Inside the exquisite Tibetan monasteries salvaged from climate change

Project 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Commemoration Initiative is a public art installation to memorialize the Vietnamese who fought alongside U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War, as this group is often forgotten. The memorial tells stories from the perspective of the Vietnamese, highlighting the impact of war on families and communities.

Ten Mile, a community in South Carolina settled by freed slaves after the Civil War, is fighting climate gentrification and flooding by preserving land through forestry projects, land trusts, and greenbelt initiatives. Saving green spaces this way maintains the character of the historic Black neighborhood while promoting flood resiliency.

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names and the Oregon Geographic Names Board are changing offensive and racist geographic place names in the state. When looking to change a name, the boards reach out to community members and experts for recommendations. They also review new name proposals that locals submit for both unnamed and named locations.

Fiddler Dennis Stroughmatt plays French Creole music, sings, and speaks in Missouri French to raise awareness about the language and culture no longer widely practiced in the region.

Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

Pacific Islander communities in Hawaii have formed their own Covid-19 task forces to stop the virus’ spread, rather than wait for the government to respond. Despite a lack of resources, the task forces conduct community outreach providing protective gear and food and have partnered with community groups, recognizing the role of active community engagement and participation to achieve success. The task forces use a model that recognizes the significance of cultural nuances and language challenges, which has added to its success in keeping the infection rate among Pacific Islander communities relatively low.

An organization in London called the Participatory City Foundation funds projects and initiatives that give local control to residents and inspire economic and social equity. One such project, "Every One, Every Day,"allows neighborhood residents to take action to make their communities healthier and more sustainable.

Wings of America is a New Mexico based organization that uses running as a way for Native Americans to reconnect with their pasts and cultures while combatting pervasive stereotypes. The organization also organizes runs as protest and resistance, giving youth an opportunity to speak up on the issues they care about.

High school junior Kevin Barber became aware of a program that was helping the homeless find work in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Inspired by it and what he knew of the homeless population in his hometown, Barber decided to try to implement a similar program in San Diego. He and his mom reached out to city government and before long implemented "Wheels of Change," a program that pays the homeless to help clean up the streets they were once sleeping on.

Los Angeles is partnering with two nonprofits, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), to accelerate sidewalk repairs ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LANI has spent over two decades helping council districts fix broken sidewalks more cheaply and flexibly than the city's official process, and LACC pairs the repair work with paid job training for youth ages 18–26, with 30 participants already completing the program.