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

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 89 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • How Kenya turned the tide against ivory poachers

    More and more park rangers, judges, prosecutors, and wildlife investigators are working together to stop poaching in Kenya. Through training and a new app that allows all parties to track wild animals in a protected conservation area, the number of poaching cases has decreased from 449 creatures killed illegally in 2021 to 93 in 2018. The number of court cases have also decreased in recent years.

    Read More

  • Vanuatu looks to local food production for a resilient future

    As the small island nation of Vanuatu emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of a tropical cyclone, entrepreneur Votausi Lucyann Mackenzie-Reur argues that they need to focus on local ingredients to be able to respond to future crises. Oxfam is also doing work in this region by using blockchain technology to improve food purchasing power for people affected by disasters. “Food security, climate change, and biodiversity can all be tackled by promoting and advocating the use of local traditional foods,” says Mackenzie-Reur.

    Read More

  • How One Atlanta News Station Is Fighting Against Fake News

    11Alive, a Georgia news station, runs a program called "Verify" that helps residents get accurate information and slow the spread of disinformation. Viewers submit a form online or via an app to request any piece of information be debunked or verified. If deemed a verifiable request, a 13-member team of reporters, editors, and producers investigate it by reaching out to experts and other sources. Since disinformation spreads quickly, “Verify” uses Google Analytics and search engine optimization (SEO) to get the most exposure and gain traction when a verification article is posted.

    Read More

  • Citizen-Led Initiative Battles Dangerous ‘Infodemic'

    Verificovid was started by a group of friends to combat pandemic-related misinformation in Mexico. They work with a group of government doctors to identify, track, investigate, and disprove misinformation. The group posts infographics with updated COVID-19 statistics on social media – mainly Whatsapp and Telegram – and offers medical tips via short audio messages and texts. They prioritize fast-moving misinformation that could cause the most harm and, along with sharing the truth, they investigate the origin of the misinformation and teach the public how to identify and stop fake news.

    Read More

  • Boosting Voter Turnout: Seth Flaxman

    Democracy Works has a suite of programs that make it easier to vote. TurboVote helps its 7 million subscribers easily register to vote by taking them to their state's online registration site or by sending them the paperwork with envelopes pre-addressed to their county election office. The service also sends emails and texts to remind users to vote, as well as with other deadlines and their polling location. Their Voting Information Project provides data for all districts in the U.S. that groups, such as Google and Facebook, use to provide their users with their polling place location information.

    Read More

  • Egypt's farmers tap new tech to save water and boost crops

    A new government pilot program in Egypt is allowing farmers to use technology to tell them when their soil is dry and how much water it needs, which can aid the country as it navigates its water crisis. Sensors buried in the soil measure the ground’s moisture levels and sends the data to the user through a mobile app. The government has given 200 devices away for free, but some experts question the cost and if farmers will be comfortable with the technology. Still, one farmer says that because of the new system, she has been using 20 percent less water and her labor costs have also decreased.

    Read More

  • West Virginia has a simple system that avoids wasting vaccine doses

    West Virginia has implemented a digital platform that allows residents to sign up for notifications if leftover doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are available for use near them. Although the system is only accessible to those with internet, it has resulted in far fewer people phoning the hotline, which in turn has allowed for greater ease for those without internet access to sign up for appointments.

    Read More

  • This App Aims to Help SNAP Users Make the Most of Their Benefits

    A new app is helping communities facing food insecurity in California. Forage Grocery finds the best bargains for SNAP recipients in their local grocery stores. Users upload their grocery list, select the stores they would typically visit in person, and the app compares prices to provide shoppers with a grocery list that makes the most of their SNAP benefits. The app also includes links and ads to local food banks and other resources for food insecurity.

    Read More

  • In Ghana, a New App is Striving to Save Fishermen's Livelihoods

    With more than 200 communities along the Ghana coast relying on small-scale fishing, a new app called DASE seeks to hold industrial trawlers accountable for illegally fishing in their seas. The app allows people to take a picture or video of the activity and upload it to a database where it can be used by law enforcement to act. The app is already being adapted for use in other African coastal countries.

    Read More

  • How This New App Can Teach You About Forgotten Histories

    The Staten Island African American Heritage Tour is a website and mobile app that offers virtual tours of Staten Island’s Black History, which was oftentimes intentionally erased from the city's historical accounts. The tours are based on genealogical and historical investigations and the app was tested by local students for user-friendliness. The students were empowered to learn about their own histories and reported that their knowledge of local histories expanded. Five days after the website launched, before the app was public, there were already hundreds of local and international unique users.

    Read More