Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Kenyan health project captures One Media digital award
Thursday, May 9, 2013
How can digital media communicate critical sexual health messages? That’s the challenge undertaken by this year’s winner of the Google-supported One World Media Awards Digital Media Award winner,
Jongo Love
.
Jongo Love tells the stories of residents of Jongo, a fictional Nairobi slum, the complex relationships that they form and the family planning choices they make. Created by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs’
Tupange Project
, and produced by Well Told Story, a Tupange partner and previous
International Digital Emmy Award winner
, Jongo Love has fast won fans among urban Kenyan radio listeners.
In addition to a radio show, the project includes a Facebook campaign,
YouTube videos
, comic books and a
Twitter feed
. The characters host online live chats to give listeners and viewers the chance to ask their own questions about sexual health and safety. As the show’s makers put it, “Ni hot, ni sexy, ni idialala...ni radio show ita-blow mind Yako!! Every week on Ghetto Radio, Pwani.FM, Radio Lake Victoria, Radio Umoja na many more!”
The award citation praises the show because it “entertains but also passes on crucial information to inspire people to think about the decisions they make around relationships, sex and their future.”
Google is an ongoing supporter of the One World Media Awards, which recognize and showcase the best media content from the developing world.
Posted by Jon Steinberg, External Relations Manager, EMEA
Fostering online child safety in Germany
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Children love the web. Parents want to make sure their children surf safely. Enter a new online platform launched yesterday -
juki
.
Juki combines a video community, interactive lessons, an encyclopedia, and an animation studio, all designed with child safety in mind. It invites children from eight to 12-years-old to explore and participate. They can watch videos contributed by other kids and create and upload their own videos. The animation studio allows children to create their own animated short films. Children learn how to safely navigate the web, how to be creative while still taking care of copyright, and enjoy interactive lessons with quiz and games.
Juki is the latest initiative supported by Google in Germany to promote child safety and positive content for kids on the web. We helped the child-friendly search-engine
fragFINN
since its 2007 launch.
The juki project is part of the German government’s initiative
Ein Netz für Kinder
(A Net for Children) and is supported by the Federal Ministry for Families and Youth and the Federal Ministry Culture and Media. Other partners include the German child welfare association
DKHW
, and voluntary self-regulation organisation`s
FSF
and
FSM
.
The new platform builds in strong safety controls. Parents get involved in the registration process and are required to activate the accounts for their kids. We hope this will encourage both parents and kids to discuss and share online activities, while exploring, creating and learning on the web.
Posted by Sabine Frank, Policy Counsel, Germany
Calling for entries to the EU Hackathon
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The European Union Hackathon is back. For the third straight year, Google is supporting two days of serious fun in September for programmers to code an application that shines a light on an important policy issue. This year’s theme is privacy - and contestants are being asked to work on products that visualize government government access to citizens’ private communications online.
Entries are now being accepted via this
online application
unti June 15, 2013 at noon CET. Complete information about the event is available on this
website
. Help us spread the word to attract talented applicants, or apply yourself!
The hackathon will take place on September 24th-25th, with programming sessions held in the Google Brussels office.
MEP Petru Luhan
is hosting the event’s awards ceremony on WednesdaySeptember 25th from 16.15 to 18.00 at the European Parliament.
European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding
is scheduled to join the ceremonies.
In addition to Google’s support, a broad network of civil society groups are working on the event. They include
Access Now
, the
Center for Democracy & Technology
,
Digitale Gesellschaft
, the
European Digital Rights initiative
, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
, Google, the
Net Users’ Rights Protection Association
, the
Open Knowledge Foundation
,
quintessenz
,
Transparency International
, and
visualizing.org
.
EUHackathon participants will build data visualizations using data sets from network analysis, corporate transparency reports and Freedom of Information Act requests. Greater transparency and awareness are critical to ensuring government surveillance is only used when necessary and proportionate.
Selected applicants will have their travel and accommodation costs covered and the winner or winning team will be awarded EUR5,000, courtesy of our sponsors. Not to forget, there will also be free food and WiFi.
We look forward to seeing you in September.
Posted by Marco Pancini, Senior Policy Manager, Brussels
Marking a cultural shift in computing with EDSAC
Monday, May 6, 2013
Computing’s early days are
full
of
stories
about great technical leaps forward. But sometimes what matters most isn’t a shift in technology so much as a change in the way it is used. The “
Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator
” (EDSAC)—64 years old today—is a stellar example.
Entry from log book marking the first day that EDSAC was in operation: “May 6th 1949. Machine in operation for first time. Printed a table of squares (0-99), time for programme 2 mins, 35 sec. Four tanks of battery 1 in operation”. Reproduced with kind permission of Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge
EDSAC is noteworthy for marking the transition from “
test to tool
” in civilian computing.
