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The Bell Bajao! (Ring the Bell!) campaign, launched in India in 2008 by New Media of Breakthrough, is the first multimedia campaign to directly address men in the context of violence, previously a severe taboo in India, and to help men take ownership of interventions to effectively end domestic violence. Bell Bajao! calls upon men & boys alike to take action and renounce the role of perpetrator or spectator of violence towards women. Supported by an on-the-ground youth mobilization, the multimedia campaign has reached over 130 million people in India. Bell Bajao! takes a multi-dimensional approach, raising awareness about domestic violence in public service announcement ads aired on national television and radio, organizing gender and human rights training workshops, sending multimedia equipped video vans across the country and working online via prominent channels like Youtube and Vimeo. The Bell Bajao! blog is one of the few user-generated platforms that encourage the exchange of opinions, studies, experiences or personal stories on issues from gender and violence to sexuality, where virtual discussions sometimes spill over into grassroots action.  Bell Bajao! has won all the major advertising accolades, while its ads have been featured by YouTube on International Women’s Day. Bell Bajao! has shown that critical social media can take on petrified normative social values on a big scale, becoming a pioneering case study to be emulated.

Kherna is a social networking platform for organizations devoted to good causes, including charity and development. Kherna has a mission to use technology to reach needy people quickly and efficiently.  Instead of using the usual offline marketing channels such as TV, radio, or magazines, Kherna provides an online platform where civil society organizations post their updates for online users to see their activities and services in real-time.  The interactive portal provides a compelling experience that engages the audience in activities and regions they are interested in, allowing them to participate either by donating or volunteering through the online website.  Users can share the activities they like the most on Facebook and Twitter to inform their friends, increasing the chances of getting further donations and motivated volunteers. The idea was sparked during the month of Ramadan, which is the prime time for advertising NGO campaigns. Kherna is original in offering interactive communication with audiences, the key to building lasting relationships.

Ilumexico is a response to the lack of electricity services in extremely poor communities in Mexico. Ilumexico uses and promotes a solar powered led lighting system and offers a social program teaching people to understand the importance of using clean technologies in their communities and the impact on the reduction of CO² emissions.

Ilumexico is based on the assumption that light is a key element to development. Lighting conditions have a positive effect on health, education and socializing, amongst other activities. Replacing harmful lighting sources has a positive environmental impact and supports the local industries in rural areas. The main pillars of Ilumexico are renewable domestic technology, social responsibility, efforts to slow down climate change and productive projects strengthening local economies. The young people of Ilumexico design and install solar energy technology based on clean and safe energy and specifically made for rural communities. They provide workshops and courses that explain the use of light as a platform for development. Beside generating savings, Ilumexico also promotes the creation of micro-entrepreneurs and productive projects in rural communities.

Gerald Madlmayr, from the Vienna University of Technology, Research Group for Industrial Software, highlighted his 2009 WSYA winning project “MobileDoc” in the category “Fight Poverty, Hunger & Disease” at the Global Public Policy Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico. “MobileDoc” served as showcase how e-Inclusion can work out today at the conference held by WITSA from November 6th to 8th, 2011.

“MobileDoc” helps people to get medical treatment in rural areas where health infrastructure is poor. During the conference Madlmayr discussed ideas for e-Inclusion and i-Society together with 50 pupils from secondary schools that were presented to the plenary.
Under the theme "Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age: e-Inclusion in and i-Society" 300 ICT executives, government officials and policy makers from more than 40 countries gathered at the event. They shared and learned how to promote the use of ICTs in public policies to overcome social exclusion and improve economic performance, employment opportunities, quality of life, social participation and cohesion.

Weblink: http://www.gpps2011.org/

Write3 is a mobile journalism tool and a platform enabling users to send texts, images, audio or video files via internet directly from a mobile phone to Write3’s mobile journalism portal. True to the basic philosophy of mobile grassroots journalism, Write3 helps mobile phone users to uncover the truth as journalists and as conscious citizens. The process of participation is simple, quick and user friendly, as to be expected with a mass user-based technology. After downloading the software to the mobile phone from the internet, users can take photographs, shoot video or capture audio directly on the mobile phone, adding a title and description before uploading it. The uploaded multimedia news is submitted to the online news journal of Write3.com and can be viewed and commented on instantly from both mobiles and internet. Much needed in countries like Bangladesh which are hungry for independent and politically uncontrived news at the grassroots level, Write3 provides a social media platform where citizens can be heard. Developed primarily in English and the Bangla local language, Write3 will expand to other languages by end of 2011.

