Technology

From Student to Social Innovator

When Lima Madomi was a computer student in Afghanistan, she set her sights on becoming a technologist, despite living in an environment where few women get such chances. Now, she has not only become accomplished in her field, she’s gone further and become a well-recognized social innovator. Lima’s journey was supported by her participation in iLabs, an Internews project that convenes local experts in the fields of ICT, media, government, and civil society to work collaboratively to identify technology solutions to social problems. Lima, who was a budding social innovator in her own right, participated in the 2017 iLabs, and has since gone on to turn some of the social innovation ideas conceived into actual products that address social change. At the 2018 Social Innovation Conference, organized by TechNation in partnership with Internews to mark four years of iLabs, Lima was one of four female alumni who were selected to present their experiences. “iLabs gave me the platform to network with other developers and join forces to turn our ideas into actual products,” said Lima. A primary approach of iLabs was to put female developers on equal footing with their male counterparts. “There are not enough spaces where young female innovators can come together to learn and develop. It was at the iLabs that I got empowered to actually start developing workable solutions to the identified problem statements,” said Lima. The Social Innovation Conference also featured a Master Class and Global Showcase by two acclaimed social innovators from the sub-region. “I was very inspired by the stories of products being developed by other young women like me in Pakistan, India, and Bahrain, among others. I felt that this is only the beginning of what I, a female social innovator, can do here in Afghanistan.” Developing Innovative Resources for Local Needs Lima is now turning her attention to two products she has been developing over the past couple of months – an online bookshop, and a database of resources for local technologists. “As a woman, I’m able to develop solutions that take the unique challenges of Afghan girls into account, hence an e-shop where I could safely connect book lovers such as myself. The iLabs platform taught us how to take the context into consideration and develop products that respond to the needs of our target group, which is what I’m doing now.” Lima also drew her inspiration from homegrown products by Afghan female innovators just like herself: “To see other women who started out like me, showcasing their products that have made the news internationally, such as Asan-UP and Hujj Rahnuma, was a big inspiration for me.” Other young women in Lima’s cohort who have been able to benefit from the iLabs platform include Nargis Qaderi, who developed the winning App Hidden Angels to help local charities securely and ethically track and monitor the street children they support. • • • Innovation Labs (iLabs) was launched and is managed by Internews under the USAID-funded Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP), co-implemented with Counterpart International.

5 men stand in front of a bank of solar panels.

Beaming News to South Sudan

People were buzzing with excitement. In rural South Sudan, a beloved community radio station was doubling its broadcast hours. The enthusiasm could even be described as electric – but in this case, the power came completely from the sun. Mayardit FM in Turalei expanded from four hours in the morning and four hours at night to a full 16 hours of broadcast time, bringing news, information, music and sports to the area, and all powered by sunshine. Solar panels are installed at the Jamjang radio station by Issa Kassimu. Credit Internews“Before, we had problems with fuel because sometimes we ran out and the station had to shut down,” said Aguer Atem Barac, Acting Editor of Mayardit FM. “Sometimes there was a mechanical problem with the generator, and we had to shut down. During the rainy season, the price of fuel traditionally shoots up, or we just can’t move fuel from where it’s stored to where we need it.” In a country where radio is often the best way to reach citizens, because of low literacy rates and a broad diversity in local languages, renewable energy was the solution. Solar contributes to sustainability In Magwi, Central Equatoria State, local and relevant information can be hard to access. But the town has been fortunate to have Voice of Freedom FM, a community-run radio station that broadcasts in five local languages, covering local and international news as well as original programming on conflict resolution and peacebuilding, the rights of children, women and people with disabilities. Solar power kept Voice of Freedom on the air. Credit InternewsHowever, in early 2015, the station was forced to go almost completely off the air due to technical issues with costly generators, which, in the absence of a reliable electricity grid, are the default power source in South Sudan. Internews provided Voice of Freedom FM with a grant to install a solar panel system and the electrical setup to go with it. The station was able to resume normal broadcasting operations, providing a vital community service for listeners across Magwi county. “What is most impressive about Voice of Freedom is the dedication that they have from their community – they have loyal listeners, committed volunteers and a very impressive community board,” says Rafiq Copeland, former Media Initiatives Manager at Internews in South Sudan. “So in terms of sustainability, when it comes to support from the community, they were already there. What they needed was some assistance on the technical side, to allow them to be sustainable on that front as well.” Sustainable power isn’t the only benefit of solar. Since they were able to save money by using the solar system, Voice of Freedom FM was able to hire local journalists rather than rely on volunteers, improving the professionalism of the station and delivering more reliable information to their listeners. A mission to innovate and expand solar South Sudanese electrical engineer Issa Kasimu was behind Mayardit FM’s transition to 100% solar power. Two other stations in The Radio Community (TRC), a network of community radio stations across South Sudan supported by Internews and funded by USAID, have since gone solar with Issa’s help, and two more will convert to solar this year. Since 2013, Issa has traveled throughout South Sudan designing, installing, and maintaining electrical systems for Internews-supported radio stations. When Internews received a donation of some solar-compatible batteries from the United Nations Development Programme, Issa persuaded TRC management to trial solar power on a grand scale, as he passionately believed it would bring stability to stations as well as savings benefits – essential if TRC is to be sustainable in the future. “Solar is such a great solution for us in South Sudan,” says Issa. “With the country’s location near the equator, [Stations] can now bring information to their community with just the power of the sun!” Solar power installations require much less maintenance than generators. Credit InternewsOnce installed, the stations have found solar power affordable, clean and easy to maintain. It reduces annual operating costs by a stunning 92.8%. The result is more information, for more people, for more time each day. Solar works on the receiving end of information too – in 2017 alone, The Radio Community distributed more than 5,000 solar- and wind-up-powered radio sets to listeners. Journalists have long cherished the idea that “sunshine is the best disinfectant” – the belief that putting news out in the open empowers citizens to make informed decisions. In South Sudan, community radio is proving that sunshine may also be the best fuel. . . . Internews’ work in South Sudan is supported by USAID. Learn more about solar-powered radio in an in-depth guide published by Internews in South Sudan. (Banner image: The TRC electrician (center) and journalists by new solar panels installed at Mayardit FM. Credit Internews)

