Neil Harbisson. I’m a cyborg and I have nature at heart
Neil Harbisson is the first recognized cyborg in history: he can hear colours thanks to an electronic eye. We met him and discovered he’s also an environmentalist.
Short story dispensers are spreading in cities around the world
Thanks to Short Edition, a small French startup, eight short story distributors were installed in the city hall, train stations, tourism office and post offices in the southern French city of Grenoble at the end of 2015. Perfect to help people kill time without relying on ever-present smartphones and, instead, giving literature a chance. Depending on how much time you have, you choose the one,
Maximón or San Simón: the Mayan folk saint who drinks, smokes and offers protection
Maximón, also known as San Simón, is an important Mayan folk saint in Guatemala represented by a dressed up wooden effigy sitting on a chair who, unlike other saints, smokes cigars and drinks alcohol. Today Maximón is actively worshipped as part of what we could refer to as “folk Catholicism“, especially in the highlands of
Lorenzo Quinn. Why people are taking notice of giant hands emerging from a Venice canal
Two marble-white nine-metre tall children’s hands surging from the Grand Canal in Venice and ambiguously supporting or toppling over the Ca’ Sagredo hotel have skyrocketed sculptor Lorenzo Quinn to fame. The installation Support has captured the world’s attention with its powerful message about climate change: we have the power to either sustain or destroy our global heritage. Its location
Guatemala, Maya women fight to defend indigenous textiles from the fashion industry
An organisation that unites over 1,000 mainly Maya women in Guatemala has expressed alarm that indigenous handicrafts, textiles called “huipiles” in particular, are under threat because underpriced industrial fabrics appropriating indigenous patterns have flooded the Guatemalan market, depriving many native women of their main source of income. Read more: Down to Xjabelle, the fashion collection by a young designer with Down
RWANDArt, the documentary about young creatives putting Rwanda on the map
Rwandan creatives share a common dream: they want to use their art to bring about positive change in society, as well as put their country on the map. They’re mostly young, ambitious, self-taught and have a strong desire and determination to challenge mentalities, move forward and grow. In her documentary RWANDArt: A new creative generation, which
Cinema and the environment: 5 movies for the 5th of June
Vogliamo celebrare la Giornata mondiale ONU dell’ambiente proponendo cinque film che raccontano il travagliato e magnifico rapporto fra uomo e ambiente.
The irresistible call of nature. Planet Earth II beats talent shows
Nel Regno Unito la serie di documentari condotta da David Attenborough sta riscuotendo un successo maggiore dei talent show tra i più giovani.
Five movies to inspire you in 2017, from the Film4Climate competition
Four months have passed since the beginning of 2017 and, for many, that means that their New Year’s resolutions are still in mind. The gym is still crowded, your refrigerator is still full of healthy food, but that initial motivation may not be as high as it was on, say, on the 2nd of January. So
The Mayan calendar explained, how to find guidance in ancient wisdom
The ancient Mesoamerican civilisation of the Mayans worked out a common denominator linking planets’ cycles, human gestation cycles and the life cycles of maize. In other words they designed a calendar system broken down in 20 periods of 13 days, each with special flavour to it, linking the heart of heaven, the human heart and