Chapter 1 : Giving hope

Re-cycling polluted air

Cycling prevents enormous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, as bicycles generate about 10 times fewer greenhouse gases than individual motorized transport. But what if we could do even better, and ride smog-cleaning bicycles that sucks up polluted air?

These five initiatives want to beat plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

To solve our plastic problem, we have to clean up the oceans, minimize production and recycle as much as we can. But until we get there, we need to keep the madness under control. These five initiatives from Vietnam and Cambodia are trying just that.

Stay the fuck home bar

St Petersburg firm creates online bar for self-isolating extroverts.

AWA Bike: Kickstarting Nigeria’s cycling revolution

In traffic-ridden Nigeria, people are still reluctant to use bicycles, due to the lack of infrastructure and the shame of using a poor man’s mode of transport. AWA Bikes is planning to change these attitudes – and start a cycling revolution.

Apple leather handbags

It looks like leather, and feels like leather - but it's actually made out of apples! A Swiss company is breaking new ground in the fashion industry with a unique, vegan handbag collection. Made of fruit waste.

Self-healing display glass

Thanks to a new polymer compound, broken displays could soon be a thing of the past

Sexual violence stinks

A bracelet that emits a repellent smell in an emergency, protecting the wearer from attack.

BIO-LUTIONS: a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic

What are the alternatives for single-use platic? A German company stands out for a particularly environmentally friendly solution – as cheap and available as plastic, but entirely biodegradable.

Former drug addicts growing healthy, local food

When Steve Glover, a former addict and recovery counsellor decided to support fellow addicts and ex-offenders after treatment, he ended up creating one of the UK’s leading sustainable urban food businesses.

An artsy dialog between places affected by Climate Change

What do the inhabitants of the Amazonian basin have in common with the Inuit of Greenland? In addition to being directly affected by climate change, both are also participating in a spectacular art project.

Poly-fuel and paving roads: turning non-recyclable plastic into a resource

A lot of our attention is focused on reducing plastic waste, but what can we do with the huge amount of plastic waste we already have? Two innovative Indian companies have come up with creative solutions: they are transforming plastic waste into fuel or using it to build roads.

Paint Thicker than Blood

Graffiti has become a medium for change in Colombia’s capitol. Street artist Mos Ku takes us on a walk through his city.

How Baghdad’s youth movement is re-uniting a divided society.

A carnival defies the bombs: Tens of thousands of people party for peace in downtown Baghdad.

Coffee to go with a green conscience

Freiburg is the first German city to introduce a deposit on reusable coffee cups. The Freiburg Cup not only reduces waste; it also saves coffee lovers the trouble of rinsing out returnable cups.

European Elections: Romanian Granny Goes Viral

This is a Romanian grandmother’s video message in the run-up to the European elections. Within 24 hours of going live, it already had more than 3 million views on Facebook.

Memory in Cardboard

In Bogotá, a group of people displaced by violence describe their experiences through drawings and prints. In this way, they attempt to heal their wounds and prevent the past from repeating itself.

Recycle Beirut - Effecting change from a warehouse

Though the city is known for its elegance, Beirut has one unfortunate blemish: piles of waste on the streets that aren’t picked up. “Recycle Beirut” is now taking the waste problem literally into its own hands and at the same time helping to tackle Lebanon’s refugee problem.

Risking one’s life for a laugh

Can you joke about ISIS? An Iraqi news satire show, the Albasheer Show, is doing just that. And it is winning over viewers, even in ISIS occupied areas where the show has been banned.

438 days

Freed after 438 days: How reporting saved Egyptian journalist Baher Ghorab from nine more years in jail.

The Algorithm Lawyer

This free robot solicitor represents people who cannot afford a ‘real’ one.

Using data to track down serial killers

A former investigative journalist has developed an algorithm that uses FBI homicide data to track down murderers.

6,900 letters in support of reconciliation, including one from Uruguay’s former president José Mujica

After more than half a century of civil war, Colombia’s young people are sending letters of hope to guerrilla fighters to help them re-integrate into society.

Delicious potato chips made in Afghanistan

Afghan potato chips are successfully challenging multinational corporations’ dominance on the Afghan market.

Young ideas saving the world's oldest street

In Alexandria, students are designing solutions to save architectural heritage. Their university professors have brought young minds and sponsoring companies together in a competition to bring forth the best ideas.

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