Things I've learned...

Hello my dear friends,
 

I have been quite quiet the last couple of days and am aiming to change this. It is just that Madrid has so much to offer: so many places that I'd like to discover, so many people I'd like to get to know better AND so much food I'd like to taste. :)

However, in contrast to common perception about the Erasmus program, I have also been studying for a bit at my partner university. As you may know, I am following a minor in journalism over here and I must say that I truly enjoy it. When I was younger I always wanted to become a journalist. I loved reading books and writing stories and all that kind of things and I am feeling that those passions are coming back to me somehow. (Here is a book tipp for you [for free]: The Help. Such a good book. It makes you cry and laugh and you really do feel like you are actually there, in the 1960s in Mississippi.)

Obviously the way of working at the Spanish university is much different to what I've been used to in the Netherlands. I didn't have to buy a single book. My lectures consists of maximum 25-30 people. The teachers are real-life journalists and roundabout in their mid-30s. My homework consists of tweeting, blogging and updating Wikipedia articles. And to be honest: I feel like I have learned more practical and useful things for my future career than ever. Finally I can put the things I have studied into practice and can make actually use of them. At the Spanish university, discussions between students and teachers are welcomed and the focus is clearly on learning something you can actually make use of rather than just memorizing one theory after another. I honestly love it this way! But in all fairness I have to highlight that I'm studying journalism over here, a study which obviously differs greatly from a degree in international relations (involving political science, history, law, economics).

So, I'd like to share some of the insights I have gained while studying here with you because some of them I find really interesting and they actually affect all of us. Some of these things, however; we don't know much about and other things are mainly afflicted with negative news undermining their importance. I don't want to talk in a know-it-all-manner, it is just that I find these topics worth sharing and feel like raising some awareness towards them. This are only brief descriptions of some of the key matters.

ACTA, SOPA, PIPA  

Recently, most of us have heard about the aforementioned agreements that most of our governments are about to sign. However, they have aroused a lot of disagreement throughout a large part of the population. Why is that?

Well, first of all I've watched some of the demonstrations online and got the impression that the only people joining the protests were nerds, computer freaks and some other people that usually prefer spending their days inside. :) Consequently, within a few seconds my interest for these protests diminished and I moved on to look up something else. Yet, in one of my classes I was forced to do research on all three of the agreements and was rather surprised when I found out what they entail. As a matter of fact, ACTA, SOPA and PIPA will affect all of us as soon as they have been signed. These argeements can be characterized as a threat to the freedom of speech and may ultimately allow for censorship and surveillance by our governments. Have a look at this video that explains what ACTA is about (even though it says SOPA in its title).

As a matter of fact, some of the key stones of a democracy, namely the freedoms of speech and expression, are at stake with the adoption of these kind of agreements. Net neutrality (a principle that advocates no restrictions by internet service providers or governments on consumers' access to networks that participate in the internet) as we know it would no longer be a given. So actually, this is a thing that affects us all! And I truly believe it needs to be stopped. Have a look at these causes in more detail and decide for yourself. If you are German: here is a petition you can sign (after registering) at the German Bundestag.

WikiLeaks
 

Whenever we hear something about WikiLeaks in the news it is usually dealing with issues such as the law suit of Julian Assange or a news agency reporting about some sort of shocking information uncovered by WikiLeaks. This does not shed a very good light on the organization, I think. However, I have also been asked to do some research on what WikiLeaks is about and, more importantly, what it entails in terms of information spreading and democracy enhancement.
 

WikiLeaks’ website was launched and its first documents were published in December 2006. WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organization and, according to their website, its goal is to bring important news and information to the public. They have become immensely well-known and respect by releasing a video showing the killing of two unarmed journalists in Iraq. The event was clearly a war crime and would have never reached the public if it wouldn't have been leaked. Obviously, the leaking of disclosed information is illegal and this clearly is a weak point of the organization. However, I nonetheless hope that WikiLeaks will in the future be regarded as a platform that enhances our understanding of how the international system functions and who the people that run the world are. The secrecy and uncertainty that overshadows much of diplomacy and policy-making is at times needed and well-founded but can also lead to dishonesty and injustice. Nowadays, journalists are able to use the information provided by WikiLeaks for their news coverage and it seems like the reports have gotten closer to reality than mere interviews with, for example, policy-makers ever will. Ultimately, reporter and the responsible people at WikiLeaks will have to decide when it might be best not to publish a certain story due to, for instance, security reasons but overall this new information outlet seems to be very beneficial for the wider public in terms of obtaining important information.

Anonymous
 

Anonymous can be described as a worldwide online activism group, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity of its members. It is, once again, one of those groups for which I didn't pay much attention to, mostly due to the fact that they wore those masks and I couldn't really make out what they were standing for. Yes, against capitalism.. but did they really think they would change the system? 

However, I believe that the importance of Anonymous is that they were able to mobilize a large amount of people for the same, good cause. The mobilization happened mainly over the web and the message they spread was clear: If we unite together, we can do something. We can actually have an effect.
 

So, I think that most of their members do know that they are not going to change our international system based on capitalism. However, they are convinced that they can have an impact in changing peoples' mindset and may have an impact upon us in order for us to not simply accept inequality and discrimination. What Anonymous does is exercising their democratic power: they hold policy-makers accountable. Not such a bad cause after all...
 

Those are only some of the things that I've been confronted with over the last two month. I've obviously learned much more: cursing in French, how to update Wikipedia articles, that Madrid is beautiful and what Twitter is useful for. :) But I find these topics important and I truly believe that many people (including me) just don't know enough about the issues at stake and, as a consequence, deem them as not interesting for them. You may have recently watched the KONY 2012 video on Facebook and now feel inspired to do something and to fight the inequalities we are confronted with in this world. :) Well, unfortunately the conflict in Uganda is already going on for more than 20 years and most likely Mr Kony has already left the country and is enjoying a cocktail at the beach. In the end, the initiative is about obtaining justice for the Ugandian people, but that is mainly it. Here is a nicely written article that shows up some of the problems that many people, including me, have with the KONY initiative. There are issues, however; that we can still become involved with that matter today and where we can really make a difference - in Western Europe or the World.
 

Stay in touch!!