Maurice Wilkes
, EDSAC’s designer, sought to build a multi-purpose, reliable workhorse that would bring unrivalled calculating power to University of Cambridge researchers. His aim wasn’t to be at the cutting edge of engineering; rather to be at the forefront of delivering a computer-powered general calculation service. Above all else, Wilkes wanted EDSAC to be a
practical computer
, useful and accessible to a wide range of researchers.
Short film
celebrating the work of EDSAC’s team, led by Maurice Wilkes, produced by Google
In May 1949 EDSAC became the world’s first general purpose stored program computer to enter regular service, transforming scientific research at the University of Cambridge by making it possible to speedily tackle analyses of previously impractical scale, across disciplines as varied as astronomy, economics, biology and more.
But EDSAC’s legacy stretches far further.
Subroutines
—a central tenet of programming today—were invented by
David Wheeler
to make it easier to program EDSAC by re-using lines of existing code. The
world’s first computer science diploma
had EDSAC as its foundation. The
world’s first business computer
was built with EDSAC as a prototype.
Sadly, little remains physically of EDSAC today. That’s why a team of U.K. volunteers have embarked on
an ambitious project
to construct a working replica of the original EDSAC, in partnership with
The National Museum of Computing
. We’re
delighted to support
the EDSAC Rebuild Project, and we look forward to welcoming it back to regular service—as a reminder of the U.K.’s illustrious computing past.
Posted by Lynette Webb, Senior Manager, External Relations
Data journalism awards shortlist announced
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Not long ago, reporters digging through data set to tell stories, probe trends, and even uncover scandals was a novelty. They are now moving into the mainstream - and changing the field of journalism. One sign of this increased popularity comes from the success of the Google-supported
Data Journalism Awards
.
This year’s contest received 300 applications from all over the world, about 10 percent more than the previous year. The 73 finalists come from 19 different countries, ranging from Argentina to Venezuela. Major media groups as well as small, regional newspapers and research groups are included. Click
here
to get a full list of the shortlisted projects.
An independent jury presided over by former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief and Pro-Publica founde
r Paul Steiger
will award total of EUR15,000 to eight winning projects. For the first time, the public will chose a special “Public Choice Award.” Visit
datajournalismawards.org
and vote for your avourite data application or visualisation. Take a look below at last year's award ceremonies.
2012 Data Journalism Awards
from
Global Editors Network
on
Vimeo
.
The winners will be announced during the Global Editors Network News Summit in Paris on June 20 at 6:15pm. All finalists are invited to attend the Data Journalism Awards ceremony.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations
Here comes the collaborative economy
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
When travelling, have you rented somebody’s flat as an alternative to booking a room in a hotel? Or prefered the car-sharing option to taking the train? These new ways of sharing resources are increasingly becoming common practise and are part of an emerging movement often coined as the “collaborative” or “sharing” economy.
We are proud to support the
“OuiShare Fest”
, the first major European event dedicated to the collaborative economy taking place in Paris from May 2 to May 4. During these three days, more than 600 entrepreneurs, designers, economists, investors, politicians and citizens will come together to reflect about how to build a collaborative future.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes
supports the project and even has opened up her blog to a
guest post
from OuiShare’s organizers.
The digital economy has proved a
vector
of economic growth throughout Europe. It has allowed for the emergence of horizontal and networked organizations that offer new opportunities in traditional sectors from health to transportation, education and finance. Online platforms that offer services such as crowdfunding, taxi-sharing or flat-renting are testimony to the rise of new business models which are based on a culture of openness and transparency.
OuiShare will do much to “connect” the actors of this new movement across Europe and we wish them a successful OuiShare Fest.
Posted by Florian Maganza, Policy Analyst, Paris
Peeking into the Science Museum’s “Information Age” gallery
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Last night, we were treated to a glimpse of the construction underway for the London Science Museum’s new gallery about the history of communications -- starting with a new name, “
Information Age
”.
Due to open in September 2014, “Information Age” will show how the history of information is a history of networked communication. It will showcase transformations in the way people have used technology to connect to each other.
Google is among the principal funders
for the gallery, which will be a permanent fixture in the museum and take up a whopping 2,500 square metres.
The gallery will be divided into six sections, corresponding to six different communications technologies: telegraph, broadcast TV and radio, telephone exchanges, satellite, web and mobile. Each section will focus on 3 to 4 significant moments, which will be brought to life by bringing historic objects together with the human stories of how they came about and were used. Inventors and their breakthroughs will be celebrated, but crucially also the influence of everyday users whose experiences shaped the way technologies were embraced and evolved.
Artist impressions c.2013, shown with kind permission of Science Museum, University Design Studio
Top: Cable Network, exploring the impact of the electric telegraph in the 19th century
Middle: The tuning coil from Rugby Radio, positioned at the centre of the gallery
Bottom: A GPS satellite model, viewed from the gallery’s sweeping elevated walkway
Google
strongly endorses the role of museums
in helping adults and children alike to appreciate the wonders of science and inspire the next generation of innovators. We’re excited by the plans revealed for “Information Age”, and can’t want to see them made real.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations
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