BY: JESSICA BEUKER On September 3 the city of Beijing was unrecognizable. In what is notoriously known for being one of the smoggiest cities in the world, the Chinese capital traded in its grey skies for a vibrant, picture-perfect blue.…
A Brazilian tattoo artist is helping victims of domestic violence by turning their scars into tattoos
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS In the city of Curitiba, at the southern tip of Brazil, Flavia Carvalho tattoos several pink cherry blossoms up the side of a client’s back – each one shaded a vibrant pink colour. They are a symbol…
Giving up everything to travel the world is not glamorous – but it’s worth it
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS Seeing yoga poses performed on Greek beaches, explorers hiking the Norwegian Fjords, and daredevils standing spitting distance from beautiful Swedish waterfalls on your Instagram feed is enough to make any nine-to-fiver green with jealousy. 24 867km //…
An Airbnb for refugees lets citizens share their homes with immigrants
BY: JESSICA BEUKER The current state of the refugee crisis, in which more than 3.8 million Syrian citizens are fleeing their country to escape violence and religious domination, is being met with a number of positive solutions. Citizens across Europe…
These photos capture the beauty of abandoned places
BY: JESSICA BEUKER There is something very eerie yet alluring about an abandoned building. An old house that appears mostly unbroken on the outside — loose shingles, rotting wood and unkempt grass being its only giveaways — was once the…
Sustainability programs in prisons are helping the environment while preparing inmates for life outside of bars
BY: MATTHEW CHIN When given a prison sentence lasting for more than a decade, finding ways to spend the time effectively can be difficult. Not to mention the time spent thinking of ways to be properly integrated back into society…
Landfills are turning trash into energy and cleaning the environment
BY: SWIKAR OLI Methane has always had a bad rap. Often associated with trash or manure, and dreaded by environmentalists for trapping 25 times more heat per pound in the atmosphere than CO2, it could use a second introduction. With…
South Korea trolled Kim Jong-un with a K-pop song so hard he almost started a nuclear war
M. TOMOSKI At the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, guards are always posted. Two stand on the southern side facing north, as you might expect, against potential threats. On the opposite…
Six NASA recruits are living in a dome to mimic life on Mars
BY: ZOE MELNYK For the next year, these six NASA recruits are living in a cramped dome with very little privacy, no fresh food, and no fresh air all for the sake of science. They will be simulating life on…
The first openly transgender White House official could change American politics
BY: MELISSA MYERS Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is the first openly transgender person to join the White House staff, and a transgender women of colour at that. This announcement comes less than two months after same-sex marriage was declared a right in…
These colourful taxis are changing the lives of design students in India
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS Within the commotion of a fast-paced everyday life, taxi rides feel like a small blimp on the radar. They are simply a means of functionality to get from one place to another. But what if they could…
A community in Seattle turned this crime-ridden alley into a party area with music and circus performers
BY: SWIKAR OLI Todd Vogel recalls moving into his office in 2008. His window gave a view to Seattle’s Nord Alley, a space that had seen better days. He remembers seeing “a pool of blood and the apparent weapon, a…
This ex-marine is overcoming his PTSD by travelling and exploring the world
BY: ZOE MELNYK While some live by the philosophy that laughter is the best medicine, this ex-marine is trying to prove that there really is no higher remedy than the healing powers of being in nature and exploring every inch…
The ‘Solar Classroom in a Box’ is addressing the education shortage in Kenya
BY: KASSANDRA DZIKEWICZ A classroom in a box fitted with everything from solar panels to computers is becoming the future of education in impoverished countries. Since not attending school has become a sense of normality for children in countries such…
This homeless man uses books as weapons to fight poverty
BY: KASSANDRA DZIKEWICZ A man in South Africa by the name of Philani Dladla lives on the streets, but rather than abiding by the typical stereotype of a beggar, he has decided to spend his time helping others. Twenty-four-year old…
#ItsOnUs: New anti-rape PSA brought by the White House emphasizes the importance of consent
BY: KAROUN CHAHINIAN Consent seems like a simple and fairly obvious concept, but if it is, why are there still over 293,000 cases of sexual assault in America every year? One of the most common places where these assaults take…
Street artists turn a town in Mexico into a larger than life mural and eliminate violence
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS In a growing metropolis where it’s nearly impossible to find two houses beside each other that don’t look alike – life can start to feel dull and boring after a while. People tend to get stuck in…
All Dutch trains will run on wind energy by 2018
BY: SWIKAR OLI A contract between two forward-thinking companies will completely redefine sustainability for the people of the Netherlands within the next few years. Netherlands’ railway giant, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, has inked a deal with Eneco, a local energy supplier, to…
California is about to become the world’s leader on climate change
BY: JESSICA BEUKER California is once again leading the world in climate action. Back in January, California Governor Jerry Brown made a promise to pursue a list of climate goals that were among the most ambitious in the world. He…
The Citizens of Iceland are offering up their homes to over 11,000 refugees
BY: ZOE MELNYK While nations around the world are struggling to create a reasonable solution to the recent refugee crisis, Iceland’s citizens are embracing an “open door” policy – welcoming in thousands of immigrants searching for a brighter future. Although…