It was a pleasure to hear so many Adivasi languages being spoken in one place: during a recent Democratization of Media workshop held in Koraput and organized jointly by CGnet Swara and Action Aid. Communication makes a community. That’s really what these 37 participants learned in the workshop. They also learned how to communicate more effectively in their own native languages using new tools like mobile phones.

A decision to observe a training session conducted by Colombia’s independent Electoral Observer Mission brought me from Bogota to Barranquilla for two days. The MOE, as it is known here, has had an ongoing presence in Colombia’s political life since 2006. One of the things they are doing as they get ready to observe the local elections is to host a crowd-sourced map with national scope where citizens are able to file reports of what they consider to be election irregularities.