Mashallah News is a novel platform to cover major cities between the Moroccan coast and the Iranian shores, featuring collective, independent, grass-root, dynamic and cross-cultural approaches. The website was launched in November 2010 with an initial coverage of six main cities in the region, and now covers fourteen different capitals and major urban areas. It is run by a collective of young journalists, graphic designers, photographers, and translators who come from diverse backgrounds and are either born in the region or chose to make it their home. In contrast to mainstream news coverage of the Middle East which is largely focused on geopolitics, war, conflict and international power politics, thus creating a too narrow and false conception of everyday life, Mashallah News offers a different picture which enriches and challenges prevailing images.

Mashallah News aims to display what is playfully called disOriented information about urban life in places like Istanbul, Jeddah, Cairo, Tehran, Ramallah, Beirut and beyond, in stories that have important societal implications. The website covers items such as unexpected social phenomena, original personal stories, reports from marginal areas and interviews with creative and subversive minds. Run by a core team of four editors and one graphic designer, as well as teams of contributors from across the region, Mashallah News gathers people with diverse experiences and skills in the fields of journalism, photography, research, art, and graphic design to share less-told stories and inspiring work from a region in transformation. Creative get-togethers, workshops and a print version with ‘the best of’ stories are in the works, to extend the emerging alternative public sphere even further.

Momal Mushtaq, Founder ‘the Voice of Youth’, shares her experience on winning Runner-Up World Summit Youth Award 2011

We had four flights to Islamabad, Pakistan from Graz, Austria. Both of us knew that it’s probably the last time we visited Graz. If not the last, we were sure that it’d take us a very long time to get to visit this city again, but we stayed silent. Not a word was spoken regarding this as we flew all the way back to Pakistan and shifted from Austrian Arrows to Emirates to Pakistan International Airlines. It’s only when we finally reached Islamabad and drove back to our home, the reality struck and it did hard. As soon as Seemal and I stepped inside home, we burst into tears. We couldn’t help it. Our parents looked at us worriedly and asked if everything was alright. With tears flowing down my cheeks, I responded, “Papa, who duniya dekhne k badh Pakistan ko dekh kar boht afsos o raha hai! Humara mulk boht peche hai!” (Translation: Father, it’s sad to see Pakistan after seeing ‘that’ part of the world! Our country stands way behind!”).

It’s been four days now. I can’t get over Graz. I can’t get over its near to perfect public transport system. I can’t get over its flawless shopping stores. And most importantly, I can’t get over the fact that I could safely walk around the city at 2 a.m. in the morning. It’s sad that Pakistanis can’t enjoy such luxuries even in their capital city Islamabad.

World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) Festival 2011 was a life-changing experience for me. The nights I spent crying in the bathroom (‘cause I so badly wanted to win it), the day I promised myself I’d never give up on ‘the Voice of Youth’ (‘cause I didn’t win it), the moment I ended up being announced as a Runner-Up (when I least expected it) and the dozen times I walked daily from one place to the other (to secure funding for the trip)… everything… every bit of it… WAS WORTH IT!

Thank you team tVoY for the great work you do! Here, I’d like to especially thank Fahaad Humayun, Fakiha Hassan Rizvi, Hira Zainab, Majid Mahmood, Mohammad Qamar, Naveed Hassan, Omar Iftikhar, Tayaba Iftikhar and the newest additions to the team!

Thank you team WSYA for making it possible for me, Seemal and ‘the Voice of Youth’ to make it to an international platform!

Thank you Rector NUST, Dean NBS and all those in between!

And most importantly, thank you, dear parents, for helping me be who I’m today!

I’d also like to request Pakistani youth to explore opportunities and to represent Pakistan at world forums. We’ve got talent; let’s work together to bring about a change. Pakistan badly needs us as the future of this country lies in our hands. Do something please.

Sincerely,
Momal Mushtaq

Education Generation is a global community providing access to quality education for motivated individual students around the globe, using digital technology to bridge the gap between donors and hardworking students in need. The concept eliminates the high overhead of child sponsorship, partnering with organizations and institutions that are committed to delivering quality education, understand the communities they work in, and have a track record of success. With 100% of donations (after paypal processing fees) supporting students’ studies, Education Generation avoids red-tape, working to bring communities of people directly in contact with contributions as low as $20. Using the potential of online networking, Education Generation collectively supports real youth with real dreams and unlimited potential, helping to unleash their potential and bring these dreams to reality.

WSYA met Arsène Tungali (21), Blogger and Co-founder of “Rudi International”. Tungali talks about how young people get access to the Internet in the Democratic Republic of Congo, why he cannot leave his home at night and who he admires the most.

You live under the constant threat of civil war in your country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. How can you work under these circumstances?

Tungali: My homeland has faced too many wars that affected especially the east region (Goma) where I live. More than five million people have died. We have a constant security problem. Business is affected since many people are afraid to come to my country. We actually live and do everything we can under these conditions.

