Welcome to #rbnews international

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#rbnews international was born within radiobubble out of a need to share underreported news about Greece with international audiences during a time of intense worldwide interest for this country. As people who have first-hand knowledge of the situation, we are dedicated to reporting developments in Greece while providing necessary political, economic, social and cultural background information to readers of this blog. The #rbnews team is comprised of citizen journalists who are based in various parts of Greece as well as abroad and provide regular and often exclusive coverage and commentary on events that shape Greece today, in nine languages: Greek, English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian and Portuguese.

You can choose your preferred language below and read the blog:

We’re an open medium for communication and information, run by a community of volunteers. We’re based in Athens, even though many of us live in other cities around the world. We operate on the basis of relationships of trust and mutual respect. We don’t follow the hierarchical structure of conventional, mainstream media.

We inform the world of events in crisis-hit Greece through a permanent newsfeed.
We conduct in-depth research on topics that the mainstream media tend to ignore.
We participate in cultural life, promote communication and spread information.
We develop, promote and support solidarity initiatives for people in need.

Live Radio. In 2007, we called upon citizens to take the media into their own hands. To date, 7,500 radio shows have been uploaded onto our website. They include shows about politics, music, culture, Creative Commons and open source software; original radio plays; radio documentaries; and interviews with both newsmakers and ordinary citizens.  
News & International News. In 2011, we created the hashtag #rbnews and called on people to use it to tweet news. Hundreds thus became citizen journalists, and #rbnews was the second most popular hashtag in Greece in 2012. We collaborated with tweeters to develop a voluntary code of conduct regulating the use of the hashtag. Cross-checked information is published on our news pages, combining the tools of traditional journalism, new media and participatory reporting. 
Hackademy. In 2012, we created this informal learning organization providing workshops and skill-sharing sessions in new media and participatory journalism. Hackademy connects civil society, media professionals and academic society.
The Blogs Section posts the thoughts of Greek bloggers and poets online, and publishes the free magazine Μπαχάρ* to bring them to print.
The Music Section proposes a diverse, and sometimes eclectic, selection of music to our radio listeners and readers of the blog, and organizes events and concerts in the radiobubble Café/Bar.
The Community Section hosts radio shows and podcasts produced and uploaded by citizens.

Our home is the radiobubble Café/Bar: a space open to all, where Greek bloggers but also international journalists and activists visiting Greece get to meet and chat (on air or off air) about news, politics, arts, radio culture, technology and new media.

We use the tools provided by new technologies to promote freedom of expression. 

We have a vision that all citizens should participate in cultural and political life. 

#rbnews: Been there, seen it, shared it.  

We monitor the #rbnews hashtag 24/7 to curate news provided by Greek Twitter users. 

#rbnews was the second most popular hashtag in Greece in 2012 with 393,049 tweets. In 2013, we’re going for first. For this, we need citizen journalists to keep tweeting news with the hashtag, but we also need our volunteer curators to be able to work systematically, around-the-clock, to cross-check information and to upload it to our newsfeed. We also need to strengthen our team of bloggers who select important news items and develop them into articles.

#rbnews international: News from Greece you haven’t heard about

We inform the world of developments in Greece in 8 languages

In the fall of 2012 until the summer of 2013, we broadcasted a full-fledged news show in English together with weekly news bulletins in French and Spanish. An initiative which we want to launch again in the near future. Our news gathering in languages other than Greek is now substantial enough for a webpage of its own, international.radiobubble.gr. We’ve already expanded to a total of 8 languages (other than Greek), and we’re looking into adding even more, in order to inform the world, but also migrant communities living in Greece, of current events and developments in the country.

Hackademy

We train citizen and professional Greek journalists in participatory journalism and new media

The Hackademy was launched by radiobubble in July 2012 as an informal learning programme for citizen journalists but also professional journalists who want to engage with information tools and strategies provided by new technologies. Our purpose is to enable people to improve their contribution to gathering, spreading and sharing information through the web. We also want to support the development of new methods of journalism in the Greek media. The first teaching cycle for New Media and Web Radio, of 96 hours each, began in November 2012. We’ll begin a second cycle of free or low-cost workshops in September 2013, aiming to share our skills with people wanting to contribute to citizen journalism. We will also be offering subsidized seminars for professional journalists who want to expand their understanding of new media and the new forms of journalism evolving online.

Tracking privatizations

We research and assess the anticipated impact of mass privatizations in Greece

The policy supported by Greek governments since 2010, together with their partners in the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has been to push for privatization and private utilization of public property, public assets and public enterprises. They say this will not only help Greece repay its debt, but also bring economic development to the country, despite abundant evidence to the contrary derived from Greek and international experience. In 2012, radiobubble conducted research into the issue of privatizations with funding from the Isvara Foundation and donations from our readers and listeners. In 2013-2014, we will be continuing this research, focusing on individual sectors now due for privatization.

Water and sanitation in urban areas of Greece
We provide a platform for activist groups opposing the privatization of Greek water

Radiobubble secured more funding from the Isvara Foundation in 2013 to conduct research into the issue of water and sanitation in urban areas of Greece in order to analyze the anticipated impact of the privatization of the Athens and Thessaloniki water and sanitation companies EYDAP and EYATH. In addition to larger social movements opposing privatization of water such as Save Greek Water and Kinisi 136, a plethora of small grassroots groups are seeking to address this issue, often with little to no resources and coordination. As a pivotal communications medium for activist movements, radiobubble will enable these groups to network and develop synergies as well as provide a platform for their voices to be heard.

Charting solidarity initiatives

We network with solidarity initiatives in Greece and abroad

Dozens, maybe even hundreds, of solidarity initiatives have sprung up in Greece since the beginning of the crisis. These initiatives include universities supporting farmers to sell their produce at wholesale prices directly to consumers; the volunteer-staffed #tutorpool website, which provides free tutoring to pupils in need of academic support; and power company union members reconnecting electricity to the homes of those who couldn’t afford to pay their bills. By charting this great diversity of solidarity we hope to create a network connecting the different efforts, enabling them to pool knowledge, skills and resources in order to benefit as many people as possible.

Researching the impact of mining in Halkidiki

We report on the movement against gold mining in Northern Greece

The region of Halkidiki in North Eastern Greece is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is threatened with total environmental and social destruction by the ongoing development of an enormous ore mining project. The project is entirely privately run and will bring no benefit whatsoever to the region, its people, or indeed the country. We have researched the issues extensively in the course of 2012 and will publish a print report on the subject and also produce a radio documentary.