Imagen tomada de Pixabay. Publicada bajo licencia CC0. Perteneciente al Dominio Público. The story below is an edited version of an interview originally carried out by Juan Arellano and published in Spanish on his blog, Globalizado. The interview looks at various Spanish-language projects in Latin America and Spain and reflects upon the evolution of the people's media from the point of view of the organisation Periodismo Ciudadano (Citizen Journalism), a group which Juan has collaborated with from time to time. According to its participants and creators, Periodismo Ciudadano “is an observatory of all that happens surrounding citizen journalism, the participation of readers, and cyber activism online.” In its ten years, the organisation has hosted a space for debate and shared information about media and blogs dedicated to journalism undertaken by ordinary internet users. In the time before the Web 2.0, a large majority of online discussions focused either on the definition of citizen journalism or its mere existence. The debates enjoyed huge publicity, with newspapers and academics putting forward arguments for and against such a practice. But beyond these discussions, individuals and initiatives online have continued exploring ways to further democratise the production of content and the arrival of information and knowledge. This exploration and progress have kept the team at Periodismo Ciudadano busy for a decade full of challenges and learning. Part of the fruits of their labour can also be seen in a Spanish-language book (available in PDF) published two years ago: “Periodismo Ciudadano. Evolución positiva de la comunicación” (Citizen Journalism, a Positive Evolution in Communication). Paula Gonzalo, current director of Periodismo Ciudadano, spoke to Global Voices and answered questions about the history and evolution of the site, as well as her perspective on citizen journalism today. Global Voices (GV): How did the interest in citizen journalism come about, and why was it decided to launch the site? Paula Gonzalo (PG): Hace 10 años vimos el potencial de los dispositivos móviles y las herramientas que tiene a su alcance la ciudadanía. Esto coincidió con la visita de Dan Gillmor a Valencia, España. Le entrevistamos, hablamos con él y nos pareció un fenómeno del futuro y el tiempo ha demostrado que así es. La participación de los ciudadanos y el contenido generado por el usuario se ha convertido en un ingrediente habitual tanto de la comunicación, como de los nuevos medios. En esa tesitura decidimos poner en marcha un observatorio internacional alrededor de la participación de los usuarios, así como del uso de la redes sociales y herramientas tecnológicas que permiten integrar a los ciudadanos en los procesos participativos. Paula Gonzalo (PG): Ten years ago we saw the potential of mobile technology and the tools available to the public. This coincided with [American journalism educator] Dan Gillmor‘s visit to Valencia, Spain. We interviewed him and talked with him and a future phenomenon became apparent, and time has shown us that it is so. Public participation and content generated by the user has become an everyday ingredient in communication just as much as in new media. Therefore, we decided to launch an international observatory around user participation, both of social networking sites and of technological tools which permit public integration and participation in its processes. GV: Is the current site in any way different from the original? PG: Por supuesto, no hemos dejado de avanzar, incorporando nuevos temas de interés como el Contenido Generado por el Usuario en sus múltiples usos. Nos hemos centrado especialmente en cómo la participación ciudadana está contribuyendo a la defensa de los derechos humanos, así como también la verificación de contenido generado por los usuarios. Además hemos tenido que ampliar los temas que abordamos a medida que surgen nuevos fenómenos sociales como el del periodismo drone o la ciencia ciudadana. PG: Of course, we haven't stopped moving forward, incorporating new topics of interest like user-generated content in its various uses. We have focused especially on how public participation has contributed to the defense of human rights, as well as verifying user-generated content. Furthermore, we have had to broaden the subjects that we tackle as new social phenomenons come about such as ‘drone’ reporting, or citizen science. GV: What is ‘citizen science'? PG: La ciencia ciudadana, entendida como la colaboración de personas no expertas en proyectos científicos, es otra forma de expresión de la participación de la ciudadanía en nuevos ámbitos de la sociedad.