Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Throwing off the shackles of communism
Friday, November 14, 2014
A quarter century ago, the people of Central Europe liberated themselves, bringing down the Iron Curtain, choosing capitalism over communism, and democracy over dictatorship. This week, at an event in Prague, we unveiled ten online Google Cultural Institute exhibitions recounting the amazing and thrilling events from Poland in the north to Hungary in the south.
Communism represented an artificial transplant in Central Europe. Throughout history, the region enjoyed strong religious, economic and political ties with the West. The
Museum Masaryk T.G. Lany
brings its readers back to the founding ideas of democracy and freedom on which the Czechoslovak Republic was built through the legacy of the first Czechoslovak president.
All through the 1980s, pressure for change mounted. An independent free trade union called Solidarity swept through Poland at the beginning of the decade. Even though the government declared martial law to crush it, the light of freedom would only be dimmed temporarily. Dissidents appeared. Priests protested. Musicians revolted. The Czech Republic’s
Vaclav Havel Library’s exhibition of black and white photographs
captures not only the period of mass demonstrations in 1989 and the subsequent revolution, but also the visits and performances of cultural icons such as
Frank Zappa
and the US alternative troupe
The Bread and Puppet Theater
. For the citizens of Czechoslovakia, these first tastes of the Western world represented “the first free steps of a society.”
Starting in the spring of 1989, East Germans began fleeing to other Soviet bloc countries. The Hungarian government opened its border with Austria in May and the rush to escape was on. The Vaclav Havel Library exhibit captures the
wave of citizens of the German Democratic Republic
in September who inundated the surroundings of the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Prague, waiting in anticipation for longed permission to travel to the West.
In June, the Polish government legalized Solidarity and held partially free elections. Solidarity won a landslide and formed the Soviet bloc’s first non-communist led government. The
Polish History Museum
has created an exhibit called "Tearing the Iron Curtain apart.” It includes a photo of the symbolic meeting between Poland's first non-communist Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and the German Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Another exhibition from the Julian Antonisz Foundation shows experimental art from the communist era.
In November, the Berlin Wall crumbled and millions of Czechs crowded the streets.
The Muzeum umění Olomouc
has prepared a selection of images from photographer Petr Zatloukal, showing a behind-the-scenes look at the November events. The
Muzeum policie České republiky
showcases photographs of the uniforms of the riot police on 17th November 1989, as they watched, powerless, while millions of Czechs marched for their freedom. Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel emerged from prison to become president. The photographs from the Nadace Dagmar a Václava Havlových VIZE 97 exhibit maps Havel’s extraordinary journey from 1989 to 2011.
Slovakia also won its freedom and soon broke away from Prague to achieve full independence. Its
the Museum of Crimes and Victims of Communism
illustrates the path to freedom through photographs of unknown heroes who participated in country's Candle Demonstration.
The sweep of the events accelerated and the shackles of communism were gone by the end of 1989, not only throughout Central Europe, but also in the Balkan countries of Romania and Bulgaria. The Balts, within the Soviet Union itself, soon would form a human chain hundreds of miles long and win back their freedom. In Hungary, the
Open Society Archives
, is bringing online one of the world's largest archives from the Cold War, including propaganda films and surveillance documents, samizdat and opposition activist videos, publications and posters.
Take time to browse and learn. We believe putting historical material on the Internet and organizing it in a way that allows visitors to read and understand what it felt like to be in the midst of events not only gives more people access to important material but also preserves these perspectives for future generations. Today, memories of the Cold War may be fading and it is our duty to keep them alive as a reminder of the tremendous achievements of the courageous people of Central Europe.
Poste
Posted by William Echikson, Head of Free Expression, Europe
YouTube music hits the right note
Thursday, November 13, 2014
You watched the Belgian singer Stromae perform
Papaoutai
200+ million times on YouTube, helping propel the song about his father to the top of the charts in France and into a global success. And that’s all just for one song.
This week, we’re making it easier to find new music on YouTube and rock out to old favorites by launching a new paid subscription service called
Music Key
. It
lets you watch and listen to music without ads, in the background or offline and is available already in the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with more countries to come soon.
If you’re interested in getting more info on the beta, you can let us know at
youtube.com/musickey
.
