A slickly produced reminder of the potential that blogs offer those whose voices are routinely repressed. Some of the images strongly recall Persepolis, a great animted film set in Iran, adapted from a graphic novel of the same name (here is its website).
Global Voices is a site developed by Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and is committed to revising the media inequities that see so much space given to American and European stories by the big news services.
GV looks to the blogosphere for a grassroots view of issues that are affecting communities around the world. Regional editors keep abreast of blogs in their area (or subject matter) and post daily links to interesting content.
Featured stories on the home page cover issues normally overlooked by Western media, and offers alternate perspectives to the mainstream. Generally the stories start with summary information from the author followed by a selection of blog excerpts on topic, with possibly photos, audio and video as well. See these stories for some fresh perspective:
A blogger profile of the author of Wahda Masyra – an Egyptian Girl, Shahinaz Abdelsalam provides a sharp reminder about how liberating the internet can be to people living in countries which implement repression and censorship. She actually speaks about the possibility of going to jail for the opinions she voices in her blog, which is a world away from my lax attitude to blogging.