Español | Français | Nederlands | Italiano | Deutsch | Português | Soomaali | Svenska | | |  
Home Mission Press Room Links Contact Us

August 07, 2005


Archive

Dear visitor! This is an archived site from 2004. The blog entries from September - December are still available below but beware that the links are no longer kept updated.

peace,

the TWS team

Posted by worldspeaks at 10:50 AM | Email to a friend

November 18, 2004


Post-election planning

Do you have ideas for new web based projects?

email us: info@theworldspeaks.net

:-)

Posted by worldspeaks at 01:29 PM | Email to a friend

November 15, 2004


Though dissatisfied with Bush's policies, Africans must come to terms with the realities of US power

CAPE TOWN: African reaction to the re-election of George W. Bush has been ambivalent, swinging between resignation and fear. The common thread is deep concern and anger about a White House that is inclined to war and unilateralism. In so far as this has serious implications for the world, it also impacts Africa.

Kenya's Vice President Moody Awori strongly expresses this sentiment. "I think we are going to see more dictatorship on an international scale," he said. "We are going to see more isolation, where Americans will not bother about the UN. To me that is a very sad affair."

Read the rest of this article...

Posted by Mike at 10:35 PM | Email to a friend

November 01, 2004


Middle East awaits U.S. election result with low expectations

CAIRO: The Arab world, rife with anti-U.S. sentiment, has low expectations of the U.S. presidential election even though it could shape the future of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Two sides of the same coin" is a common reaction, reflecting widespread disillusionment in the region, when comparing U.S. President George W. Bush with his Democratic rival John Kerry.

But the latter often comes out on top in local straw polls.

Read the rest of this article...

Posted by Mike at 09:22 PM | Email to a friend

October 31, 2004


From a Jamaican Perspective "The US election: What's at stake?"

IT'S NOT just many Americans who are scared to death of George W. Bush's return to the White House for another four years: Much of the world is equally, if not more, terrified at that not unlikely prospect. Never has a U.S. President caused as much consternation and apprehension in the international community as has George W. Bush, America's 'born again' president. Many Americans are worried to death that Mr. Bush has so squandered America's goodwill and has so angered militant Muslims and other American detractors that American security is actually more threatened, rather than strengthened, under the Bush presidency.

Read the rest of the article...

Posted by Mike at 05:50 PM | Email to a friend

October 27, 2004


Multilingual debate: US election

From the BBC New UK Edition:

With just days to go in the US presidential election, readers from the BBC's language sites have been discussing the crucial poll.

What outcome do people across the world want to see in this election? How important is it for people living outside the US?

Read a selection of their comments, and the comments of some US-based readers of the BBC News language sites.

Posted by Mike at 09:48 PM | Email to a friend

October 25, 2004


World wants to be counted in U.S. election

PARIS -- At crunch time in U.S. presidential elections, the perennial swing state of Ohio gets plenty of attention, blitzed by the candidates and their volunteers. But this time, Ohioans are also being courted from some unusual, far-flung places.

From the west African desert nation of Mauritania, an illiterate 78-year-old woman has been bombarding her nephew in Cincinnati with phone calls urging him to spread the word that Americans shouldn't vote for George W. Bush. Khadijeto Mint Vall prays five times a day for the president's defeat.

"Allah the powerful must get rid of Bush," she said as she shopped at a dusty market in the capital, Nouakchott, for vegetables, dates and milk.

Read the rest of this article...

Posted by Mike at 11:36 PM | Email to a friend


World Weighs in on U.S. Prez Race

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Satellites and telephone wires bring the battle for the White House to an internet cafe 7,200 miles away in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, where Girma Hagos goes for his daily dose of U.S. election news.

"What happens in America affects us all," the 66-year-old leather exporter said as he sat at a computer. He backs Democratic challenger John Kerry, saying: "I think he will show more interest in Africa."


Unfortunately, they didn't mention us, but we'll let you read the rest of the story anyway.

Posted by Mike at 05:55 PM | Email to a friend

October 22, 2004


Israelis, Palestinians at Odds Over U.S. Election

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - If Israeli settler Rachel Saperstein could decide the outcome of the U.S. election, President Bush would beat Democratic challenger John Kerry by a landslide.

