Neweurasia
Encyclopedia
neweurasia is a network of weblogs about Central Asia
and the Caucasus
. neweurasia's central idea has revolved around "bridge blogging", enlisting bloggers who speak both English
and local languages to serve as links between the English and local-language blogging communities ("blogospheres"). The project also focuses on training new bloggers, both within the network and on the ground in the region itself via workshops and training seminars.
The project is supported by Hivos, a non-governmental organization based in the Netherlands, and by the news service EurasiaNet. It has previously been supported by the Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations Network.
lists neweurasia as one of its 4,500 news sources. The project is also listed as one of the seven blogs on the Russia navigator page of the New York Times and was mentioned in The Guardian
print edition twice. The project staff claim that there have also been multiple cases of Central Asian news sources cross-posting neweurasia material, such as The Times of Central Asia, KUB.kz and Gazeta.kg. Roundups of the Central Asian blogosphere appear on Global Voices Online
as well as several local-language major and minor news services throughout the region.
(TOL), an online magazine based in Prague
, Czech Republic
, to "explore the vast potential of blogging to act as a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, advocacy, and self-expression in Central Asia." In July 2006, neweurasia was blocked in Uzbekistan. Also in 2006, TOL and neweurasia published "An Easy Guide to Blogging" by Nathan Hamm, a founding editor of Registan.net and "Safe Blogging & Online Privacy Made Easy."
Beginning in September 2006, TOL and neweurasia held a conference on blogging in Almaty
, Kazakhstan
. Since then the project has run over twenty workshops on new media
and blogging in Central Asia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe
.
In February 2008, neweurasia announced the start of a book project entitled, CyberChaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia. The project combines elements of crowdsourcing
and traditional editing. Additionally, the marketing plan for the planned Russian edition has apparently been inspired by the methods Samizdat
.
In June 2009 the main website was rebooted. The new design integrates the formerly separate English and Russian sites while devolving greater autonomy upon the network's local language sites.
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. neweurasia's central idea has revolved around "bridge blogging", enlisting bloggers who speak both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and local languages to serve as links between the English and local-language blogging communities ("blogospheres"). The project also focuses on training new bloggers, both within the network and on the ground in the region itself via workshops and training seminars.
Background
Initially a 2005 side project of Thinking-East.net, an "e-publishing platform" consisting of news analysis by Middle Eastern and Central Asian university students, by 2006 it developed into an independent operation. While Thinking-East.net (or simply, Thinking-East) has since become defunct, neweurasia has grown to become the largest blogging platform in the region. The project reports 100,000 unique page views per month.The project is supported by Hivos, a non-governmental organization based in the Netherlands, and by the news service EurasiaNet. It has previously been supported by the Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations Network.
Impact
The online news aggregator Google NewsGoogle News
Google News is a free news aggregator provided by Google Inc, selecting recent items from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation algorithm....
lists neweurasia as one of its 4,500 news sources. The project is also listed as one of the seven blogs on the Russia navigator page of the New York Times and was mentioned in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
print edition twice. The project staff claim that there have also been multiple cases of Central Asian news sources cross-posting neweurasia material, such as The Times of Central Asia, KUB.kz and Gazeta.kg. Roundups of the Central Asian blogosphere appear on Global Voices Online
Global Voices Online
Global Voices Online is an international network of bloggers and citizen journalists that follow, report, and summarizes what is going on in the blogosphere in every corner of the world...
as well as several local-language major and minor news services throughout the region.
History
In February 2006, neweurasia teamed up with Transitions onlineTransitions online
Transitions Online is a media development organization and online journal covering news and events in the 29 post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, South Eastern Europe, Russia, the Baltics, the Caucasus, Central Asia.- History :...
(TOL), an online magazine based in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, to "explore the vast potential of blogging to act as a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, advocacy, and self-expression in Central Asia." In July 2006, neweurasia was blocked in Uzbekistan. Also in 2006, TOL and neweurasia published "An Easy Guide to Blogging" by Nathan Hamm, a founding editor of Registan.net and "Safe Blogging & Online Privacy Made Easy."
Beginning in September 2006, TOL and neweurasia held a conference on blogging in Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Since then the project has run over twenty workshops on new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
and blogging in Central Asia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
In February 2008, neweurasia announced the start of a book project entitled, CyberChaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia. The project combines elements of crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
and traditional editing. Additionally, the marketing plan for the planned Russian edition has apparently been inspired by the methods Samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
.
In June 2009 the main website was rebooted. The new design integrates the formerly separate English and Russian sites while devolving greater autonomy upon the network's local language sites.