DigiMitra

31/10/2020

Instilling the skills of Digital Media Literacy can transform how young children use the internet. As we become more digital, the skill to read news critically is more important than ever for kids.

24/09/2020

Digimitra, in partnership with Grow is announcing a fellowship for highschool students, gap-year students and university students.

Title of Fellowship: Education Development Fellow
Duration of Fellowship: 3 months.
Available Seats: 5
Deadline: October 4, 2020

During the fellowship, the participants will receive personal development sessions, soft-skills training, sessions on digital media, and special sessions for anyone who is applying for college.

Fellows will get an opportunity to work with students of different schools, teachers and researchers while obtaining research, communication and technological skills. A comprehensive outline of the fellowship is available in the link below:
https://grow.oss.edu.np/fellowships/

DM us or click the link to apply.

14/07/2020

EDUCATION & AWARENESS 🏳️‍🌈
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Bhumika says, “Thanks to the internet, it has become much easier to help people understand LGBTIQ+ related issues. Before, there was far less awareness about gender minority problems. It was hard for us to voice our stories and for society to educate themselves too. Although a handful of q***r-based programs were organized, only few people could attend. In contrast, today we can write down about our problems and the rights we seek on social media and it gets circulated. A fb status draws discussions among people in the comment section. So, our opinions can now reach a wider audience fast and conveniently.⁣⁣
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When we share our struggles, we share many aspects of our lives, both positive and negative. In return, we expect some support and positivity. Inevitably, negative comments come too, yet I believe the internet is a huge blessing. In the early/less advanced phase of the internet era, we had to send emails for distant communication. Via emails, we could only contact a few people we knew personally. But nowadays, our LGBTIQ+ community members can find and support each other during tough times. Various people including pre-teens and teens who are slowly beginning to understand their sexuality approach me with their doubts and queries. I am more than happy to chat with them.⁣⁣
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It is unfortunate that our society isn’t very progressive. In politics, when somebody is vague in their standpoint or if a decision is pointless, our leaders make humiliating remarks like, “Your views are unclear, neither here nor there, they are like the third gender” or “he neither speaks like a man, nor like a woman, he talks like a third party”. In some instances, I have met with some political delegates who act polite and sympathize with our problems before us. However, the very same leaders don’t hesitate to disrespect our community when they are with their colleagues. I have been using my social media platforms to call out such hypocritical politicians and to educate our society.⁣⁣
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I used to be afraid of hatred but now I courageously participate in such discourses. There is no reason for me to be afraid; I proudly and happily embrace my identity."

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04/07/2020

⁣STANDING UP FOR MY COMMUNITY⁣ 🏳️‍🌈

Milan Shah says, “The internet has made a lot of things convenient and accessible. Communication has been a major boon, especially during this lockdown. If our friends are suffering from mental health issues we can get the information, reach and help them on time. On the contrary, before the internet era, it would be days before we could get the news and almost impossible to reach the sufferer on time. Digital media keeps us enlightened about various such issues so that we are ready to provide assistance.⁣
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Being a journalist and an active LGBTQI+ activist, I utilize the internet and my social media to fight for the rights of my community. There are many lesser known truths regarding the issues faced by the gender minorities that I strive to bring out through online platforms for the wider population to know and acknowledge. I want to extract such matters from the root level. I also use this digital tool as a way to bring my fellow LGBTQI+ members into the limelight; I want everyone to get to know us better, our struggles as well as our talents and strengths.⁣
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I cannot deny that there is hatred towards our group. People offline and online (mostly in Tiktok) use derogatory terms like “Chhakka”- a word we absolutely do not know the meaning of, and I am sure the people with such ill-will also have no idea what it means but use it to insult us. Though there is hatred towards our community, I remain positive and focus my time and energy on important matters, which is directing the public attention towards less apparent problems. Nepal has been celebrated a progressive country when it comes to protecting q***r rights. Articles 12, 18 and 42 of our constitution also talk about recognizing LGBTQI+ rights as fundamental rights. On the surface, it looks positive and commendable, but what few people know is that same-sex marriage has still not been legalized in Nepal and our appeal lies in a state of limbo. This is a huge setback and I express my firm disapproval to such negligence by our government. Hence, I would like to continue advocating for my community and the internet has been a blessing in this regard.”

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30/06/2020

CONTENT WITH SELF 🏳️‍🌈

says, “The Internet is my safe space where I have been freely sharing my views, happiness and even my sadness for a long time. Especially when I hadn’t come out about my sexual orientation, the internet was a constant support and a friend to me. It was through the internet that I had the opportunity to be friends with other members of the LGBTIQ+ community, and also got to see and empathize up close with their lifestyle in places like the UK, Nepal or Australia.

