Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • ‘There's so much gratitude': engineer who created viral vaccine site for $50

    Frustrated with the Covid-19 vaccination system in New York, a local software engineer created a "much-needed vaccination appointment-finding bot" that shares available times and locations on a website and Twitter. Although the website was not built "in the way that modern websites are supposed to be built," it has still been extremely popular and users have reported successfully booking appointments because of it.

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  • How new technology is helping to identify human rights abuses in the seafood industry

    A growing number of governments, companies, and nonprofit organizations are working together with new technology and data to identify fishing vessels that are breaking laws and engaging in human rights violations. Using satellite imagery and tracking signals, for example, a philanthropic company and a nonprofit worked with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to help the Ghanian navy arrest four vessels for illegal fishing practices. Technology by itself won’t stop forced labor and unregulated ships, but it can be helpful for cash-strapped governments looking to increase oversight of their fisheries.

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  • How some frustrated COVID-19 vaccine hunters are trying to fix a broken system

    Retired software engineers in Washington have joined together and created a website that aggregates all available COVID vaccine appointments by using "screen scrapers." Although the site doesn't allow the visitor to book an appointment, it has routinely averaged "10,000 visits a day from anxious shot hunters."

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  • Boosting Voter Turnout: Seth Flaxman

    Democracy Works has a suite of programs that make it easier to vote. TurboVote helps its 7 million subscribers easily register to vote by taking them to their state's online registration site or by sending them the paperwork with envelopes pre-addressed to their county election office. The service also sends emails and texts to remind users to vote, as well as with other deadlines and their polling location. Their Voting Information Project provides data for all districts in the U.S. that groups, such as Google and Facebook, use to provide their users with their polling place location information.

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  • Egypt's farmers tap new tech to save water and boost crops

    A new government pilot program in Egypt is allowing farmers to use technology to tell them when their soil is dry and how much water it needs, which can aid the country as it navigates its water crisis. Sensors buried in the soil measure the ground’s moisture levels and sends the data to the user through a mobile app. The government has given 200 devices away for free, but some experts question the cost and if farmers will be comfortable with the technology. Still, one farmer says that because of the new system, she has been using 20 percent less water and her labor costs have also decreased.

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  • How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change

    Molly Burhans, a young cartographer and environmentalist, is using GIS technology to map out the Catholic Church’s global property holdings to encourage them to improve the environmental impact on the lands they own. Burhans’ organization called GoodLands has been working with various parishes and dioceses to help Church leaders — including Pope Francis — understand their vast landholdings. While finances and COVID-19 have impacted her progress, Burhans’ maps have been used for other purposes like mapping Catholic radio stations in Africa and tracking the whereabouts of priests accused of sexual abuse.

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  • Worried about losing engagement with COVID remote learning? A school district created an app for that

    The San Antonio Independent School District developed an app to help combat the Covid-slide among its students, including English Language Learning students. The app tracks interactions, class attendance, and completed assignments, but also correspondence and in-person interactions. Administrators took the data collected on its close to 50,000 students and developed strategies to direct special attention or make contact with students with decreased engagement. Out of 48,000 students, only 142 didn't have a contact log.

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  • How a better headcount reduces homelessness in the US

    The “Built for Zero” campaign relies on frequently updated data collection and a streamlining of homelessness services to reduce the number of unhoused people living on the streets to “functional zero.” The data is housed in one central command center with various agencies, nonprofits, and government offices working together to ensure no one falls through the cracks.

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  • West Virginia has a simple system that avoids wasting vaccine doses

    West Virginia has implemented a digital platform that allows residents to sign up for notifications if leftover doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are available for use near them. Although the system is only accessible to those with internet, it has resulted in far fewer people phoning the hotline, which in turn has allowed for greater ease for those without internet access to sign up for appointments.

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  • Meet the TikTok stars using viral videos to save the planet

    The growing account known as “EcoTok” on the social media app TikTok is working to expose more people to data about the climate crisis and tackle scientific misinformation. With more than 80,000 followers and 1.2 million likes, the account features short videos with scientists, students, and activists highlighting ways that young people can be more sustainable. Their ability to engage people in environmental and scientific issues has led to partnerships with TED Countdown and the UN Environment Programme.

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