Female Artists Challenge Vietnam's Gender Stereotypes

Estonia is preparing to protect itself digitally from any neighbouring enemies. To do so it is trying to create 'data embassies', that would have the same protections as physical embassies, in order to protect the digital continuity of the people

Using advanced data, cameras, and innovative mapping, Chicago is hoping to finally solve crime in the city. Hidden sensors like ShotSpotter and crime forecasting software HunchLab are being used to turn massive amounts of data into usable information for law enforcement officers, but concerns about privacy and surveillance are prevalent.

The Kenan Trust is philanthropic foundation that supports “social practice art,” in which the arts facilitate change like restoring homes in urban areas and revitalizing immigration services. Their funds have reached the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum of Art, and the Laundromat Project. A recent $6million program supports 21 New York City-based arts organizations that engage with hard to reach communities. Kenan argues that its approach is not “charity” but “justice.”

Building community around storytelling preserves cultural heritage. Across Lebanon, individuals and institutions like the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and the Theatre Monnot in Beirut are working to preserve oral culture as a medium for storytelling. Initiatives, including the long-running International Storytelling Festival and Beirut’s Hakaya, bring together storytellers, known as hakawati and hakawatiye.

Public art adds value to communities that have experienced decline in recent decades. In towns like Mansfield and Marietta, Ohio, public art plays a positive role. Murals created by groups like Mansfield Murals Inc., or by other local artists, enhance public buildings and offer a way for residents to connect and express their history. In Marietta, the Marietta Community Foundation funds the city’s Public Arts Committee.

A more diverse theater scene requires arts and culture organizations that embrace and reflect communities of color. In Detroit, Michigan, the nonprofit Black and Brown Theatre works to eliminate barriers for actors of color. The organization fosters a supportive network, casting actors, directors, and staff from communities of color in the Detroit area. Still, disparities in access to funding for arts organizations focused on racial minorities remain a challenge.

Genetic genealogy's use in criminal cases has gone mainstream. As the cases of three murder victims in Indiana illustrate, the science of DNA evidence combined with genealogical research and detective work is rapidly ramping up, from a hobby to a curiosity and now to a major commercial and criminal-justice opportunity. Hundreds of missing persons have been identified from decades-old remains, or murder suspects identified from old biological evidence in cold cases. By creating a family tree of the victim or suspect, investigators can zero in on an identity more quickly and inexpensively than ever.

Investments into the arts serve as significant economic catalysts. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, legacy foundations like the Heinz Endowments, Benedum Foundation, and Richard King Mellon Foundation pooled their resources to create the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which supports art and culture in the city’s downtown districts. By purchasing and refurbishing existing real estate, as well as lending support to smaller initiatives like the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, PCT’s investments have served as an engine of growth for the city.

Layette is replatforming itself to embrace local culture over a dangerous oil dependency. CREATE, a voter-approved initiative in the city, funds cultural events and festivals to create new economic drivers and to promote the cultural legacy of the region. The fund draws upon money designated from a larger pool of surplus property tax revenue, as well as from philanthropic donations.

The Spanish-Language Community Advisory Network works with a performing arts center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to bring in Latino audiences by showing culturally-relevant films, reducing language barriers, and even inviting the films’ cast and crew to the screenings.