How exactly does the security problem affect you? Are you afraid to walk on the streets?

Tungali: In my city I can walk sometimes but I always have to be careful. After 7 p.m. we are not allowed to go outside because at that time the insecurity is on top level. I always urge my siblings not to go out after that time so they don’t walk into bandits.

How important is the internet for the youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Tungali: The Internet penetration in my region is very low. There are not many young people using internet. But the youth wants to be connected. We use mobile phones as we have electricity problems. I cannot tell you how important mobile phones are for us. Even if we had computers we could hardly make use of them, as there is no regular electricity. And Cyber Cafes are very expensive. So there is the mobile phone which helps me to stay connected to the world. With my mobile phone I can use Facebook, Twitter, Skype and other applications.  “Facebook zero" is most popular for us because it provides free access to Facebook mobile when using local networks.

How do you make use of social networks and blogs?

Tungali: I started blogging eight years ago, writing about science. I currently work as a chief reporter for an organisation called “Now AfriCan”. I blog about the social life in my country. Currently I am working on a series of articles about the coming elections in November. I document the process of political participation in my region.

Have you ever been bullied by the government, working as a political blogger?

Tungali: Not personally, because I only talk about facts and never criticize.

What happens to journalists who express criticism?

Tungali: They face many problems. For directly criticizing a politician, you can go to jail or even be killed by people you don’t know. Many journalists have been murdered in their houses at night because they have criticized some great man of the country.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Tungali: I went through “leadership classes” in my town at the Leadership Academy. I was taught that a true leader should be able to see the future and work for it. Hence, in ten years, I will have graduated. I will be the owner of a big company working on the transformation of agriculture products using new ICTs. I can see my organization Rudi International become a great organization where all Africans and those who love Africa will be working together for a better life on the continent. Finally I would like to become such a great man as the General Secretary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Touré, who I met at the IGF in Nairobi and who I admire a lot.

Interview held by Anna Gauto, Communications WSYA

After four days of presentations, workshops, networking and fun the World Summit Multimedia Festival ended with a "Global Huddle" for all Awardees, the WSYA team and representatives of Intel, Telfree and the Internet Society. The young entrepreneurs and producers shared their impressions from the Festival and told the group what they learned from each other through coming together, communicating and celebrating, and through their differences and similarities. All agreed: The experience to share knowledge that could help others in their own endeavours, to cooperate and network, and to create ideas for further projects and even more efforts to push the MDGs was most inspiring to them. The attending representatives of business and IT assured the WSYA Winners and Runners-up community support.

The highlight of the Festival that was held in Austria for the first time was the Awarding Gala on November 12th in the Dom im Berg, an impressive location built into the famous Schlossberg in Graz. 18 Winners and 15 Runners-up were honoured by representatives of the United Nations, the digital industry and civil society. High ranking UN-Diplomat Thomas Stelzer thanked the young entrepreneurs for thinking outside the box. “Together we can put the puzzle together and succeed in implementing the MDGs until 2015.” Telfree CEO Walter Betschel gave valuable advice from his business experience: “You don’t need millions of Dollars for change. You only need fresh brains, energy and enthusiasm to move things. Now put your running shoes on and start running – and don’t stop until you are there!"

The Winners’ and Runners-Up’s enthusiasm and energy could not be overseen during the four day Festival. James Poisant, CEO of WITSA, underscored their engagement: “The challenge our generation faces is to fulfill the promises of the digital age. When I see these young people I know this challenge is in good hands. “

Over 700 applicants from 99 countries have applied for the World Summit Youth Award in 2011. Learn more about the Winners and check out the pictures from the festival on Facebook!

The World Summit Multimedia Festival has started on Thursday, November 10th, in Graz, Austria. In the ORF broadcasting studio 48 youth award winners and runners up coming  from Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe presented their projects in one minute (en-)“lightning talks”.  Before the formal opening of the festival the local press used the opportunity to interview the young creatives about their digital platforms, motivation and future aims. WSYA Chairman Peter A. Bruck opened the Festival together with Gernot Rath, ORF Styria, Elisabeth Grossmann, Regional Minister in Styria, Dominic Neumann, Chamber of Commerce Styria, Elke Lujanski-Lammer, Human Rights Advisory Council Graz, Eberhard Schrempf, Creative Industries Styria and Uschi Theißl, LOGO Jugendmanagement GmbH.

Check out what happens next on the World Summit Multimedia Festival in the programme and see what happens in this very moment at Twitter: #youthaward.

Three questions to Prof. Peter A. Bruck, Chairman World Summit Youth Award

You are the driving force behind the World Summit Youth Award which takes place for the fourth time this year. What is your motivation?

