African bloggers are highlighting water related issues, from the politics in South Africa that led to suspension of a water quality expert, new devices for collecting and cleaning water, to the 'scramble for fish' the East African lake region.

CC licenced photo by Julien Harneis on flickr.

We start with South Africa where the blog Urbansprout highlights the suspension Dr. Anthony Turton . Dr Turton is a researcher who was set to deliver a presentation at the conference “Science Real and Relevant” in Pretoria. He was barred from delivering the presentation, and later suspended by The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The blogger includes the presumed reason for his suspension as communicated by the CSIR, but also looks at the content of Dr. Turton's paper[pdf on environment.co.za], noting…

Taking a brief look at Dr Turton's paper, he argues that a lack of investment in science, engineering and technology (SET) since the early 1990's, the termination of important research projects and the shift to a contract driven income model has had a “catastrophic effect” on our national scientific capacity to deal with the technical challenges our water quality is facing.

There is also the question of academic freedom of scientists to present their findings. Urbansprout quotes a science journalist reacting to news of Dr. Turton's suspension.

Science journalist and former Journalism head of department of the University of Stellenbosch, Dr George Claassen asserted that the withdrawal of the presentation by the CSIR was an “absolute disgrace”. “This is a very serious encroachment on academic freedom and the right of scientists to announce their results, no matter how bad those results are for our view of things,” he commented. Claassen noted that academic and research freedom was protected under Section 16 of the constitution, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.

Urbansprout provides the link for an online petition in support of Dr. Turton and concludes:

Turton's report highlighted that South Africa could be headed for a water supply and water quality crisis that could negatively impact on the economic growth and development of the country, as well as lead to social unrest. The findings conflicted starkly with recent government assurances that South Africa was not facing a water crisis similar to the one prevailing in the electricity-supply sector.

A previous post on Urbansprout gives more information about the water crisis in South Africa, which is characterized by sewage seeping from municipal treatment works to rivers. The water from the rivers feeds into the local tap water system.

A WaterMill is described on the BLDG blog as a device that “uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.” Rory of The Carbon Smart blog links to the BLDG post, and considers ‘micro devices' like the WaterMill, and whether this could be a source of clean drinking water for urban areas. He writes:

Discussion about the WaterMill — a small-scale dehumidifier that collects and cleans water from the air — leads to conjecture not only about how much of our drinking water could come from the air, but also about whether the urban microclimate could be significantly altered by installing thousands of these low-energy devices. Could we do away with a significant number of energy-sapping air conditioners by making our environment more comfortable through a combination of better building design, appropriate clothing, vegetating the landscape and reducing the ambient humidity with thousands of WaterMills?

In East Africa, the Kenyan blog Kenvironews highlights a piece by Namhla Matshanda of the African Security Analysis Programme. The piece looks at the conflict over Migingo island in Lake Victoria, which is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. The piece warns:

The so-called ‘scramble for fish’ in Lake Victoria is turning out to be a source of conflict between nations bordering the lake and could potentially threaten regional stability. In the past month alone there have been several incidents around the lake that have heightened tensions between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. It is now apparent that the main source of these incidents is the lack of a clearly delimited and demarcated border between the three countries sharing Lake Victoria.

Since 2003, a number of Kenyan fishermen have been arrested and their boats and equipment confiscated by either Tanzanian or Ugandan authorities for “illegally crossing the common borders.” The latest incident happened when about 400 Kenyan fishermen were kicked out of Migingo island by Ugandan authorities. Migingo is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. This incident has exacerbated the already strained relations between the two countries. The Kenyan fishermen have appealed to their political leaders to intervene, some even threatening violence.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, which takes place every year on December 1. Though the impact of HIV and AIDS is felt by millions of people globally every day, this particular day can help bring much-needed attention to the disease.

The theme for this year's World AIDS Day is “Lead – Empower – Deliver,” highlighting the political leadership required to truly combat the disease. While the global percentage of adults living with HIV has leveled off since 2000, 33 million people are still living with the virus and there are nearly 7,500 new infections each day. Rates of new HIV infections are also rising in many countries, such as China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Russia, and Vietnam. AIDS is also taking its toll — 2 million people died of the disease last year.