A woman signs a document sitting at a table. Five men stand behind her and two men sit next to her.

First Steps in the Fight for Journalist Rights in El Salvador

"The idea of creating a Security and Rights of Journalists Roundtable ensued in the midst of an atmosphere of insecurity of this guild, in addition to an environment wherein the relevant institutions were not engaged in the defense of the journalistic guild," - Dalila Arriaza, President of the Association of Journalists in El Salvador (APES). On December 11, 2017, the Association of Journalists in El Salvador (APES) together with Internews, the Salvadoran Office of the Human Rights Ombudsperson (PDDH); the Central American University (UCA), University of El Salvador (UES), Social Initiative for Democracy (ISD), Foundation for Studies for the Application of Law (FESPAD), Association of Independent Journalists of El Salvador (ASPIES) launched the Security and Rights of Journalists Roundtable. The Roundtable was established to guarantee journalist safety and the observance of fundamental rights in an integrated manner, in addition to advancing legal frameworks and public policies, such as protection mechanisms that guarantee the rights of journalists and social communicators, and encouraging awareness-raising processes aimed towards public officials and society at-large. Although the strategy and implementation phases encountered obstacles, APES did not cease to campaign with organizations and raise awareness of the need to have an open dialogue about the challenges faced by journalists in the Central American country. "The goal is to work as a team and not in isolation, so that the efforts of the organizations can be seen from the viewpoint of the defense of human rights, and from public institutions whose duty is to protect journalists, universities from the academic standpoint and other organizations that in the future could join the effort," said Arriaza. For the APES, Internews support during the development of the roundtable has been key. "Internews has never missed the opportunity to assist us, and this sends us the clear message that this is a significant initiative. The fact that Internews is at every meeting and has helped designed our agenda and set our collective goals is important to both the country and the journalist guild. Without the support from Internews, it would have been complicated to move this project forward." "The roundtable is a vital initiative that confirms that strengthening civil society organization, the APES in this case, results in the ability to petition and rally public institutions for the attainment of citizen rights and duties from these institutions. As an international institution, we have seen and cherished the APES’ effort in bringing together important organizations whose values are across the political spectrum, along with the involvement of Salvadoran Office of the Human Rights Ombudsperson," remarks Eileen Menjivar, Technical Director of Internews El Salvador. Dalila Arriaza in an interviewThis year, APES has set out to start working with the roundtable to strenghten in the face of conditions that could jeopardize a journalist's safety. "Thanks to the work by Juan Carlos Botero, with the support from Internews, we have a path to follow. For instance, there is an electoral process in which we want to assure that no problems arise in the protection and monitoring, during and after the March 4 elections," explained Arriaza. "What do we expect from them? The creation of a well-structured workplan and its execution in the short, medium and long term. This plan should reflect the formulation, consultation and approval of the Law for the Protection of Journalists, the activation of Emergency Committees by public institutions, and other initiatives that derive from the meetings of the roundtable. The most important thing will be to take the initiatives to concrete and real action supportive of the journalists and [human rights] defenders,” described Arriaza. "From the APES, we expect their consolidation as a leader in the matter, with structured work methodologies, which will be the most important achievement that Internews activities will have for the strengthening of journalist associations in the Northern Triangle, in this case, in El Salvador,” concludes Menjivar. Internews supports the Association of Journalists in El Salvador (APES) and its Security and Rights of Journalists Roundtable through Internews’ USAID-funded Regional Human Rights and Democracy activities. (Banner photo: Dalila Arriaza, President of the Association of Journalists in El Salvador (APES), signing the creation of the Security and Rights of Journalists Roundtable.)

