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They’ve been described as an army of “black-faced Paris Hiltons”, but they are also credited with being at the cutting edge of modern Japanese fashion. Women and men who sport Californian style tans, who even take pills to get the dark skin look, coupled with the distinctive make up and clothes, teamed with the para para dance - now that’s a youth culture worthy of a following. BBC Three’s recent Japanorama series dedicated a programme to the Ganguro.
I received a message about them from Lady Li who says that the culture is spreading worldwide outside Japan with followers in the UK like Booteek .
Photo from Booteek's MySpace
I’ve messaged Booteek to ask her to explain why she got involved in the culture and what the appeal is for her.
Are there any interesting youth cultures going on where you live?
When I was young – so many years ago now!! it was ripped jeans at the knees and the lumberjack shirt. Tame in comparison to this I think. I haven’t had any submissions from Japan and think this would have made a good one.
Click to watch the video on vimeo
We’ll be finishing the Your Story citizen journalism project at the end of June 2009. Funding priorities at the BBC World Service have changed, but there will still be citizen generated content included in the BBC World Service. Our news programmes will continue to incorporate citizen journalism perspectives. You will still be able to comment on the news stories through the World Have Your Say blog and also send in your photos and video to the Have Your Say page of bbcnews.com.
The Your Story citizen journalist reports that are still being worked on between now and June are drug gangs in Mexico, children of Sierra Leone, Jeff in Washington is recording his diary as a teenager who has not been able to go to school for the last two years, Robben Island’s small community in South Africa are recording a piece on the discovery of bones belonging to political prisoners of the 1960′s, Bangladeshi drug problems, and perhaps the attitudes of Ugandan farmers to GM crops and hopefully a piece from China to mark the 20 year anniversary of Tiananmen Square.
If you have a recorder from a piece you have already completed, I’ll be in touch with you all individually, to let you know where to send them onto. I’m still here until the end of June though!!
An officer at a crime scene in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, 2009
You may not know this about me, but I used to be the BBC reporter in Kingston, Jamaica. For the time that I was there, I reported on crime and the problem the island faced being a drug transit route. I was always looking to report what was happening there in a more enlightening way. To tell the stories behind the headlines kind of thing.
I face the same thing now, today looking at how we cover the Mexico drug cartels.
Alicia with Mark and Ros from World Have Your Say
Luckily, my colleague Alicia, seen in the photo at the centre of the swine flu storm – has found a woman who works with youngsters in Juarez, who are at risk of joining the gangs there. Take a look at this fantastic audio slideshow.
We are in the process of sending recording equipment to this lady, so that she can help us with the real life storytelling.
I really admire so much, the people who put themselves out there for their community. I met a person like this is Jamaica -there was a woman there who risked her own life to get two warring gangs to sit together in a room and talk to each other. I am trying to emphasise – as I do with all the citizen journalists we work with, that safety is the number one priority and that you must not put yourself or anyone else in danger in working with this project.
But these leading lights of a community are the true diplomats in this world I think, and I for one am looking forward to hearing this perspective. Do you think the same, or should we leave this topic to the professional journalists?
I like watching the men on the pommel horse (especially when they bash into it – ouch!), but I have to wait three years yet, for the next Olympics.
It might seem like a long time to wait, but I’m thinking about it now because the BBC has big plans for the London Games.
I’m working on getting some reports together that will track four people and stay with them until the Big Day. I’m inviting you though – wherever in the world you are, to send in your photos and stories, add them to the BBC Your Story Flickr pool and join the discussion.
Perhaps you know someone who is training, or who is eagerly waiting for it to come back onto their TV screens? Let me know about your anticipation, excitement – or lack of it – to this upcoming sporting event. Do you think London will be a good host? more to the point – will they be ready??
These photos have just been added to the pool ..
Photo by Javierdoren
Photo by louisahennessyvikinghorns
thanks to both of you for joining the group! Great photos.
Photo by Irfaan
I’ve had a look on the BBC Your Story flickr group and we’ve had a lot of new additions to the pool.
These include the above photo by Irfaan. See more of his photos here.
This photo is a great illustration to some of the words of Shahdi Al Kashif, the BBC’s Arabic Correspondent who was inside Gaza when the last offensive happened. He was speaking here at Bush House about his experiences.
He really illustrated some of the important differences between professional and citizen journalism – of which there are many. He said that as a journalist, as everyone runs away from the explosion, he must run towards it as there was no such thing as “I’m afraid”.
The priority was to find out what was happening, despite the fact that people and children were screaming around him. He had to separate his personal feelings and go to see exactly what was being targeted and to be exacting in his information.
On the BBC’s decision over the DEC Gaza Appeal, he said there was a protest outside the bureau in Gaza. Despite a recommendation to evacuate, Shahdi said that he thought it was better to face people to explain how the BBC had been reporting among them for a long time this.
