activism
Activist Ahmed el-Senussi: Libyan prince and human rights hero
Currently a member of Libya's national transitional council, the prince was in solitary confinement during his imprisonment and did not speak to a single person for nine years. We meet in Strasbourg where the former prisoner of conscience was one of five Arabs to win the Sakharov freedom of thought prize for 2011
activism, prison, arab spring, muammar al-gaddafi, tunisia, freedom of expression, brunch
Gallery
United Hush-ia: will Russians elect another doomed Duma?
On 4 December Russians will elect a new parliament. Whilst ruling party United Russia has been in power for over a decade, it looks set to reduce its majority in the lower house, or State Duma. The centrist party’s success will doubtless foreshadow Vladimir Putin’s comeback as president in a ‘job swap’ with Dmitry Medvedev at elections in March 2012. Behind the scenes of this circus, the chorus is beginning to grow edgy. Whilst over 60% of United Russia supporters are female and its popularity is growing amongst young people and across a strengthened Eurasian region, more and more journalists, activists and students are speaking out, especially across social networks. Even the purported star of the show Putin has lost favour, receiving his first ever catcalls. Has the bread and circuses act fallen through? (Image: © Kristof)
- Read the special edition United Hush-ia: will Russians elect another doomed Duma?
- Boo-tin: Russian prime minister Vladimir catcalled in public
- Why I like Putin for president: young Russians speak
- Cyril Tuschi’s ‘Khodorkovsky’: 'I’m not so frightened - I’ll be flying to Moscow premiere'
- Strategy 31: Russians protest for right to demonstrate
- Reforms and Russians: mapping young people’s stalled futures
- Dear granddad, for Christmas I'd like a Eurasian union
Ukraine, Belarus, Egypt...free the online activist in you
Ukraine’s ‘Day of Wrath’ against its president on 14 May has been organised online. Belarus’ internet is the only escape from regime propaganda. The Arab world reported its transitions online. Amidst these examples, Peter Ludlow, cyber rights activist and philosophy professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, emphasies that politics can be influenced in bottom-up solutions. Interview
activism, iryna vidanava, arab spring, euro-arab dialogue, belarus, kiev, minsk
Green Rome’s periphery: get thee to the Casale Podere Rosa cultural centre
On the urbanely disfigured periphery of the Italian capital, activists have spent the last two decades using tools such as squats, organic food markets, film projections, solar panels and the idea of Italian environmental memory to promote a more convivial and environmentally friendly way of life
activism, rome, ecology, suburbs, italy, green europe on the ground, green cities
Berlin citizen power: GreenLeaks, Stuttgart 21 and water privatisation
One of Europe's most politicised and strictly environmentally-ruled cities is home to a green-themed Wikileaks spin-off, run by an Australian documentary maker. The mood for disclosure is also celebrated in the annual film festival, which has incorporated the city's first successful referendum into its programme
activism, water, cinema, julian assange, train, green europe on the ground, wikileaks
Moldava youth: one year after riots, we vote!
Moldavans are called to vote this Sunday for crucial parliamentary elections. For 18 months, this small country - the poorest in Europe – has been functioning without a president, blocking any ambitious political initiative. Two days before the election, it is impossible to know who has the best chance to win. The only certainty is that young people have played and will play a decisive role. This major political force which has become indispensable and wishes to make itself heard is back on the rise
activism, chisinau, moldova republic of, world affairs, elections, mayor, politics
'Eco hippies' on carbon-neutral weekend in the Vosges, France
Four months on from the Copenhagen summit, the failure of a global climate change policy hasn't crushed or reinvigorated the motivation of environmental activists. In the Vosges region of France, Elise's carbon-neutral weekends indicate that changing our way of life may be key to saving the planet
activism, economical crisis, lifestyle, biofuel, public health, consumption society, ecology
Far right, far out!
The far-right movement in Europe is resembling a round of shooting stars. In early March, Dutch politician Geert Wilders made big gains in local elections. The Lega Nord (Northern League) in Italy and Jobbik in Hungary too are clocking up the seats in their national parliaments. French ultranationalist Le Pen's daughter Marine continues his legacy. There's also the question of a European underground though, who are cultivating populist anti-islamic, anti-globalisation and regionalist discourse. What is taking place in a Europe of 2010?
- Read the special edition Far right, far out!
- Casa Pound Italia: Neo-fascists on the rise
- Bloc Identitaire: lowdown on France's new far-right
- Germany's far-right: style and tea party shakeup
- The Netherlands, France, Italy: rise of Europe's right-wing
- Understanding nationalist ideology in Hungary: 'enormous potential for violence'
Moby: free Europe concerts for climate change
'Play4Climate.eu' raises awareness among Europe's youth before the December UN summit in Copenhagen. We chat to the American musician/ activist
activism, copenhagen, barack obama, art for free, green, music, united nations
Clermont-Ferrand – where are the right-wing?
How and why has the French city been obstinately socialist for 60 years? We look at its challenge for the 21st century
activism, mayor, right wing, socialist, clermont-ferrand, europe on the ground, politics
Youth in Estonia: no country for student activists
Talking politics to Estonians is more likely to make the temperature drop than the Baltic chill, whilst Europe is remote from students' daily concerns
activism, best of cafebabel.com, tallinn, identité européene, tallinn, european elections 2009, eu debate on the ground
Photos: Prague Spring, forty years on
On 21 August Prague commemorated forty years of it’s famous democratic ‘spring’, which ended revolt in the capital this past century. The spontaneous protest caught the world by surprise, before it was reprimanded by the Soviet regime. Images
activism, photogallery, communism, photo, violence, photography, soviet
4x4s: urban penis substitutes
As night falls across cities in Europe, including here in Lyon, 'eco-guerillas' deflate four-wheeler car tyres in a revolt against a lifestyle which they find scandalous
activism, underground, 4x4, lyon, environment, climate change, protest
Bike traffic: return of the scorchers
Environmentally conscious cyclists regularly battle errant cars in European cities
activism, germany, berlin, activists, asia, green cities, china
International Roma Day: Aladár Horváth on reality TV in Hungary
A leading activist denounces ghettos and the media-created ‘exotic trash’ images of Europe's biggest minority of eight million people, who celebrate their day on 8 April
activism, discrimination, hungary, aladár horváth, roma, family, budapest
FREEZE! by the Eiffel Tower in Paris
On 8 March 2008, 3, 000 people suddenly stopped dead in their tracks and froze like statues at the Trocadero Square 'because we usually spend all day long running around like lunatics'
activism, video gallery, internet, facebook, flash mob, paris, youth
Feminism in France: the Rose Revolution
May 1968 was a turning point in world history, but it was also a rupture for women's history. Feminists of yesterday and today tell us about their war
activism, feminism, freedom, human rights, abortion, prostitution, hillary clinton
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