Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Helping journalists stay secure in Somalia
Friday, April 5, 2013
Journalists around the world face security risks. Journalists in the war-ravaged country of Somalia face particular danger. According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists
, last year was the
deadliest year
on record for a country with a long history of press killings:
12 journalists
were killed in the line duty. The threat of violence has driven more journalists from Somalia into exile than from any other country in the past year.
Somali journalists protesting the death of one of their colleagues - Human Rights Watch iimage
In a bid to help improve Somali journalists’ personal safety, Google supported the Committee's project translating its
Journalist Security Guide
into Somali.
While the guide is designed for a global audience, a veteran Somali journalist reviewed the material for local relevance. It is our hope that many Somali journalists will find it useful in their day-to-day work. The entire Somali guide can be read, printed, and downloaded
here
. The Committee will also organize for tutorial sessions on the content in partnership with Somali journalist associations.
Just last week, the Committee reported that two gunmen waited near the home of a young Somali journalist,
Rahmo Abdulkadir
. The 25-year-old Rahmo had just left an Internet café in Mogadishu around 9:30 p.m. on March 24 with a friend when she was
shot
and killed. Her companion was not harmed.
Let’s hope that this deadly narrative can be stopped.
Posted by Ory Okolloh, Google Policy and Government Relations Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa
Helping French business go online with Google for Pros
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Internet generated more than 700,000 jobs in France between 1995 and 2010, according to a
2011 McKinsey study
. Through 2015, McKinsey estimates that the web’s digital contribution will grow to 5.5 percent of GDP, and that 450,000 additional jobs will be created.
In order to help reach - or better yet, surpass these goals - we recently launched a new program called
Google pour les Pros
. It aims to help 100,000 small French businesses get online by the end of this year.
Google coaches at the Unami Tea House in Lille
Many traditional French businesses continue to hesitate going online, fearing that it will require large investments, lots of time, and fancy skills they lack.
Google pour les Pros
aims to overcome these hurdles by providing an "on the ground" coach who provides personalised training.
We first tested the
Google pour les Pros
concept in the south of France. Results were encouraging enough to launch a full-fledged program in the north of France, around the region’s major metropolis Lille. This region has faced a dramatic economic transition, from fading heavy industry to new, modern services.
The 16 Google coaches we are deploying there are young university graduates. In the coming months, they will go from shop to shop, office to office, to propose their services, free of charge. Our partner in this ambitious operation is the
Greater Lille’s Chamber of Commerce
, which brings together 52,000 businesses. We will deploy coaches in other French regions throughout the year.
As we urge Lille’s bakeries, butchers, and other small businesses to get online, we already can point to success stories such as the
Unami tea house
. Owner Jean-Benoit Bourel opened an e-commerce site that enables him to export its products to the international market. "Now we sell in Marseille, Italy, Belgium, and in Russia," he says.
In a time of economic challenges, the Internet can help France regain its economic competitiveness - and its traditional strong small businesses win many new markets.
Posted by Clement Wolf, Communications, France
Improving Internet access in Africa with 'White Spaces'
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
White spaces are unused channels in the broadcast TV spectrum. They offer the potential to improve Internet connectivity where they are most needed - in the developing world. This week, we announced the launch of a trial with ten schools in the Cape Town area, which will receive wireless broadband over a white space network.
White space has the advantage that low frequency signals can travel longer distances. The technology is well suited to provide low cost connectivity to rural communities with poor telecommunications infrastructure, and for expanding coverage of wireless broadband in densely populated urban areas.
Google supported its first white space
trial
in the US in 2010, and Google.org recently launched its
spectrum database
for 45 day public comment period with the FCC. In October 2011, we hosted a
workshop
in Johannesburg, along with partners, at which the
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
(ICASA) lent support for an industry-led white spaces trial in South Africa. We then worked together with the
CSIR Meraka Institute
,
Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa
,
e-Schools Network
, the
Wireless Access Providers’ Association
,
Comsol Wireless Solutions
,
Carlson Wireless
, and
Neul
to take up the challenge.
The service will be broadcast from three base stations located at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Tygerberg, Cape Town. Ten schools in the Cape Town area will receive wireless broadband to test the technology. During the trial, we will attempt to show that broadband can be offered over white spaces without interfering with licensed spectrum holders. To prevent interference with other channels, the network uses Google’s spectrum
database
to determine white space availability. To confirm results, the CSIR Meraka Institute will take spectrum measurements and frequently report back to ICASA and the local broadcasters.
White Space technology is gaining momentum around the world. In the US, it is already available for licensed exempt uses. In the UK, regulator Ofcom is working on a model regulatory framework based on a licence-exempt or ‘managed access’ use of television white spaces spectrum. We hope the results of the trial will drive similar regulatory developments in South Africa and other African countries.
To read more about the trial background, please visit
TENET
’s website.
Posted by Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Manager, Google South Africa
Launching a hunt for innovative UK social entrepreneurs
Monday, March 25, 2013
From
cracking the human genome
to
advancing medical research through computer games
, British social entrepreneurs have a proud history of using technology to make the world a better place.
Last year, we launched the
Global Impact Awards
to support nonprofits using technology to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. We gave $23 million to seven organizations working on projects ranging from aerial technology that protects wildlife to data algorithms that ensure more girls and minorities get placed in advanced math and science classes.
Today, as the next step in the Impact Awards, we’re kicking off our first
Global Impact Challenge
in the U.K., inviting British nonprofits to tell us how they would use technology to transform lives. Four nonprofits will each receive a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as Chromebooks and technical assistance from Googlers to help make their project a reality.