I’m trying to set up a citizen journalism project with these kids in Sierra Leone. With the help of Virginia at BBC World Class and Alex and Janette at Plan International.
This boy in the photo is talking about how the hospitals don’t have enough equipment.
I’m trying to find out about some things that effect the kids and help them with their ideas on what they could report on.
These kids seem quite lucky as at least they are in school – although they say they’re having trouble paying their school fees because their relatives abroad have stopped sending them money due to the worsening global economy.
Perhaps they might want to talk about Freetown’s street children, or about child workers, like these reports of kids who worked in the diamond mines , there are also problems of child trafficking, the terrible health problems contributing to high child mortality rates , not to mention child soldiers.
Plenty of issues effecting kids in Sierra leone, it would be a great to finally get kids themselves telling their own stories. I hope that we can get this one off the ground. If you can help with contacts or advice, get in touch. I’d like to add a thanks to Florian who added his photo of a boy from Sierra Leone to the Your Story Flickr group.
The Your Story project is part of the World Have Your Say family and their debate on Tuesday was contraception. 17 year old Your Story citizen jounalist, Michelle Rashad contributed to their debate which was the subject of the report she did. Listen to her report here, and comment on it here. Just want to say, well done Michelle!
While the world worries about swine flu, unprotected sex is infecting millions of young people with sexually transmitted diseases.
Michelle from Chicago, USA is 17 years old (pictured), she has been recording a citizen journalist report on this because she’s worried about what she sees and hears from her friends and peers. She is part of the Your Story project I helped set up in Chicago.
The stats are pretty shocking. The Centre for Disease Control says that the highest number of cases ever reported for any condition was for chlamydia. Young African American women are reported most at risk.
Why would it be that young people, especially, African American females are not protecting themselves?
The young people Michelle asks give a variety of answers – some say it’s hip hop.
Blatant sexual lyrics have been blamed for sending out a message which some people think is leading to a lax attitude to sex. If you have an opinion on that let me know.
Some others say that it’s about not getting the right support from schools and parents. And then the fear and embarassment factor means young people don’t want to get themselves tested, leading to more infections. MTV are running a campaign at the moment – Get Yourself Tested - under the banner that one in two young people (under 25) will get an STD.
Michelle’s report is online now. Click here to listen.
I – (that’s me, Nina Robinson) have asked two very knowledgable people to give their assessment of Barack Obama, 100 days into his presidency.
Joe Maggioncalde has worked at GM in Detroit nearly all his working life. He’s been a regular contributor to Your Story - see some of his work here.
Joe writes …
This is one of those “milestones” the media uses to kill time and trees.
But what really has been accomplished?
Here in Detroit, the situation continues to decay quickly and daily.
Now GM has basically closed the doors till mid-July.
Here in Detroit we’ve seen nothing. Nothing. If Obama can somehow stimulate the rest of the country to the point where they feel capable of buying cars, then they’ll probably build a statue of him, chisel down his nose and wash him with a hose.
Although we sang his name
we all went hungry just the same
Read Joe’s full post on his blog.
Cynthia Harrison’s husband Al, works at Chrysler in Detroit. Here’s her assessment, 100 days in.
Cynthia and husband, Al
Cynthia writes ..
We certainly got change, just not the sort we expected.
As a part-time college teacher, I expected to be working less after 20 years on the job, not more. But like many wives of auto workers, I have added hours where I can, to make up for the smaller paychecks my husband Al now receives.
Our factories no longer bustle with activity, and our dealerships are deserted, but our auto plants are open most days. Al, who has been an employee at Dodge Truck for 35 years, has worked 30 of the last 100 days. He’s been laid off a good part of Obama’s presidency, but he still believes the right man won the office.
“Obama’s personal involvement has helped Chrysler stay viable as a company so far,” Al says. “If McCain had won, he would have let us hit the wall.”
So while times are tough, they could be worse. It’s almost certain that they will become worse. But we have Obama to thank for the reprieve, and if we can trust him to guide us through this streamlining of the auto industry, we can trust him to stay behind us if and when the bankruptcies begin.
Every week, as new waves of lay-offs occur, we wives of auto workers hold our collective breath. In my book group, there are three auto wives. One has already seen her husband forced into early retirement.
Obama seems to be everywhere at once. He’s in Europe and Mexico and in the Oval Office, but he is also in Detroit, working with our governor and with the auto companies. He cares about us, and we know it. And that is some comfort in these distressing times.
How do you think Obama is doing 100 days in? Add your comments below.
Here are some of the photos taken by the World Have Your Say team in Mexico City. If you have any swine flu photos you would like to contribute to Your Story, upload them here or here.
Closed due to Swine Flu
Woman working at a food stall
Swine flu - Mexican newspaper front pages
Mexican football stands are empty
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