I have been facing online harassment even before I had came out as gay. People used to post negative comments on my videos and photos. Many of those comments were homophobic. Maybe they thought this was my weakness. In the initial phase, I was left with discomfort from the targeted hate speech over the internet and at one point, actually considered quitting making videos on social media.

But there was one person who constantly supported me and gave me suggestions throughout my coming out journey. It was then that I realized that even one person's support during the difficult days can be powerful enough to make a huge difference. I still face online harassment, trolls, and come across indecent comments in my social media but I try not to focus on them. I am very content with my life and that’s why all those comments feel very small to me. When I get negative constructive comments, then I do invest my time to involve in discussions through the comments section. But if there are comments from anonymous accounts, I tend to not engage with them because it's not worth my energy.”

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28/06/2020

INSPIRE THROUGH INTERNET 🏳️‍🌈

Shailee says, “For me, the internet has been quite a comfortable place. It has allowed me to freely express myself-- more of a support group, I would say. But in all honesty, there have been times when I feel judged or left out on the online space. People in Nepal are still very conservative in regards to the subject of sexuality. The bias and prejudices aren't only faced by me but many others as gender minorities. I've seen scholars and professionals, who are supposedly expected to understand and possess sensitivity, ending up calling gender minorities and their struggles unnatural. But trusting and believing in yourself is the key to face them.

Coming from a conservative society, the internet has rather helped me find people who share the same aspirations and interests as I do. They have acted as a support group for me, as I've tried to do the same for other q***r people. I feel being on the internet and expressing myself freely can inspire other people to accept their sexuality too. If you end up facing hate speech and bullies online, it is important to take immediate action than ignoring it. Be it online or offline, nobody should stop you from becoming and expressing who you are.”

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27/06/2020

LET LIVE! 🏳️‍🌈

Samip says, "The internet has always been a great resource when it comes to learning about the LGBTQ+ community. Perhaps a lot of us open up to 'Google' before we actually come out to people. The internet was where I first discovered my identity - that I belong to 'Gay' community. It was empowering for me to know that there are many people who have happily accepted themselves for who they are and are always fighting for their rights. That is why, I believe, the internet itself could be an ally of someone who is questioning or curious about their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Digital activism should come into play - that is, to educate people who are not aware or to try to break the stereotypes related to the community. Educating people may not always be easy; it takes time to familiarize people about the concepts of gender and sexual identity. In my point of view, along with internet activists, people with high social status or celebrities can play pivotal roles in imparting knowledge due to their wide base of followers.

As I began coming out to people and sharing my story in social media, I was bombarded with questions of all types. It always gives me great pleasure to deal with people's questions on these matters because changing the mindset of people around us should be our foremost priority if we envision creating a safe space for all genders. Social media was the platform that connected me with people who were struggling to come out of the closet and those who actually wanted help. The crucial role of the social media platforms is that they let us become the helpline to people in need and they let us know people's stories which may strength us.

I deal with people's criticism with facts and figures; I use examples and evidence. If trying to ignite minds of haters doesn't work, I like to end the discussion then and there. It's important to understand that we don't run after people who don't accept us but rather live with pride among the ones who do. We need to keep our alliance intact because change isn't an overnight thing. It shall take generations of time to make this world an ideal and inclusive place. Live and let live!"

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26/06/2020

LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE⁣🏳️‍🌈
Anmol Rai says,⁣
“To me, the internet is a global platform from which we are able to obtain a variety of information. It was through surfing the internet that I learnt about the trans community and was able to understand myself more clearly. I personally use Facebook, Instagram and Youtube frequently, and these platforms provide me with opportunities to communicate. ⁣
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In my point of view, using social media has a bigger purpose rather than just killing time; it is a space where we can encounter and make new friends, exhibit our hidden talents and express our thoughts and ideas, which is something I usually do. Through these possibilities, I am able to promote love and influence people’s outlook. These may be small opportunities but they are extremely significant. ⁣
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Browsing the internet allows me to gather knowledge regarding how the world functions and what incidents have occurred. I am able to update myself with all kinds of worldly knowledge, including those specific to LGBTQI+ community, and its increasing acceptance both in Nepal and globally. ⁣
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When I had just come out as a trans woman, a page had trolled me by comparing me to a cis woman. There have also been instances when I received mean and filthy texts from spam accounts. Somebody even made a fake account using my identity to exchange perverted texts with other people. Obviously, nobody ever likes to be at the receiving end of such pain and hatred but it’s important for me to remain strong and gutsy when faced with such criticisms. I am also grateful to the LGBTQI+ discussion sessions where we share our experiences and encourage each other to overcome such situations. People will continue to criticise but I must stay brave and sometimes just laugh it off. I guess it depends on which lens one chooses to view the internet and the world through. I choose to view it through the lens of love.”⁣
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25/06/2020

MY ADVOCACY TOOL🏳️‍🌈

Bibek Susling Magar says, "The internet is my second world. This digital world is my space to openly express my sexuality, gender and opinion. It has also become a space for our community to meet our lovers, express our desire, our voices, and connect with other like minded people.

