by Jessica Strickland | 22 Aug 2022 | Culture, Media Literacy, Spain
News Decoder’s correspondents have covered the world’s biggest stories over decades. Here are books they suggest would-be journalists should read. “Books to read for aspiring journalists” I was looking for publications that would help me, as well as...
by Aerin Atinsky | 15 Jun 2022 | Culture, Hewitt, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Drugs, self-harm and sex are its staples. Is the prize-winning U.S. TV show ‘Euphoria’ a threat to impressionable youth? If so, what to do? Cast members of the U.S. TV drama series “Euphoria,” in Los Angeles, California, 4 June 2019 (Photo by...
by Aralynn Abare McMane | 14 Apr 2022 | Art, Educators' Catalog, Ukraine
News groups around the world are encouraging children shocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to turn to art as an outlet for their worries. Youth around the world are drawing pictures in an outpouring of support for the children of Ukraine. My nonprofit, Global...
The war in Ukraine has been traumatic for young people around the globe who have never seen armed conflict in Europe and who may not have followed atrocities in Syria, Yemen or elsewhere in the world. Social media platforms have broadcast terrifying images from Ukraine, and teachers have struggled to help students absorb the atrocities. Aralynn McMane, a News Decoder trustee who specializes in how news media can better serve the young, has pulled together artwork by young people inside and outside of Ukraine that channels their emotions while packing a punch. Art, and not just words, can convey complicated thoughts.
Exercise: Ask your students to draw a picture that captures their feelings about the war in Ukraine.
by Urvashi Bundel | 1 Apr 2022 | Art, Europe, Human Rights, Ukraine
A poem by an Indian humanitarian honors refugees fleeing the destruction wrought by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We Flap Our Wings Of Fire Do not go brave into that dark, he saidRaising our defiant hands into the sky,We flap our wings of fire.Covered in smoke...
by Jeffrey Mo | 16 Mar 2022 | Culture, Europe, Ukraine, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
Thousands of miles from war in Ukraine, Canadian students study the language, culture and religion of their ancestors in Eastern Europe. Protesters demonstrate against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 27 February 2022. (Jason...
by Vedaste Nsengiyumva | 21 Jan 2022 | Africa, Culture, Kepler, Personal Reflections
People living in cities can have trouble valuing peasants from the countryside. But not all that is nice is made in cities! We depend on each other. Peasants carrying ‘matokes,’ a type of banana, to Kayonza market in eastern Rwanda (all photos by Vedaste...
by Abdul-Kudus Alhassan | 14 Jan 2022 | African Leadership Academy, Culture, Health and Wellness, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Where I grew up, the kitchen was a “no-go” area for males. But my love of food has helped teach me how to live a successful life as an African man. Koose (Wikimedia Commons/Linason Blessing) Old faded curtains lazily draped over the windows on either side...
by Urvashi Bundel | 10 Jan 2022 | Americas, Art, Culture, Personal Reflections, Politics, Youth Voices
A year after supporters of ex-U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol Building, a young poet reflects on the American dream — or nightmare. A police officer stands on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a prayer vigil marking the one-year anniversary of the...
by Bernd Debusmann | 30 Dec 2021 | Culture, Decoders, Human Rights, Politics
The term “woke” is caught up in America’s divisive culture wars. Will citizens in other nations adopt the notion describing those alert to social injustice? A demonstrator holds a placard reading “I can’t breathe,” left, during a...
by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski | 22 Dec 2021 | Culture, World
A shared taste for sweets, unique fashions and world travel are similarities between the Hindu god Ganesha and Santa Claus, the rotund holiday figure. The Hindu god Ganesha and Santa Claus (Shutterstock) Some people (primarily me) have compared the generous Hindu...