But Gaza shopkeeper Abu Gomaa hopes instead to see Bush's re-election bid go down in flames on Nov. 2. "I want to laugh ... at his humiliation," he says.

Locked in a bloody conflict dragging into its fifth year, Israelis and Palestinians both have a big stake in who governs in Washington and holds sway in Middle East diplomacy.

Read more...

(Also: check out this article on why Israel in turn is missing from the US election debate)

Posted by Mike at 05:18 AM | Email to a friend


Most Iraqis don't care who wins U.S. election

BAGHDAD, Iraq - (KRT) - While domestic polls find the U.S. presidential election is too close to call, in Iraq few people are losing sleep picking between President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Overwhelmingly, they just don't care.

In a survey of 1,285 Iraqis, 58.6 percent said the American elections didn't matter to them. Many said the election process was fixed and that U.S. policy toward Iraq wouldn't change no matter who won.

Read more...

Posted by Mike at 05:15 AM | Email to a friend

October 20, 2004


Bush Receives Endorsement From Iran

AP - By ALI AKBAR DAREINI - Story here

TEHRAN, Iran - The head of Iran's security council said Tuesday that the re-election of President Bush was in Tehran's best interests, despite the administration's axis of evil label, accusations that Iran harbors al-Qaida terrorists and threats of sanctions over the country's nuclear ambitions.

Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security decision-making body.

Read the rest of the story.

Posted by Mike at 05:39 PM | Email to a friend

September 15, 2004


Sign up Today for the Next Meetup!

Meetup up with other local people who are interested in the U.S. presidential election. Participants will discuss the election, record video clips, and draft Dear America and Dear World letters. Everyone is welcome! Sign up for your local Meetup or set up your own in your home town.

Next Meetup: September 22nd, 2004.

http://voices04.meetup.org

Posted by Kajsa at 07:24 AM | Email to a friend

September 02, 2004


Links

Find below a number of related projects. If you know of a site that concerns world opinion and the 2004 U.S. presidential election, please direct us to it: links@theworldspeaks.net. We will gladly add it to the list.

Posted by worldspeaks at 10:58 PM | Email to a friend

September 01, 2004


Founding Web Sites

Election 2004: "The World Speaks" was founded by five online projects.

My America: Letters to America
http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/issue-3-115.jsp
My America: Letters to America is a site that brings together a number of high profile Americans and non-Americans. It was launched in August 2004 by openDemocracy.

Talk to US
http://www.talktous.org
Talk to US addresses a critical problem: US policies impact the whole world, but non-Americans have few ways to communicate directly with mainstream America. The international voices Americans do hear often represent only the extremes -- not ordinary people from around the world. Talk to US is changing this by gathering and distributing 30 second video messages from people around the world.

The World Votes
http://www.theworldvotes.org
Theworldvotes.org gives people all around the world a voice in the forthcoming U.S. Presidential Election. The World Votes was launched in July 2003. Ensure that your voice is heard by casting your vote electronically and add momentum to a worldwide drive to establish global democracy.

Voices '04
http://www.voices04.org
Voices '04 exists in order to foster a dialogue between U.S. voters and non-U.S. citizens in advance of the 2004 presidential election. Visitors will find a collection of Dear America and Dear World letters as well as interviews and news articles about world opinion, the presidential candidates, and the U.S. electoral process.

Earth to America
www.EarthtoAmerica.org will bring the faces and voices of the world to the eyes and ears of US voters before the 2004 elections by inviting a network of over 2,000 organisations in more than 160 countries to send messages via the Earth to America site.

Posted by worldspeaks at 09:40 PM | Email to a friend


Mission

English | Français | Português | Svenska

Welcome to Election 2004: "The World Speaks"

This is the world's online gateway to action, dialogue, and information about the US presidential election in November 2004. Here, everybody is invited to participate - not just US citizens with voting rights. The whole world is watching for the results, and we want to introduce you to the projects that are getting Americans and non-Americans talking about it.

Whether you're voting or just voicing, our mission is to point you to where you can shape your arguments, speak out, create your own video messages, and last but not least: vote.

The World Speaks is a collaboration between Earth to America, Talk to US, Voices '04, The World Votes, and openDemocracy.net's My America: Letters to Americans.

