reporting – Citizen Reporter

Ruud Elmendorp: East Africa in Corona Times

Before there was youtube, twitter, or any other major platform for sharing video content, Ruud Elmendorp was producing content from the continent of Africa for the internet. His focus, then and now: everyday life.
With the onset of the global pandemic, Ruud is where he has been for the past two decades, trying to report on daily life from a region that doesn’t get the global headlines that North America and Europe do. Today on the podcast, Ruud Elmendorp joins us from Tanzania, to talk about life as a journalist in East Africa during corona times.

Videojournalist.nl

Ruud on Youtube

Ruud on Twitter

Note: Experimenting with Transcript Robots, today it is google and it is really not pretty. But, so it goes with experiments.

The Coincidences and the Big Picture

I’m probably a very annoying person to deal with on a daily basis, especially when I’m doing my typical “big picture” speeches and appreciating the life I’ve carved out for myself knowing full well how many do not get to enjoy, travel, try… as I have. I’m not sure what turn of events, what influential person or piece of media that I ever heard/read/watched, that made me someone that continuously comes back to one conclusion: despite some slim odds and all the factors that could have played out differently, I have arrived (as have so many of us) at this point in my life doing things I love to do, having people in my life (near and far) that I’m honored to know, and in reasonably good shape as far as the essentials of life go. Although much of the world seems so busy and eager to move past these types of observations, just as quickly as someone might be about to click away from this text, I think the ability to see it – especially at difficult moments- is something that needs nurturing.

Can everything change suddenly? – Of course. Are there worries? -I’m a citizen journalist in the year 2012; there are worries. Have there been set backs and tragedies? I think we’ve all had them, though again I feel fortunate having learned about and seen how bad things can be and are for so many in this world. Beyond all that – is it enough to just dwell on the big picture of fantastic coincidences that have led to a certain degree of satisfaction on a personal and work level? Probably not.

But still, as so many astute observers have stated, there is much beauty to be seen and experienced in this world. Sometimes it is right there in front of us, and we choose not to look or we lack the ability to see it, especially during moments of weakness. Think about the series of events that took place before you read this text today, and all the other factors that could have stopped you from reading it, but somehow didn’t come in to play this time. I believe there is something to be said for the good chain reactions of life. Maybe it is the power to recognize them and enjoy them, that helps us individually and collectively, find responses to the many challenges and problems of our world.

New Frontiers for Global Citizen Journalism

Photo Courtesy of CarribeanFreePhoto on flickr (thanks Georgia!)

Global Voices Online has come a long way since the days of being all about blogs from around the world. Just as the technology for publishing online and having conversations about issues that effect our lives has evolved, so too has this international project dedicated to multi-lingual, multi-cultural, grassroots reporting. In 2012 GVO are into more than just providing a place for translation and reporting, they’ve moved into specialized projects relating to advocacy, socio-cultural projects and protecting citizen journalists around the world. At this year’s Re:publica12 conference, I had a chance to finally sit down with Ivan Sigal, executive director of Global Voices Online, and we spoke about these new frontiers and how he sees where we are today as global citizens of many languages examining the world around us.

Heroes Often Turn Villans

Lots of random artifacts come out in the mainstream media that once belonged to Gaddafi. Today I watched a home video where he sits on a couch and kids around with his grand children. There he is, grandpa Muammar who clearly loves his grandchildren, same guy who ordered the mass murder of political prisoners, same guy who thought it was a good idea to start the African Union. The Dutch newspaper ran a series of photos of the Colonel, from his rise to power as a young charismatic military man to his last few years looking like the political Michael Jackson. This is was no monster. Yet he did monstrous things.

José dos Santos in Angola has been president for 32 years. He is, behind all the political pageantry, a dictator. But once upon a time, his party was the voice of reason under the brutal Portuguese colonial system. They helped liberate the country and went on to fight a civil war against what may or may not have been a madman (Jonas Savimbi). But here they are, 2011, the enemy of human rights and the antithesis of a party that was supposed to improve the quality of life for all Angolans.

Fidel Castro. Robert Mugabe. The ANC in South Africa. Bad comparisons? Perhaps. But the list of leaders and movements that started as heroes and later became something other than good to their fellow citizens is long. Whats more, it is often not possible for these leaders to recognize what they have become. They honestly seem to believe they are still doing what is right and fighting the good fight. Later some of these people are called monsters for the crimes they commit during their reign. But in reality, monsters are just people. Grandpa Muammar was Colonel murderer, and everything in between.

What we the observers of this world and the reporters that try to explain it all need to do, is not turn everything into some easy to swallow version of the truth. The truth is not black and white, it is grey. And by pretending it isn’t, we make it more possible for the same scenarios to keep playing themselves out. Yes, you might be the hero today, and that is wonderful. But remember, years later when you still think you’re the hero, you probably aren’t.

Observe and Report Brixton

It is the second day of violence on the streets of London. Seems like something from a novel or a news report from 1979, but this is going on right now in 2011. I’ve never been fully in tune with what is happening on the streets there before but in times of crisis like this I get reports and information not from the mainstream media but via trusted contacts in that region. If you are concerned about what is happening and seeking information, OR – if you’re there are you have something to report, I recommend doing so using the crowdmap for Brixton that is up and running. Go there, follow the simple instructions for reporting, and you’ll be helping not only to tell the world what is going on, but also to get more accurate information that might help those most immediately at risk.

bmtv120 Retweet Risks

A vlog entry regarding how tweets from conflict zones often get repeated and then expanded or exaggerated and then at some point becomes the story.. even if it isn’t accurate. Not to say twitter should be filled with fun, creative lies, and general randomness.. I like that too. But this is specifically about situations where we are getting our information from twitter about places where we can not go or are not able to get to in a moment. Places where sometimes, even the people who are there nearby, can still get the story wrong.