UPDATE as of Sunday, Jan 17, 3:40 pm Eastern Time:

We received 5 patients via a single chopper about an hour ago. We received 4 patients yesterday. We have a total of 9 patients. We are ready and capable to handle *100* injured people.

We have a full-service hospital with two ORs, a trauma team and an orthopaedic team ready to serve. They can land helicopters in the soccer field. I can send anyone who needs the Google Earth coordiates and labeled arial photos for landing. The soccer field will be LIT WITH HEADLIGHTS from trucks tonight. We have an ambulance – we are ready – we do NOT need to be contacted in advance. PLEASE BRING THE PATIENTS TO US!

Carol Fipp
Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti
904-223-7233
904-451-0003
cfipp@bellsouth.net

I refer, of course, to the opening of the shop at Alice Yard, the artists’ space at 80 Roberts Street, Woodbrook. Why the Alice Yard people don’t stick with what they do best (which, judging from recent goings-on, involves chopping onions with a cutlass and throwing shovelfuls of dirt on people) and leave retailing to real businesspeople, is beyond me. If I end up going there on Saturday and leaving with my arms full of “artists’ limited editions and multiples, design objects, and some original artworks,” regardless of how “reasonably priced and. . . affordable to beginning collectors”, I’m going to be really annoyed.

You’ll find more details on the upsetting event at the Alice Yard blog. Which should tell you everything—what successful retailer in Trinidad has a blog?

My Ghanaian blogger friend Mac-Jordan Degadjor, who so graciously showed me around during my visit to Accra in October, has been given the chance to go to Copenhagen to cover the UN climate change talks there this month. He’s received a stipend from Denmark, but it isn’t sufficient to cover the entire cost of the trip. So a few of us have got together to raise funds for Mac-J.

Mac-Jordan at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, this past October

At the time of posting we’ve raised US$290 of the $1,200 he needs, so only $910 to go now. Would you please consider helping out by donating via the ChipIn widget above? (If that doesn’t work, try the ChipIn page). Anyone with a credit card can donate.

Thanks in advance!

Global citizen news platform GroundReport.com is looking for Trinidadian bloggers and digital journalists to attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas and provide digital coverage from a local, insider perspective. GroundReport is interested in all formats of digital media coverage, including video, text and photos. This position is unpaid but will include press credentials, publication on GroundReport, and potential wider syndication, under your name, to larger media outlets. Share your voice with the world to show the Trinidadian experience of the Summit of the Americas.

To apply, please send an email describing your interest and credentials to info@groundreport.com titled ‘Summit of the Americas’. Include links to your previous work/blogs and a resume or CV if available.

If selected, you will be required to post 2 items per day on the event to GroundReport.com. Publications can be in English, Spanish, French or other local languages.

The countries of the English-speaking Caribbean are hardly the United States’ most challenging interlocutors, especially when compared with the Middle East, China, the former Soviet Union, Cuba or the country that lies just a few miles west of where I sit writing this (Venezuela, in case you’re wondering). But our relationship with the the US isn’t a simple one, as any Caribbean national who’s ever applied for a visa knows only too well.

That our gaze wanders so easily and longingly northward; that our countries are commonly considered transshipment points for drugs; that deportees from US prisons are contributing to the increase in our crime rates; that most of Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas is purchased by the US; that Venezuela lies across the water just a few valleys west of where I sit writing this; that I can write this, then publish it instantly to the internet: all of this makes us important to the US in the way that small, unimportant places can be. “Important”, meaning, of course, “strategic”.

Because small and strategic is not an unproblematic combination, an event taking place on Tuesday 3 February, 2009 (tomorrow, in this part of the world) in Washington D.C. should be of interest to many of us in the Caribbean (not that anything in the programme is specific to us–but we’re used to that). The event is called Media as Global Diplomat, and it’s designed around the premise that

We are in a disruptive period in media, the result of an explosion in digital distribution, social networking, and user generated content. And with disruption comes opportunity. This summit, moderated by Ted Koppel and entitled Media as Global Diplomat, is a forum to ask key public and private sector leaders how the United States can best use media to reinvigorate its public diplomacy strategy and international influence in order to strengthen efforts to build a more peaceful world.