Blogs from around the world are putting faces to these statistics, sharing stories of caring for those with HIV/AIDS, how the disease impacts people's daily lives, and the stigma that accompanies the disease. These first-hand accounts show both the progress that has been made in fighting this disease, and how much work still needs to be done.

In Poz For Life 20-year-old Russell blogs from Australia about being HIV positive in hopes that it will encourage others to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and to play it safe. In his first post he recalls being tested for HIV and the awful waiting period before receiving the results. Here is how he found out he was HIV positive:

“I got there [the doctor's office] around 10:30am and went straight in, it was like they where waiting for me ready to take my soul and toss it out the 4th story. I went into his office and I sat down, then I hear ‘Russell am sorry to say but the test for HIV is positive.' I froze for a few seconds and just looked amazed. What felt like a lifetime of silence was around 30 seconds. I said ‘I was thinking it might come back that way.' I can't believe that I said that, really the first words out of my mouth was I thought it might come back that way.”

The AZUR Development organization's blog AIDS Rights Congo, a Rising Voices project, advocates for the rights of HIV-positive people. Their posts show the discrimination and stigma faced by those living with the virus in Congo. One post talks about the life of “Bernadette,” a young woman who is a clothing vendor at the Tié-Tié market in Pointe-Noire. Her life changes when her friend at the market divulges Bernadette's HIV positive status.

“At the market, her neighbors immediately desert their tables; which even attract the attention of those responsible for managing the market, who, conscious of the fact that having a table at the market is a difficult thing, are surprised to find empty tables around her. The situation has put everyone on alert, and those passing from far away can hear the neighbor’s gossip on the fact that she is a woman infected with HIV. However there are no outward signs that Bernadette is sick, one cannot read it on her face. The illness is not at an advanced stage and she is not on ARV [Antiretroviral] treatment. She is simply a normal young woman.

In a setback, traumatized by the situation, she stops her little shop.”

Juan Carlos, a 29-year-old from Ecuador, blogs about coping with being HIV positive. In one post he talks about the importance of balance and the benefits of talking to someone about what you're going through.

Hay mucha gente seropositiva que obvia la ayuda de los psicólogos a lo largo de sus vidas. Personalmente, si hay alguien que escuche o lea esto… yo creo que siempre es bueno conversar con un psicólogo cada cierto tiempo, hace que los días más sombríos se vuelvan más claros y nos ayuda a sobre llevar mejor nuestra vida con este virus y nuestros demás problemas.

“Many HIV positive people seek help from psychologists throughout their lives. Personally, if anyone listens or reads this … I think it's always good to talk with a psychologist from time to time, it makes the darkest days become lighter and helps us to better carry on our lives with this virus and our other problems.”

Pinoy Poz, who lives in Quezon City in the Philippines, blogs about living with HIV and the difficulties of disclosing his HIV status. He came out about being gay at the age of 21, but nine years later went “back in the closet” after finding out he was HIV positive. In this post he talks about how telling people he's HIV positive hasn't been as bad as he feared, but it's still hard.

“Honestly, I’ve been too chicken to tell some of my other contacts myself. And when I say contacts, I mean… okay, sexual contacts. So I did the next best thing. I backtracked through my sexual contacts up to more than a year ago, and had a friend contact them anonymously, to advise them to get tested for HIV. The reactions varied from asking who the sender was, replying to the anonymous number that they’d just gotten tested, sending foul messages to their alleged stalker, or most commonly, assuming that they did get the message, not replying. But I felt that was as decent a warning as I could manage.”

There are anecdotes similar to these posts from all over the world. This Global Voices Google map of HIV-positive bloggers highlights more voices of openly HIV-positive bloggers and caretakers, and other citizen media related to HIV/AIDS. So take a look and read their amazing stories. The map is embeddable, so you can add it to your Web site or blog. Though it is being launched in conjunction with World AIDS Day, the map will continue to be updated throughout the year.

Photo of AIDS Ribbon In Tree by ttfnrob.

Pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago, an official with the Kenya Seafarers Association said Sunday.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=XsJEF80A"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=QPwRB99F"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=gMH2wzfU"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?i=gMH2wzfU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=eVTVYd7y"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?a=IL1s9Zcs"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_topstories?i=IL1s9Zcs" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~4/42-x0e6xxok" height="1" width="1"/

Pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago, an official with the Kenya Seafarers Association said Sunday.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~4/idtDKqsUE5U" height="1" width="1"/

Pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago, an official with the Kenya Seafarers Association said Sunday.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=8ucMIdev"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=UwpV465i"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=eQ1RGxl9"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?i=eQ1RGxl9" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=Ylr6tDfj"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?a=fek8HCOh"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/rss/cnn_world?i=fek8HCOh" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/cnn_world/~4/kooQ9v8JZlY" height="1" width="1"/

Pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago, an official with the Kenya Seafarers Association said Sunday.

img src=http://www.bahai.fr/IMG/arton494.jpg alt= align=right width=100 height=43 class=spip_logos / div class='rss_texte'p class=spipspan class='spip_document_915 spip_documents spip_documents_right' style='float:right; width:303px;' img src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH129/carte_conferences-5733b.jpg' width='303' height='129' alt= style='height:129px;width:303px;' class='' //spanParis, publié le 30 novembre 2008 - Dans une lettre adressée à tous les croyants bahá'ís, en date du 20 octobre 2008 dernier, La a href=http://www.bahai.fr/La-Maison-universelle-de-justice.html class=spip_inMaison universelle de justice/a, le corps suprême au niveau mondial de la a href=http://www.bahai.fr/-La-foi-baha-ie-.html class=spip_infoi bahá'íe/a, a annoncé la tenue d'une série de 41 conférences réparties sur les cinq continents et s'étalant sur une période de quatre mois - novembre 2008 à février 2009./p p class=spipCette succession sans précédent de réunions se situe à mi-chemin d'un Plan de cinq ans [a href=http://www.bahai.fr/#nb1 name=nh1 id=nh1 class=spip_note title='[1] Les bahá#39;ís appellent Plan, l#39;ensemble des efforts et objectifs qu#39;ils se (...)' 1/a] - avril 2005 à avril 2010 - fait par les bahá'ís pour décentraliser une grande partie de leurs activités et organiser des a href=http://www.bahai.fr/Les-cercles-d-etude.html class=spip_incercles d'études/a, des a href=http://www.bahai.fr/Les-reunions-de-prieres.html class=spip_inréunions de prières/a, des a href=http://www.bahai.fr/Les-classes-d-enfants.html class=spip_inclasses d'enfants/a et des a href=http://www.bahai.fr/Les-12-14-ans.html class=spip_inprogrammes pour les jeunes de 12 à 14 ans/a dans leur voisinage./p p class=spipLes 41 conférences se tiendront aux quatre coins du monde dans des villes allant d'Abidjan à Yaoundé, s'étendant géographiquement de Vancouver à Sao Paulo, de Londres à Johannesburg ou encore de Oulan-Bator à Auckland./p p class=spipDans son message aux bahá'ís du monde annonçant ces événements, la Maison universelle de justice précise que le but de ces réunions est autant de célébrer les réalisations dans l'édification des communautés, que de discuter des leçons apprises et de délibérer sur la façon d'impliquer plus de personnes pour améliorer les sociétés dans lesquelles elles vivent ; une approche qui combine le développement spirituel avec le service communautaire./p p class=spipLes efforts fournis par les bahá'ís au plan local doivent continuer, « i class=spipquelle que soit la sévérité des crises qui enlisent le monde autour d'eux/i », indique la Maison universelle de justice dans sa missive./p p class=spipDans ce message on peut également lire « i class=spipDes structures financières considérées autrefois comme invincibles ont chancelé et les dirigeants du monde ont montré leur incapacité à concevoir autre chose que des solutions temporaires, échec qu'ils reconnaissent de plus en plus ouvertement...Quelles que soient les mesures opportunes adoptées, la confiance a été ébranlée et le sentiment de sécurité perdu/i »./p p class=spipLa croyance bahá'íe, soutenue depuis toujours, selon laquelle les civilisations matérielle et spirituelle doivent progresser ensemble, a été indubitablement renforcée par la situation mondiale, est-il encore écrit dans cette lettre./p p class=spipLa communauté bahá'íe de France est invitée à se rendre à la conférence régionale de Frankfort en Allemagne qui se tiendra les 7 et 8 février 2009./p h3 class=spipRenseignements détaillés sur les conférences :/h3 ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip1er-2 novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/lusaka.html class=spip_outLusaka, Zambie (en anglais)/a./li/ul p class=spipPour lire cet article en langue française, a href=http://www.bahai.fr/lien vers http://www.ni-bahaies.org/date.php?date=2008-11-02moisCal=11-2008 class=spip_outcliquez ici/a/p dl class='spip_document_916 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_C.R_1-dd27d.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 16.8 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongQuelques 750 bahá'ís, en provenance de Zambie, Malawi et Zimbabwe se sont rassemblés à Lusaka en Zambie les 1er et 2 novembre dernier, donnant ainsi le coup d'envoi à la première des 41 conférences régionales qui se tiendront dans le monde entier durant les quatre prochains mois./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip8–9 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/nakuru.html class=spip_outNakuru, Kenya (en anglais)/a. /li/ul p class=spipPour lire cet article en langue française a href=http://www.ni-bahaies.org/date.php?date=2008-11-09moisCal=11-2008 class=spip_outcliquez ici/a/p dl class='spip_document_919 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_C.R_2-1bdc6.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 15.5 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongDes bahá'ís en provenance de six pays différents avaient fait le voyage jusqu'à Nakuru au Kenya pour assister à la conférence régionale./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip8–9 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/johannesburg.html class=spip_outJohannesburg, Afrique du Sud/a. /li/ul p class=spipPour lire cet article en langue française a href=http://www.ni-bahaies.org/article.php?num=422 class=spip_outcliquer ici/a/p dl class='spip_document_918 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_2bis-66ccf.