Talking about women in Azerbaijan

Yesterday I had an opportunity to speak about women rights and their presence online in Azerbaijan. Here is the video.

Interview with Arzu Geybullayeva @ IGF12 from APC on Vimeo.

Internet Governance Forum without Internet

Yes, perhaps this is the first thing that comes to mind when I look back at the last few days of IGF2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan. You would think this of all things would be organized and provided but no. Frankly, not surprised, after hearing from local staff that "we didn't consider Azerbaijani translation for the opening session" (yes, the OPENING session of the conference) or "there wont be any internet today" when I inquired about not working WiFi. 

But thats just logistical impressions. Putting aside all the incredible people I have met not to mention old faces that I have missed while being away, there has been some other highlights that I would love to share here. Like what was said by a representative from the GONGO Azer Hesret "not everything is bad in Azerbaijan, not everything is black in Azerbaijan" during a Joint Open Forum: EBU, CoE, UNESCO, OSCE: Safety of online media actors after Eynulla Fatullayev made a short speech listing many issues in Azerbaijan that do not necessarily make it look good. The strange thing is, pretty much all statements made during the forum by someone from the government or pro- government institution all focused on making counter statements rather than ask questions and address issues with all the representatives. I guess, no one (from the government, pro- government) really understood the point of this forum apart from proving something to the international audience who is already well aware of the reality on the ground.

And then there were some great quotes from work sessions I attended:

Freedom first before we start talking about regulation, Lee Hebberd 

We recognize the power of the Internet, its the oxygen for many people, Lee Hebberd

There is Democracy 2.0 but there is also Autocracy 2.0, Emin Milli

Governments have to make changes themselves, they know the rules, but often they don't respect them

Freedom of speech should be as normal as eating and drinking, EU Parliament representative

Whatever rights exist and guaranteed offline, should be guaranteed online, Lionel Veer

So these are my impressions so far in brief. Will write more once I have more time to reflect. 

'Caucasus Triangle'

Few days ago, I was in Brussels for work. My visit coincided with the II Youth Convention on Volunteering that you can read more about here. Held at the main entrance of the EU Parliament, Convention hosted more than 1500 young people. 

I was lucky to participate at one of the workshops held on the last day of the convention. It was a film screening of a short documentary about the Caucasus prepared by a talented and bright woman Letizia Gambini. The documentary looks at youth, media, and democracy processes in all three Caucasus countries- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. I was there as a guest speaker to talk about currently pressing issues, gender rights, youth rights and etc. after the movie ended. It was a fruitful discussion as we talked about issues ranging from human rights violations to gender equality, visa issues and more.

Overall, this trip to Brussels showed me how little is known about the Caucasus let alone its issues. Strange and ironic in a way especially since we vest so much hope in these higher European institutions for support and understanding and yet it is only a small fraction that is aware of the issues, problems, and difficulties these countries are facing. 

There is so much more that needs to be done to raise more awareness and attention to our region...

In case you are down...

In case you are down or need just tat bit of inspiration or simply want to read something nice and positive, check out Neil Pasricha's 1000 Awesome Things that I discovered just now as I was watching Neil's TED talk. 

And here is his talk: