Story of Mali's blind music duo a hit in Canada

Hailing from Bamako, Mali’s rapidly growing yet impoverished capital city, blind duo Amadou and Mariam have found world-wide acclaim, including a Grammy nomination, as the biggest-selling music act to have emerged from Africa this century.

English street paper The Big Issue in the North interviewed the duo and submitted the piece to our News Service. Canadian street paper L’Itineraire ran the story in French over two pages. The Big Issue Korea also republished the piece in its magazine.

Das blinde Duo Amadou und Mariam, die aus Bamako, der rasant wachsenden und gleichzeitig verarmten Hauptstadt Malis kommen, haben es zu Weltruhm gebracht, einschließlich einer Grammy-Nominierung. Sie sind die erfolgreichsten Musiker, die in diesem Jahrhundert aus Afrika hervorgegangen sind.

Die englische Straßenzeitung The Big Issue in the North interviewte das Duo und reichte den Artikel bei unserem News Service ein. Das kanadische Straßenmagazin „L’Itineraire“ brachte das Interview auf zwei Seiten auf Französisch, und auch The Big Issue Korea druckte es.

Alex Salmond and Jon Snow support street papers in sell-out event

Photo: Simon Murphy

Alex Salmond tonight praised the street paper model for helping to change the lives of homeless people. The First Minister made his comments at an event in aid of the International Network of Street Papers, where he was interviewed by INSP ambassador Jon Snow.

In front of a 600-strong crowd at the University of Strathclyde’s Barony Hall, Salmond went beyond his political agenda. He spoke out about the potential for social enterprises like street papers to bring about change.

In an interview with INSP prior to the live Q&A he admitted: “I prefer the content of The Big Issue to pretty much every other paper in Scotland.”

In his usual candid style, Snow also asked the First Minister why he, as an Englishman who feels more British than English, should support independence. Salmond was given some time to push for his ‘Yes campaign’, but leaving politics aside, Snow then suggested to his interview candidate that they had one thing in common: they had both been boy choristers. The Channel 4 news presenter immediately burst into song, but it could not tempt Salmond to join in.

Photo: Simon Murphy

But the most important question of the night perhaps came from street paper vendor Joan. She explained how The Big Issue has helped her when other organisations failed and asked how an independent Scotland would look after its citizens who fall upon hard times. She didn’t take the answer that policy had been put in place at face value and made sure the First Minister understood that services can sometimes be too slow and bureaucratic, and that street papers are often a life line when things go wrong.

The event was organised in partnership with The Herald newspaper as part of their involvement with the Fraser of Allander Lecture Series. A full-length video recording is available from tomorrow on the Herald website.

The second part of the conversation series –with former UK Chancellor ‘Better Together’ leader Alistair Darling and Herald journalist Alan Taylor - will take place on Thursday 6th December. Tickets can be bought from the University of Strathclyde’s online shop.

Tickets sales proceeds from both events go towards INSP’s work alleviating poverty and supporting street papers in Scotland and around the world.

INSP’s Executive Director Lisa Maclean said: “With the 2014 referendum coming closer, information provision is of crucial importance. As a Scottish-based international charity, we are proud to contribute to the debate through our two-part conversation series with Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling.”

“The First Minister’s belief in social enterprise for sustainable development stems us hopeful and his encouraging words about the street paper model are recognition for all our 120 street papers and their homeless vendors worldwide.”

“Our ambassador Jon Snow greatly contributed to the success of tonight’s first event and we are grateful for his on-going support to the street paper movement.”

“We’d like to thank our partners and sponsors, The Herald, the University of Strathclyde and Strathclyde Business School, Tinopolis, 999 Design and CCB, for their support and look forward to our second event in two weeks’ time.”

Plight of Ethiopian refugees receives global coverage

In Mai-Aini, a refugee camp in the North of Ethiopia, thousands dream of the good life in Europe. Our feature about those trying to escape a life of poverty was republished in Europe, Asia and North America. 