Music Key represents a big step forward in our blossoming partnership with the music industry. We've struck new deals with the major producers, thousands of independent record labels, collecting societies and music publishers.
Thanks to your music videos, remixes, covers, and more, you’ve made YouTube the place to go for the music fan.
YouTube benefits both the established musicians as well as newcomers, sending them more
than
$1 billion
.
Of course, YouTube is much more than music. Other types of content creators - from educational to comedy shows - also are finding an audience earning money in our partnership programs. More
-one million channels today earn revenue through the YouTube Partner Program. Thousands of channels make six figures annually. We look forward to continuing to develop new online opportunities for Europe's creators.
Posted by the YouTube Music team, which recently watched
“Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - YouTube Mix.”
It’s time to extend the US Privacy Act to EU citizens
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Last summer’s Snowden revelations not only highlighted the urgent need for surveillance reform but also severely damaged relations between the US and Europe.
Google and many other technology companies have urged the US to take the lead and
introduce reforms
that ensure government surveillance activity is clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight. Sadly, we’ve seen little serious reform to date.
However, the US Government can signal a new attitude when representatives of the European Commission visit Washington DC tomorrow. Right now, European citizens do not have the right to challenge misuse of their data by the US government in US courts -- even though American citizens already enjoy this right in most European countries. It’s why Google supports legislation to extend the US Privacy Act to EU citizens. The Obama Administration has
already pledged
its support for this change and we look forward to to working with Congress to try and make this happen.
We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. The emergence of ISIS and other new threats have reminded us all of the dangers we face. But the balance in the US and many other countries has tipped too far in favour of the state and away from the rights of the individual — rights that are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As President Obama recently
instructed
his Intelligence agencies: “
All persons should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their nationality or wherever they might reside, and that all persons have legitimate privacy interests in the handling of their personal information
.”
Posted by David Drummond Chief Legal Officer, Google
Powering Italy’s exporters with the web
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Before the Internet, almost all exporters were big, powerful companies. Exporting was expensive and time-consuming, requiring large sales, marketing and distribution networks. Today, thanks to the Net, almost any company, anywhere, and of any size, is able to reach a global market with a few clicks of a computer mouse. Italy represents a powerful case study and that’s why we are working with Unioncamere, Symbola Foundation and the Ca ‘Foscari University to expand our pathbreaking
“Made in Italy Digital”
program.
Italy needs to rediscover growth and increasing exports can help. The country’s powerful network of small and medium sized, family-owned companies are homes to craftsmen who produce niche products. Our program gives them tools to bring them online, aiming to help them export and reach global markets. Numerous studies have shown that companies that use the web to promote their business grow twice as fast as those who are not online.
On the program’s
website
, a new section demonstrates how Google Trends, Global Market Finder, Consumer Barometer and Translate, allows companies to launch foreign subsidiaries. The
Giovine family
which has produced wines since 1850, recently started a blog and increased its social network activity - boosting sales by 5%.
Galassia Ceramics
gained 13,000 new visitors to its website, half from France and Spain.
Ghirigoro T-Shirts & Accessories
created a website - and boosted sales by 40 percent in 2014.
Along with the association of the Chambers of Commerce, Unioncamere, we have trained and supported with a scholarship 104 youthful “digitizers” and sent them in 51 chambers of commerce across Italy, where they provide face-to-face advice on how to approach and leverage the Internet. Our online portal offers another guide for companies wishing to meet the challenge of foreign markets. It is self-service. The
eLearning
path shows quick, easy solutions to selling online, launching social media marketing campaigns and much, much more, while the
export toolkit
to help SMBs understand their potential on several global markets and draft their export plan.
Despite these successes, much work remains to be done. According to Unioncamere, only 16 percent of its members have websites and engage in e-commerce. This means that the growth potential for Italy’s small and medium enterprises remains enormous. The task ahead is to embrace the opportunities offered by the Internet and spread global wings.
Posted by Claudio Monteverde, Communications Manager, Milan
#Deutschland25 - a new generation after the Berlin Wall
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Today, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the brave people who tore down the Iron Curtain. Courtesy of the
German Federal Archives
, we have produced a special Doodle featuring unique photos from Berlin in 1989. Berlin composer Nils Frahm created the music.
We also have launched a platform called
#Deutschland25
. It shares the stories of 25 extraordinary personalities who were born in Germany around 1989.
Julia and Natalie
come from Leipzig, the city which saw peaceful demonstrations spark the movement to bring down East German communism. These young women started Code Girls, helping young women feel comfortable to learn programming.
Philipp
from Berlin helps children with his skateboarding culture, while
Lisa and Christian
from Munich launched Hemdless, creating shirts for people with Down’s syndrome. “The stories tell of a generation who have so many great ideas which have already been put into action," says director Bettina Blümner.
These young Germans embrace change and stand for openness, sustainability and tolerance. We at Google share these values. By making these stories accessible online, we hope to spark a conversation, allowing anybody to participate in creating our interactive portrait of today's Germany.
Posted by Frida Elisson, Consumer Marketing Manager, Google
Teaching children to program robots
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
"Programming is child’s play." That’s the motto of our new German cloud platform
Open Roberta
which simplifies programming for small robots for both teachers and students.
Its a priority to encourage students to program - and indeed in the rest of Europe. Every year, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media estimates that Germany lacks 39,000 trained IT experts. Initiatives like Open Roberta are designed to fill this gap, allowing students and teachers to start programming with ease - and enjoy it by making learning into a fun game.
This Open Roberta cloud-based platform allows school kids to program LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robots and control them using mobile devices. The cloud-based approach makes it simple to open the Open Roberta website and get started right away, eliminating the need for any installation or regular updating of PC software.
Researchers at Google and
Fraunhofer IAIS
have been collaborating since the spring of 2013 on ways to simplify programming of these little robots. The aim was to minimize technical hurdles for both students and the 1,000 certified 'Roberta Teachers'. Our solution with Open Roberta is to put the software in the cloud and open source it. Google.org provided Fraunhofer IAIS the necessary EUR1 million in funding to develop the new program. In parallel with the launch of the platform, LEGO Education introduced 160 all-new kits to be given in ten-packs to schools in the 16 German states.
Open Roberta makes it possible for kids to work on their programming projects both at school and at home, share them with others, and tinker away on them together – anywhere and anytime. At the same time, this approach is of particular advantage to schools, which often do not have enough computers for all their students.
Tutorials soon will be available for teachers on using Open Roberta in ways that meet the diverging interests of girls and boys. We at Google are proud to be supporting this initiative. Additional information is posted at
open-roberta.org
. To get started with programming, just visit the Open Roberta Lab at
lab.open-roberta.org
... and unleash the robots!
Posted by Sabine Frank, policy counsel for Child Welfare and Media Literacy
Explore the haunted corners of Europe....if you dare
Friday, October 31, 2014
Something wicked this way comes… Whether you’re a trio of
witches
back from the dead or just a trick-or-treater, chances are you’re hitting the streets (or riding a broom!) on Halloween night. For those looking for an extra fright, take a tour of spooky places from around the world on Google Maps.
Start in 19th century Paris. While cheery guests listen to the beautiful arias at the Opéra Garnier, a dreary lake lies beneath the streets. Floating above the silent water, a
phantom
lurks. Are your eyes playing tricks on you... or is that a cloaked figure looming in the shadows?
For the holiday, we've also just released some new imagery in Italy, Romania and Slovakia. Start with Italy's premier witchcraft museum, the
Museo della Stregoneria di Triora
.
Continue onto Slovakia and the Čachtický hrad, a castle where Elizabeth Báthory, a countess from the renowned Báthory family, lived. Stories describe her vampire-like tendencies (most famously the tale that she bathed in the blood of young servant girls who she killed - to retain her youth).
Conclude with the spookiest site of them all in Romania - Dracula's own Bran Castle. The Dracula's Castle was built on the edge of the Bran Pass and nowadays lures guests worldwide who wish to partake in the legend of the Count Dracula.
If these spooky spots whet your appetite for fear, get up close with some of the most frightful locations in Google Maps Gallery and find ghouls and goblins in haunted houses around the world. If you’re looking for a laugh instead of a scream, take a hayride through your local corn maze, find the perfect jack-o-lantern at your neighboring pumpkin patch, and scout the best trick-or-treat routes near you.
Now get your cauldrons bubbling and monsters mashing because after all, this is
Halloween
!
Posted by Valentina Frassi, Google Maps Zombie Bride
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