Elections can be a messy, complicated business in India, the world's largest democracy. And as the Pulitzer Center's Shivam Vij, a 2011 Persephone Miel Fellow, reports, caste and class still matter. Writing for two Indian outlets, <a href="/india-elections-caste-media-predictions-uttar-pradesh-assembly-shivam-vij"><em>The Caravan</em></a> and <a href="/reporting/india-caste-elections-brahmin-dalit-alliance-congress"><em>Fountain Ink</em></a>, Shivam focuses on this month's elections in Uttar Pradesh where an unlikely alliance between Brahmins and Dalits appears to be unraveling. The reference points may be obscure to US audiences, but as Shivam's reporting makes clear, the underlying lesson is familiar: all politics is local. The idea behind the Miel Fellowships, overseen by the Pulitzer Center in collaboration with Internews, is to enable media professionals outside the US to do the kind of reporting they've always wanted to do, while helping them bring their work to a broader international audience. We will announce the winner of this year's Miel Fellowship on March 15.<br>
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The 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti was the inspiration for "Voices of Haiti," a remarkable multimedia experience that celebrates the resolute spirit of the Haitian people in verse, music and photography, with a special focus on individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Earlier this month, it was performed before audiences in Port-au-Prince and at the University of Miami. Excerpts of the Port-au-Prince performance can be viewed <a href="/blog/haiti-earthquake-voices-poetry-multimedia-kwame-dawes-andre-lambertson-port-au-prince-performance">here.</a><br>
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Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea's GPD is about the same as Ireland's, but most residents of the West African nation have to scrape by on the equivalent of $2 a day. This month, Equatorial Guinea's rulers <a href="/reporting/equatorial-guinea-soccer-can-2012-tournament-inequality-poverty-president-obiang">spent lavishly</a> to co-host the Africa Cup of Nation's soccer tournament, a showcase event that was supposed to highlight the nation's "progress." Photojournalist William Sands skipped the hoopla and documented the harsh reality.<br>
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Our congratulations to Pulitzer Center grantee Habiba Nosheen, <a href="/blog/adoption-industry-fraud-corruption-united-states-nepal-habiba-nosheen-gracie-award">the winner of a Gracie</a>, for her documentary work on adoption in Nepal. The Alliance for Women in Media presents these awards annually, honoring programming created for, by and about women.<br>
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Until next week,<br>
Tom Hundley
Senior Editor