A citizen journalist goes online to build cultural bridges

Twenty-year-old Anas Saleem is the founder and curator of EverydayPakistan – an Instagram account that breaks stereotypes by documenting everyday life in Pakistan. When Anas began the project, he did not expect most of his audience to be from neighboring India, since India and Pakistan are nuclear rivals and have fought several wars. Anas took the opportunity to promote peace between the two nations through his images. During the heightened tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi in February 2019, he began a sub-project called #3picturesfromindia – sharing three pictures of everyday life in India every week. Anas is also a Global Voices contributor.

"For me, digital participation means going beyond chatting with friends to use the Internet and social media to get involved in issues that affect all humans. That is why I began the Instagram project in 2018. EverydayPakistan has become a wonderful platform for me to speak directly to my audience. We talk about issues and we learn by looking at photographs. It has made me realize the importance of digital media in shaping narratives."

The #speakup barometer is a DW Akademie project that examines the connection between digital participation, freedom of expression and access to information. Learn more at www.dw.com/barometer