The event is also a response to the Obama administration’s promise to distinguish itself from its predecessor by taking a different approach to public diplomacy, one focused on listening instead lecturing.

How to participate? I won’t be physically present at the event, of course, but my Global Voices colleagues Ivan Sigal and Rebecca MacKinnon will, and I’ll be tuning in to the live webcast and chat which Ivan will be moderating and parsing for questions and comments to be passed on to Ted Koppel.

Rebecca will be liveblogging at http://rconversation.blogs.com/, which, given her fierce intelligence, outspokenness and sharp wit, not to mention her skepticism about the event’s actual goals, is bound be both informative and entertaining. “It’s unclear to me,” Rebecca says, “whether they really just want to explore how to use digital media to get the world to like the U.S. better – or whether they’re truly open to a paradigm shift: moving from broadcast “messaging” mode to conversation mode, in which the U.S. would be listening and learning as much as informing others.”

Rebecca also notes the dearth of new media vibe on the program “…my initial reaction is that the only panelists who might be considered “new media” people are Google’s Andrew McLaughlin and Mika Salmi of MTV’s Digital Networks. And they work for huge Internet and media companies. No citizen media or grassroots voices are speaking on the panels at all. Lots of “old media” and/or establishment foreign policy elites. Will there really be any new ideas coming from this crowd? Hard to know. Maybe you can help thorough your remote participation?”

Maybe you can. Let’s get some Caribbean spirit into that chat room. Visit this page for the event schedule, and the live chat will be taking place here. See you online tomorrow!

I’ll be heading down to cut+clear productions shortly to record episode #2 of the cut+clear carnival podcast w/ 3canal. Today’s special guests: C*POP and Walt Lovelace. The show will be released tomorrow.

And above, photos from last night’s launch of 3canal’s carnival presentations at Queen’s Hall. That includes their 2009 release, JOY+FIRE, which, for a limited time, can be downloaded for FREE at http://www.trinidadtunes.com.

As many of you know, I’ve been involved with Global Voices since 2005, and now work for the organisation full-time. At the beginning of the year we left the safety of our birthplace, the Berkman Center at Harvard University, and struck out on our own as an independent nonprofit. We’ve done some astounding work this year, reporting on and aggregating citizen media coverage of events like the Mumbai attacks and World AIDS Day. Our Outreach section has helped scores of people in communities throughout the world gain access to citizen media skills that we hope they’ll pass on to hundreds more, while Global Voices Advocacy has worked tirelessly on issues around online freedom of speech. And we’re now translating our content into 21 languages. Our Caribbean coverage has grown as well, thanks to the efforts of editor Janine Mendes-Franco, whose team now includes authors from the French Caribbean and Jamaica.

As ’08 draws to a close, however, we, like every other organisation in the world, find ourselves working hard to secure the funding that will ensure our future ability to do the job of amplifying stories and images from ordinary people across the globe who use the internet to communicate with their fellow world citizens.

So if you believe in our mission and would like to help promote the diversity of voices and points of view that citizen media makes possible, please consider supporting Global Voices with a financial donation. And even if you can’t, then do help us spread the word by flying one of our adorable badges (or one of our more serious ones).

Happy holidays!

As luck would have it, Jeffrey left two messages today on the Friends of Jeffrey Chock Facebook group page, so this info is from the horse’s mouth:

"Thanks to all of you for caring enough to ask after my health after looking at the Reaper in his face. Here is what happened.

I flew to Toronto to give a paper and photographic presentation at the conference concerning Carnival held in connection with Caribana at York University. Instead, upon arrival I got very sick and had to be carried to a hospital emergency room. It was revealed that I had a case of internal bleeding caused by a stomach ulcer. The situation seemed at first fairly straightforward to treat. However, a few hours after being diagnosed I was struck down by a massive heart attack while still in the hospital. It was later also found that my kidneys were functioning at only 20% capacity. This complicated matters dramatically. All together I spend seven days in the hospital. I have been told that going home was out of the question before they perform an angiogram to locate the blockage in my arteries, and that in all likelihood I would have to undergo an angioplasty."

and

"Since I have no insurance, the onus is on me to pay the anticipated costs of the procedures upfront. We don’t yet have the exact figures but what we do know is that the amount will be significant and that this has to be done as soon as possible in order to avert the risk of another attack. Besides the angiogram and angioplasty I also have to deal with the seven days hospital bill ($2500 CAN. a day, not including doctors’ fees and tests).

