I have mentioned Rising Voices on my blog before, but I now plan to make them a greater part of my research into the communication portals used to build global agency among previously silenced populations.  This is how they describe themselves:  "Rising Voices, an outreach initiative of Global Voices, aims to help bring new voices from new communities and speaking new languages to the global conversation by providing resources and funding to local groups reaching out to underrepresented communities" (http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/about/).  Literally, the voice of the internet is changing, and Rising Voices (child organization of Global Voices) is an agent of this change.  They work to spread multi-media literacy to communities who have had no control over their own digital, global identities.   They refer to this type of work that they are promoting and teaching as citizen media (not their term of course).  

Interestingly enough to technical communication, one of the biggest problems that they cite on their site is the lack of documentation in other languages besides English that explains how to create podcasts, start a blog, or create a wiki.  In response to this, Rising Voices has created a series of six guides, of which only first is currently available on the website, in six different languages.  "The first guide, An Introduction to Citizen Media, offers context and case studies which show how everyday citizens across the world are increasingly using blogs, podcasts, online video, and digital photography to engage in an unmediated conversation which transcends borders, cultures, and differing languages."