Cameroon’s up-and-coming reggae star, Silver, is dedicated to fighting corruption in his country. The 29-year-old uses his music to publicly criticize corrupt politicians and raise awareness for the problem.

Silver started his musical career in 2001 and his debut album, entitled “Reggae Business,” became an instant hit because he addressed issues that affected people: not just corruption, but also HIV/AIDS, war, and Cameroon’s brain drain.

Listen to the report by Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaoundé, Cameroon:

Reggae tunes against bribes

Darko and his indie rock band Side Effect are singing for change in Myanmar. Despite looser censorship laws, he doesn’t feel totally free. But the band’s first-ever tour abroad has given them courage to continue.

Listen to the report by Nadine Wojcik in Berlin:

Singer raises his voice in Myanmar

 

 

Read more about Side Effect in the DW article.

Nairobi photographer Boniface Mwangi is fed up with his country’s politicians. To raise awareness, he’s taking an in-your-face approach with a graffiti campaign, political art show and online newspaper.

Listen to the report by Lucas Laursen, with Mike Elkin, in Nairobi:

Nairobi photographer inspires political activism

Photos by Mike Elkin:

Related links:

Boniface Mwangi’s homepage
The traveling photo exhibit Picha Mtaani
Collaborative art space Pawa 254
Mwangi’s new online newspaper Mavulture

At 19, Proscovia Alengot Oromait is the youngest elected politician not just in Uganda, but in all of Africa. Is the parliamentarian exactly what the young continent needs, or is she lacking experience?

Listen to Alex Gitta’s report from Kampala:

Africa’s youngest MP

At just 18, Agnes Aistleitner from Austria was determined to get to the bottom of the Arab Spring and understand the personal stories behind the crisis. So she headed to Cairo – alone – and began filming and asking questions. The resulting film, “State of Revolution,” won the golden Nica at the ARS Electronica festival.

Listen to the report by Kerry Skyring in Linz:

A young filmmaker’s personal take on Arab Spring

When Philip von der Wippel, a 16-year-old German exchange student in the UK, met Ibrahim, a fellow high-school student originally from Syria, neither ever guessed their friendship would lead them to Nr 10 Downing Street, the iconic office of Britain’s Prime Minister. Now, the campaign they started – to raise awareness about the atrocities taking place in Syria as the country slips slides towards civil war – is going global, thanks in part to the support of Prime Minister Cameron.

Listen to the report by Anja Küppers-McKinnon in London:

Young German voice for Syria

Here is the Facebook page for Philip’s organization, Together We Can for Syria.

North America’s longest student strike in Canada’s French-speaking province Quebec is leading to new and interesting social developments in the region. After Premiere Jean Charest passed an emergency law to quell protests in May 2012, communities defied this law by holding nightly “casseroles” marches – a phenomenon that is now spreading across Canada. The community-based activity is spawning neighborhood assemblies throughout Montreal, where residents are discussing ways to combat everything from social service cutbacks to police repression. Jerome Charaoui, an IT consultant at a Montreal college, got together with some friends to start the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area assembly.

Listen to the report by Carmelle Wolfson:

Democracy goes grassroots in Montreal

Maksim Kats is not your typical politician. The 27-year-old was elected as deputy in the local council in Moscow and has since started counting parked cars in the city with a group of volunteers. They’re collecting hard statistics to show that the city is not friendly to pedestrians – and hopefully change the cityscape in small ways.

DW’s Geert Groot Koerkamp spoke with Maksim and the volunteers helping him in Tverskaya, Moscow’s main shopping street. They have been counting cars and people in several locations in the city, including the district where Maksim is a deputy in the local council. At the same time, they also record other things that are not right, like illegal street advertisements.

Listen to the report from Geert Groot Koerkamp:

Russian activist changes Moscow by counting cars

What will life be like in the year 2030? How can we help shape tomorrow’s world today? This is the question that Young Global Leaders from the world of politics, science, business and the arts are turning their attention to.

They are all under the age of 40 and all looking for solutions for the future. The “Young Global Leaders” initiative was set up by the founder and President of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab. The five-part series looks at the issues of health, the environment, employment and the fight against poverty. In this episode, we meet three people who talk to us about their ideas on education: Subhash Dinar, senior vice-president of the international IT firm Infosys; Jimmy Whales, founder of Wikepedia; and Peter Bisanz, a film director from the US.

Watch this DW video to find out more:

Emma, 18, managed to flee North Korea with her mother. Now she’s networking with other young political activists with hopes of eventually developing democracy in her home country.

Listen to the report by Roberto Tofani, presented by André Leslie:

North Korean defector works toward democracy

Here are some organizations that promote democracy in North Korea:

Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights
Ydank (in Korean)
The National Democratic Institute