It always feels great to receive positive feedback on how informative my posts have been to people. The internet is a blessing but it is also full of hate speech, especially for us. If the hate speech is towards my community then it directly affects me too because we are all in this together!

It's easy to tackle individual trollers but when the hate comes from a page or a troll community then it's very difficult. One of our community friends was trolled in a Tik Tok video by Durga Siwakoti. He used derogatory terms towards one fof our members and also to our entire community. This was the time when everyone got together to call out his actions and speak about how it affected us. We ended up filing a case online against him which caught a lot of media attention. We didn’t hear back from the police but the guy publicly apologised for his wrong deed. This was a huge achievement for us as we were able to counter some part of the hate speech towards our community. We are taking change one step at a time on the internet.

Everything has its pros and cons. It’s up to us how we make the best use of it and for me, I make sure I use the internet for the visibility of the LGBTIQ+ and undo the myths around our community."
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25/06/2020

ONLINE REPRESENTATION 🏳️‍🌈

Meghna says, “Queer community or any minorities are often subjected to stigmatization and discrimination. While both of these are rampant in our community, the internet has been a source of relief to people like us to proactively voice against these misguided stigmatization, patriarchal mindset and predefined gender roles. It has now become a quintessential helping hand especially for those voices which are often abandoned.

If I am to look at my journey of transitioning-- when the internet was not as easily accessible and developed as today, I spent the majority of my formative years in darkness with relation to my own gender identity. Many of us who have gone through this struggle value the internet today. The information available online is extensive and I am glad this generation will spend less time in confusion and more time in self development and exploration with available resources.

However, I can not ignore how we are also facing a lot of bullying, hate speech towards our gender identity. Media in overall-- from the movie industry to meme pages do not hesitate in portraying us in comedic or negative roles, trying to put us into boxes and stereotype us. We condemn such actions and demand our portrayal as humans with dignity and our fight for proper representation is ongoing.

I am grateful the internet is helping me and my community in many ways but it is also undeniable how certain things need change. Creating it as a safe space begins from me and you.”🌈

24/06/2020

EXPRESSION 🏳️‍🌈
Samir Khanal says, “For two decades of my life, I struggled with finding the correct vocabulary to define my sexuality. I have craved belonging to a community forever. But being raised in a country like Nepal obviously meant I was deprived of both for a long time. The internet changed that for me. Understanding my sexuality, accepting it and coming out to the world was the major turn in my life and I couldn’t have done any of it if it wasn’t for the internet. Thankfully, every information is one search away.

Networking sites have been a boon for me when it comes to finding the community. In the past, we barely had any q***r role models to look up to in the Nepali community to feel identified. But now, the internet has changed it with people like Lex Limbu, Prabal Gurung coming up as people we can look up to. I have come across multiple organizations, webinars, q***r right activists through the online platform and the q***r community is only growing. What we have built over the internet is a warm, healthy and a safe space for each other to express oneself freely and we are absolutely loving it.

But the online bullying and sexual harassment are unavoidable. Especially when we try to exercise this freedom, we are often called out. Most of these bullying happen from anonymous accounts in the form of threats, blackmail, fake calls, and abusive hate speech. The message requests are filled with unsolicited pictures. It is much easier for people to sit behind a screen and spit hate than confront logically and empathize with us.

But I like to view the internet above it all. While there will be people trying to discourage us from expressing ourselves unapologetically over the internet, I will continue with using this tool primarily for awareness. I have been using Tiktok for awarding people about same-sex marriage, same-sex love, self-acceptance, transgender struggle, and male r**e. I want to make full utilization of this space to create an alliance between the q***r and heterosexual community.”🌈

U.S. Embassy, Nepal

19/06/2020

13/06/2020

Acknowledging the power of pride!

https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2020/06/13/we-re-here-we-re-q***r-and-we-re-not-going-anywhere-here-s-why-the-pride-parade-matters

Keeping in mind the current pandemic, Nepal’s second annual Pride Parade is being organised virtually on Saturday.

02/06/2020

Discover more about health misinformation during the pandemic.

26/05/2020

Along with the pandemic, all of us are also being exposed to infodemic. At such times of rampant misinformation, how are you being digitally aware? More importantly, are you being digitally aware? In this video, some USYC members share ways in which they are staying clear of the misinformation virus and you should too.

