The Goodnewspaper The World Edition

HELLO HELLO! Between 2011 and 2019, I visited dozens of countries on six continents as a humanitarian photographer working to tell the stories of impactful nonprofit organizations. My passport is filled with stamps — and to me, every stamp represents a complex place filled with beautiful people — who are experiencing unique problems, but also fighting to implement meaningful solutions. Whether I was on a trip to a nonprofit in a neighboring state here in the U.S. or I hopped on my fourth Cessna of the week in rural Uganda, my process as a humanitarian photographer was simple: I worked hard to understand the complexity of a problem a specific community is facing. I wanted to understand it deeply enough that it breaks my heart — ensuring it doesn't feel…

The World Mosquito Program has one goal: to rid the world of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The organization works with local communities in Asia, Latin America, and Oceania with something called The Wolbachia Method. The Wolbachia bacteria is a naturally occurring bacteria in about 50% of insect species, but it is totally safe for humans, animals, and the environment. When aedes aegypti mosquitoes (the ones who most commonly transmit viruses) carry Wolbachia, the bacteria competes with diseases like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever. In other words, when these mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, they are significantly less likely to spread illnesses to people. The World Mosquito Program breeds mosquitoes with Wolbachia, allows it to establish in the local population, and monitors the insects. This is only done…

The 2022 World Happiness Report has been released —and it analyzes global levels of happiness, trust, and benevolence across the globe. The most recent report specifically interrogates these levels through the lens of how COVID-19 has altered different aspects of life. While many of us may assume the pandemic kept humans from being kind, the report indeed finds a contrasting data point: Global benevolence has increased. Researchers found three key increases in benevolence, or “pro-social” behaviors: donations, volunteering, and helping strangers, which escalated in every global region. In fact, those pro-social behaviors increased by 25% globally, compared to pre-pandemic levels, even though the report also saw an increase in negative emotions across the board. So… one might conclude that in an attempt to combat those big, negative feelings that accompanied…

For the 70th Anniversary of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), refugees have been given a place to write their stories — in one sentence. Teaming up with lexicographer Susie Dent and collecting submissions from thousands of refugees, the organization created The Refugee Dictionary: a collection of unique definitions of the word “refugee.” This dictionary is a collection of the stories of survival and hope afforded by human rights across the globe — and it has been accessioned by The British Library as a record of public solidarity for refugees in 21st Century Britain. The dictionary begins with the legal convention from the 1951 Refugee Convention: A refugee is a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social…

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK The Solutions Journalism Network is an organization dedicated to critically — and optimistically — exploring solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. Visit solutionsjournalism.org/storytracker. OUR WORLD IN DATA Looking for some big-picture positivity? Our World In Data shares facts and figures about the ways in which our world is improving, from increased literacy rates, to decreases in crime. Visit ourworldindata.org. GOOD GOOD GOOD Please enjoy this shameless plug. Our team works hard to share good news stories from all around the world on our website, social media accounts, and daily newsletter! Visit goodgoodgood.co.…

GGG PRESS GOOD NEWS FROM ANTARCTICA PAPER #6 In an effort to better understand the misunderstood continent of Antarctica, we sat down with Ariel Waldman — an explorer and artist whose imaginative projects explore the world below our feet and beyond our atmosphere. In addition to visiting Antarctica twice, she's a TED speaker, a NASA advisor, and a National Geographic Explorer who collaborates with research teams. An art school graduate who pivoted to science, Ariel was recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change in Citizen Science. Ariel's newest book, “Out There: The Science Behind Sci-Fi Film and TV” is now available. You can also get to know her at arielwaldman.com and on Instagram and YouTube. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Read the…