 Street paper Surprise in Switzerland ran the story in German over two pages.

Liceulice in Serbia, Gazeta Ulicna in Poland, Salk Lake Street News in the USA and The Big Issue Korea also republished the piece. The Serbian, Polish, German and English versions of the story can still be downloaded for republication.

In Mai-Aini, einem Flüchtlingslager im Norden Äthiopiens, träumen Tausende vom guten Leben in Europa. Unser Feature über die, die versuchen einem Leben in Armut zu entkommen, erschien in Europa, Asien und Nordamerika. 

Die Straßenzeitung Surprise aus der Schweiz brachte den Artikel auf Deutsch auf zwei Seiten.

Auch Liceulice aus Serbien, Gazeta Ulicna aus Polen, Salk Lake Street News aus den USA und The Big Issue Korea druckten die Story. Die serbische, polnische, deutsche und englische Version steht Ihnen immer noch zum Download zur Verfügung.

 

INSP named Social Enterprise Supporter of the Year

Scottish-based INSP (International Network of Street Papers) has been named ‘Social Enterprise Supporter of the Year’ at both the Scottish and UK annual Social Enterprise Awards.

From its base in Glasgow, INSP supports more than 120 ‘street paper’ social enterprises, in 40 countries worldwide. Street papers, like The Big Issue magazine, are independent newspapers and magazines that exist to help homeless people earn a dignified income.

Street paper vendors are micro entrepreneurs in their own right – buying their copies for half of the cover price, and selling them to earn their own income. Over the past two decades, INSP’s street papers have helped more than 200,000 people to lift themselves out of poverty.

INSP provides training and resources to its street papers including an online editorial service. The organisation also safeguards the sustainability of street papers, through research and innovation. To take concept into 21st century, INSP recently launched the world’s first digital street paper – currently trialling in Manchester. Customers buy an access code from their vendor, to read a digital edition on their smartphone, tablet or computer.

Speaking of the two awards, INSP’s Executive Director Lisa Maclean said: “This is a great recognition for the contribution of street papers to the social enterprise movement and we are proud to support such a dynamic network”.

The UK awards were presented last night in London, organised by Social Enterprise UK, the national body for the sector. This year's winners were chosen by a panel of expert judges from a record number of entries. Comedian and television presenter Sue Perkins presented the winners with bespoke trophies.

The Scottish Awards, organised by Social Enterprise Scotland, were presented at a parliamentary reception and ceremony at the Scottish Parliament by John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth.

INSP staff at the presentation of the Scottish award
(Photo: Becky Duncan) 

News service helps Denver Voice fill national & international pages

American street paper The Denver Voice has used a selection of stories from INSP’s News Service to fill the national and international pages of their September issue. A story about new legislation for aids testing, originally published by Spare Change News in Massachusetts, was featured in their national news section.

A page dedicated to international news used several Reuters and street paper stories on subjects ranging from child trafficking in Malawi to a ban on buskers in Switzerland. The shortened versions of the stories were all taken from the September edition of our News Pack. 

The November News Pack can be downloaded here. Previous editions are still available and can be found by clicking on the links below the current edition.

Die amerikanische Straßenzeitung The Denver Voice nutzte eine Auswahl von Stories des INSP News Service, um die nationalen und internationalen Seiten ihrer September-Ausgabe zu füllen. Ein Artikel über eine neue Gesetzgebung für Aids-Tests, die im Original vom Straßenmagazin Spare Change News aus Massachusetts veröffentlicht worden war, erschien in ihrem nationalen Nachrichtenteil.

Auf einer Seite, die sich internationalen Nachrichten widmete, brachte die Zeitung mehrere Artikel von Reuters und Straßenzeitungen, deren Inhalte vom Kinderhandel in Malawi bis zu einem Verbot von Straßenmusik in der Schweiz reichten. Die gekürzten Versionen dieser Artikel kamen alle aus der September-Ausgabe unseres News-Pakets.