कोरोना भाइरसले निम्त्याएको माहामारी को कारण हामीहरु सुचनाको मारमा परेका छौ। यस्तो अवस्थामा सजिलै फैलिने गलत सुचना र अफवाह माझ तपाइँहरुले कसरी डिजिटल सचेतना अपनाउनु भइरहेको छ? यो भिडियो मा हाम्रा USYC सदस्य साथीहरुले यस्ता गलत सुचनाका भाइरस बाट कसरि बचने भनेर उपाय हरु लागु गरि सचेत भै राख्नु भएको कुरा भन्नु हुन्। तपाइँ हरु पनि यो उपाय प्रयोग गरि गलत सुचनाको भाइरस बाट बच्नुहोस्

05/04/2020

Did you know the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

Comment YES/NO below! And tag your friends to help them know the difference too!

P.S. You can also watch our recent video post where our team member provides you with a better understanding of these two big terms.

04/04/2020

What are the harms of Misinformation and Disinformation? How to counter those two things explains the founder and Director of Body and Data, Subha kayastha

गलत सूचनाका प्रभाव कस्ता छन्? Body & Data कि संस्थापक र निर्देशक शुभ कायस्था गलत समाचारलाई कसरि नियाल्नेर त्यस्ता गलत सूचनालाई कसरि परहेज गर्ने भनेर आफ्नो लेखमा यस्तो लेख्नुहुन्छ

Corona epidemic in Nepal and misinformation Apr 4, 2020 | Article, Body & Data Resources Misinformation and disinformation around COVID-19 do more harm than the corona virus itself as it restricts one from getting accurate information about health care and disease prevention. It has increased target...

03/04/2020

गलत समाचारको दुनियामा Disinformation र Misinformation धेरै पटक प्रयोग हुने शब्दहरू भएका छन। के तपाईंलाई लाग्छ यिनिहरुको अर्थ एउटै हो वा ती बिल्कुलै फरक छन्? यो भिडियोद्वारा त्यस बारे जानकारी लिनुहोस!

Disinformation and misinformation have become two frequently used words in the world of fake news. Do you think they are similar or are they completely different? Find out in the video!

01/04/2020

While the information of symptoms of Covid-19 is being spread widely, it is equally important for us to recognize how to prevent the spread before it's too late.
Meanwhile, we are relying on World Health Organization (WHO) for this information. Who are you relying on?
Choose your source wisely.

27/03/2020

In this video, we speak more of our initiative in the rampant spread of misinformation in the light of Covid-19. What topics should we involve? What are your confusions? Drop down comments below and help us create more relevant content for you.

यस भिडिओमा हामि कोभिड-१९ सम्बन्धि व्यापक रूपमा फैलिएको गलत सुचनाको प्रचार प्रसार विरुद्दको हाम्रो पहल को बारेमा कुरा गर्छौं। हामीले कुन विषयहरु समावेश गर्न सक्छौं, यस विषयमा तपाइहरुले नाबुज्नुभएको कुराहरु के के छन्? तल आफ्नो प्रतिक्रियाहरु लेखि हामीलाई कुनैपनि प्रश्न, सल्लाह तथा सुझाव दिई हामीलाई सान्दर्भिक सामाग्रीहरु तयार पार्न मद्दत गर्नुहोस।

26/03/2020

Social Distancing —— Isolation —— Quarantine
Are they the same? How do they differ?

25/03/2020

Our social media is flooded with different kinds of information. At this time, we are concerned about how we can help you filter and get credible information from different digital media through this platform. For now stay safe and be aware of misinformation. Also, did you wash your hand ?

सामाजिक संजाल अहिले धे्रै सुचना हरुले भरिएका छन।य़ो समयमा हामि कसरि भ्रम,अफ््वाह अथवा गलत सुचना बाट बचि सत्य तथ्य समचार र सुचना पाउन सक्छौ भनेर यो माध्यम बाट तपाइ लाइ जानकारि दिनेछौ। तब सम्म स्वस्थ्य र सचेत रहनुहोस, अनि साच्चि हात धुनुभयो?

24/03/2020

DIGI-MITRA!

The times are changing with high internet usage, and even higher access to information over the online media. One click is enough to change your mind, ignite fear, relax, misguide, take you to places or take everything away from you.

The real question is how careful are we on our online usage? And how do we evaluate our sources? Are we believing all information that are slapped at our faces or are we taking careful measures?

WORRY NOT! With the initiative to assist masses with internet safety & digital media literacy, we the members of U.S. Embassy Youth Council Nepal, have come together on a journey.

In this journey with us, we shall together tackle issues of digital media like misinformation, disinformation, fake news, misrepresentation and click-baits.

Our special thanks to U.S. Embassy, Nepal and We Inspire Nepal for being our backbones in the project ex*****on.