hablahonduras_socialnerdiaKara Andrade is the lead project coordinator of HablaHonduras, a web site that allows people in Honduras to voice their thoughts via the web, SMS, email, and Twitter. But HablaHonduras is not just a lot of noise about a small country in Central America.

Consisting of 80% original content and 20% aggregated content, and with almost a month of being in existence, the site has become both a platform and a destination for what’s happening in Honduras amidst confusing and historical times. HablaHonduras is about citizen journalism today and what it could become.

After immigrating as a child from Guatemala with her mother, Kara grew up in the United States and lived in over 20 states. From a young age she thrived on challenges and became fascinated with innovation. “People misunderstand innovation.. innovation is like ‘astucia’, which literally translates to astuteness.. thinking in a way that is so on the spot with the needs that you have, that you find the angle, you find the right answer,” Kara told me.

Kara has done a lot of work with public health, her “first career” and still one of her many passions, but “it was so difficult to create change.” While she still believes that public health can be very powerful, Kara is today a journalist and multimedia reporter who seeks for ways to make a difference.

Kara’s desire to create change might be her primary reason for getting involved with unique projects like HablaHonduras. The thing about HablaHonduras is that it is a web site where anyone can provide input. The only requirement is that it is about Honduras. And the willingness of many in Honduras to speak out is not as simple as it sounds because freedom of speech does not mean the same thing in every country. ”It takes a lot of courage to do what they’re doing.”

Kara also told me about how the site exists as a “democracy” and how its future is really in the hand of its users, in the hand of Honduras. Kara explained that her team is “there for them (Honduras).. and they’re not used to that. I’m here to provide guidance on whatever direction they want to go.”

But HablaHonduras is only the beginning.

The vision is to create an overall hub called HablaCentro, which will ultimately become the center for sites for each of the different countries in Central America (and perhaps beyond), and to organize “citizen caravans” in which teams visit various locations to partner with local journalists to teach, train and mentor people about media, the web, and journalism. The idea is that news would be rapidly covered locally and in the correct context, instead of having to wait for somone from AP or another country. The goal is big and it’s audatious, but such a rewarding challenge will probably drive Kara and team (plus what already is a large network of contributors in Honduras) to do their best to make it a reality. I’m sure their astuteness will help them along the way.

 

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