superpower
The BBC is to live translate an interactive event into seven languages, in an attempt to 'provide a six hour snapshot' of a global conversation.

SuperPower Nation, which will take place at Shoreditch Town Hall in London between 1:00pm–7:00pm GMT on Thursday 18 March, will be broadcast on radio, TV and online: on BBC Arabic, BBC Persion TV, BBC World News and BBC World service at various points during the event. 

BBC Brasil, BBC Chinese and BBC Mundo are also to take part.

As the discussion takes place, a live message board will translate online comments into Arabic, Chinese, English, Indonesian, Persian, Portuguese and Spanish. 

Audiences across the world will be encouraged to respond to the discussion in realtime: via social media and the BBC site.
The live audience in London are also expected to blog and tweet throughout the event as they watch it take place.

Participants from the non-profit blogging network Global Voices Online will be among audience members at the event, as part of the organisation's recent collaboration with the BBC.

For the SuperPower season the BBC teamed up with Global Voices in a bid "to present a different range of perspectives and commentary from around the world".

"We think Global Voices, which specialises in giving individuals the tools and support to comment and report on the issues that matter to them, could add an interesting extra dimension to some of our news coverage," said Steve Herrmann, editor of the BBC News website, at the time of the project's announcement.

globalvoicesGlobal Voices details some of the collaborative reporting so far at this link. Yesterday, for example, its citizen contributors added information to a piece about how Thai red-shirt demonstrators splashed blood in an anti-government protest. A link at the right-hand side of the page directs users to the Global Voices content (see image, left).

"Somehow reading additional details and first-hand accounts in Thai blogs gives a more rounded impression of what is going on," says Global Voices managing editor in a blog post.

SuperPower Nation live
BBC World News will be reporting live from the event at 20 minutes past every hour from 13:20 to 18:20 GMT. There will be a half-hour live SuperPower Nation programme at 16:30 GMT.
 
BBC World Service will broadcast World Have Your Say live from Shoreditch Town Hall at 18:00 to 19:00 GMT.

[Disclaimer: Judith Townend is also a contributor to Global Voices Online].
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