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  • Are We Firing Too Many People In The U.S.? Audio icon

    April 07, 2020 |

    NPR |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: Germany, Berlin

    “Kurzarbeit” is a German governmental program that helps preserve jobs in an economic crisis. A company can reduce the hours of workers and the government will help pay them, which preserves the important specialized training invested in manufacturing jobs, helps workers get some pay, and reduces the reliance upon unemployment benefits that are comparable to those in the U.S. It worked in the 2008 recession, and it is working in the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.

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  • Seamstresses after the Virus Hit Cuba: from Dresses to Masks

    April 06, 2020 |

    elTOQUE |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Cuba, Havana

    In Havana, Cuba, the city's seamstresses quickly pivoted from sewing dresses and costumes to much-needed face masks as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. Many seamstresses are even using recycled clothes to bring costs down.

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  • Swiss lead way with crisis loans to small businesses

    April 06, 2020 |

    Financial Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Switzerland

    The Swiss government's economic stimulus package for small business is being lauded around the world for its speed and efficiency. They have pledged $40 billion in emergency loans to support small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The application is only a page long, the loan is interest-free, and businesses receive the money almost immediately. Their success is credited to their insular network of businesses and political elites that made the rollout exceptionally quick.

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  • A German Exception? Why the Country's Coronavirus Death Rate Is Low

    April 04, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Germany, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg

    Germany has had plenty of coronavirus patients—more than 100,000 laboratory-confirmed infections—but their death rate is remarkably low compared to neighboring countries. Experts attribute this to extensive and widespread testing, a trusted government, social distancing, and plenty of hospital care available if needed. Their capacity is so great that the country is now taking in patients from Italy, Spain, and France. As a result, the curve is beginning to flatten in Germany.

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  • Convention Center Helps Build Sanitation Stations to Combat COVID-19

    April 02, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

    In Athens, Georgia, 70 miles east of the capital Atlanta, one empty convention center put its space to good use by producing sanitation stations to combat COVID-19. After losing $1.2 million dollars of business in a single day, the convention center leadership found a way to leverage their forklifts, exhibit hall, and loading docks.

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  • Baltimore Social Enterprises Turn Abandoned Homes into High-End Furniture and So Much More

    April 02, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

    In Baltimore, a successful social enterprise collaboration involves employing formerly incarcerated people to deconstruct valuable old wood from abandoned homes, preparing the wood for production, then turning the wood into high-end furniture. The initiative has expanded by working with the U.S. Forest Service to repurpose fallen wood from around the country, and it has already found a new life for wood for at least 90 homes.

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  • A Simple Mask

    April 01, 2020 |

    Respekt |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Czech Republic

    In the Czech Republic, a seamstress named Michaela Moudra encouraged people across the country to meet their nation's acute need for face masks to reduce COVID-19 transmission. From her Facebook group Czechia Sews Face Masks, which now has tens of thousands of members, Moudra inspired hundreds to start sewing masks.

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  • During lockdown foresters try to balance field work and prevention of disease spread

    March 30, 2020 |

    Mongabay |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

    In the wake of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a lockdown as a response to COVID-19, wildlife protection workers are still showing up to work. Their services have been deemed essential because illegal activities such as poaching that threaten native endangered species are still at high risk during a lockdown. By limiting staff and using social distancing, they plan to continue their important work amidst this crisis.

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  • Our Bodies, Our Wen-Do

    March 30, 2020 |

    Transitions Online |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Belarus

    A Belarus women’s-empowerment support group using the Wen-Do method ends each session with the students breaking a piece of wood with a chop of their hand, a literal show of strength that communicates how defending against men’s harassment and physical attacks may require physical force as well as assertiveness. In Canada, where the method began, the training -- a mix of martial arts lessons and support-group dialog -- is associated with a 46% reduction in rape and 64% drop in attempted sexual assault.

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  • State Legislatures Scramble to Meet in the Age of Coronavirus

    March 30, 2020 |

    Route Fifty |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York

    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.

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