Congrats to another fine batch of TH!NKers! These three phenomenal participants are heading off to the big apple in mid-September to attend the much anticipated MDG Review Summit.
The trip will be a comprehensive one -- providing an in-depth look at MDG successes so far and the work to be done in the next few years to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. World leaders, organisations and activists from accross the globe will attend the summit. We are proud to have three TH!NKers in attendance to report on the happenings!
The TH!NKers will be reporting from Digital Media Lounge (UN foundation, Mashable, and 92Y) on 21th-23rd September where they will have opportunities to meet TH!NK3's partner organisations: UN Millennium Campaign, LinkTV and Oxfam.
They will also visit MDGs-related events organised by
- The Earth Institute of Columbia University
- World Summit Youth Award (WSYA)
- StandUp NYC
The lucky attendees are three bloggers who have worked hard to provide the competition with insightful, thought-provoking contributions throughout the last 5 months.
They are:
Luan Galani - A twenty-something eternal apprentice who has a passionate interest in what happens around him. Fascinated by the under-reported, he refuses to be a detached observer and never tires of exploring the untold. His long-life dream is reporting from conflict zones in order to raise awareness, dig up the underbelly side of war and shield human rights.
Andrea Arzaba - Andrea Arzaba defines herself as a “journalist, peace activist, indigenous cultures lover and an eager world traveller”. She has worked as a journalist for different publications such as LACVOX, UNICEF'S Latin American Blog, 8-80a Universidad Iberoamericana Newspaper. She is currently a journalist for the North American publication Dispatches International and a blogger for Global Voices Online. Andrea has been chosen as a Mexican delegate for the World Youth Congress: Regeneration in Canada (2008), Clinton Glotal Initiative in Austin, Texas, People to People’s Peace Camp in Jordan, and for the International Day of Peace at the UN headquarters in NYC (2009). Andrea is studying her BA in Communications at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City but she is currently studying a semester at Universidad Complutense in Madrid.
Congrats!
first of all you want to teach us or us to teach other the transparency - one of the key point in the accra agenda for action. there is no transparency in this project at all, unfortunately, no rules, no promotion of the content we published here. I also make a soft project and I know how difficult it is, but it’s a little bit unfair to do something like you have done now - i mean changing or saying the rules of the competition with the results. First of all in Brussels it was said that there will be 10 winners for NY and that NY is the final and main prize. So what happened? It was said that the competition ends in the end of August. So why do you say now that we still need to compete and spend a lot of time (free and work) to have a chance for some short trip to Africa. I like the people who wrote for this platform and I’ve learnt a lot. With the ending of the competition I wanted to chill out and not speed to do something to deserve a trip. I do believe that till end of August I have worked hard and do deserve one of the 30 places for the trips. So please do not write sweet motivating words for us and please tell what is really the reason that you have changed the rules.
To be clear - I’m not angry that I didn’t win the participation in NY summit as I’ve known it since couples of day. We are journalists in the end
Can you please write the names who is in the jury and what were the key things that make Andrea, Luan and Larisa won? It is public money for the project so I just want to know.
@Iwona - fair enough on the transparency point but maybe I mis-remember but I always thought it was 3 people to NYC and 10 on each of the other trips…
Well done to the 3 of you - great blogs, well deserved!
well, I was always sure that it was 10 (and i know that it was not just me…), but it doesn’t matter how many people in fact. “Remember, 30 of you will have a chance to travel to Africa and Asia for reporting trips” So a lot of places still left
however i don’t understand why “still posting” to win it.
Congratulations! If the other trips are as good as KL you’ll have a ball and learn heaps.
Andrea
Great to see another Global Voices author up there. Hope everyone else will join us on that great platform.
Congratulations guys!
@Luan, I knew you’d be in one of the trips! Super congratulations. I’m really enjoying your posts
Big congrats, guys! Looking forward to your blogs from NYC
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Luan, Andrea, Larisa: congratulations!!! Great posts, looking forward to read from your NYC experience!
@Iwona: Actually, I remember that in Brussels they said that there will be 30 winners for the trips. I also thought 10, 10, and 10, but maybe because of the difficulties to enter the UN General Assembly, the places will be distributed differently and then: 10 for Asia, 3 for NYC, and the rest (17?) for Africa!!! Anyway, I enjoed very much for posts and I’m sure you’ll be one of the next winners!!!
Congrats to all three of you! Well deserved.
Luan, Andrea, Larisa, congratulations! Well deserved! I had my bets on you guys
Andrea, GV for the win!
@Iwona: As Hussam, I do remember they said there’ll be 30 winners, and I also thought it was 10 to each trip, but that last part was just my mind. I also disagree with the fact that we have to keep posting in order to continue participating, because in the beginning they said very specifically that there was a deadline, and I won’t invest my time beyond that. If that means I won’t opt to the trip to Africa, so it be. I don’t like when people change the rules after the game.
First of all, I would like to congratulate the winners. Both Luan and Andrea were my types! Looking forward to your contribution from the big apple!
@ Hussam, Marianne and Iwona
I had same impression you did - despite the widespread rumours there were only 3 people to go to NY, I still genuinely believed there were 10 NYC winners to be announced, and although the statement 10-10-10 might have been little explicit, giving false impressions to young journalists and bloggers working hard to improve their future, is a little unfair.
I also agree with both of the points you made:
1. Lack of transparency surrounding the announcement of the results
2. Changing the rules after the game
As a journalist, I have to say I admire your (Iwona, Hussam and Marianne) attitude and I am greatly inspired by the fact you have behaved like real journalists: instead of hiding with your views as, after all, your trip depends greatly on the guys on the top, you speak out your mind.
As a change agent
I would say that I believe that Martin Luther King wouldn’t compromise and keep his mouth shot for sake of winning a trip, FAIR PLAY ON YOU!
Finally, as I am heading off to Tanzania in 3 weeks’ time, I may be still contributing to this platform with posts from the field, especially that any stay in Africa inspires me a great lot and makes me more productive.
Hope the organizers respond to our doubts soon.
*keep his mouth shut
Thanks for support guys. Helena, it’s not about hope that organisers will respond to our doubts but about their responsibility and duty as it is not their private money that are spend for coordinating this project. It is also about respect to us and to the topic we are dealing here - MDG, I mean of course. Another thing which is also unfair in all this unpleasant situation, is the fact that the winners had known the results in the mid of August while nobody stopped us from writing till the end of the month…
Congratulations to the three final winners. Well done.
Many congratulations to you all. Clare.
Congratulations to the three (which should have been 10) winners! I was convinced that some of the most fanatic bloggers (like at least one of the Knols Brothers) would surely make it to NY.. Tough Luck guys!
One more example of changing the rules silently: in Brussels we were told that sine qua non condition to win is to write at least 20 posts. Not all so-far winners did it.
Wow, glad I’m not the only one under the impression that 10 winners were due to go to New York. I had 10-10-10 written in my notebook from the Brussels event and liked the odds considering not all 100 participants had written the required 20 articles. Truth be told I’m still finding it hard to hide my disappointment, I was really hoping to be able to report live from the summit, but nonetheless congratulations to the lucky three - I look forward to reading your ‘insightful and thought-provoking’ articles from New York…
I think it’s a great opportunity that we can still add posts and keep on writing. I still have some more things to share, so I’m glad this is not over yet.
@Mussa, it’s not the point. I want to use platform as well and noone has any doubts about the fact that’s a great idea we can use it all the time. The issuse is not to count the post which are published after 31 of August to the decision about the winners.
For those who particulary took part in Think3 to participate in the NYC summit try your luck through direct way:
http://www.unfoundation.org/your-role/partners/un-partners/un-week-digital-media-lounge.html
http://www.facebook.com/unitednationsfoundation?v=wall
There must be other posibilities to get there
Nicely done, Luan, Andrea and Larisa! I’m guessing you will have a great time in New York!
Hi Guys,
Here’s the link to the launch event video in which I discuss the number of winners and the final award prizes.
At 11:10 the discussion turns toward awards, criteria and jury. Take a look here, http://vimeo.com/groups/think3/videos/10524303, and you’ll see that 10 winners were never mentioned with respect to the NYC trip.
I’ll post something at length regarding the transparency issue soon.
Congrats again to Luan, Andrea and Larisa!
Guys, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. I’m chuffed about this and on tenterhooks waiting for the moment. Let’s keep up the great job. Our cause deserves it.
And sorry for this late reply. I was on the field preparing a brand new post and was without connection.
Thanks from me too! Apart from trying to contain my excitement, I’m looking into what media write these days about the Summit, attempting to ease the way through plenitude of information I expect to be overwhelmed by. Th!nk3 posts read so far will definitely make that more manageable. Your suggestions regarding the type of content or approach to reports from New York would be really helpful.
I feel so honored!
Thanks everybody who has given us courage and supported us!
As Larisa, I will be looking forward for your suggestions and opinions
And let’s keep TH!NK 3 ALIVE!
REMEMBER we all are CHANGEMAKERS
First of all, congratulations to the winners. In my case, special congratulations to Luan, from my adopted (albeit now abandoned) country of Brazil.
As for the rest of my comment, I am going to be frank - so get ready.
I never liked the idea of a competition. I agreed to participate for other reasons. Unfortunately, until now, I have seen no advance in terms of my other goals. But that’s my problem. No risks, no gains. My problem.
However, I do remember making some quick calculations before I signed on. As I remember it, dozens of people were going to receive travel grant prizes. I won’t say that my decision to participate was determined by that fact, but I did figure that even if my other goals were not attained, at least I’d get a consolation prize.
I am sure that there are reasons why the EJC has cut back on the travel prizes. And I am sure they are legitimate. But I am also sure that someone knew about this well back.
Which begs the question: Why weren’t we informed before? Indeed, we’re not even being informed now, so I might be just shouting that question into the wind. Am I wrong? Do you guys have an explanation?
Luan! Congrats buddy. All the best,!
Hi Again Everyone,
If you look at the video from the launch event http://vimeo.com/groups/think3/videos/10524303, we gave detailed account of what we will be looking for in deciding the winners. The same criteria you find here http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/about/round3_the_rules/.
We have told you that there will be approximately 30 spots on trips to win; this has not changed. The 10-10-10 was never anything but a rumour.
We also said that EJC’s Managing Editor Anne Autio is the head of the jury. She has a solid background in journalism: she has worked more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent, producer and bureau chief. The other members are myself as the chief editor of TH!NK ABOUT IT, Eric Karstens who is former Programming Executive for the RTL Group and Guy Degen.
I hope this answers many of the questions/issues that have been raised here!
Thank you for your reply, Ruth. I appreciate it a lot.
Yeah, have to admit that thanks to Ruth’s replies my disappointment receded
Still preparing for Tanzania (22.09) and can’t wait to post from the field!
sometimes win, sometimes lun - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ABhGlMrLgk&feature=related
Thanks Ruth for the clarification! I knew it was only a misunderstanding. Lookig forward to the results for the African trip!
And to the three winners of the NYC trip: make the most of it, take pics, and looking forward to your posts!
Great work, guys! I think all three of you have done much ore than enough to deserve this honour
)
Thank you guys! We are less than a week away from NYC!
@Bill, Ivaylo, Hussam and Daniel: thank you so much for your support and encouraging words. In just a few days our venture in the big apple will come about. I will make the best out of it, be sure of that.
And let’s continue posting.