Weekly News*letter 25 Feb 21

Nepal - Palestine - FactCheckers - Myanmar - COVID19 - internet shutdowns - Women Who Lead - Putin Online Opposition - Al Jazeera for US conservatives - Gerrymandering Drink and... Kandinsky

The Reads 

1. Nepal 

The country may be heading towards snap elections on April 30 and May 10 after the dissolution of the parliament in December. While the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the decision to dissolve the House was unconstitutional, the situation is getting tense nevertheless. The Asia Foundation has a good 2021 overview of the region.
Asia-specific newsletter definitely worth reading is Asia Undercovered. 

2. Palestine

“Both parties are going into the elections without an agreed vision for Palestine and a detailed plan for obtaining it”, says an op-ed by David Hearst. In all fairness, this is one of the most decent analysis and some of the best journalism I have seen on the matter.

3. How the fact-checkers around the globe combat misinformation. 

“In India, the diversity of languages, cultural contexts and subnational political landscapes add to the challenges of monitoring and addressing misinformation, while Africa’s varied political landscapes have led to mixed results for fact-checkers, ranging from favorable to completely chaotic” - a must-read from best-in-school: Meedan. 

4. Myanmar

“We support civil disobedience” says the mural in the center of Yangon. Years of international support towards democratic and organized civil society in Myanmar are not totally lost as thousands take to the streets against the recent coup. The best need-to-know-size report on the recent events is that by the research service of the European Parliament. Naturally, the ReliefWeb is the address to go for the most recent reports and statements from international organizations present in the country. Reuters is reporting that “Indonesia is pushing Southeast Asian neighbors to agree on an action plan over Myanmar’s coup that would keep the junta to its promise of holding elections”. Junta keeps powerful tools to silence the youth online. 

5. COVID19 and the turnout in Latin America

Yes, this newsletter is in English but not religiously. If you would like to follow democratic developments in Latin America, you’d better learn some Spanish. This piece by the UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean on the influence of COVID19 on turnout in Latin America is the place to start. 

Tool: 2021 Elections Watch by the Internet Access advocacy

A global organization advocating universal internet access launched a dedicated service on internet shutdowns in the context of electoral processes. Many great insights and lessons to learn! As they describe it: 

“When the internet is shut down during an election, people in these countries are plunged into darkness. People outside these countries cannot scrutinize what they can’t see. That’s an attack on democracy, and it hurts human rights. Our #KeepItOn 2021 Elections Watch is aimed at helping people work together to prevent, circumvent, and document any further deliberate election shutdowns this year.”

Tech & Foreign Interference 

Security strategists came up with a useful tool for peacemakers - a briefing on digital technologies and civil conflicts. They correctly assess that mediators now face greater challenges in peace processes as conflict parties rely also on online means”. Meanwhile, the Associated Press just published a longer piece: “The superspreaders behind top COVID-19 conspiracy theories”.
Social media platforms are struggling to figure out how to deal with fundraising campaigns that flirt with the boundaries of what’s legal.

If you haven't checked the Authoritarian Interference Tracker - do it, it is pretty amazing.

Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network, is launching a platform to target American conservatives. In Russia “a new wave of news outlets has used conventional and unconventional methods to pierce the veil of Putin’s power”, a piece by NYT.

Event online: Women Who Lead

Inspiring stories of women’s political and community engagement. Female leaders tell their personal journeys of becoming change-maker, their experience of overcoming political and societal barriers, and how their activism enables the next generation of women across the globe to follow in their steps.

Seemingly Unrelated Extras 

Well action against the electoral fraud of ‘gerrymandering’ can go all sorts of ways… even into the beer industry, read the story: “A local brewery is launching a beer next week to promote anti-gerrymandering efforts in the state”

Font Type matters, especially in political communication -  after all, it’s there where stakes are the highest. You can check this gallery of political font-writing, everyone should learn something from there. Believe me, I would be the first one to ban Times New Roman. 

The Amplifier is one of the most creative ways to contribute to democracy. The name is quite accurate:

“Amplifier is a nonprofit design lab that builds art and media experiments to amplify the most important movements of our times.” Check them out for art, street art and so much more. 

Seriously Unrelated But Also Good

Beautiful 4,000 priceless Japanese scrolls, texts & papers have been digitized & put online. 

Experience synesthesia: The Playing Kandinsky project lets you 'hear' colors and shapes. The neurological condition allowed famed abstract painter Vassily Kandinsky to hear colors and shapes through sound. Try it!

That is it for now.
See you next week.

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