Hello World and jambo from Kenya!
Welcome to the Global Voices podcast. What is the future of online citizen media? In this edition (and the next) you will hear from editors, authors, co-founders and other participants at the 2012 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Nairobi to discuss the future of how we all work together online.
The Global Voices Summit takes place every two years and there are many topics on the agenda, possibly too many to fit into one podcast but certainly a lot of food for thought right here.
First, let's go way back, a long time in internet years and consider the origins of that thing we call Global Voices. Co-founder Ethan Zuckerman explains how Global Voices came to be, what happens at the Summits, and what he thinks the future holds.
The #GV2012 Summit is a place to meet and find out more about our authors, editors and contributors who travelled from all corners of the world. Everyone was excited, but one of the most thrilled participants was Elaine Díaz from Havana, Cuba. Here she explains a little more about citizens online in Cuba.
It wouldn’t be a Global Voices gathering without smart and vocal people from around the world. Andrea Arzaba is a journalist in Mexico and she collected some observations of the event, starting with her own reflections.
Daudi Were is a Kenyan blogger who writes on Mentalacrobatics. He was also the very entertaining MC during the public Summit meeting attended by 300 people. He explained his connection with Global Voices and how Kenyan technology continues to innovate, particularly in the area of mobile.
The impact of citizen media
Through Global Voices, many people who are sometimes overlooked are able to have their views and reports amplified.
Leila Nashawati Rego is a Spanish and Syrian human rights activist. She teaches communications at Carlos the Third University in Spain as well as write for a number of respected outlets. We discussed the growth of online citizen media and the results of that expansion.
So long, but not goodbye
Some bitter-sweet news came out of the Global Voices Summit too. Sami Ben Gharbia from Tunisia told us that he is stepping down from the position of Director of Global Voices Advocacy. So, naturally it was time to take a look at the work that he has done and find out what he will be up to next.
As ever, thanks to all of our contributors, producers and music makers who help to make this happen. You can find out more about the summit by checking the Twitter hashtag #GV2012 and by taking a look at the dedicated Summit pages.
The Global Voices Podcast. The world is talking, I hope you’ve been listening.
Music credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. Thanks to Mark Cotton for his fantastic creations and thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together.