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Female Farmers are Coming into Their Own—and Networking is Key to Their Success

Marianne Messina

April 16, 2019 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

As the number of women in agriculture grows, a group of female farmers in Wisconsin participate in a networking cooperative called In Her Boots. Starting as a 12-person potluck, members of In Her Boots now come from more than 20 different counties and swap knowhow more specific to women, such as how to adjust farming practices to fit a smaller frame or how to apply for farm grants. The group is still growing and is now part of a data-gathering metric from the University of Wisconsin which aims to measure the growth of women in sustainable farming.

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Restoring Prisoners' Access to Education Reduces Recidivism

James McWilliams

April 16, 2019 |

Pacific Standard |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

A piece of bipartisan legislation was introduced to the United States’ Senate in February 2018 that would give individuals in incarceration access to Pell Grants, thus increasing their college education opportunities. While the bill was not enacted, it is part of an ongoing process of reinstating access to Pell Grants for prisoners from the Obama administration, who gave limited access in its Second Chance program. This bill speaks to the largely bipartisan cultural shift that embraces the need to invest in correctional education in order to prevent recidivism.

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Facing Segregated Schools, Parents Took Integration Into Their Own Hands. It's Working.

Eliza Shapiro

April 16, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

When City Hall was slow in addressing the issue of the deeply segregated schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, parents took the matter in their own hands and drafted a proposal to integrate the students more. High-achieving students will enroll in low-performing schools and vice-versa, as well as doing away with the competitive admissions process to open up more spaces for students who are poor, homeless, learning English, or more. City Hall eventually approved the proposal with very little input from the mayor, but parents still maintain that they have a lot of work ahead of them still.

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Upcycling Guns

Jessica Press

April 16, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: El Salvador

Giving guns a nonviolent afterlife can also increase economic opportunity for struggling communities. In El Salvador, IM Swedish Development Partner, a nongovernmental organization, is addressing the issue of guns and violence by creating new partnerships and opportunities. Through the Humanium Metal program, confiscated guns are recycled into raw material and then sold to companies that produce finished products like watches, jewelry—and even toys. The funds from the project go back into funding efforts to further reduce violence in El Salvador’s communities.

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Graffiti punished by reading - 'It worked!' says prosecutor

Emma Jane Kirby

April 16, 2019 |

BBC |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ashburn, Virginia

After graffitiing a historic landmark with swastikas and racist phrases, a juvenile prosecutor chose to educate rather than punish the perpetrators. Each teen was given a list of 35 books that covered topics like race, religion, and culture, and they had to pick 12 and do monthly assignments for a year. The books included titles like, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, and Night, by Elie Wiesel. After the year, the learning opportunity given to the teens showed demonstrable success.

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Decades of wise use pay off for a Kabale wetland

Fredrick Mugira

April 15, 2019 |

InfoNILE |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Rubaya, Kabale

In 1980, the Ugandan government signed an agreement with local communities in the Mugandu–Buramba wetland that gave them the right to own, manage, and conserve their own property. Today, the wetlands are thriving —reducing degradation and improving biodiversity— and creating a livelihood for the 276 people that live there. The government says that since they are using the land responsibly, their agreement will continue.

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Jury of their peers: Youth court aims to keep students out of criminal justice system

Ron Allen

April 13, 2019 |

NBC News |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

In Newark Youth Court, the common mistakes and misbehavior of childhood lead to a trial in which all of the participants are high school students, and the outcomes center on second chances and atoning for wrongdoing through community service and decision-making classes. The court, which hears about 100 cases per year, serves as an alternative to pushing allegations of minor fights, vandalism, and truancy into the justice system, where punishment falls most heavily on youth of color and can wreck lives without solving the discipline problems.

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How giving entrepreneurs 30 days of free retail space revived a North Avenue storefront and built a collective

Sarah Hauer

April 12, 2019 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pop-Up MKE was a pilot program that provided a risk-free way for artists to see if their products would sell in a retail space by giving 19 urban entrepreneurs 30 days of free retail space and mini-grants up to $2,000. Four participants formed The Bronzeville Collective MKE LLC and, after negotiating to stay in the retail space, they doubled their own sales and feature products from other creatives, particularly entrepreneurs of color. They split the rent four ways and collect a 20% vendor fee. Other participants in the pilot moved to permanent storefronts and/or expanded their retail presence.

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Borussia Dortmund: The structures behind the club's fight against the far right

Felix Tamsut

April 09, 2019 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia

A highly popular German sports club named Borussia Dortmund is taking advantage of its fanbase and following to promote anti-extremist messages, praise diversity, and celebrate inclusion. They do so in a variety of ways, including elevating and supporting independent fan initiatives like ballspiel.vereint!, requiring fan clubs and members to sign statues that reject far-right ideology, hosting educational field trips to former concentration camps for youth, and donating over a million dollars to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

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In the Aftermath of Civil War, a Writing Workshop Aims for Peace

Sarah Hoenicke

April 09, 2019 |

Literary Hub |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Sri Lanka, Jaffna

The Sri Lankan Civil War lasted from 1983 to 2009 and bitterly divided the country into two sides between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Years later in 2012, a literary program called Write to Reconcile was created by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Shyam Selvadurai to use creative writing as a tool to open up dialogue between the two sides that still have misconceptions and prejudices against each other. Many participants in the workshop, which ended in 2017, testify to how much the program changed their perspectives.

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