When women have power: lessons from India's local leaders

The ability of social media and online civic participation to impact law and politics is still developing, but one social media tool - Friendfactor - was used successfully in New York to help bring about the passage of Gay Marriage Equality. It may be an indicator for how powerful platforms like this one will continue to play a role in societal growth and change.

Arab governments have expended a lot of energy keeping politics of any stripe out of the public sphere. With a few hundred volunteers and hardly any money, an upstart campaign called Beirut Madinati — “Beirut Is My City” — is challenging the status quo, displaying the kind of savvy civic politics promised by the Arab Spring.

Ljubljana was once a highly crowded city but since the election of its mayor, the city has become far more green due to a clear strategic plan and efficient mayoral office. The largest impact change was making the downtown core largely car free, other changes such as reducing waste and creating urban gardens have also had an impact.

Religion and technology are two important elements in Nairobi, however, they have remained distant until the corrupt government brought them together. Christian hackathons are now opportunities for technology and religion to meet to spur innovation that can help fight against corruption

Female government officials often have different priorities than male representatives.In India, after an experiment in government quotas for women in leadership positions, reporting of domestic violence and sexual assault has increased, along with other proof that the radical stance may have worked.

Ireland held a citizens’ assembly to discuss the country’s contentious abortion laws and demonstrated the potential of such democracy-building initiatives. A random selection of participants gathered over five weekends and formulated recommendations after hours of respectful, fact-based discussion.

Across the United States, local and state legislators are passing resolutions to make sure they can continue to serve their communities while keeping themselves safe from COVID-19. From convening in bigger spaces, like basketball arenas to allowing for voting from separate rooms or via video or teleconference, public servants are working to make sure they can continue to pass emergency legislation for their communities.

Officials in Oregon, where voters have voted by mail in statewide elections for decades, point to their successful system to counter Donald Trump’s claim that voting by mail is “rigged” and results could take “years.” Several precautions prevent voter fraud, including a signature verification system, unique tracking barcodes on every ballot, and voters can get alerts when their ballot is received and counted. Officials and academics who have studied the system say that fraud is exceedingly rare with current security measures, though states implementing the system for the first time could experience delays.

Students at two Philadelphia schools are getting to know the ins-and-outs of the democratic system by actively participating in the operations of their schools. Students at Philly Free School meet weekly with faculty and staff where they help decide how to spend the school's money, if popcorn should be banned and who should be hired. At Revolution School, students helped decide what fall reopening plans would look like.

As part of a COVID-19 pandemic relief bill, the federal government expanded the child tax credit and distributed the money in monthly cash payments rather than a lump sum when filing taxes. The expansion, which expired in 2022, also increased the per-child amount up to $3,600 annually. The concept of cash-payments trusts families to decide where the money is most needed. Data shows that many families were able to catch up on bills and take away the urgency of financial struggles, opening up space to tend to other physical and emotional needs involved in raising children.