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How Youth Turned the Tide in the 2020 Election

Levi Pulkkinen

December 30, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A team of young people helped Kirsten Harris-Talley win a seat in the Washington state legislature. The 63 young people, ages 12 to 22, did more than the traditional behind the scenes work, like phone banking and door knocking. Rather, the young campaign workers participated in strategy meetings, ran the campaign’s Instagram account, and shaped the campaign’s climate justice and youth rights platforms. Ten of the young people were given paid fellowships and carried out responsibilities in all aspects of the campaign, such as voter engagement and fundraising.

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After 3 years and $1.5 million devoted to testing rape kits, Alaska made one new arrest

Kyle Hopkins

December 30, 2020 |

Anchorage Daily News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Despite hopes that testing a backlog of rape kits would reveal many new serial-rape suspects, Alaska's three-year push to test 568 kits under the federally funded Sexual Assault Kit Initiative led to only one new prosecution. The reasons the program fell short of expectations include a lack of usable DNA samples, errors by investigators, cases in which victims and suspects had died or victims no longer wished to proceed, or the kits revealed no evidence that wasn't previously known. Alaska is now footing the bill to test more kits, which contain physical evidence collected after a rape.

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Prosecutors try to keep people out of pandemic-clogged courts through diversion programs

Rebecca Rivas

December 30, 2020 |

Missouri Independent |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

Missouri legislators passed a law in 2019 clarifying that prosecutors can divert criminal cases to social services and healthcare agencies even before charges are filed. Small experiments that had been taking place in recent years suddenly grew in St. Louis County to help the courts focus only on serious cases during pandemic shutdowns. Now those innovations are spreading, as more drug cases and other low-level cases avoid the courts altogether. This eases the burden also on people, who in traditional drug courts still get arrested and face employment barriers even if their cases eventually get dropped.

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Ils rendent un visage aux disparus

Taina Tervonen

December 30, 2020 |

Les Jours |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

Le Comité international de la Croix Rouge a pour mission d'aider les exilés à retrouver la trace de proches disparus et/ou perdus de vue. Grâce à un partenariat avec l'école d'ingénieurs INSA, plusieurs applications ont été créées et testées sur le terrain pour faciliter ce travail fastidieux. Les étudiants et leurs professeurs ont développé deux applications permettant d’améliorer la traçabilité des corps anonymes repêchés par les sauveteurs en mer et inhumés sans identité mais aussi pour automatiser le traitement des images des corps récupérés en mer, pour qu’elles soient regardables par les familles.

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At Chicago's Immigrant-Run Corner Stores, Striving for Food and Racial Justice

Arionne Nettles

December 30, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

The Corner Store Campaign alleviates food insecurity in Chicago by providing fresh produce and supplies to customers who frequent the neighborhood establishments - typically in places that are more likely to be food deserts. The program is run by Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), which also seeks to ease and heal the historically-fraught relationship between immigrant corner store owners and the black communities they typically cater to by partnering with the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative to engage in dialogue about policing and community safety.

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What A Solar-Powered, Portable Library Looks Like

Christine Ro

December 30, 2020 |

Forbes |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Arizona State University’s SolarSPELL project developed a waterproof device with a solar panel and other equipment that allows users to connect to “offline WiFi” networks and browse preloaded webpages. SD cards store open access educational content and national education ministries have the ability to add national textbooks and other culturally relevant content. About 25 users can connect without slowing browsing speeds and the ASU team provides training on how to use the device. While the device is primarily charged using the solar panel, it can also be charged using electricity during cloudy weather.

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Pima County program getting people out of jail quicker, speeding up chances for a new life

Caitlin Schmidt

December 29, 2020 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

An array of services in Pima County, Arizona, greets hundreds of people getting released early from jail or helps keep them out of jail in the first place. By providing drug treatment, housing, job assistance, and other help that people need instead of incarceration, the county's Criminal Justice Reform Unit and Jail Population Review Committee saved the county $2 million in jail costs over just part of 2020. Drug use also declined and officials hope to see longer-range benefits in lower recidivism.

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Iranian women's group empowers amid pandemic by making masks

Vahid Salemi

December 29, 2020 |

Associated Press |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Iran, Tehran

An organization in Tehran, Iran is helping women "looking for work to make handicrafts" by allowing them to use donated sewing machines as a means of becoming self-sufficient despite high rates of unemployment. When the coronavirus pandemic impacted the market, however, they shifted to making masks. Specific sales figures for the masks aren't available, but participants say they are grateful to be able to learn a new skill for free.

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'We stopped being afraid to meet local people': The Czech lunches that connect families

Kitti Palmai

December 29, 2020 |

The Local |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Czech Republic

Migrants and native Czechs are breaking bread together in an initiative designed to promote tolerance. Next Door Family connects locals with migrants who seek a sense of belonging and security in their new homes. Over 40 percent of families met up again on their own. The project was also implemented in several other European countries.

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The marathon: How Ontario succeeded in former GM plant's redevelopment this time

Peng Chen

December 29, 2020 |

Richland Source |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ontario, Ohio

The city of Ontario, Ohio, redeveloped the site of a former General Motors plant in an endeavor to bring back jobs. Extensive cleanup, construction, and collective action resulted in a clean facility and a bright future. The site will soon be home to the first new tenant: A specialty bags production plant.

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