Solutions journalism

Despite being often regarded as poverty tourism, the social enterprise Pragulic employs homeless people to show the Czech capital through their eyes – and gets them needed help. He emerges from a rear entrance of Praha-Smíchov, a railway station located well outside the city centre. By most measures, he is nondescript: a middle-age man in […]

Aula em Casa is a television programme that reaches 450,000 students in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. The project has recently expanded into other states of São Paulo, Sergipe and Espírito Santo, which means it brings its content to millions of schoolchildren. Like millions of other students in Brazil, Pedro Henrique Oliveira Cantuario found himself […]

Brazil has the world’s second-highest number of Covid-19 cases. In some cities, the dead are being buried in mass graves. Hospitals are on the brink of collapse. But some help is coming from a community map called Máscara para Todos for people to donate or sell masks, alcohol gel and gloves. The project also provides details on […]

Aula em Casa is a project launched by the department of education of Amazonas state. It reaches 450,000 students in the state and has recently expanded into other Brazilian states of São Paulo, Sergipe and Espírito Santo, which means it brings its content to millions of schoolchildren. Like millions of other students in Brazil, Pedro Henrique […]

This adventure began in late January, when there were still no cases of Covid-19 in Burkina Faso and an international hackathon, Hack For Wuhan, aiming at developing solutions to fight the pandemic was held in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the pandemic. Only two African teams out of 56 groups from 33 countries participated in […]

Over 160 volunteers joined forces to help Polish teachers solve problems in remote learning. These are issues related to the English language or the automation of teaching processes. The Geeks4Teachers project was created during one of the hackathons for computer programmers, and it is an entirely grass-roots initiative. An interview with Piotr Korlaga, who is the creator and […]

State leaders and doctors are cautiously optimistic that the Bay Area’s early moves to lock down residents two weeks ago have prevented surges of coronavirus patients from overwhelming the region’s health care capacity thus far. Six Bay Area counties were first in the country to adopt aggressive tactics with an enforceable March 16 order requiring […]

Rodrigo Martinez, 29, a chief commercial officer of a software company EagerWorks explained to Outriders why they launched “Lo de siempre” (meaning “as usual” in Spanish). After 45 days of campaigning, restaurants in Uruguay have started to open and have finished the project. They have sold about 700 vouchers in total these days. When and […]

A non-profit organisation African Masks distributes cloth masks in several countries across Africa. While some governments introduced compulsory mask-wearing, many impoverished communities cannot afford a mask. Teams of African Masks volunteers distribute masks to the most vulnerable and populated communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal, Kenya, Benin and Nigeria. In the first […]

Hospitals throughout Belarus are facing a shortage of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, but communities are trying to help fill the gap. Minsk Hackerspace is a non-profit, all-volunteer DIY community in Minsk. On April 1, a group of engineers, makers, and healthcare professionals teamed up to leverage DIY manufacturing technology to support PPE […]

Isolation and quarantine made it very difficult for domestic violence victims. The United Nations estimated 15 million additional cases of gender-based violence due to the lockdown. Telefono Rosa, an Italian non-governmental organisation, launched a campaign to help women who suffer domestic violence during the lockdown. This Rome-based non-profit has several shelter houses, two anti-violence centres […]

In São Paulo, Brazil, a collective of bikers called Bike System travels through the city distributing cleaning kits to people living on the street. The kit is simple: water bottles and liquid soap bottles so they can wash their hands. There are an estimated 24,000 homeless people in Brazil’s wealthiest city. An interview with Pedro Barreira, […]

In Poland, a social initiative Visible Hand connects those who need help with volunteers across the country. It is promoted via Facebook and operates in many cities and towns where separate accounts were created. Those willing to help can sew masks, give someone a ride, walk a dog or cook lunch. The assistance is free […]

A new profession that helps earn extra money is on the rise in Belarus. So does the important message of inclusivity for people with disabilities. A video depicts a noisy group of friends entering a coffee shop. It is busy inside. A young waitress approaches a hipsterish-looking man who wants to pay his bill. She […]

Drought is a phenomenon occurring naturally, and it is quite typical in our geographic location. Despite appearances, Poland is a country with limited water resources. Low-pressure zones coming from the Atlantic Ocean and bringing rain are mostly blocked over France and Germany and do not reach Poland, which more often faces dry high-pressure zones coming […]

Black bags full of different rubbish that is difficult to recycle. Polish waste management system is built in a way we do not have to see the waste. To change the system, we have to find a municipality that will dare to look into the garbage we produce. Recycling half of the produced garbage is […]

Scientists from the Department of Cardiology in University Medical Centre Mainz of the Johannes Gutenberg University claim that poor air quality killed 659,000 people  European Union in 2015. Every year there is one country on the European map of smog – Poland – that stands out when it comes to the concentration of harmful substances […]