I am at present recovering at a friend’s home in Chicago where I was driven by car. I will return to Toronto as soon as the doctors have made the final decision about when the procedure can be performed safely and when we have resolved the financial complications. In the meantime, I am happy to report that I am reasonably stable (give or take the occasional chest pain) and comfortable, thanks to my friend’s hospitality and to your good wishes."

So far the following people have contributed towards the cost of Jeffrey’s surgery:

- Gabriella Dimitrov
- Wendy Warnick
- Justin Benn
- Candice Rodriguez
- Sandy Stoll
- yours truly

Many, many thanks to you all, and thanks in advance to those of you who plan on donating. We’ve raised US$800 so far (not $980 as the ChipIn widget says—see explanation below), and I know we can raise much more.

(Note also that the ChipIn widget is showing 9 contributors, which is a miscount. For an accurate listing of contributors, please check the “Contributors” tab on the Facebook widget page. I have written to ChipIn about the problem).

If you’re unsure about how to use ChipIn, please feel free to email me (replacing the words “at” and “dot” with the relevant punctuation marks). And yes, ChipIn and PayPal do accept Trinidad and Tobago credit cards. Just so you know, PayPal skims 3.2% off each donation, and a small fee is charged for actually accessing the funds.

If you would prefer not to make your donation online and live in Trinidad, please drop me a line and I’ll arrange to get it from you. I myself plan on making another larger donation when I pass the money over to Jeffery. Offline donations will also be listed in the ChipIn contributors list.

Thank you all!

I learned a few days ago that Trinidadian photographer Jeffrey Chock has fallen seriously ill on a trip to Canada, and is in urgent need of surgery. The estimated cost of that surgery, from what I have heard, is around TT$300,000 (US$48,000). The information I have about Jeffrey’s medical condition is third-hand, so I hesitate to repeat it here (very un-Trinidadian of me, I know!), but I’ll update this post with the details when I’m sure what I have is accurate. What I do know is that Jeffrey’s surgery needs to be paid for, which is why I’ve created the donation widget below.

Jeffrey Chock and I are not close friends, but I’ve known him for years and have the deepest admiration for his work (which I once photographed him doing). As dancer Dave Williams said to me recently, “The man understands dance. I doh let anybody else photograph my shows!” And I know you’d hear local maspeople, thespians and pannists express similar sentiments.

I also know that, were I ever to be in a similar position, I’d be tremendously grateful to anyone who would do the same for me.

I originally created this donation widget for use on the “Friends of Jeffrey Chock” Facebook group, but as ChipIn campaigns must be connected to a PayPal account, and as the PayPal account to which this one is connected is mine, I decided to reduce the target figure to US$12,000 and make it a personal campaign as well. (I’ve already made a small donation, and I’ll even throw in more funds if you do!) There may also be other fundraising efforts in progress, in which case I promise to hand over the funds I raise to whoever ends up being the central collector.

So I would be extremely grateful if you would help Jeffrey pay for his surgery by donating via the widget below, and/or embedding it or linking to it on your own website, Facebook page etc. Thank you!

UPDATE:
For those wishing to purchase Jeffrey’s book Trinidad Carnival, there are a few copies available at Paper Based bookstore at the Hotel Normandie, St. Ann’s.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, as part of its new focus as a digital media training center, has developed an introductory course to digital journalism that it will offer for the first time from March 3 to April 4, 2008, to journalists living and working in Caribbean countries.

The course, Journalism 2.0, was developed by U.S. journalist Mark Briggs, author of the book Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive, a digital literacy guide for the information age. It will be offered in English in partnership with the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM).

Spaces in the course are limited, and Caribbean journalists may apply online until Feb. 25, 2008. The Knight Center will repeat the course later in 2008 for journalists from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We expect strong demand for this course, and we will try to accommodate that demand as best as we can,” said Rosental Calmon Alves, director of the Knight Center.