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 15.6 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongLa conférence de Johannesburg avec 1150 participants a été le plus grand rassemblement bahá'í à s'être jamais tenu dans le pays./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spipstrong class=spip15–16 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/bangui.html class=spip_outBangui, République de Centre Afrique/a/li/ul dl class='spip_document_920 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_3-18-9c098.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 16.4 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongDes personnes, qui ont marché entre 50 et 100 kilomètres, pour assister à la conférence posent pour le photographe./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spipstrong class=spip15–16 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/bangalore.html class=spip_outBangalore, Inde/a. /li/ul dl class='spip_document_921 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_3_bis-8ca96.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 14.4 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongDes participants heureux lors d'une session de travail en atelier durant la conférence de Bangalore en Inde./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spipstrong class=spip15–16 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/uvira.html class=spip_outUvira, République Démocratique du Congo/a. /li/ul p class=spipPour lire cet article en langue française a href=http://www.ni-bahaies.org/date.php?date=2008-11-16moisCal=11-2008 class=spip_outcliquez ici/a/p dl class='spip_document_922 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_3_ter-3e198.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 17 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongCe sont quasiment 800 personnes qui ont rallié la conférence d'Uvira, certains venaient de la zone de guerre située juste au nord. /strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip22–23 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://www.bahai.fr/lien vers http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/quito.html class=spip_outQuito, Equateur /a/li/ul dl class='spip_document_923 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_4-12-291cd.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 18.6 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongLes participants à la conférence de Quito saluent avec enthousiasme pour la photo souvenir./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip22–23 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/newdelhi.html class=spip_outNew Delhi, Inde/a /li/ul dl class='spip_document_924 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_4_bis-134ae.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 14.1 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strong68 ateliers avaient été répartis sur les terrains tout autour de la Maison d'adoration de New Dehli/strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip22–23 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/kolkata.html class=spip_outCalcutta, Inde/a/li/ul dl class='spip_document_925 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_4_ter-48790.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 14.1 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongLes participants à la conférence de la région d'Assam dans le nord est de l'Inde exécutent une danse traditionnelle./strong/dt /dl ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip22–23 Novembre 2008 :/strong a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/lubumbashi.html class=spip_outLubumbashi, République Démocratique du Congo/a/li/ul dl class='spip_document_926 spip_documents spip_documents_center' dtimg src='http://www.bahai.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L303xH112/photo_4_qua-180f7.jpg' width='303' height='112' alt='JPEG - 17.2 ko' style='height:112px;width:303px;' class='' //dt dt class='spip_doc_titre' style='width:303px;'strongPlus d'un millier de bahá'ís en provenance de la République Démocratique du Congo et de l'Angola étaient réunis à Lumbashi./strong/dt /dl p class=spipstrong class=spipProchaines conférences :/strong/p p class=spipLes comptes-rendus de ces conférences – en langue anglaise- seront mises en ligne chaque semaine au fur et à mesure du déroulement des conférences à travers le monde entier./p p class=spipIllustrés par de nombreuses photos, vous pourrez en prendre connaissance à la rubrique a href=http://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/ class=spip_outRegional Conferences of the Five Year Plan : November 2008 – February 2009/a du site officiel de la communauté internationale bahá'íe, le a href=http://news.bahai.org/ class=spip_outBahá'í World News Service/a/p p class=spipDes résumés de ces conférences régionales sont traduits en langue française. Vous pouvez en prendre connaissance sur le site des a href=http://www.ni-bahaies.org/ class=spip_outNouvelles internationales bahá'íes/a/p ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip29–30 novembre 2008 :/strong Antofagasta, Chili ; Manille, Philippines ; Yaoundé, Cameroun./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip6–7 décembre 2008 :/strong Portland, Etats-Unis ; Chicago, Etats-Unis ; Atlanta, Etats-Unis ; Almaty, Kazakhstan./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip13–14 décembre 2008 :/strong Stamford, Etats-Unis ; Dallas, Etats-Unis ; Los Angeles, Etats-Unis./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip20–21 Décembre 2008 :/strong Kuching, Malaisie ; São Paulo, Brésil./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip27–28 décembre 2008 :/strong Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip3–4 janvier 2009 :/strong Londres, Royaume-Uni./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip10–11 janvier 2009 :/strong Toronto, Canada ; Guadalajara, Mexique./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip17–18 janvier 2009 :/strong Lae, Papua Nouvelle Guinée ; Vancouver, Canada ; Managua, Nicaragua./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip24–25 janvier 2009 :/strong Oulan-Bator, Mongolie ; Sydney, Australie ; Madrid, Espagne./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip31 janvier–1 février 2009 :/strong Auckland, Nouvelle Zélande ; Battambang, Cambodge./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip7–8 février 2009 :/strong Frankfort, Allemagne ; Bologne, Italie./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip14–15 Février 2009 :/strong Istanbul, Turquie./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip21–22 février 2009 :/strong Baku, Azerbaïdjan ; Accra, Ghana./li/ul ul class=spipli class=spip strong class=spip28 février–1 mars 2009 :/strong Kiev, Ukraine./li/ul/div hr / div class='rss_notes'p class=spip_note[a href=http://www.bahai.fr/#nh1 name=nb1 class=spip_note title=Notes 11/a] Les bahá'ís appellent Plan, l'ensemble des efforts et objectifs qu'ils se fixent sur une période donnée. Le plan actuel, d'une durée de 5 ans a débuté en avril 2005./p/div

Rising Voices and Global Voices are holding a live online chat for bloggers and activists on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 (3pm Nairobi time) on how to use citizen media to help improve awareness and information about the AIDS epidemic. The chat will be facilitated by Kenyan bloggers Serina Kalande and Daudi Were.

Everyone is welcome.

Local Times: New York 07:00 | Buenos Aires 10:00 | London 12:00 | Johannesburg, Beirut 14:00 | Nairobi, Moscow 15:00 | New Delhi 17:30 | Tokyo 21:00 | Hong Kong 20:00 | Sydney 23:00

Chatroom: http://www.worknets.org/chat/

Login instructions: Click on the link above and login using your name. Then select the room you want to join by clicking enter. Once in the room, select a font color on the left side of the screen, and join the chat.

The chat will start out focusing on two Rising Voices grantee projects, REPACTED in Nakuru, Kenya and AIDS Rights Congo based in Brazzaville. We will learn how both organizations have implemented blogging and video outreach programs to spread awareness about their initiatives in AIDS prevention and advocating for the rights of HIV-positive individuals.

Other discussion topics include: What are the factors to weigh when HIV-positive bloggers go public about their status? How can blogging support networks form online? What about online forums? What are other new media tools, such as mapping mashups, that can be used effectively?

If there are other topics that you would like to discuss during the chat, please add comments below.