by Marouane El Bahraoui | 12 Aug 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Educators' Catalog, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Once ruled with an iron fist by a dictator, oil-rich Libya is now ravaged by war. With foreign powers meddling, a political solution is badly needed. A sniper fires towards Islamic State militant positions in Sirte, Libya, 21 September 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)...
The author, Marouane El Bahraoui, is a Student Ambassador at the African Leadership Academy, a News Decoder partner school. He spent seven months researching Libya, working closely with News Decoder editors to sharpen his focus and add authority to his reporting. What started as an incipient interest in the North African country matured into a nuanced view of a highly complex geopolitical situation. El Bahraoui’s story caught the admiring eye of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, who contacted the young author to chat about Libya and Morocco, El Bahraoui’s home country. “Who thought that a U.S. ambassador would read my article?” El Bahraoui said. This story shows the kind of potent reporting that a determined and curious student in our network can produce for a global audience.
by Isabella DeMarco | 23 Jul 2020 | Climate change, Indiana University, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Meat production contributes to global warming. Will the planet shift to plant-based meat to help avert catastrophic climate change? A conventional beef burger, left, next to a plant-based burger containing wheat protein, coconut oil and potato protein, Bellevue,...
by Hanna Rahman and Sadie Dyson | 9 Jul 2020 | Economy, Immigration, Podcasts, Student Posts, Youth Voices
We wanted to learn about immigration. So Sabina told us her story about leaving Colombia for the U.S. to escape violence and embrace opportunities. To understand immigration, we must listen to immigrants as they tell their stories. In our podcast, we spoke to Sabina...
by Sonia Goyle | 20 May 2020 | Identity, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
An American in Spain, I learned that different cultures and distance could not mask the similar values of my two Moms. María José (L) and Renu when they first met (photo courtesy of Sonia Goyle) Squeezed around the dinner table in a corner of the kitchen, the four of...
by Sage Silberman | 13 May 2020 | Chadwick School, Health and Wellness, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Thousands of homeless in Los Angeles are finding it hard to shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic despite authorities’ efforts. Camper vans for homeless in Los Angeles County (photo by Sage Silberman) While millions of people in California are sheltering...
by Philippa Lewis | 5 May 2020 | La Jolla Country Day School, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Gun violence, racism and mental health are issues we should care about, but they aren’t always easy to discuss. Music can help. Protesters sing as they demonstrate against the presence of federal immigration agents outside a school in New York, 12 March 2019....
by Claire Wang | 20 Apr 2020 | Contest winners, Health and Wellness, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Complacency, denial, bigotry: In my journey around the world, I observed scant recognition of the shared danger of COVID-19 until home in China. Passengers from Wuhan, China’s epicenter, together with railway workers wearing full protective gear at the railway...
by Ryan Rothman | 30 Mar 2020 | Chadwick School, Contest winners, Environment, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Plastic pollution hurts humans, animals and the environment. Students from around the world gathered recently to share tactics in tackling the problem. (Photo by Ryan Rothman, Dana Point, California, 29 February 2020) This story was runner-up in News Decoder’s...
by Giavanna Bravo | 25 Mar 2020 | Greens Farms Academy, Identity, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Spanish is the language of my roots and family. But when given the chance to learn it, I followed my peers and learned French. I know the taste of regret. By Giavanna Bravo At 10 years old, in the midst of an identity crisis, I was asked to make a decision that would...
by Charles Gorrivan | 20 Mar 2020 | Contest winners, Friends Seminary, Health and Wellness, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Many wealthy New York City residents can ride out the coronavirus crisis in second homes. But needier citizens face a very different reality. A public school in Brooklyn, New York, closes until at least April 20 due to the coronavirus. (EPA-EFE/Alba Vigaray.) This...
