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Australia confiscated 650,000 guns. Murders and suicides plummeted.

Zack Beauchamp

May 18, 2018 |

Vox |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

After passing the National Firearms Agreement in 1996, Australia saw a striking decline in suicide and homicide raters. The agreement – a result of a mass shooting – included a ban on certain kinds of guns, a mandatory buyback on those guns that had been deemed illegal, as well as amnesty for those who illegally possessed firearms to turn them in. In the years leading up to the agreement, the country witnessed 13 mass shootings; since then, Australia has seen only one.

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Switzerland's new algorithm could get up to 30% more refugees into work

Jack Graham

May 18, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Switzerland, Bern

Switzerland will soon be piloting a new algorithm to help refugees find jobs. The algorithm uses "machine learning to match geographic employment outcomes with refugees’ personal characteristics, such as gender, age and nationality." Researchers found that using the algorithm would have helped 41% more refugees to be employed between 2011 and 2016, but "real world" impact is yet to be measured. However, there are concerns about transparency and fairness.

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Displaced Sri Lankans defy military to reclaim homeland

Lisa Fuller

May 18, 2018 |

Al Jazeera |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sri Lanka, Iranaitheevu

26 years after being displaced from their land, hundreds of Tamil civilians orchestrated a plan that defied the Sri Lankan navy to return to their homeland. “Over 100 community members are now living on the island. Other plans to arrive in the coming months.”

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A phoenix rising from the asbestos

John Blodgett

May 17, 2018 |

The Western News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Libby, Montana

A town once plagued by a reputation of being an asbestos Superfund site as well as having been hit by the timber wars, Libby, Montana is back on the map. Lincoln County commissioner, Mark Peck of Libby, the county seat, decided to make it a priority to fix the negative connotation surrounding the town and partnered with a public relations firm to rebrand the city through the use of the community's unique story of rising from asbestos.

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How Southern organizers are leading the movement to end money bail

Gabrielle Hernandez

May 17, 2018 |

Scalawag |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

The organization Southerners on New Ground is helping reform the criminal justice system in the south. Activists won a small victory in Atlanta, where the mayor and city council approved a resolution that replaced cash bonds with signature bonds for misdemeanor offenses. They also raised money to help people pay their cash bails as part of a larger event called the National Bail Out collective, which bailed out 147 Black women in 26 cities this year.

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The only scheme proven to end poverty – but too bespoke to scale?

Thomas Graham

May 16, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

An intensive, long-term approach to solving poverty, piloted by an NGO in Bangladesh, has shown serious promise since its start in 2002. However, as the program is piloted in countries across the world, questions about how to emulate results while keeping costs down have kept the program from being effectively scaled.

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Estonia To Become The World's First Free Public Transport Nation

Regina Schröter

May 16, 2018 |

Pop-Up City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Estonia, Tallinn

Free public transport is so popular and cost-effective in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn that the country wants to scale the idea nationwide. Public official Allan Alaküla shares insights for cities looking to experiment with similar programs.

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Games in government: How to get public servants excited about work

Jennifer Guay

May 15, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

Games can help government employees feel more engaged in their work. The United Kingdom’s Department of Work and Pensions uses a game called Idea Street to encourage innovation, and the City of Louisville, Kentucky, awards digital badges for creativity and collaborations. Sustaining staff interest in games can be a challenge. It helps to have clear rules and to align games with the top motivations of employees.

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A revolution in hydropower makes waves in rural Colorado

Carl Segerstrom

May 11, 2018 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Montrose, Colorado

Thanks in part to the advancement of technology and federal reforms that now streamline a previously lengthy process, rural Colorado is proving to be a prime candidate for small hydropower projects.

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New Zealand explores machine-readable laws to transform government

Anoush Darabi

May 11, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: New Zealand, Wellington

Legislation is currently written in such a way that it often takes a lawyer to interpret how policies are supposed to work. What if laws were written to be machine-readable instead? A team in New Zealand rewrote two laws as software code in a pilot program that showed how this style of writing could prove invaluable for increasing transparency and accountability across government.

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