Burma/Myanmar: In a country that's a modern-day 1984, ordinary citizens are kept quiet by the government, but are not silent. In 2007 the largest protests took place in a generation, led by monks who filled the streets and documented the nonviolent protests with cell phones and digital cameras.
Project goal: Translate Little Brother into four Burmese languages in order to broaden the debate on using technology in the struggle for freedom against tyranny. By distributing electronic versions of the translated book, our goal is to inspire people from the country with Cory Doctorow's compelling tale of a teen and his friends who take on Big Brother, using technology to challenge an authoritarian regime.
About the book: "Little Brother is a scarily realistic adventure ... A teenage hacker-turned-hero pits himself against the government to fight for his basic freedoms. This book is action-packed with tales of courage, technology, and demonstrations of digital disobedience as the technophile's civil protest." - Andrew "bunnie" Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox
"Little Brother is a terrific read, but it also claims a place in the tradition of polemical science-fiction novels like “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Fahrenheit 451” (with a dash of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”). - New York Times Book Review
Background: My organization, Digital Democracy, has been working closely with Burmese community groups for the past few years. After seeing firsthand how communications technology is changing life inside the country, we want to bring Cory Doctorow's Little Brother to Burmese readers. (Read my article about mobiles and tech in Burma.)
Project plan: With your support, we will translate the book into four Burmese languages: Burmese, Karen, Chin and Kachin. The money will go to support Burmese activists living in Thailand, Bangladesh and India who will be translating it into the local languages. Each page of translation will cost approximately $3.60. By supporting this project, you're not only helping get Little Brother into Burma, you're supporting the livelihood of Burmese activists. The book will help teach people to protect themselves by doing such things as running applications from a USB drive, using block encryption to safeguard data on a USB stick, and hiding your encrypted data in a deniable format in the event of capture and torture."
Project partner: The All Burma IT Student Union
Donate: Here to further support teachers and librarians in the USA
Here to further support Digital Democracy's programs
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