This document discusses citizen media in Madagascar, focusing on local bloggers and their goals of telling local stories, taking back the narrative from stereotypical portrayals, and starting conversations around issues like poverty, the environment, and health crises. It describes how politics and a coup happened, citizens protested armed repression, and bloggers faced risks and challenges with crisis reporting like threats, equipment confiscation, and censorship. Overall it examines the past, present and future opportunities and challenges for citizen media and bloggers in Madagascar, including desires for normalcy after the crisis but also continued accountability and transparency.

1. Citizen Media in Madagascar Achievement and Perspectives

2. Telling our stories The goals of the Malagasy Blogosphere a few years ago….

3. Take back the narrative from Animated Movies and Lemurs

4. Focus on local Bloggers (NOT Diaspora)

5. Start a conversation about…..

6. Poverty 80% living on less than 2$ a day Heterogeneous distribution of Wealth: (Black districts: above poverty average, : grey: 2 SD and white 3SD below average)

7. Environment

8. Health UNICEF: 300,000 at risk of famine in Southern Madagascar (Nov 2009)

9. FUN ( Why Not?)

10. Then Politics (& COUP) happended

11. Protesting armed repression http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVy6Zs1fb8k

12. Media Repression & Citizen media

14. Cameras confiscated for others.

15. Popular website asked to stop publishing

17. What’s next for malagasy bloggers? Yearning for normalcy (having fun again) A reasonable exit to the crisis BUT Yearning for accountability and transparency Contribute to national development Opportunity for personal growth