Today’s Solutions: May 17, 2024

Education

Great minds lead to great solutions. Our education section features solutions and innovations directed at strengthening educational systems around the world.

A Second U Foundation is empow

A Second U Foundation is empowering the previously incarcerated

For the formerly incarcerated, starting again can be an immense challenge. However, Hector Guadalupe, who was only 23 when his 10-year prison sentence began, found a way to help himself and others rediscover who they are and how to begin again. “When I was serving my time, throughout the Read More...

Diary of a Young Naturalist: T

Diary of a Young Naturalist: The joy and self-reflection in observations of nature

Dara McAnulty has been fascinated with the natural world since he was a young child. From exploring the rugged coastlines of Northern Ireland to observing moths in his own backyard, there is nothing in nature that doesn’t intrigue him. In a New York Times profile, McAnulty explains that he Read More...

16-year-old codes speech app t

16-year-old codes speech app to help his nonverbal sister communicate

Families of individuals who have conditions that make it difficult or impossible for them to communicate verbally can attest to the fact that going through diagnosis and treatment can be astronomically expensive. So, when the tools and apps that can facilitate communication for those with verbal Read More...

The Optimist View: The Doughnu

The Optimist View: The Doughnut Economy

“Don’t wait for economic growth to reduce inequality—because it won’t. Instead, create an economy that is distributive by design.” - Kate Raworth BY Amelia Buckley Years ago, before I decided that my writing skills were far stronger than my calculus abilities, I sat in an Read More...

Ancient carved bone demonstrat

Ancient carved bone demonstrates Neanderthals were capable of symbolic art

Researchers from the University of Göttingen have determined that the carved toe bone of a prehistoric deer is in fact one of the oldest works of art ever discovered. The small piece of art is significant not only for its age, but also because it indicates that Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis, Read More...

Brooklyn Museum returns 1,305

Brooklyn Museum returns 1,305 looted artifacts back to Costa Rica

Recently, we shared the good news about Germany’s decision to return its collection of the Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria, where they belong. Soon after, the Met Museum followed suit and returned two brass plaques belonging to the same collection of West African art that was looted during Read More...

You can now help environmental

You can now help environmental NGOs by watching calming nature videos

If you’ve turned to nature videos to relieve your pandemic anxiety, doing so now could also benefit the world’s oceans, and the environmental organizations fighting to preserve them. That is, as long as you watch those serene shots of nature through the new Preservation Play YouTube Read More...

Researchers identify surprisin

Researchers identify surprising way to boost female education

Educating women and girls is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving economic prosperity and sustainability, especially in middle- and low-income countries, but theories vary on how to best implement universal education. A new study from The World Bank Economic Review offers some Read More...

Why you should give your kids

Why you should give your kids summer reading assignments

For many children, summer vacation is the best time of the year, but abandoning academic work altogether until the fall isn’t necessarily the best option for keeping up critical learning skills.  Research has shown that summer reading assignments help children close learning gaps and retain Read More...

AI helps restore Rembrandt mas

AI helps restore Rembrandt masterpiece that was disfigured 300 years ago

In 1715, three-quarters of a century after Rembrandt painted it, The Night Watch was greatly disfigured when it was moved from its original location at the Arquebusiers Guild Hall to Amsterdam’s City Hall. The disfigurement involved significant trimmings from all sides so that the masterpiece Read More...