Digital Democracy

What do wrestling, traditional dances, fashion shows and spicy noodle soup have in common? All were vital components of a Chin National Day celebration in Indianapolis, Indiana this weekend. February 20 marked the 61st anniversary of Chin National Day, celebrated by the many ethnic groups that comprise the Chin people of Western Burma. Over the [...]

This past Saturday, Mark and I attended the Mobile Tech 4 Social Change Barcamp in New York City hosted by MobileActive.org at Hunter College’s Integrated Media Arts Program. A barcamp, also known as an unconference, follows a more informal model from standard conferences: it’s designed to promote conversation and collaboration that may otherwise occur among [...]

Mark and Emily spent this week in Boston where they met with several people at MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media. In addition, they were the guest lecturers at Digital Democracy, an undergraduate course taught by Patrick Meier at Tufts University. Before the class, the students were encouraged to post responses to assigned readings (including [...]

This week, D2′s Co-Directors Mark and Emily are attending the Fifth Annual United Nations’ Web4Dev Conference, hosted by UNICEF. Web4Dev has re-united them with many of the other participants they met while presenting at the MobileActive 08 Conference in Johannesburg back in October including InSTEDD and Ushahidi. Thursday explored many themes including monitoring and evaluation, [...]

This past week completed a long month of proposal-writing for us. When we’re writing, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in a single proposal, or the smaller themes that run throughout each one. After we’ve completed one, we like to get an overview of our work, to see what is and isn’t being emphasized [...]

Recent news reports have been detailing attempts by Rohingya refugees to enter Thailand after fleeing Bangladesh and Burma, and the horrific treatment that has ensued. Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group originally from Rakhine State in Burma. Considered stateless because Burma denied them citizenship, and due to increased violence against the group, Rohingya were forced [...]