Award for Communication – 2011

Ivory Coast

www.avenue225.com, proximity information

Tags: information, blog, education, citizenship, transparency

«Beyond the texts of journalists, beyond the control of the information technology, our training are to change the way the youth behaves and lives.»

«The biggest challenge for Africa is the absence of skills for people to create their own jobs. For one who has nothing to do, for one who has nothing to lose, it is easy to take a weapon and engage in armed conflicts.»

Israel Guebo, blogger of the Voiceless: With a degree in Political Science, Israel worked as a journalist for Courrier d'Abidjan. There he learns to manage the first blogging platform Ivorian. This is also where he discovered a passion for the blog. In 2007 he created "the blog of Yoro," which chronicles the daily lives of Ivorians, and for which he was voted best French blogger in 2008 to contest the Bobs Award and in 2009 he received the special prize for Best Blog of journalists of West Africa.

Problem: The Ivory Coast has recently undergone a major political crisis. In this context of instability, where speech and information are owned and / or controlled by government policies, freedom of the press is undermined. The information delivered by the media is essentially political and oriented, societal issues and people's daily there are no echoes.

Action: He realizes the weight and influence of local information and engage with other young people to develop a community blog to help young people be a voice in society: www.avenue225.com. Today, 225 Avenue has allowed many young people from across the country to meet within a space of expression and debate divergent and participatory and to work together on a common citizenship. 225 Avenue has already made small: one sees the "avenues" completed their respective code throughout the region. These blogs allow people to change society, to expose wrongdoing and encourage local potentials.

Harubuntu Dimension: Getting the views of people ignored by the authorities. Guebo Israel is a Democrat and an Awakener in the soul. He is indignant when those who can exploit the gullibility of those who do not know, he is indignant that generate differences in the capabilities utilize the current tools of information, he was angered when the rights of individuals are not respected. It is unworthy and inventing local information in Côte d'Ivoire. His fight is to fight against ignorance, putting citizens at the center of decisions and information. His strength is to stand up and give others the power to do the same, his strength is to be convener, trainer, awakener. Its strength is not to try to control it at all costs has created. Emancipator, it strengthens and grow those who take her on, until ... he wants autonomy for all!

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