Chaikhana goes digital: Central Asian blogs collected

Bloggers talking about the region's past, present and future. Just like in a real world chaikhana (teahouse).

How does architecture reflect a national identity crisis in Kazakhstan? How is the mundane politicized in Uzbekistan? Was Kyrgyzstan's famed “Tulip Revolution” really much of a revolution at all? These and other questions will be put forth in `CyberChaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia`, a book project by Neweurasia, Central Asia's largest online network of citizen-generated media. The project is supported by the Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme.

CyberChaikhana's content comes directly from Central Asia's community of bloggers. We have derived the material from the archives of the "Stanosphere" - the five Central Asian countries al ending on -stan: Kazakstan, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Tjadzikistan en Turkmenistan. Apart from coordinating directly with bloggers we are running surveys of Neweurasia's audience from the project's own dedicated blog. The effort is to combine the traditional solitary editorial process with the democratic pluralism of crowdsourcing. CyberChaikhana is a unique project in both the physical and online publishing worlds.

The posts selected are intended to provide readers a kaleidoscope view of life in the Central Asian republics. Essentially, we want to show the region's post-Soviet history from a perspective different from – even in opposition to – the official viewpoint of its governments. This means normal people, like the shopkeeper, university student, or expat.

The Stanosphere's bloggers have been dialoguing with each other for the better part of a decade already. Like a real world chaikhana (teahouse), their work comprises a rich but often unheard digital conversation about the region's past, present, and future.

In keeping with the nature of Central Asian blogging as an embedded medium, CyberChaikhana's intended audience are those already familiar with the region. We also feel it should be of interest to specialists curious about New Media and the “wiring” of the developing world. Most of all, CyberChaikhana targets at aspiring journalists within Central Asia itself. It is our hope that this book will ultimately do more than explore and commemorate the Stanosphere's accomplishments to this point, but also catalyze more grassroots, citizen-based New Media projects in the region.
Production based upon a finished manuscript is hoped to start this autumn.

Christopher Schwartz, editor CyberChaikhana

Note by the Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme: This book project is supported for showing very different perspectives on topics like identity, religion and the state from a group of people that is very active on the internet, but not yet heard in the traditional media. It is hoped to stimulate the debate on these issues especially within the media.

Want to know more about the project? Find out at the website of neweurasia.