Four young Afghan women look at a cell phone in one of the girl's hands.

In Study of Social Media in Afghanistan, Women Report Mixed Feelings

Wedding invitations in Afghanistan don’t bear the names of the women invited – they are only invited under the name of their husbands, or male relatives. In markets, women’s names are not spoken. Even on burial tombs, a woman may be referred to only as the wife or daughter of a man, not by her own name. With the hashtag #whereismyname, Tahmina Arian and a group of friends – young, newly graduated Afghan women – rallied attention to this common practice last summer on Facebook and Twitter, starting a conversation in the country and protesting the Afghan custom of erasing women's names. Social media is still in its infancy in Afghanistan, with a small and mostly homogenous user base of educated, relatively wealthy, predominately male users and only hundreds of Afghanistan-based public Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. But while small, it holds opportunity for engagement and expression. Without any trappings of traditional power or social capital, the group of young women started a public debate they would otherwise have no means to convene, without the platform offered by social media. These opportunities are among the findings revealed in a new report, Social Media in Afghanistan: Users and Engagement, prepared by Altai Consulting for Internews. By mapping Afghan influencers online and surveying users about their comfort with, reasons for, and use of social media, the report paints a picture and offers a deep repository of data on the changing nature of social media in Afghanistan and how it may shape public discourse in the future. Women’s Rights and Social Engagement Tahmina and the women behind #whereismyname are new to protests, but activists with years of experience have found similar power in expanding their advocacy online. Wazhma Frogh, a women’s rights activist, member of the High Peace Council, and the director of the Research Institute for Women, Peace and Security, uses Twitter not only to bring to light women’s rights issues in Afghanistan, but to share her views on other current events in the country with her 97,000 followers. She started using Twitter during 2013’s Open Jirga, when citizens could use their Facebook and Twitter platforms to submit questions for the televised debates. Wazhma said that in 2013 political representation was still scant on Twitter, but since then she notes that all relevant political stakeholders in Afghanistan have grown accustomed to using Twitter, an observation backed up in the report, which identifies Twitter as a more “official” channel dominated by politicians and media accounts. For Wazhma, this means that her words carry weight and legitimacy; other members of the peace council are aware of the reach of her voice on social media. It can be difficult to enumerate how social campaigns affect change directly, but they can create conversations that with momentum can translate to real life interactions. Indicative of the nascent relationship between online and traditional media in Afghanistan, Wazhma can point to TV and radio interviews that have resulted because of topics she’s posted about online. Harassment and Violence Online At the same time, the opportunities for women’s engagement online run parallel to a harsh reality for women in Afghanistan – intense harassment is prevalent for women, shapes their interactions online and offline, and shows little sign of abatement. Social media users in Afghanistan routinely make derogatory, discriminatory or even violent comments in reaction to certain content. Tahmina of the #whereismyname campaign receives lurid messages from strangers constantly and has been groped in the street. Wazhma regularly receives threats. They aren’t the only women to experience online harassment – it is so prevalent that women in universities do not share their real names in class, as they do not want men to harass them or find them again online, where social media is routinely used to question a woman’s integrity and respectability. And for the majority of women who are more private users of social media, using the platforms not for advocacy but for simple social interactions and information gathering, fears of public shaming or harassment, along with norms of Afghan society, shape their use. Indeed, almost 20% of female respondents declare being Friends only with same-sex relatives on Facebook – and 35% of female respondents declare only being Friends with relatives on Facebook. This reflects the well-documented wariness of Afghan women to interact with individuals beyond their direct family on social media, as they are targets of harassment. On the other hand, 67% of men declare being friends with a mixed-gender group of people that include both friends and family. The study’s findings suggest Afghan women have a complicated relationship with social media – they see the dangers, but also there is freedom for them on social media that simply isn’t available elsewhere. Social media is perceived to have had an overall positive effect on social issues by all private users surveyed, but perhaps surprisingly, women are more likely to perceive a positive effect than men. When it comes to privacy, 69% think it has had a positive effect on privacy, and again women are more likely to think so. This may be counterintuitive, as women are wary of having their information available online and feel vulnerable to harassment, but it also means there is an avenue for individuals to interact with people without the scrutiny of one’s family, for example. A Wider Snapshot of Social Media in Afghanistan Beyond gender dynamics, Social Media in Afghanistan: Users and Engagement is an unprecedented current examination of the development and influence of social media on open expression and social change in Afghan society. Findings, which can be explored more deeply in the report and accompanying data, include: Social media users are homogenous and concentrated on Facebook Users are predominantly young, urban and educated. Internet access remains the main barrier to social media access. 95% of social media users have a Facebook account. More than 80% of social media users access their accounts solely through their smartphone. Social media is filled with current affairs, but users would rather engage with entertainment and sports topics Media organizations have invested in social media enthusiastically as a new platform for their content, dominating the pages found online along with government, politics, and elections-related pages. The content that garners the most audience engagement, however, relates to sports, entertainment or national pride Social media is an extension of one’s private network first and a source of information second Interaction is primarily with existing family and friends, limiting direct engagement with individuals and ideas outside of established social networks. Awareness of content related to current affairs is high; mobilization through social media is much lower Mobilizing users through social media for a specific cause faces many hurdles, but the practice of reporting wrongdoing through social media is common and is the most direct impact social media has on Afghan society. For example, 62% surveyed believe social media has had a positive effect on corruption, which is frequently reported on social media. . . . Social Media in Afghanistan: Users and Engagement was produced by Altai Consulting for Internews, with support from Counterpart International under the USAID-funded Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP). Laura Lindamood is Internews Director of Communications.