Das News-Paket für November können Sie hier herunterladen. Auch vorherige Ausgaben sind immer noch verfügbar. Sie können auf sie zugreifen, wenn Sie auf die Links unter der aktuellen Ausgabe klicken.

INSP becomes official content partner of The Guardian

An international media organisation based in Glasgow is to become an official content provider for The Guardian.

Founded in 1994, INSP supports 120 street newspapers in 40 countries with a combined readership of six million per edition.

Its members have access to the INSP news service which provides stories and pictures to enable editors around the world with limited resources to publish stories at no cost. Through the news service, papers share each other’s content as well as access exclusive INSP-produced material.

INSP journalists report on issues relating to homelessness and social justice and can often gain unique access to stories in their home nations through their local knowledge and contacts.

For the past two years INSP has also been providing stories to the mainstream press in Europe as part of a project funded by the EU. Major issues covered by INSP journalists include the on-going plight of the marginalised in India’s booming IT capital Bangalore and the problems faced by Somalians in Mogadishu as they try to recover after war. INSP reporters have also filed stories from - among other countries - South Sudan, The Gambia, Zambia and Afghanistan.

Media who have published INSP material include the BBC, Al Jazeera, Scotland On Sunday and the Sunday Herald. INSP’s news agency was nominated for ‘Best Specialist Site for Journalism’ at the Online Media Awards earlier this year. With a growing number of homeless people as a result of the global financial crisis, the charity seeks support to continue its work.

The Guardian’s Global Development website has published a number of INSP stories including a report on human trafficking in Malawi and a photo essay on the sex trade in Burkina Faso. As a result of this successful collaboration and the quality of journalism provided, the Guardian has asked INSP to become an official content partner for its Global Development site.

Lisa Maclean, INSP executive director, said: “I am delighted that INSP’s quality journalism has been acknowledged by the Guardian through our new content partnership with the Guardian Global Development site. INSP and street papers produce independent content that brings important social justice issues and unheard voices into the spotlight. By forming partnerships like this one, the Guardian is supporting the dissemination of these issues into the wider public domain.”

Photos taken by Scottish ex-addicts reprinted in Norway

An INSP story about a photography project based around drug addiction in Glasgow, Scotland has been republished by Norwegian street paper Megafon.

The Hope Street photography project introduced a group of recovering addicts to photography to help them record and reflect on their personal battles with alcohol and drug addiction, and to inspire others to change their lives.

Megafon ran the article alongside a series of raw, powerful images produced by the Hope Street photographers, in their latest edition which is now on sale in Norway.

The Hope Street project was led by professional photographer Simon Murphy, who has worked with INSP on several projects including reports from South Sudan and India. He was also in charge of the photo shoot to accompany our exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama.

The Hope Street article was also translated into German and is still available for download from the News Service. 

Eine Geschichte zu einem Foto-Projekt über Drogenabhängige in Glasgow, Schottland, wurde in der norwegischen Straßenzeitung Megafon veröffentlicht. Das „Hope Street Fotografie Projekt“ führte eine Gruppe von Drogenabhängigen an die Fotografie heran. Damit sollen sie ihren persönlichen Kampf gegen Alkohol und Drogen aufzeichnen und reflektieren lernen sowie mit diesen Reflektionen möglicherweise andere inspirieren können. 

Megafon brachte die Geschichte über vier Seiten in seiner letzten Ausgabe – die es nun in Bergen zu kaufen gibt. Mit dabei ist auch eine Bilderserie von den Hope Street Fotografen. 

Der Fotograf Simon Murphy leitete das Projekt. Er hat bereits des Öfteren mit INSP zusammen gearbeitet zum Beispiel bei Reports aus dem Sudan, aus Indien oder dem exklusiven Interview mit dem Dalai Lama. Der Artikel wurde auch ins Deutsche übersetzt und steht noch auf den Seiten des News Service zum Download zur Verfügung.