“Whenever we introduce a new course, we like to start with a small group of students. While Caribbean journalists will have the first chance to take this class, the Knight Center will explore ways to repeat the course as soon as possible, and to offer it to larger groups throughout Latin America.”

The Knight Center is also developing similar courses in Spanish and Portuguese, Alves added.

Course Themes

The course will be conducted entirely on line and will cover five main areas:

*Introduction to Journalism 2.0. Understand the opportunities and challenges of practicing journalism in the digital age.

*Web 2.0 and an Eye on the Future. Learn how Web 2.0 sites expand the realm and responsibilities of today’s journalists.

*Blogs, Breaking News, and Headlines (Writing for the Web). Explore and critique the world of blogs, and learn to write strong web headlines.

*Multimedia Basics. Explore basic practices in photography and video production, and experiment with the technology.

*Multimedia Planning. Learn what makes a good multimedia story and how to get these pieces produced.

Course Specifics

Students will have several weekly assignments, all of which will be performed on line. They include viewing video lectures and PowerPoint presentations, reading lecture materials, and participating in discussion forums with the instructor and classmates. Students will also conduct weekly skills assignments, and one exam, which they will submit online for comment and grading by the instructor.

Many of the readings will come from Briggs’ book Journalism 2.0. The English, Spanish, and Portuguese editions can be downloaded for free from the Knight Center ‘s website: http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/journalism20.php

Students will be expected to meet weekly deadlines but can choose their own hours to access the course and can work at their own pace and schedule. All participants who complete the course will receive a certificate from the Knight Center.

Applications from Caribbean journalists will be accepted until 0900 (Austin time) on Monday, Feb. 25 here: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/sos/survey/56847937/index.cfm.

Priority will be given to journalists with at least three years experience who work full time for print, electronic or online media; possess a basic command of computers and internet technology; have access to a digital camera that takes both still photos and video; and have limited opportunities to attend training courses.

About the Partners

Briggs is the Assistant Managing Editor for Interactive News at The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. He has contributed to textbooks, seminars, and conferences on new media and journalism, and some of the projects he has led have won national and regional awards. He will be assisted in the course by Amy Schmitz Weiss and Carlos Perez de Alejo, staff members of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

The ACM, founded in 2001, is an organization of journalist and media worker associations from throughout the Caribbean Basin. The organization will charge a US$30 fee to journalists selected to participate.

“The ACM is delighted that the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has chosen the Caribbean as the place to launch this course,” said Wesley Gibbings, president of the ACM.

“The role of new technologies in Caribbean development is being viewed as singularly important. Journalists have the opportunity to be in the leadership of such a revolution. Through our participation in this course, we signal that we accept the challenge.”

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was created by Alves at the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism in August 2002 thanks to a generous donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

In 2007, the Knight Center received a new five-year grant from the Knight Foundation to refocus its work as a digital media training center for Latin American and Caribbean journalism, and to expand its efforts to serve as an incubator for new journalism organizations.

A historic building in Trinidad is in danger of demolition. Please visit the web site and sign the petition.

Technorati Tags: trinidad and tobago, architecture, victorian, conservation, history, port of spain, boissiere house

Through blogging, inmates will be able to tell their stories. They will be able to paint a realistic picture of life behind bars and the consequences of crime. Currently, Jamaica’s music and media idolize the ‘badman’ or ’shotta’ and portray as role models those who have been incarcerated. Many of our youths now think that prison is a ‘cool’ place to be, until they themselves are faced with the harsh truth. The Diary of an Inmate blog will allow all Jamaicans to learn about the realities of Jamaica’s overcrowded prison system with the hope that this will counteract the false ideas implanted by the media.

Congrats to Kevin and the “Diary of an Inmate” project. I look forward to seeing the results of this interesting experiment. And to the rest of you potential Caribbean applicants: what are you waiting on?

Technorati Tags: jamaica, global voices, outreach, prison, blogging, caribbean

Read all about it here.

