,” for that is...

Iran: Cyber Writers Jailed and Threatened and Millions of Sites Filtered

  23 November 2008

Iranian cyber writers are facing a very difficult time. We can summarize Iran's current situation in three words: Jail, Filtering and Threats. Iranian authorities recently jailed two cyber writers. Read more in this post about the threats and harassment cyber activists are facing in Iran.

Yemeni blogger appeals to prevent possible assassination

  23 November 2008

In a rather emotional entry posted on his blog, Nashwan Abdu Ali Ghanim, a Yemeni blogger with blogs on maktoobblogs.com and kitab.com called upon international advocacy groups and the Arab Bloggers Union to come for his rescue upon escaping 'three failed assassination attempts'. Ghanim believes that his latest blog entry noting the involvement of senior Yemeni officials in the plotting of the attack carried out against the U.S. embassy in Sana'a on September 17, 2008 triggered a new wave of harassments and life-threatening acts.

Egypt: one blogger disappeared and another still in custody despite court order

  23 November 2008

Blogger Mohammad Adel who runs the blog Maeit (already dead!) disappeared since Friday, November 21, 2008. As reported by Wael Abbas on Twitter, Adel was supposedly going to meet with an American journalist for an interview, but the he did not show up. Blogger Mohamed Khairi is still in custody despite he received a release warrant few days ago. The Egyptian blogger who writes on “Jarr Shakal” blog (teasing) has been arrested at the dawn of the 17th of this November from his house in Fayoum governate in Nile Delta.

The Info-Activism Camp: Tools and Tactics for Digital Advocacy

  4 November 2008

Struggling to make an impact on your target audience? Are issues unresolved despite your best efforts? Are you excited about the advocacy potential of the Internet, mobile phones or information design, but uncertain about how you can take advantage of them? The Info Activism camp, to be held in Bangalore,...

Corporations Agree to Standards for Internet Freedom

4 November 2008

The Global Network Initiative has been launched. The Initiative is a code of conduct for corporations on privacy and free speech created by a coalition of human rights, media development and research organizations, and Internet and communications companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Its goal: to ensure that ICT companies acknowledge their “responsibility to respect and protect the freedom of expression and privacy rights of their users.”