Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How to put the internet in a box

    October 20, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Radio |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Bangladesh

    Offline communities are being connected to the world's information through a network of people who physically carry data on devices containing content from Wikipedia and Khan Academy. Residents in a Himalayan village not only consumed the information but also asked for an offline wifi network which allowed them to create and share their own media. In Rohingya refugee camps, tablets were handed out to quell rampant disinformation about the spread of coronavirus. The tablets were equipped with videos from trusted health sources to provide reliable information about staying safe and healthy.

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  • Why Portugal decriminalised all drugs

    October 19, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Radio |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Portugal

    When Portugal became the first country to decriminalize personal possession and use of small amounts of drugs, choosing to shift to treating drug abuse as a health rather than a criminal matter, the feared downside of turning the country into a drug-users' paradise did not materialize. Instead, HIV cases and crime dropped. Law enforcement resources could focus on major trafficking, while the health and social problems associated with the country's serious heroin problem could be addressed in a way that could begin to solve the problem. Up till then, arrests and prison had failed to have such effects.

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  • Training police to patrol each other

    October 06, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

    In the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis, where several officers failed to prevent one officer's actions, New Orleans police have been besieged by requests from police nationwide to export their method of training officers to intervene to prevent misconduct by fellow officers. New Orleans' reputation for police brutality and corruption has improved, in part because of its "active bystander" training. Complaints are down and public support is up. Now its internal EPIC training course is available free to other departments as ABLE: Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement.

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  • Ervin Staub: A Holocaust survivor's mission to train ‘heroic bystanders'

    October 05, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

    By training police officers to intervene when fellow officers engage in brutality or other misconduct, the New Orleans police department has reduced officers' use of force and increased public trust. After the killing of George Floyd by a police officer whose colleagues did not intervene, the ethical-policing model called EPIC (Ethical Policing Is Courageous) is expanding to dozens more cities as ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement). It is based on the violence-psychology research of Ervin Staub, whose family was saved by "active bystanders" in Nazi Hungary.

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  • The daring plan to save the Arctic ice with glass Audio icon

    September 23, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minnesota

    The nonprofit Arctic Ice Project is testing an unusual approach to combat climate change: by scattering a thin layer of reflective glass powder over parts of the Arctic. By putting this material on top of the ice, they’re studying if the powder can protect the ice during the summer months and rebuild it over time. In one pond in Minnesota, just a few layers of the material made young ice 20 percent more reflective and delayed the melting of the ice. Other scientists question the impact the material can have on the Arctic ecosystem, but the approach could be a way to counteract the effects of global warming.

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  • How to prevent drowning

    September 22, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Israel

    Three projects show how effective national strategies can be to reduce accidental drownings, which kill an estimated 320,000 people worldwide each year. In Israel, artificial intelligence software processes video feeds from beaches to alert lifeguards to emergencies. The three African nations sharing Lake Victoria have invested in inexpensive weather forecasting gear and public information services to alert people who fish or traverse the lake. And Bangladesh's systems of daycare and swimming lessons are saving the lives of previously unsupervised children at highest risk of drowning.

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  • How social-distancing symbols are changing our cities

    September 16, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: France, Paris

    Across the world, local governments and communities are looking for ways to draw boundaries that guide people's behavior towards social distancing. Although the perfect sign has yet to be determined, urban psychologists and researchers have found that community created signs as well as France's "wave-shaped sign" have inspired loyalty and a shared goal.

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  • Smartphones saving the rainforest

    September 15, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Radio |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Brazil

    Rainforest Connection makes a smartphone app that is part of a system using solar-powered phones in the rainforests of Brazil, Sumatra, Costa Rica, and Peru to stream audio of suspected illegal logging. This system, using recycled phones, enables the capture and shutting down of logging operations. In Brazil, about 100 loggers have been arrested and a large share of the rainforest has been protected, though many loggers there and in other countries still evade detection. This app is one example of innovations in use around the world to extend the lives of smartphones to benefit environmental conservation.

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  • The remarkable floating gardens of Bangladesh

    September 10, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Bangladesh, Gopalganj, Bihar

    Bangladeshi communities are reviving a traditional method of crop cultivation known as floating vegetable gardens to grow food during monsoon season. On these floating organic beds, farmers can grow vegetables like okra, spinach, and snake gourd. They can supply enough food to feed their family and be a source of income. While scaling this approach to other parts of the country can be difficult, many see this practice as a way to adapt to the effects of climate change.

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  • The buildings heated by human warmth

    September 08, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Sweden, Stockholm

    Harnessing body heat provides energy-saving heating to commercial and residential buildings. The Stockholm Central station in Sweden and the Mall of America in Minnesota both capture body warmth to provide some of the buildings' heat. Each has over 100,000 daily visitors during non-coronavirus times, generating substantial heat that can be captured by energy-efficient construction. Body heat is also utilized in residential spaces, where thermal insulation helps keep the warmth inside. Using body heat requires energy-efficient building materials and generally cannot provide all of a building's heating needs.

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