Image by Flickr user andreja2689 (CC-usage).

Osh’s English language newspaper, The Oshington Post, is organizing a five day training session on internet journalism and blogging.  The training will be lead by local volunteers and Peace Corps volunteers.  Participants will earn certificates.

August 17 - 21:

• 13:00 - 16:30
• Each day will have two sessions
• Topics: benefits of internet journalism, ethics of journalism, writing, photographs and graphics, working online, advertising.

Purpose:

The training sessions are for 25 people who want to write for The Oshington Post.  Please contact Maksud to register: zamaksud [at] mail [dot] ru.

In CyberChaikhana-related news, there are some promising developments on the horizon; for now, however, I must be hush hush about them.

I’m pleased to report that my lecture, “Log on, tune in, blog out: citizen-journalism, New Media, and subversive activity,” presented at Saint Joseph’s University, was well-received.

The lecture is a general survey of the darker side of Web 2.0-enabled New Media.  In particular, I explore some of its uses by subversive and revolutionary groups on the fringes of contemporary global society.  My case studies: Read the full story »

Last week I launched an informal survey on the subject of blogging and pluralism.  It was inspired by the Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme, a recent initiative of the Hivos Foundation in collaboration with the Kosmopolis Insitute and the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS).  Additionally, since this past March, Ben and I have also been using the editorial compilation process of the CyberChaikhana book as an internal pluralism audit of neweurasia itself.  I’ll let you all know the results in a few weeks (and as time goes on I intend to run more scientific surveys and studies, both of neweurasia and the Stanosphere).  In the meantime, I’d like to share a few thoughts on the role pluralism plays in a news service, especially one such as ours.

Read the full story »

How pluralistic is neweurasia?  Do our bloggers represent a multiplicity of points of view?  Are we effectively broadcasting alternative or underground points of view? Does blogging itself help or hinder democratic conversation?

These are some of the interesting questions that have been occurring to me as I’ve been pouring over the posts.  To get your insight, I’ve made this survey that I would love if you all filled out.  Keep in mind that by completing this survey, you’re not only helping me shape the CyberChaikhana book, but will be helping neweurasia itself to generate and deliver content of real value.

Also, of course, feel free to leave a comment to this post!

I’ve begun working on the manuscript; expect excerpts from chapters of the rough draft soon.  In the meantime, check this out:  last week I mentioned the World University Project (WUP), a very interesting endeavor headed up J. Nathan Matias.

“The World University Project will take a team of young academics to universities around the world to give workshops in their fields, connect students with their peers elsewhere, and create a digital documentary on the role of universities in the era of globalisation.

“With recent growth in international academic programs and increased emphasis on higher education in economic development, demand is growing for academics to teach and research outside their home country. In this dynamic environment of differing university settings and objectives, rising academics and administrators need to be prepared for the challenges of a career abroad, made aware of opportunities, and informed on the varied cultures, structures, and resources which define such a career.

“The global economy increasingly requires international awareness and cooperation. University life provides a common reference for students to consider each others’ unique lives. This project will make that connection possible.  By teaching workshops, the team will provide a service to participating institutions while working directly with students. The resulting digital documentary will then combine the stories of students, analyses from experts, and the team’s observations into a rich interactive resource. ”

The project is in need of volunteers.  If you’re interested in helping, please contact it at worlduniversityproject [at] gmail [dot] com.

Also, for those of you who will be in the environs of Kiev this October, make sure to check out Blogcamp CEE, an international conference on new media and online start-ups with a focus on Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

…remarked Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light bulb and a man familiar with the challenges of the creative process.  It takes real struggle to birth something, be it a child, a contraption, or in our case, a book.  We’ve come a long way with CyberChaikhana, and after the late-summer interlude it’s now time to leap back into the struggle.

I will begin writing the complete rough draft manuscript, chapter by chapter.  It will take me a few months to finish; as I proceed, I will release material.  Additionally, I will return to my previous habit of publishing a post in this space at least once a week.  I invite everyone to join our Google group to receive automatic updates, and most of all to spread the word — Schwartz and CyberChaikhana are back!

Here’s a round-up of all the pertinent posts herein:

• About the project
• The chapter list
• A sample chapter
• The selected raw blog materials for Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgystan and Kazakhstan
• A note about the productive Philadelphia meeting
• And a reflection on writing a book derived from weblogging

We’ve also attracted the attention of some very cool academics, including Mike Gallen, an Americanist from La Salle and Cambridge Universities who is now at Carnegie Mellon University; Sabrina DeTurk, an associate dean of graduate studies at Saint Joseph’s Univesity; and J. Nathan Matias, another Cambridge alum and founder of the World University Project, with whom I’ll be working in the near future.

There are also exciting things going on behind the scenes at neweurasia, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy.  Don’t worry, none of it is as dramatic as what’s happened lately on Wall Street, but the strategists are really going to try to push some boundaries during the next several months.

Recently, the U.S. State Department has ranked Uzbekistan among “top ten” of the most authoritarian countries in the world. During almost two decades of his reign, president I. Karimov and his clan have taken control of all spheres of life in the country – political, economic and social. Civil society, which emerged and was developing in the country after the collapse of Soviet Union, has felt the severe pressure of Karimov’s regime, especially after the Andijon events in 2005 that resulted in international sanctions on Uzbekistan. The state has full power over mainstream media in the country. Even though Karimov glorifies democratic values in his public speeches, there is no freedom of speech in the country. However, today, voices are breaking through via new media – blogs.

One of such cyber-activists is Gerchik, discussing sociopolitical problems in the country in his blog. Read the full story »