CHILE: Rebuilding Smiles

Alongside crucial emergency relief efforts, numerous organisations are offering free movies, concerts, plays, comedy performances and other cultural events aimed at lifting the spirits of people suffering the after-effects of the earthquake and tsunami that struck central and southern Chile on Feb. 27.

ARGENTINA: Fathers of the Plaza de Mayo – the “Rearguard”

Through their decades-long struggle to uncover the fate of their missing children, forcibly disappeared during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship in Argentina, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in their emblematic white headscarves have earned international renown. Now a new documentary shines the spotlight on the men who supported and encouraged these brave women from the shadows: the fathers of the Plaza de Mayo.

GUATEMALA: Bringing Murdered Activist Bishop Back to Life on the Screen

On the evening of Apr. 26, 1998, as Bishop Juan Gerardi returned to the parish house at St. Sebastian's Church, three blocks from the seat of national government in the heart of the Guatemalan capital, he had no idea it would be the last day of his life. That night, his head was bludgeoned with a concrete block.

DISARMAMENT: Hollywood Documentary Calls for Zero Nuclear Weapons

Hollywood and Silicon Valley leaders have teamed up with Middle Eastern royalty and high-level U.S. diplomats to send a message to heads of state who are gathering here in Washington next week: the world needs to reduce its nuclear arsenal to zero as soon as possible.

CUBA: Skilful Surfing by Digital Culture Project

Buoyant in the storm and sailing for new horizons, the Cuban cultural project Esquife (Skiff) has spent over a decade navigating the rough waters of thought-provoking digital journalism, stirring up opinions rather than wallowing in complacency.

CUBA: Old Havana Reaches Out to Hearing Impaired

An innovative programme in Old Havana has given the hearing impaired greater access to the historical and cultural wealth of the restored historic city centre.

INDIA: After Slowdown, Art Market Picking Up

After sitting out the slowdown in the art market until last year, Ambica Beri, owner of an upscale art gallery here in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, is cautiously hosting shows again this year.

MEXICO: Soundtrack to Violence

"What a sad childhood Juanito had/ when shooting started in his barrio/ he was left lying on the ground/ so young/ he went to his grave".

CHILE: A Newspaper Of and For ‘the Voiceless’

Diario Uno, a newspaper with an innovative business model put out by a group of journalists and academics, went on sale Sunday in Chile, promising to provide a voice for those who do not feel represented by the country's economic model nor by the mainstream media.

ARTS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Women Dancers Can Fill Granaries

"Some said, how can women dancers tell us about climate change? Some said, how can dancers talk about planting trees? Others asked, how can women dancers build schools? But now the government says a drum has managed to fill our granaries, a dancer has managed to build schools."

ARGENTINA: Homemade Portraits of Life Behind Bars

"I wanted to take a self-portrait, and I thought about keeping a straight face, but it came out all weird, with these very long arms," says Liliana Cabrera about the photo she took with a camera she made herself, out of a condensed milk tin, at a workshop in an Argentine prison.

BRAZIL: Bringing the Multicoloured Soul of the Favela to Life

The "favelas" or shanty towns of Brazil are a uniform red ochre, the colour of unplastered brick walls. But two visual artists from the Netherlands want to paint them every colour under the sun, a facelift intended to showcase the colourful soul of these poverty-stricken neighbourhoods.

PAKISTAN: In More Ways Than One, Bollywood Dancing Creates Waves

Saleha Firdaus, a mother of two teenage children, has been moving to the Bollywood beat at a dance studio for over a year now and "loves every moment" of this personal time. For her part, 22-year-old Maheen Jafri was a "bedroom dancer" until she discovered a Bollywood and hip-hop dance studio and "shed my inhibitions totally."

MEXICO: Music and Dance Classes Foster Tolerance, Self-Esteem

Ten-year-old Jessica Algoneda leaps in the air, raising her arms and spinning around at her primary school in the Mexican capital, as if in honour of Terpsichore, the Greek muse of dance and poetry.

BURMA: Despite Loss at Oscars, Film A Testament to Courage

It may have not won an Oscar, but its having been a final contender for the prestigious statue at the U.S. Academy Awards on Mar. 7 has taken ‘Burma VJ’ to heights never achieved by previous films depicting the oppression and courage in military-ruled Burma.

NAMIBIA: Female Hip-Hop Artists Challenge Stereotypes

African hip-hop prides itself on a more positive portrayal of women, but traditional cultural attitudes towards women still dominate the industry, say Namibian female rappers.

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities

Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.

VIETNAM: War Movie with Peace Theme Seeks to Heal Wounds

A Vietnamese film that is vying for an Oscar this month offers a glimpse into how Vietnam and the United States are healing decades-old war wounds, as well as how that war still generates emotional debate today.

ZIMBABWE: Constitution in the Limelight

A new play, Waiting for Constitution has generated great interest among politicians and civil society groups anxious to get consultations over drafting a new constitution under way.

BRAZIL: Carnival, a Complex Annual Revolution for Women, Gays

Fátima Oliveira, one of Brazil's few black women doctors, always goes to "the best carnival," in Sabará, a city of 130,000 people in the state of Minas Gerais, where "men dress up as women" at a celebration that is "very informal, very local, with few tourists."

MEDIA-INDONESIA: When ‘Adding a Friend’ on Facebook Can Be Risky

It is every parent’s worst nightmare in the Internet age – and for Syafei Asyhari, this happened when he found that his 16-year-old daughter, Latifa, fell into the clutches of traffickers she met online as friends.