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Citizen Media in Uganda posted on April 25, 2010 - 8:21pm
I’m headed to the 2010 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in 10 days. Between now and then, I’ve been asked to put together a short overview of citizen media in Uganda, something I’ve had the opportunity to watch evolve from the pre-happy hour days to the citizen coverage of last September’s riots in Kampala and the burning of the Kasubi tombs. Blogren, I hope I’ve fairly represented our community. If there’s anything you want me to add, let me know by May 4 and I’ll do my best to share it with those at the summit. ### Stories about citizen media often focus on things gone wrong: disputed elections, natural disasters, or, on a smaller scale, neighborhood potholes. When I first began covering the Ugandan blogosphere for Global Voices, I wondered why the bloggers I knew weren’t writing about Parliament or peace talks with the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army.
Uganda: Will it last? posted on April 21, 2010 - 7:21pm
I just finished writing a paper on Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni for a class on African political economy. The starting point for the essay was an article by Harvard professor Robert Rotberg, in which he claims that “African leaders perform adequately during their early elected terms and then, in their second terms or beyond, become despots.” Museveni’s currently serving his third elected term after an initial four ten-year “interim period” between 1986 and 1996.
GV Uganda: Students riot, Kampala burns posted on March 17, 2010 - 8:14pm
Two separate tragedies struck Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on Tuesday: students at Makerere University rioted after the shooting death of two of their peers. And the Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the burial location of the king of one of Uganda’s largest ethnic groups, burned to the ground. Read the full post at Global Voices »
GV Transparency: Is ICT all it’s cracked up to be? posted on March 5, 2010 - 12:45am
As part of the Global Voices Technology for Transparency Network, my fellow researchers and I will be blogging about ICT all over the world. My first post, on a failed ICT for governance project in Sudan and the implications for tech efforts during the upcoming elections, went up today: In a December 2009 Global Voices article titled “ICT4D: Past mistakes, future wisdom,” Aparna Ray points out that many technology for development projects have “started with a bang and later died with a whimper.” According to a recent article in the Financial Times, such is the fate of a multimillion dollar World Bank plan to supply Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, with computers and Internet access. Read the full article » We’re hoping to get a discussion going over at Global Voices that not only highlights the tremendous power of the Internet and other digital tools, but also explores the challenges and difficulties of using these tools for political development and civic engagement.
A Song for Kansas Day posted on January 29, 2010 - 11:55pm
Wandering children of Kansas away, By mountain, by desert, or sea, Feasting or fasting, at prayer or at play, Whatever your fortunes may be, Open the doors of your hearts to the breeze, Prairie wind never are still, Hark to the surf in the cottonwood trees, The breakers that boom on the hill. Open your soul’s windows–let in the sun– The prairie sun gay with delight. Where’er your wandering pathways have run, Come home tonight. Come home where Kansas lies under the stars Twinkling back beauty and joy; Come and let homely love poultice your scars, Leave off your restless employ. Come home where summer winds billow the wheat, Where golden tides cover the sands; Come–let your heart’s longings hasten your feet And home love unfetter your hands. Come where the tawny sunflower eagerly bends A tawny frank face to the light, So do our hearts seek the joy of old friends– Come home tonight.— William Allen White, “A Song for Kan
Live from DC: “21st Century Statecraft” posted on January 21, 2010 - 5:44pm
I’m liveblogging Secretary Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom at The Morningside Post. You can follow along over there or below: 21st Century Statecraft
Global Voices: So much more than a blog. posted on January 8, 2010 - 6:11pm
I am proud to share a birthday with Global Voices Online (December 11 — mark it in your calendars, ladies and gentlemen). I celebrated my 25th with friends and ungodly amounts of cheese, while GV celebrated its fifth with a series of wonderful retrospectives. Me?  I’ve been holding off on writing my Global Voices anniversary post for the silliest of reasons: On the left is me, a bit disheveled after ziplining through the Atitlán Nature Reserve near Panajachel, Guatemala. On the right is Jeremy Clarke, who, in addition to being rather fetching in an orange helmet, happens to be both the first person in years to convince me to publicize my Facebook relationship status and the code and design wizard for Global Voices.
The Other Eight posted on January 8, 2010 - 6:16am
Uganda’s proposed anti-gay legislation has gotten a lot of press since its contents were made public in October. I think this is fantastic, especially as the coverage becomes increasingly focused on how this bill is partly a proxy for American culture wars, in terms of both American evangelical support for the bill and American LGBT activist opposition. Amidst all the media hubbub, however, I’m concerned that there has been so little discussion of LGBT-related laws elsewhere in the world.
Celebrating the new year with GayUganda posted on January 2, 2010 - 6:28pm
How to celebrate the new year, from GayUganda: I looked at the trans guy, and I decided that, even if dancing with him outs me fully, his feelings do matter. He wants to dress, flamboyant, flashy in Uganda. That is an expression of what he is, of what he feels. He might not fully understand himself. He might know less about what he is than I do know. Life is a journey, and he is still discovering what it is. In a place and hostile to gender role crossing like Uganda, his is a difficult journey. A very lonely journey even when he seems to be so confident and bright, a kingfisher bird amongst weaver birds. I didn’t take pity on him. I understood what he felt. And, I understood what I felt. And, we danced. Right there on the floor, with other guys around us, looking on. The music flowed, life pulsed, the lights throbbed. And, we were in heaven. Read the full post here.
GV Uganda: President Says He Will Block Anti-Gay Bill posted on December 23, 2009 - 10:07am
My next piece is up at Global Voices Online: Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 still awaits a final decision by the country’s Parliament, but the country’s Daily Monitor newspaper reported Wednesday that President Yoweri Museveni has “assured the US State Department of his willingness to block the Bill”: President Museveni has reportedly assured American authorities that he will veto Ndorwa West MP David Bahati’s proposed anti-gay law, a position that breaks with his recent stance and the statements of officials in his government. Read more » Gay Uganda and AfroGay, both of whom have been blogging tirelessly about the threat the Bahati Bill poses, are featured in the post.