GENERATION NEXT
AT THE WHEEL
March 5, 2020
THE EFFECTS OF WALKING
March 5, 2020
HELPING
HANDS
Reenergizing the modern social world
Ayesha Reza Rafiq likes to engage
Now Upon a Time is a nonprofit project that’s readapting fairytales to present stronger female characters and more positive role models for children, in a bid to eventually change biased and stereotypical gender perspectives.
The project thus far has reimagined and renamed six popular tales including Lil Ruby Riding Hood with more in the works. The stories aim to motivate children to use their imagination and immerse themselves more thoroughly in the storytelling experience.
And the tales break through gender stereotypes and present equal gender perceptions through visual online stories, as well as podcasts and audiobooks, thereby offering a variety of ways for children to access these stories according to their preferred experience.
Though dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble account for a large number of couples meeting and hitting it off, they often fail to take cultural differences into account in terms of dating protocols and traditions.
An Egypt based dating app named Harmonica is addressing this conundrum by ensuring cultural sensitivity throughout its platform, giving more trepid and conservative users the confidence to enter the online dating world.
The app fills a void for those looking for a more unconventional approach to matchmaking than traditional arranged marriages but also need a more conservative platform than those offered by popular dating apps such as Tinder.
Harmonica includes a ‘guardian’ feature that allows transcripts of chats to be sent (with the approval of both users) to a warden such as a parent or relative, mimicking as closely as possible the cultural norm of taking a relation along on a date as a chaperone. Other features include an advisory service for those looking to navigate the relatively uncharted waters of online dating.
With animal habitats under increasing threat from human encroachment – including shipping, deforestation, poaching and wildlife tourism – a device is now helping animals to avoid human contact by alerting them to unwanted intrusions.
Augmented Nature is a biologging tag that aims to help nature conservation more actively by monitoring animals and their environment, as well as actively alerting animals when a human threat is imminent.
Prototypes have thus far been developed for humpback whales that are often at risk from ship collisions and fishing. The device produces sound prompts, which are designed to help whales avoid shipping lanes and stay away from engine noise.
The second prototype is for the collared peccary, which is an animal critical to the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. With habit loss due to deforestation and the threat of illegal hunting taking this animal to the brink of extinction, the new device vibrates to warn it to stay away from poachers.
Rather than relying on more passive conservation efforts that include education and targeting humans who are responsible for threatening animal habitats, devices such as Augmented Nature play a more direct role in assisting conservation while allowing animals greater control over the threat of human intrusion.
Integrating into host communities is an ubiquitous challenge faced by immigrants as they learn to navigate a way of life that’s entirely foreign. Homeis provides a digital network of support for migrants based on their country of origin and catering to the needs of particular migrant communities.
By using Homeis, migrants can connect with others from their homeland and build personal, social and professional networks, to help overcome challenges such as communication, isolation, career building and cultural navigation.
As global migration trends change over time, the one constant is the support migrants need to help them integrate into their host countries. Homeis offers migrants the comfort of familiarity in a foreign country.