Milady interviews a man in a business suit

Facing Digital Threats to Independent Media

Milady Cruz had a dream. She wished for a compassionate approach to journalism in her country. Her two decades of experience in radio and print media steered her to create Diario El Periodista, an outlet committed to principled and accountable reporting in El Salvador. Milady launched Diario in 2014. “Nobody told me how to start a business.” Milady recounted. “I had to learn on my own.” In the years since, she’s been proud of Diario’s coverage, particularly in reporting on vulnerable communities and profiling and featuring young entrepreneurs who have found success. However, she never imagined the hard lessons she would encounter along the way. “As a journalist, you assume you are in control,” she said. “You are not. You are vulnerable. You are exposed to threats, especially when you are investigating sensitive topics.” With El Salvador's high crime rate, journalists are subject to threats and intimidation for reporting on gangs and narcotics trafficking. El Salvador's constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights. However, some journalists report receiving threats from people they believed to be government officials after reporting on violence in the country. They note that these experiences can negatively affect journalists' willingness to report on the security situation. In addition, in this digital age, media also face the threat of hacking. In June of last year, the Diario’s website, its Twitter account and Milady’s personal email account were hacked. She lost a year’s worth of reporting. Yet, she did not abandon her dream. “We had to continue writing stories that transcended our challenges,” she said. Photo credit: Ovidio Sanic LariosMilady used her life savings to restore the website and rebuild Diario. In November 2016, she participated in a USAID-supported Internews regional bootcamp in Guatemala, where she learned the basics of digital and physical security from leading regional experts and expanded her data and investigative journalism skills. She attended sessions on data analysis, data journalism, investigative methods, encrypted messaging and mobile security, and with the 28-strong fellowship cohort—from her country as well as Guatemala and Honduras—she built her network. “I had to wait 19 years to learn how to protect my work and myself properly,” Milady said. The project enhances freedom of expression in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras by empowering local journalists to develop high-quality investigative reporting. It also provides them with the tools and skills to conduct investigations safely and avoid censorship, security threats and retaliation. The two-day digital security training session helped her identify the challenges faced by fellow journalists in the region. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet other journalists and learn that they face similar obstacles,” she said. “I’m not merely a journalist,” Milady said. “I’m a mother. I wish to develop professionally and personally. I want my kids to grow ethically informed.” “I ended 2016 on a high note,” said Milady, trying to hold back her tears. “I returned home invigorated and excited to confront the challenges. More so now that I have new friends that will support me.” This story was also published in 2030, a blog from USAID.