Peter Bruck: Young people in the developed regions of the world use social media, online games, mobile apps like water, bread or rice. These media are basic staples in their lives.

But too many young people have no bread or rice, no clean water, no chance to go to school to learn how to read or write, no way to deliver their babies safely.

The WSYA connects the two realities in a positive sense. It selects and awards those who deploy their basic media technologies and their ingenuity to act on the issues of poverty, hunger and disease, a constantly degraded environment, a stolen future without learning.

New media, Internet and mobiles, are liberating young people today from constraints past generations had no chance to overcome: a posting on the web can be seen globally instantly, a postcard took months to go from one point to another between continents. 

Thus, the motivation of WSYA is simple: it invites young people to use Internet and mobile not for themselves, but for others, not to feed solely their own interests, but to act in the interests of others and all. 
 

The World Summit Youth Award invites young people to take action on the MDGs. Why should they be successful in a field where governments and United Nations seem to get stuck?
 

Peter Bruck:The miracle of WSYA is that young people who are interested in acting for others are often much more innovative and more technologically savvy than those who just want to do business for themselves.

On top of it, the WSYA winners have shown to be even more entrepreneurial than
those who strive to make profit.

With their determination and creativity the WSYA winners make small differences in the locations they live and reach out. That is enough. The key is to get more and more projects under way – and that is the goal of WSYA – to have the effect that projects multiply.

Governments and UN can build on this, should encourage this, can work with this. The MDGs need to be understood not as abstract goals, but a way to benchmark change for the sake of every individual person.
 

700 young producers have applied for the WSYA in 2011. 18 Projects will be honoured in Graz from November 10-13. Is there a way to preserve all that creativity for development issues in the coming years?

Peter Bruck: YES, there is. WSYA is all but a small initiative. There is a snowballing effect with the projects that are awarded. WSYA gives credibility and authority to the winning projects. To be the best from among 700 applicants and 100 countries is a feat, an accomplishment. It is a symbolic capital where none existed before.
 

That is what we want to take forward for the coming years. And the invitation goes to everyone who reads these lines to join in and contribute their share.
 

Category Online / Web Projects:
Topit
Einat Dotan, Ira Morstyn, Dany Koren

HotGloo - The Online Wireframe App
Hannes Höß, Wolf Becvar

La Vie d'Après
Paul Chabert, Vincent Lappartient, Pierre Olivier Guérin

Category Mobile Contents & Applications:
úti
Faustine Clavert, Julie Checconi, Valentin de Bruyn, Alan Langlois, Hans Lemuet

zapDial
Stefan Wasserbauer

Yummy
Muriel Bougherdani, Sylvain Bernardi, Marie Laurent, Nicolas Pigelet, Yannis Smesny


Category Games:
Max & the Magic Marker
Rune Dittmer, Mikkel Thorsted, Ole Teglbjærg, Lasse Outzen

Mole Control
Ella Romanos, Martin Darby, Andy Russell, Matthew Beakes

Liquorious
Rene Baumgartner, Fabian Bergner

Category Computer Graphics & Design:
Lada Niva : Roscosmos Edition 1-3
Florian Werzinski, Christoph Schmidt, Florian Friedrich, Alke Marianne Scherrmann

A beautiful bloody sound
Joan Masoliver

Category Content Tools & Interface Design:
NiCE Formula Editor
Christian Rendl, Florian Perteneder, Robert Zeleznik

iko, The Pupil's Best Friend
Arnaud Tanielian, Solène Bellégo, Jocelyn Lecamus, Claire Sidoli, Sébastien Bourdu

Expo Shanghai terminals
Ieva Padegimaite, Andrius Alciauskas, Edmundas Stundzius, Rokas Grigaliunas, Tomas Beniusis

Category Interactive Installations:
Whispering Table
Willy Sengewald, Frederic Eyl, Gunna Green, Dominik Schumacher

Experiencing Abstract Information
Stefan Kuzaj, Jochen Winker

Siphonophore
Ermis Adamantidis, Marios Tsiliakos, Madhav Kidao

Category Online & Digital Video / TV:
LeCo - Interactive video based language learning
Krister Hymon, Hyun-Suk Cho, Simon Kufner

Black Like Milk
Stefan Kempas

Roots & Routes
Aileen Wessely

Category Animations:
A Lost And Found Box of Human Sensation
Stefan Leuchtenberg, Martin Wallner, Nils Dünker, Anatole Taubman

You're Next
Keren Frydman

Private screening
Anat Shinar

The EUROPRIX Jury will take place at the International Center for New Media until September 5. Check back soon to find out more about the finalist projects and producers!

The registration is now closed. All those who have already received an ID number and a password still have the chance to complete their registration here: www.europrix.org/reg-2010/login.asp

To retrieve your ID and password please contact office@europrix.org