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How to bring a high street back from the dead

Kevin Rushby

March 29, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, York

Revive local high streets by creating informal spaces for people to linger. That’s the lesson from Bishopthorpe Road in York. Once barely hanging on, Bishy Road’s fortunes changed when shopkeepers decided to band together, close off the road, and host a street party. Thousands of people showed up. The shops have continued to build spaces for people to relax and hang out, and the high street is now voted one of Britain’s best.

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Block like an Egyptian: roller derby team get women's rights on track

Lucy Lamble

March 28, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Egypt, Cairo

Team sports have been an effective way to build community, nurture skills, and develop physical autonomy among Egyptian women. The introduction of a roller derby team in Cairo has achieved these goals and is travels internationally for competition.

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Wheat in heat: the 'crazy idea' that could combat food insecurity

Mark Hillsdon

March 23, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Senegal, Ndiayene Pendao

After many years of attempts, scientists have discovered how to create a heat tolerant wheat that has the potential of impacting the growing concerns around food insecurity. Tested in sub-Saharan temperatures in Senegal, the International Centre for Research in the Dry Areas (Icarda) have seen success with their strain of wheat that turns this formerly cold-weather only crop into a fast-growing crop that can withstand 40C temperatures and be grown in the between seasons of planting rice crops.

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The rebel bank, printing its own notes and buying back people's debts

Anna Leach

March 23, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Walthamstow, London

How is Street Central Bank buying back the debt of ordinary people? Part art installation and part charitable endeavor, the “bank” prints its own money, sells it for real tender and then uses the funds to help neighbors. The project draws inspiration from similar debt buyback efforts in the United States.

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‘They are our salvation': the Sicilian town revived by refugees

Lorenzo Tondo

March 19, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Italy, Sutera, Sicily

Immigrants are reviving the local economy in Sutera. Before 2014, the Sicilian town was shrinking fast. All but a few hundred people had moved to look for work in bigger cities. Welcoming asylum seekers from Nigeria, Syria, Sri Lanka and elsewhere has proved to be a popular and effective way to grow commercial opportunities and add new life to the town.

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Come together: how music is rebuilding bridges in divided Balkans

Gillian Dohrn

March 16, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar

Mostar Rock School is a school that takes students from both sides of the Nereta river, which divides the Bosnian Croat population and the Bosnian Muslims. The school allows students from different ethnic backgrounds to intermingle, create music, and it defies the ethnic division created after the Bosnian war. “There were 16 students in the first class. This year, there are 128 enrolled and 80 more on the waiting list.”

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Can we fix it? The repair cafes waging war on throwaway culture

Kate Lyons

March 15, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Scotland, Edinburgh

Instead of throwing broken items away, what if those items could be repaired? The Edinburgh Remakery and the Reading Repair Cafe are attempting just that. Different remake shops have different approaches: some rely on volunteers and provide repair services for free, others charge a fee to make the company more sustainable. What they all have in common is a passion for remaking what is old into what is new again and helping the planet at the same time.

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The ballerina who rescued 100,000 children with hip-hop

Dan Collyns

March 14, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Peru, Lima

Vania Masías abandoned her prolific career as a professional ballerina to teach impoverished youth in Peru hip hop. “More than 100,000 children have passed through the programme over the years.”

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Want to save your job and make more money? Buy out your boss

Aditya Chakrabortty

March 14, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Glasgow

The owners of Novograf, a UK-based marketing company, faced a challenge when they were ready to retire. They did not want to sell their company and risk a relocation of the factory, which would take away jobs from the local economy. Instead, they sold their company to their employees. Data shows that employee-ownership leads to higher wages and higher job satisfaction. One year after the transition to employee-ownership, Novograf sales grew by 20%.

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Worker-owned businesses

Aditya Chakrabortty

March 14, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Scotland, Glasgow

Rather than selling his business in the traditional way, a business owner in Glasgow decided to transfer ownership to his employees through an employee ownership trust after researching the best ways to plan for succession in a way that will benefit current employees. The trust granted shares to employees based on their length of time at the company, and this unusual succession plan saves companies from being shut down in the hands of new owners.

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