#KeepItCivil while Supporting Women, Free Speech, and Access to the Internet

When she was a young, single woman in law school, Mishi Choudhary’s father took her to meet an important and well-known lawyer, hoping he would inspire her. Instead, the lawyer told her she should not decide on her career path until she found out what her future husband would be doing. “It was a very dampening thing for a youngster… I did not know who I was going to marry, and [the idea] that an imaginary person was going to decide the course of my life was not very encouraging.” Suffice it to say, Mishi did not take the lawyer’s advice. Today, as a technology lawyer and online civil liberties activist, the founder of the Software Freedom Law Centre in India and the Legal Director of the NYC-based Software Freedom Law Center, Mishi represents the rights of Internet users and free software developers. An accomplished litigant, she is currently the only lawyer in the world to simultaneously appear on briefs in the US and Indian Supreme Courts in the same term. Mishi Choudhary is a partner with Internews’ Internet Policy Partnership Project (IP3). In this video, she speaks alongside IP3 partners from DRC and Colombia in a panel discussion, Internet Shutdowns and the Silencing of Dissent. Learning about Access at an Early Age Mishi was born in Delhi. Her father is a pharmaceutical manufacturer in India, considered “pharmacy to the world.” A common topic of discussion in the household was keeping the cost of drugs low to provide access for people in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. As a child, her father encouraged her to study Political Science and Law. “I loved every minute of what I was doing — it just opened my brain and my horizons to a very different world. I started in commercial litigation and was a criminal defense attorney for a while.” But after a while, Mishi felt drawn to a larger purpose and started looking for a way to use words to “make justice in the world.” “Coming from India where resources are limited and sharing is a big part of our culture…no matter which part of India you belong to, a big part of it is how you share knowledge in order to amplify and increase it for everybody else. And every day, stopping people from sharing knowledge with manufactured property rights of copyright didn’t gel with my upbringing and values. Then I discovered free and open source software and freeculture.” Combining Law & Technology Alongside law, Mishi also educated herself in computer programming as a hobby. While studying at Columbia University, she began to see a path to integrate the two. She was inspired by the Free Software Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Center for Democracy & Technology. “India is a very big country for software development but we had no legal services or advocacy organization that was even trying to pause and think about our actions and their impact on human society. So I decided, I’m going to do this and to have an EFF in India.” In 2009, Mishi founded the Software Freedom Law Centre in India, a donor-supported legal services organization that brings together lawyers, policy analysts, technologists, and students to protect freedom in the digital world. While Mishi has been successful as a lawyer, it hasn’t been without its challenges, particularly with regard to sexism in the workplace. “Misogyny is an Everyday Business” Subtle sexism is an ongoing issue, from being cut off when speaking at a conference, “mansplained” on social media, or being second-guessed by male lawyers whom she supervises. There is also the assumption that, as a woman, she doesn’t know how technology works. All this has made Mishi determined to provide a workplace that encourages women lawyers to participate fully and to stay in the workforce even when the demands of family life increase. “We have very good maternity and paternity leave policies. In my US office I saw my own boss encourage our brilliant business manager to bring her baby to work for almost a year every day. People would take turns babysitting if she was on a call. And the idea was that she should not be forced out of work. That really inspired me. We had one lawyer who had three kids and she wanted to leave early so we said, ok leave at four, which is unheard of in a law office, but she would work from home after her kids had gone to bed and she had spent time with them.” Mishi encourages the young women lawyers who work for her to present at conferences even when they feel unsure of themselves, telling them it’s ok if you “screw it up” because it prepares you for the big speech you may give someday. She wants women’s voices to be heard at the conferences and on the Internet. Silencing Through Cyberbullying Mishi also confronts much less subtle forms of sexism, including overt harassment. Just last month, 20-year-old student activist Gurmehar Kaur in India posted a photo and message in response to a right-wing student group which had vandalized Ramjas College to protest an invited speaker. Because she expressed an opinion online, Gurmehar received rape and death threats on social media from thousands of individuals. Mishi, among others, came to the defense of Guremhar. “Our hashtag and call for this project has been #keepitcivil. You can have different points of view. But you don’t have to start calling out and abusing each other’s parents and mother and daughter and then call out their caste or color of skin. All this is irrelevant.” Despite her call for civility, Mishi woke up the next morning to a barrage of hateful messages ranging from personal to professional. “And as a person, it’s not very easy. It can shake you to the core…especially if somebody starts doxing, or saying ‘ok we’ll come and get you and rape you, throw acid on your face. This is what we will do to you.’” Mishi notes that online harassment happens to both men and women but women are particularly targeted and silenced with rape and death threats. In December 2016, her organization released a report called Online Harassment: A Form of Censorship that compiles findings from a year of research into the issue and offers recommendations for individual users, platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and law enforcement agencies. Getting the Rest of the World Online Despite the perils of online harassment, Mishi sees great potential in the Internet for education and expression. For those who lack access to the internet today, particularly the poor, Mishi seeks avenues for them to come online as not only consumers of data but also producers. But they need to be able to access the Internet without sacrificing their privacy and data, she says. “A lot of big companies like Facebook want to offer internet access in guise of philanthropic measures such as ‘free basics,’ in return for data. What I’m observing is that there’s an increasing way of slicing the Internet. Only some people own it and privacy becomes the luxury of the first world. If privacy is important to Mark [Zuckerberg], then it should be equally protected for that person in India in a village who can barely afford a very cheap feature phone. We are very smart people in this world. We should be able to figure out how not to give up data and privacy and still have all the benefit. That’s the kind of access we want for everybody.” Follow Mishi Choudhary on Twitter Mishi Choudhary is a partner with Internews’ Internet Policy Partnership Project (IP3). Through IP3, Internews works to create strong policy enabling environments to support internet freedoms in countries by providing direct legal, policy, advocacy, and financial support to leading human rights defenders and civil society organizations. Since 1999, Internews has been dedicated to furthering digital rights and human rights online, and has worked extensively to support internet freedom communities to promote regulations to unhindered access to ICT services worldwide. Through its Global Technology Programs, Internews has developed the capacity of a cadre of internet freedom advocates across four continents in more than 30 countries worldwide.

