Topics

Dec

Before I Die, I Want to Write On a Candy Chang Wall

by Sheron Long on December 5, 2013

Girl writing on "Before I die" wall in Savannah, Georgia, where messages show that people are trying to gain perspective in their lives. Image © Trevor Coe.

Aim high to reach for your dreams and to write on a “Before I Die” wall. (Savannah, Georgia)
© Trevor Coe

Gaining Perspective at the Chalkboard

It was such a simple idea. Some colored chalk, a dusty chalkboard, a single sentence. But when it lit up the hopes and dreams of a community, it ignited similar projects in public spaces around the globe.

Candy Chang painting the "Before I die, I want to. . ." statements on a wall. Image © Kristina Kassem.

Candy Chang setting up a wall to capture a
community’s hopes and dreams.
© Kristina Kassem

Candy Chang’s first “Before I die, I want to . . .” wall went up in New Orleans in 2011. Still growing, the count as of today is more than Read more...

Sheron Long 1 Comment

Clever Ideas/Making a Difference/Worldwide Sites

Nov

How Creative Thinking Kicks The Soccket Ball to Success

by Sheron Long on November 7, 2013

Brain-shaped light bulb symbolizing the power of creative thinking to solve problems

When brain power lights up and creative thinking flows, people find the
good ideas that solve perplexing problems.
© iStock

Powered by Play

In 2008, for an engineering project at Harvard, Jessica O. Matthews teamed up with Julia Silverman, to prototype a soccer ball that traps kinetic energy during play and then turns the energy into a light source.

They called it the SOCCKET because a light inserted into the ball uses the stored energy for power. Thirty minutes of play harnesses enough energy to power a LED light for three hours. Read more...

Sheron Long 2 Comments

Clever Ideas/Innovations/Making a Difference/The World's Entrepreneurs

Sep

Daily Cultural Encounters at Conflict Kitchen

by Janine Boylan on September 9, 2013

A cultural encounter with Venezuela at Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Sharing a Meal with Our “Enemies”

What do you really know about the people in Cuba? Iran? Afghanistan? Venezuela? North Korea?

Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski expect that you will be a lot more informed after lunch at their restaurant.

Conflict Kitchen, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to encouraging cultural encounters and promoting dialog about countries with which the United States is in conflict. Read more...

Janine Boylan 2 Comments

Cultural Encounters/Making a Difference

World Views: