#bad15

[danselindistress]

I am a really crappy writer but for #BAD15 I decided to give it a try. The theme this year is #RaiseYourVoice have a read to see what you think. Maybe you experienced the same things? Its something I feel strongly about and I feel that people can relate to it! :)

[writersflow]

#RaiseYourVoice

[lifecoachingwithang]

True Instruments of Life’s Song:  Gentleness, Patience, Humility and LOVE! Not #Poverty #RaiseYourVoice #BAD15 @blogactiondayofficial

If we embrace the responsibility to live this life to the fullest, then we have the opportunity to have the courage to acknowledge the fear, and redeem the opposite that resides within us all!

http://lifecoachingwithang.com/2015/10/lets-bring-the-darkenss-of-fear-and-poverty-into-the-light-of-love-and-unity-raiseyourvoice-bad12-worldfoodday.html

[positivedevelopment]

Raise Your Voice

Each year on October 16th Blog Action Day (http://www.blogactionday.org ) brings voices from all over the world together to share their stories and ideas about one important topic. This year's theme is RAISE YOUR VOICE.

We all have the power to create the world we want to see when we raise our voices online. However, for many of our fellow bloggers, citizen journalists and writers, each post they share comes at great personal risk. 2015 has seen unprecedented attacks on those who publish their ideas online. Today we celebrate those heroes who raise their voice when faced with censorship, threats and violence. We will raise our voices to defend their right to raise theirs. It is time that we speak out for positive change. It is time to overcome the silence with both words and actions.

I invite you to speak out with others around the world as we support those who cannot do so safely. Join the global conversation on your own blog. Register online at (http://www.blogactionday.org/register-to-take-part/ )and use #raiseyourvoice #BAD15 #october16

The topic of RAISE YOUR VOICE is very timely for me as I just completed an online Journalism course. During the course we discussed the significance of citizen journalism and media. This is the idea that public citizens play an active role in the collection, reporting, analyzing and disseminating of news and information. This becomes an important alternative form to newsgathering and reporting outside mainstream media institutions. Citizen journalism has been made more accessible to people worldwide through new media technology, such as social networking (think of the use of Twitter during the Arab Spring in 2011), media sharing websites and cell phones. Due to this technology's availability citizens can often report breaking news quicker than traditional media reporters. Citizen media refers to the ways in which the audience can also become participants in the media using the different resources offered. There are criticisms of the subjectivity and unreliability of citizen journalism; however, the significance of a global commentary is the bringing to light some of the world's most underreported stories.

I recognize the importance of social media and online sharing in my own life. I am active on several social media platforms and I "follow" a multitude of different organizations, NGO's, charities, people and news sites. It is through these networks that I often hear about and follow breaking news from around the world. In many ways I am more informed about various issues and events (from political, financial, social, cultural and human rights abuses) than ever before! And in many of these cases I am being informed through what would be defined as citizen media. Now of course you need to be careful about what you read on the internet, but the discussions and commentary that result from this global information sharing is like nothing that has ever been seen in any prior generations. Global support, global movements and global debates are now possible. That is why so much attention is on our generation to be the generation to accomplish the new 2030 Global Goals set by the UN this September (http://www.globalgoals.org/ )

"Each time a person stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." – Robert F. Kennedy

I cannot think of a better quote to end this post. I firmly believe that everyone has a voice and everyone has the right to speak out. In some circumstances this is not possible and I believe it is our responsibility to speak out and fight for their right to be heard. On that note, I would like to end with a recommendation to check out Global Voices (https://globalvoices.org ). Global Voices is a large volunteer community that has been leading the conversation on citizen media reporting since 2005. The curate, verify and translate trending news and stories from blogs, independent press and social media in 167 countries. Their mission is to find the most compelling and important stories coming from marginalized and misrepresented communities.