A man stands in front of a bank of solar panels

Radio Run by the Sun

“Solar has worked very well in Turalei,” said Issa Kassimu, The Radio Community’s Electrical Engineer, “and with the right design, it can work here, too!” Issa was addressing Radio TechCon, the UK radio industry’s annual technical and engineering conference. Nearly 150 attendees listened as Issa described his project converting Mayardit FM, a station in Turalei, South Sudan, to 100% solar power. Issa Kassimu addresses the Radio TechCon audience. Credit: InternewsAs of March 2016, the station has been running exclusively on sunshine, with broadcast hours extended from 8 to 16 hours a day. So far, it has had no downtime. “The sun charges the batteries,” explained Issa. “The batteries then give power to the station’s equipment and transmitter. If the batteries are full, the sun powers the equipment directly. When there is no sun, the batteries take over.” “We can run for 24 hours with no sun,” he added. There is little grid electricity in South Sudan, which means that stations have to rely on expensive generator power. As is typical for stations in the country, Mayardit FM had long faced challenges related to high fuel costs, unpredictable fuel availability, and intensive maintenance. Sometimes the station would be off-air for several days. Issa’s project created the first 100% solar-powered station in The Radio Community, a network of community radio stations across South Sudan supported by Internews and funded by USAID. “The annual running costs are significantly cheaper,” Issa explained to the audience. “When there was fighting elsewhere in the country, we were able to stay on the air, as we didn’t have an interruption in the fuel supply.” As South Sudan is near to the Equator, it seems an obvious location for an experiment in solar power. However, Issa was keen to explain that solar can be used anywhere in the world — so long as stations plan the right design. “Even in a country like the UK where it rains a lot of the time, it is still possible,” he informed the audience. Issa talks with an attendee at Radio TechCon. Credit: Internews“You need to calculate every piece of equipment which might be used, and include some headroom. Don’t forget the necessary things like a kettle — you will still need to drink tea, as it is cold here!” he joked. “You can also opt for a hybrid system, where you use half solar and half grid or generator power,” said Issa. “Solar is for everyone!” Issa Kassimu addresses the Radio TechCon audience. Credit: InternewsIt is not the first time that The Radio Community has been represented at TechCon. Last year, Senior Broadcast Engineer Steven Lemmy and Eye Radio Studio Manager James Kwaje spoke at the conference about the difficulties faced by broadcast engineers in the world’s newest nation. Once again, the contribution from South Sudan was considered a conference highlight. One delegate remarked, “I remember seeing the talk last year about how hard it is to stay on air with the heat, fighting and problems with electricity supply. It’s wonderful to see that the creative engineers have returned with a way to solve the energy problem.” As well as giving a presentation, Issa and Steven were able to hear talks on the future of radio from British academics and broadcasters, including the BBC. They also visited the BBC World Service, and conducted factory acceptance testing on the new playout system for The Radio Community. Internews released an in-depth report on the solar-powered transmission, co-authored by Issa. As well as the background to the project, it includes technical specifications, costings, and a section on user-centered design. There is also a detailed “how-to” manual, which can be used by anyone interested in designing a solar system and weighing its feasibility for their own radio station. You download a copy of the report on the Internews website. Ann Charles is an independent consultant and technical trainer working with Internews in South Sudan. She is also an organizer of the Radio TechCon conference in the UK. The Radio Community is supported by the USAID-funded i-STREAM project, implemented by Internews. Banner photo: Solar panels at Mayardit FM. Credit: Internews (This story was originally published on Medium.)