Applications open today, and registered British nonprofits are invited to apply online at
g.co/impactchallenge
. We’ll review applications and announce 10 finalists on May 22. At that point, people across the U.K. can learn more about the projects of the top 10 finalists, donate to the ones they like and cast a vote for fan favorite. On June 3, the top 10 finalists will pitch their concepts to a judging panel that includes us (Matt Brittin and Jacquelline Fuller), Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. The three awardees and the fan favorite will be revealed at the event, which will take place at Google London.
Technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and we’re eager to back innovators who are finding new ways to make an impact. Today we’re starting the hunt in the U.K., but we also know that nonprofits all over the world are using techy approaches to develop new solutions in their sector. Who knows, the Global Impact Challenge might head your way next.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, and Matt Brittin, VP, sales and operations, Northern and Central Europe
Supporting freedom of expression in all forms
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Index on Censorship’s
annual awards represent one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious celebrations of freedom of expression in all forms. Held this year in the hallowed halls of London’s
Middle Temple
- one of the four Inns of Court, which have the exclusive right to call men and women to the Bar of England and Wales. According to Index’s chairman,
Jonathan Dimbleby
, the awards celebrate the fundamental right to "write, blog, tweet, speak out, protest and create art and literature and music".
Winners included South African photographer Zanele Muholi, whose photos of black lesbian life in South Africa provoked fierce opposition, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban for militating for education for girls, and Greek editor Kostas Vaxevanis, who was indicted for publishing a list of wealthy Greeks who hold Swiss bank accounts and were accused of evading taxes.
Google supports the event and in particular the prize for Digital Freedom Award, which recognises the original use of new technology to foster debate, argument or dissent. An independent jury chooses the nominees and picks the winner. This year’s award went to imprisoned Palestinian-born Syrian software engineer Bassel Khartabil. A free internet pioneer, Khartabil was arrested on March 15, 2012 in Damascus His family were given no official information about why or where he was detained. Bassel's friend Dana Trometer collected the Index award on his behalf, saying she hoped the award would help him soon win his freedom.
Khartabil is known worldwide for his strong commitment to the open web, teaching others about technology. He is the inventor of an open source software that powers the Open Clip Art Library, an original contributor to the Arabic Wikipedia and the founder of Creative Commons Syria.
Amid the champagne and canapes, in the historic setting, it was inspiring to hear the stories of these brave defenders of freedom. Google is proud to support this important event.
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Training journalists to meet digital challenges
Friday, March 22, 2013
Much ink has been spilled about the challenges posed to the press by the digital age - but even more ought to be spilled about the opportunities of digital journalism. We are supporting
Editors’ Lab Hackdays
, a series of international workshops hosted by world-renowned newsrooms, to help fill this gap.
We recently hosted an
Editors' Lab
in Austria. German-language media groups from Austria, Germany and Switzerland were represented, including
Zeit Online
,
Der Standard
,
Neue Zurcher Zeitung
,
ORF
,
Der Spiegel
and
Vorarlberg Online
.
The theme of the Austrian
Editors’ Lab
was “Covering International Migration.” Participants were organised into teams and competed for a prize of EUR 5000 for the best new storytelling tools, applications and data journalism projects on international migration. “We want to encourage journalists, developers and designers to collaborate stories, even if they are all from different departments,” said Gerold Riedmann, CEO of Russmedia Digital and GEN Board Member.
Editors’ Lab
Austria included presentations and classes. On the opening day, Simon Rogers, Data Blog Editor at the Guardian, gave a keynote address. Adam Thomas, Founder of Hack/Hackers Berlin and Head of Communications of SourceFabric, taught a course on data journalism.
After Austria, there will be further
Editors’ Lab
Hackdays in Cairo, New York City, New Delhi, and Amsterdam. All the winners receive an invitation to the final GEN News Hackathon at the
GEN News Summit
in Paris from June 19 to 21, 2013.
Posted by Wolfgang Fasching-Kapfenberger, Communications and Public Affairs Manager
Urban art, zoomorphic whistles and Hungarian poetry
Thursday, March 21, 2013
There are few places (if any) in the world where you could find urban art, zoomorphic whistles* and Hungarian poetry in a single place—except, of course, on the Internet.
Today 30 new partners are joining the
Google Art Project
, contributing nearly 2,000 diverse works including contemporary art from
Latin America
, ancient art from
China
, rare
Japanese
paintings and Palaeolithic flint heads from
Spain
.
One highlight of the new collection is a
project
to capture the growing trend of urban art and graffiti in Brazil. More than 100 works from walls, doors and galleries in São Paulo have been photographed and will be included in the Art Project. The pieces were chosen by a group of journalists, artists and graffiti experts and include artists such as
Speto
,
Kobra
and
Space Invader
, as well as images of São Paulo’s most famous building-size murals. You can see the contrast in styles in the
Compare
tool and image below.
Photography features strongly in the works our partners are bringing online this time around. The
Fundacion MAPFRE
in Spain showcases one of the largest collections with more than 300 photos from a number of renowned photographers. For example, you can explore Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide’s black and white
images
of indigenous Mexican culture inspired by themes of ritual, death and feminism.
The Art Project is also becoming a home to rare and precious items which move beyond paintings.
Petőfi Literary Museum
in Hungary has contributed the Nemzeti Dal or “
National Song
,” a Hungarian poem which is said to have been the inspiration for the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The original document has rarely been seen in public to prevent humidity and light fading the script further. Online now for the first time, it can be explored by anyone in the world.
With 40,000+ artworks to explore from more than 200 museums in more than 40 countries, we look forward to seeing these new works feature in hundreds of thousands of user galleries you have created to date. Keep an eye on our
Google+ page
for more details about the new collections.
*ceramic whistles in the shape of animals!
Posted by Shahina Rahman, Google Art Project
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