We're absolutely non-partisan. But we share a belief that:

  • The outcome of the US presidential election affects all world citizens
  • Free and open discussion across national borders fosters understanding
  • The internet is revolutionizing communication between US voters and non-US citizens

We hope you will find ideas and arguments that engage, stimulate and surprise you! We also hope that you yourself will take the time to contribute.

Posted by worldspeaks at 09:36 PM | Email to a friend


Mission

English | Français | Português | Svenska

Bienvenue au portal www.theworldspeaks.net ou le Monde s’Exprime!

C’est votre portail au dialogue, a l'action et a l'information mondiale sur l'election présidentielle aux Etats-Unis en Novembre 2004. Ici tout le monde est invite a y participer, pas seulement les Americains qui ont le droit de voter. Le monde entier suit les débats et attends les resultats de cette élection présidentielle. Nous voulons vous présenter nos projects qui sont discuté autant par des Americains que par des non-Americains.

Que vous votiez ou que vous ne vouliez que vous exprimer, notre mission est de vous diriger vers les differents sites qui vous permetterons de creer vos arguments, de vous exprimer ou de créer vos propres messages video, mais sans oublier, qui vous permetteras aussi de voter.

The World Speaks est une collaboration entre “Talk to US”, “Voices ‘04”, “the World Votes”, et la lettre de “Opendemocracy.net” intitulée: Lettre aux Américains.

Nous ne sommes partisans d’aucun parti, mais nous partagons les pensées suivantes:

  • Les resultants de l’élection Américaine affecterons le monde entier

  • Des discussions libres et ouvertes au travers des frontiers apportent une meilleure compréhension

  • L’internet a révolutioné la communication entre les gens des Etats-Unis qui votent et les citoyens non Américains

Nous ésperons que vous trouverez des idées et des arguments qui vous provoqueront, qui vous stimuleront et qui vous surprendront! Nous ésperons aussi que vous aussi prendrez le temps d’y contribuer.

A tres bientôt!

Posted by worldspeaks at 06:21 PM | Email to a friend


Missão

English | Français | Português | Svenska

Benvindo ao portal The World Speaks!

Este é o portal mundial para ação, dialogo e informação sobre a eleição presidencial norte-americana em novembro de 2004. Todos estão convidados a participar – não apenas eleitores americanos. O mundo inteiro esta de olho nos resultados, e nos queremos apresentar a você os projetos que estão fazendo americanos e não-americanos discutir o tema.

Não importa se você esta votando ou apenas se expressando, nossa missão é mostrar o caminho para onde você possa trabalhar seus argumentos, falar livremente, criar suas vídeo-mensagens e VOTAR.

The World Speaks é uma iniciativa das ongs Talk to US, Voices '04, The World Votes, e openDemocracy.net's Minha America: Cartas para Americanos.

Nos somos absolutamente neutros, mas acreditamos que:


  • O resultado das eleições norte-americanas afeta todos os cidadãos do mundo.

  • Discussão livre e aberta ultrapassando as fronteiras desenvolve compreensão.

  • A internet esta revolucionando a comunicação entre eleitores americanos e cidadãos de outros paises.

Nos esperamos que você encontre idéias e argumentos que te engajem, estimulem e surpreendam! E também esperamos que você encontre tempo para contribuir

Volte sempre.

Posted by worldspeaks at 06:21 PM | Email to a friend


Mission

English | Français | Português | Svenska

Välkomna till "The World Speaks" portal!

Det här är den globala mötesplatsen för aktivism, dialog och information om det amerikanska presidentvalet i november 2004. Hit är alla välkomna, inte bara amerikanska medborgare med rösträtt. Hela världen väntar med spänning på valutgången och vi introducerar dig till projekten som får amerikaner och ickeamerikaner att prata med varandra.

Oavsett om du har formell rösträtt eller ej är vår mission att tipsa dig om webbplatser där du kan vässa dina argument, debattera, publicera dina egna videomeddelanden, och, sist men inte minst: rösta.

"The World Speaks" är ett samarbete mellan: openDemocracy My America: Letters to Americans, Earth to America, Talk to US, The World Votes och Voices '04.

Vi är helt opartiska. Men vi anser att:


  • Det amerikanska presidentvalet berör alla världsmedborgare

  • Fri och öppen diskussion över nationsgränser leder till ökad förståelse

  • Internet revolutionerar kommunikationen mellan amerikanska väljare och omvärlden.