Dwellings in Mandalay - one has a satellite dish

Combatting Online Hate Speech in Myanmar

They noticed the signboard as soon as they arrived at the village of Kone Thar. The message seemed clear enough: “No Muslims allowed in this village!” It turned out to be more complicated though — there had recently been a conflict between the Buddhist and Hindu communities in the local area, part of Mandalay division in central Myanmar. So why did these Buddhist villagers have problems with Muslims? As the trainers soon found out, local villagers viewed both Hindus and Muslims as “Kalars,” a widespread slur in Myanmar for people of Indian origin, most of whom are descendants from immigrants brought by the British during colonial rule — when Myanmar was a part of British India. Creating safe spaces online Hsu Hsu and Hein, who had come to Kone Thar to lead a “Safe Online Space” (SOS) training organized by Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO), realized that this workshop was going to be more sensitive than some of the other trainings they had held. Rumors abounded in the village relating to a case of intermarriage between a Buddhist and a Hindu. Local Buddhists told Hsu Hsu that “they accept diversity but there is a responsibility to maintain their religion. They don’t hate ‘Muslims’ but they are afraid of them,” she recalled. A “Safe Online Space” (SOS) training organized by Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO). Credit: MIDODuring the three-day workshop, one of the participants, a teacher at a public school, explained more. “We are afraid of Kalars, mainly because of the news we see on the Internet.” In Myanmar Facebook is the Internet, used as a key source of news and information as well as a social network. It has also become an easy way to spread rumors and dangerous speech, often against Muslims. Mandalay is the heartland of the radical Buddhist Ma Ba Tha movement, whose leader, the monk U Wirathu, is based in a monastery in the region. Ma Ba Tha has proven particularly sophisticated in using Facebook for attacks on Muslims. Posts widely shared on Facebook, such as fake news about rapes that never occurred, have helped inflame sectarian Buddhist-Muslim violence that has cost hundreds of lives in various parts of Myanmar since 2012. A screenshot of some of the viral images that portray Muslims as being dangerous. Screenshot by: MIDOBurmese villagers with little education like those in Kone Thar, who cannot even tell a Hindu from a Muslim, easily fall prey to such propaganda. “Some users believe whatever they see on Facebook and share it without first finding out if the post is true or false,” noted Gar Gar, MIDO’s project coordinator. It is very widespread for Burmese to use nicknames on Facebook rather than their real names, which makes it even more difficult for users to understand where controversial information originates. Training finds an unexpected audience But in Kone Thar, MIDO’s SOS training workshop could make a difference. Somewhat unexpectedly, it attracted not only members of local community-based organizations working on issues such as land rights, but also followers of the Ma Ba Tha. They had misunderstood it for a training in how to make one’s social media communication more efficient. But instead, when Hsu Hsu and Hein spoke about how social media can either be used to mobilize communities for peace, or to stir up conflicts through dangerous speech and spreading online rumors, it triggered an open conversation. “I am surprised to see that your theory looks exactly like what has been happening here,” the local teacher confessed. “It means somebody is deliberately trying to organize riots. It is important that we realize this and don’t fall for it. I’ll try to pass on this knowledge and message to my friends.” A “Safe Online Space” (SOS) training organized by Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO). Credit: MIDOHsu Hsu is a Buddhist herself. “But as a trainer, it is vital to be neutral when we discuss religious issues,” she emphasized. “The participants came to accept that every religion has its own way to peace and we have to avoid blind nationalism in order to live in harmony. Their mindset has changed positively.” Online hate speech (not necessarily limited to what legally qualifies as hate speech in certain countries, but more broadly systematic attacks on vulnerable groups such as ethnic and religious minorities) has recently become a concern in many democracies. It is a tricky issue — research has shown that the political context is crucial, and it is not easy to pick out hate speech just by searching online platforms for certain key words, for example. MIDO’s monitoring of problematic Facebook accounts, which was supported by Internews along with the Safe Online Space trainings around last year’s elections in Myanmar, found that many posts simply tried to insinuate links between Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party and Muslims — in order to discredit the popular leader with the country’s Buddhist majority. Possibly because of the paranoia created by this campaign, the NLD did not dare field a single Muslim candidate and has been extremely cautious in talking about sectarian violence. In a research project with Oxford University, MIDO identified certain patterns that are commonly used in hate speech. In Myanmar, as elsewhere, it is very common for example to frame the targeted group as a “threat” of some sort — which then leads to villagers such as those in Kone Thar being afraid of Muslims or “Kalars.” Most anti-hate speech projects combine various approaches and experiments to find the best ways to tackle the issue — research, social media monitoring, dialogues and briefings for journalists, civil society groups and other key stakeholders, and digital media literacy trainings. The right answer also depends on the specific case — for example, to what extent the hate speech campaigns are coordinated, as appears to be the case in Myanmar, where columnist Mon Mon Myat who has been tracking notoriously malicious Facebook pages found that they originated from the same IP address. For Internews, combating online hate speech is becoming more important, as the bullying on social media significantly restricts the ability of marginalized groups, such as women and LGBTI activists, to raise their voices. It has been shown to lead to self-censorship, or to victims of online abuse deactivating their accounts because they cannot tolerate the harassment. Thomas Baerthlein is Internews’ Program Manager for Multi-Country Projects. Internews’ work with MIDO was supported by the Dutch Foreign Ministry. (This story was originally posted on Medium.) Banner photo by Seth Tisue/Flickr/CC)

Xiomara stands in a field with mountains behind her

Undercover and Working for Change

At a quick glance, Xiomara Orellana doesn’t seem to fit my idea of risk-taking, investigative reporter. Xiomara appears as a prudent, middle-aged woman who is well-measured in the use and timing of her words. Her eyes, however, give away her secret. As a journalist working for decades in Honduras, Xiomara has seen and lived a great deal. I sat with Xiomara last month to discuss journalism, her experience in this field, the power and challenges of practicing journalism in Honduras, and her utopian vision of journalism as a means to improve society. Her inspiration to pursue journalism came from her youngest days. “My father was a correspondent of a newspaper from the western part of Honduras, so since an early age el gusanito [journalism] captivated me,” she said. At the age of 14, Xiomara participated in a contest to be radio newscaster, and she never looked back. After college, Xiomara went to work in television, but for the past eleven years, she has worked in print media, and found her passion. “I found my place in print media because I like to write. Because unlike television, where every minute is counted and you must choose between what’s important and what’s most important, print media gives you the opportunity to deepen on issues related to agrarian conflicts, violence, gangs, human trafficking, and narcotrafficking,” she said. A Passion to Explain the Migration Experience “I did the mojada [a term for migrant used commonly in Central America] migrating route three times in order to tell the story of migrants who travel from Honduras to the United States,” Xiomara said. The first time, she got as far as Reinosa, Mexico. The second time, she crossed the border and made it to Tucson, Arizona via Nogales. U.S. border patrol agents ultimately detained her in Nogales, but after realizing that she was a journalist, they let her go. “I slept in the houses of immigrants [along the route], and sometimes in the train [better known as La Bestia — the Beast]. We went through a lot of hurdles, but I’m really passionate about migrant issues,” she told me. By her third and last journey, she had learned to bring cigarettes, water and money. Another journalist had advised with these three items, you “can share with the bad guys [you encounter along the route] and gain their trust.” That’s precisely what happened. As Xiomara and a photojournalist traveling with her walked along the tracks of The Beast towards Arriaga, Mexico, she met a member of the mara gang — or marero — whose trust she gained. “He would say at first that I didn’t look like a typical migrant; he didn’t know that I was a journalist. I told him that I have been laid off of work, and I befriended him by giving him cigarettes and water,” she said. “When we got to Arriaga, Mexico we [a group of ten, among them real migrants] were all tired, and at that moment we gave a contribution to buy tortillas and a kilogram of cheese. We sat in a circle on the edge of the tracks of the train and started to eat. In that moment, my photographer saw the opportunity for a spectacular photograph; all of us sitting with a pile of tortillas and cheese, eating. I think he forgot [the risks] at that moment, so he took out his camera and took a picture” she said. The “click click” sound of the camera immediately disrupted the peaceful, communal moment, and the marero along with other “bad guys” started to beat the photographer. “I had to intervene. I told him that we were journalists, so he turned towards me and told me that we had three minutes to disappear” she said. This was a great lesson for Xiomara, who thanks God and can only speculate on how handy the cigarettes that she gave the marero were when he “forgave her life.” Accepting Risk in Pursuit of ‘Ideal’ Journalism “I have a philosophy of never regretting what I do. Because behind any and every thing [in life], there’s learning and an experience. And in spite of the dangers and risks, I like what I do and I think that I’d continue doing it” she said. Besides, Xiomara believes that journalism plays such a crucial role in society. “The essence of what you do is in the impact that it has on people; for you to inform, change, help consolidate democratic societies. So you can open people’s eyes, tell them the truth but without implanting fear in them” she says. Xiomara at work. Photos courtesy of Xiomara OrellanaIn an ideal world, “journalism would not have to practice self-censorship. On the contrary, journalists would be equipped with the necessary tools to inform about issues. The day journalists can carry out their work with freedom and without fear of retaliation, and of course with the support of their supervisors, that day we will be practicing ideal journalism.” “[Citizens] must understand that they too need to play a key role in the quest for solutions to some of the problems that afflict us all; it is within their hands,” she said. At the end of our conversation, Xiomara wondered why, of all the participants we were working with, I’d asked her for an interview. And perhaps, given her unassuming personality, I wouldn’t have picked her out of a crowd. I didn’t know much about her before we spoke, only that as an investigative journalist in one of the region’s most dangerous countries, she had to be an interesting, tenacious woman. And in the end, my suspicion was right. Xiomara was one of twelve journalists and communicators from El Salvador and Honduras who participated in a Training of Trainers (ToT) on investigative journalism, data journalism, and digital and physical security organized by Internews in San Salvador, El Salvador, and funded by USAID. This activity is part of Internews’ “Promoting Journalism and Freedom of Expression” project, which seeks to enhance freedom of expression in the Northern Triangle region through empowering local journalists to develop high-quality investigative reporting that sparks public dialogue about human rights violations, closing political spaces and other constraints to freedom of expressions. Carolina Gomez Martin is Program Associate for Latin America and the Caribbean for Internews. (This story was originally posted on Medium.)

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