Sep 6, 2007, MIAMI and NEW YORK – The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and MTV announced today the Knight News Challenge “Young Creators Award,” a new digital journalism grant program for young people age 25 and under anywhere in the world. The contest will award up to $500,000 to young creators with compelling ideas for using digitally delivered news and information to enhance physical communities – improving the lives of people where they live, work and vote. The new award is a component of the Knight News Challenge, an annual competition awarding $5 million for innovative ideas using digital experiments to transform community news.

MTV will soon begin promoting the award throughout its international network – spanning more than 160 countries and nearly 500 million households – with promo spots that have been created in nine different languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Russian and more. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with more than 4,000 Clubs in the United States and abroad, has also signed on to promote the opportunity to the more than 4.8 million young people it serves.

“Young people are more likely to see the world without limits. We’re looking for fresh ideas. Young people are less likely to be intimidated, by convention or custom, from asking questions like ‘why not do it in a different way?’ ” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. “The Young Creators Award encourages and rewards innovative ideas and individuals.”

“MTV is proud to leverage our global reach and the boundless creativity of our audience as a way to help strengthen communities around the world,” said Ian Rowe, vice president of Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, MTV. “No group is more technically savvy or inventive than today’s youth, and we can’t wait to see their brilliant ideas on how technology and journalism can bring more people together in the real world.”

“Boys & Girls Clubs of America is thrilled to promote the Young Creators Award with MTV and Knight Foundation,” said Judith J. Pickens, senior vice president, Program & Youth Development Services, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “This initiative seamlessly fits our commitment to increase digital literacy and civic engagement among Club members who are active citizens of their community, their nation and the world.”

The Young Creators Award is open to young community-minded innovators worldwide with big ideas such as: anything that informs and inspires community using bits and bytes; new ways to deliver news on emerging platforms, such as cell phone documentaries; new types of operating software for news collectors; and journalism games. All entries require three elements: 1) use of a digital media; 2) delivery of news or information on a shared basis to 3) a geographically defined community. Although there is a category for commercial applications, most entries are “open-source” and must share the software and knowledge created. The number of grants awarded will be based on the size of the ideas; no idea is too large or too small.

The first year of the Knight News Challenge concluded with grants to 25 individuals and private and public entities. Some first-year winning projects included:

New software that links databases, allowing citizens to learn (and act on) civic information about their neighborhood or block.
Cell phone distribution of video news reports from mobile young journalists on the 2008 presidential election.
Online games to inform and engage players about key issues confronting New York City.
An online environment which lets citizens “play” through a complex, evolving news story through interaction with the newsmakers.
Digital newscasts for Philadelphia’s immigrant community distributed through a new citywide wireless platform.

This year, for the first time, the contest’s web site – www.newschallenge.org – will also allow entrants to invite public comment, to help improve their entries. A special Web site has also been created for the Young Creators category at think.mtv.com and at www.youngcreatorsaward.com. The web site will accept applications through Oct. 15, 2007. Winners are expected to be announced by the spring of 2008.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation invests in journalism excellence worldwide and in the vitality of the U.S. communities. Since 1950 the foundation has granted more than $300 million to advance quality journalism and freedom of expression. It focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) comprises a national network of more than 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving some 4.8 million young people, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as “The Positive Place for Kids,” the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

thinkMTV is the umbrella for MTV’s on-air, off-air and online “pro-social” campaigns that engage, educate and encourage young people to take action on some of the biggest challenges facing their generation. This includes the Break the Addiction campaign on global warming, the Choose or Lose campaign on the presidential election, ongoing efforts with the Kaiser Family Foundation on sexual health and HIV/AIDS, and a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help more high school students graduate prepared for college, career and life. MTV is the recipient of a Knight News Challenge grant for a program that will empower one young person in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cover the 2008 elections as MTV and Knight multimedia youth journalists. Audio, video, photo and written reports will be spread via mobile devices and online, with the most popular showcased across MTV’s platforms.

Contact:

Marc Fest, Director of Communications, Knight Foundation:

(305) 908-2677, Cell: (305) 604-9500, fest@knightfdn.org

Jason Rzepka, Director of Communications, thinkMTV:

(212) 654-7198, Jason.Rzepka@mtvstaff.com