Vi hoppas att du hittar idéer och argument som engagerar, stimulerar och överraskar dig. Vi hoppas också att du själv tar dig tid till att delta.

Kom tillbaka snart!

Posted by worldspeaks at 06:13 PM | Email to a friend


New Internet Gateway Gets Americans and Non-Americans Talking About the US Election

For Immediate Release
Sept 8, 2004

‘The World Speaks’ Launches as a Collaboration between Five International Websites

THE HAGUE, LONDON, NEW YORK, SEATTLE, STOCKHOLM and TORONTO —The World Speaks (www.theworldspeaks.net) launched today, creating a global online gateway that facilitates a multimedia dialogue between Americans and non-Americans in advance of the US presidential election.

Through www.theworldspeaks.net, the 700 million people connected to the Internet on every continent have the opportunity to talk, write and send video messages to Americans about their hopes and concerns for the most anticipated and important US election in recent history. And Americans are responding!

With only two months to go before Election Day, www.theworldspeaks.net lifts the quality of debate while bringing the discussion down to an intimate and personal level. No press secretaries, no ministry spokespersons, just real people with real concerns. Whether non-Americans support Bush or Kerry, they want US voters to think about the world before they drop the ballot. And recent polls clearly show that Americans care what the world thinks, understanding that security at home starts with being respected internationally.

The World Speaks is a spontaneous collaboration between five international websites based in Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the USA. Together, they have a collective audience that runs up in the hundreds of thousands, and through media partnerships and syndication, millions.

The five groups are:

openDemocracy.net - My America: Letters to Americans
www.openDemocracy.net is a website for debate about global politics and culture. Leading up to the US election openDemocracy is publishing a weekly exchange of letters in which Americans and non-Americans share their thoughts and feelings about the world’s lone superpower. My America: Letters to Americans delivers a wide range of fresh, provocative and stimulating exchanges as politicians, writers, and artists with differing viewpoints describe what America means to them. Letters exchanges so far have included: Chinese human rights activist, Wei Jingsheng and Anne-Marie Slaughter of Princeton University; British economist Will Hutton and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform; Indian editor Antara Dev Sen and Dinesh D’Souza, writer of What’s So Great About America. This project is an example of what openDemocracy.net does best, assisting hard thought about global issues through strong argument and counter-argument.

Solana Larsen from www.openDemocracy.net says: “Without dialogue there is no understanding. And the world needs to understand America’s decision, regardless of who is elected. World peace depends on it. Of course, if foreigners can help sway America’s decision: great. The United States isn’t alone on the planet.”


Talk to US
“Pretend your camera leads straight into the living rooms of all 300 million Americans, and then answer the question: "What would you like to say to the people of the United States?" Talk to US is a global forum created to broadcast the ideas, concerns, or stories of people around the world to ordinary US citizens through short video clips. World citizens record their opinions, and submit them to www.talktoUS.org The video clips, captured by professional filmmakers, as well as by anyone with a video camera and the desire to express themselves, already feature people from more than 15 countries and turn global issues from impersonal statistics into personal stories. It is these stories that have the power to open hearts and minds, raise important questions and create connections across borders. Some of the partners in this project include: Americans for Informed Democracy, American Voices Abroad, Global Exchange, Link TV, Mercy Corps, National Alliance for Media Artc and Culture, OneWorld TV and YMDI/Media Rights.

Kajsa Klein from www.talktoUS.org says: “There is a tremendous desire around the world to communicate with the American people. The biggest hope for keeping the United States mindful of international public opinion, are the estimated 700 million people connected to the Internet.”


Voices '04
www.Voices04.org combines the personal quality of letter-writing with the massive scale of global and instantaneous electronic communication. Launched exactly one year in advance of the 2004 U.S. presidential election, the project invites all non-U.S. citizens to submit Dear America letters and all U.S. voters to contribute statements to the world. The result is a much needed exchange of ideas among those who can vote on November 2nd and those who cannot. Authors of Voices ‘04 letters can write on any number of topics: including specific foreign policy issues, the Republican, Democratic, and Third Party candidates, the electoral process, or the current state of America-World relations. To date, the site has received letters from world citizens based in the U.K., France, Austria, Germany, Russia, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, The Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Australia, China, Haiti, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Voices ‘04 is supported in part by the University of Toronto’s McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology.

Peter Deitz from www.Voices04.org says: “The online projects we link to on www.theworldspeaks.net enable world citizens to talk with one another - not as governments to governments across borders – but as people to people.”


The World Votes
Theworldvotes.org is the first global e-democracy experiment and provides citizens around the world with a voice in the US election. The idea is to hold a mock election via the Internet at individual discretion, giving everyone around the world with access to the Internet the chance to cast a vote. Bush or Kerry? Voters choose the candidate they think is best for the world, giving reasons for their choice. The final outcome of the global vote for the U.S. President will be published on November 2, 2004. During the election campaign, intermediate polls will be published as well allowing U.S. citizens to take world opinion into account when making their own decision. This is what theworldvotes.org seeks to be: a community for the world’s citizenry to let present and future presidents know what they expect of the world’s most powerful state. Theworldsvotes.org gives everybody a chance to be counted.

Wiebe de Jager from Theworldvotes.org says: "The foreign policy of the next president is of direct concern to citizens around the world. What was missing was a way for citizens around the world to express themselves and be counted."


Earth to America
www.EarthtoAmerica.org will bring the faces and voices of the world to the eyes and ears of US voters before the 2004 elections. Our goal is for Americans to hear directly from people worldwide about how the outcome of the 2004 US election—and the policies that will follow—will directly affect their lives. Earth to America will contact over 2,000 organizations in more than 160 countries that are Partners in the EarthAction Network, and invite them, and their millions of members, to send messages from the Earth to America site.

Lois Barber from www.EarthtoAmerica.org says: “By increasing US voters’ awareness and understanding of America’s interconnectedness to the rest of the world, we believe more Americans will be motivated to vote for a candidate who will work to create a more just, peaceful and equitable world.”

Posted by worldspeaks at 02:57 PM | Email to a friend


Discuss Election 2004: "The World Speaks"

Please respond to Election 2004: "The World Speaks." Feel free to discuss specific aspects of the partner sites, or simply leave a more general message for all of us. We look forward to receiving your feedback.

To start, click on the comments link below or fill in the form.

Posted by worldspeaks at 02:46 PM | Email to a friend


Press Room

Election 2004: "The World Speaks" was launched as a spontaneous collaboration among five international sites. Please use the information below to learn more about our project and make contact with us. We are happy to talk with any U.S. or non-U.S. publication that is planning to write an article on world opinion and the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

Press Releases

28-Oct-2004: "Website Urges US Voters to Communicate with Non-Americans"

28-Oct-2004: "'The World Speaks' Urges President Bush to Re-open his Website to the World"

08-Sept-2004: "New Internet Gateway Gets Americans and Non-Americans Talking about the US Election"


Media Contacts

Solana Larsen, based in New York and London (English or Spanish): +1 (646) 220 1459

Kajsa Klein, based in Stockholm (English or Swedish): +46 73 39 08 819

Or email: press@theworldspeaks.net and we’ll get back to you.

Press Coverage

BBC News: "World finds voice on US vote online," Oct 28, 2004

Los Angeles Times: "World Citizens Use Web to Weigh In on U.S. Foreign Policy," Oct 1, 2004

Posted by worldspeaks at 02:28 PM | Email to a friend


Contact Us

Please direct general questions or comments to: info@theworldspeaks.net

We have also included contact information for the people who manage each of the Election 2004: "The World Speaks" partner sites.

openDemocracy's My America: Letters to Americans
Solana Larsen
solana.larsen@opendemocracy.net


Talk to US
William Brent
william.brent@talktoUS.org
Brad de Graf
brad.degraf@talktoUS.org
Kajsa Klein
kajsa.klein@talktoUS.org


The World Votes
Wiebe de Jager & Bart Lacroix
contact@theworldvotes.org


Voices '04
Peter Deitz
peter@voices04.org

Michael Hollander
mike@voices04.org


Earth to America
Lois Barber
lois@earthaction.org


Posted by worldspeaks at 02:05 PM | Email to a friend

August 2005
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
  1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31      











Syndicate this site (XML)

Copyright (C) 2004 The World Speaks

Talk to US The World Votes Voices '04 My America: Letters to Americans Earth to America