by Emma Lorenceau | 25 Apr 2019 | Culture, Environment, Europe, Youth Voices
The fire at Notre-Dame cathedral moved citizens in France. But an outpouring of donations to fund its reconstruction has stirred controversy. Notre-Dame Cathedral burns, 15 April 2019 (EPA-EFE/Ian Langsdon) I was meeting my parents at a restaurant near the...
by Kiana Tan | 24 Apr 2019 | Americas, Asia, Contest winners, Discovery, Identity, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Westover School, Youth Voices
Mocked and belittled as an Asian-American, I was desperate to fit in with my peers. With time and age, I have learned to straddle the two cultures. Workers make mooncakes, Taipei, Taiwan, 17 September, 2004 (AP Photo/Wally Santana) One morning I boarded the bus to go...
by Alexandra Gray | 22 Apr 2019 | Greens Farms Academy, Students in the Spotlight, Youth Voices
Giavanna Bravo of Greens Farms Academy has won our “Decoder in the Spotlight” award for her multimedia contributions and leadership. Giavanna Bravo, Student Ambassador at Greens Farms Academy She produced a podcast, took charge of a webinar and guided her...
by Raghda Obeidat | 19 Apr 2019 | Contest winners, Identity, Islam, King's Academy, Middle East, Student Posts, Women's rights, Youth Voices
Many Westerners hold misconceptions about Middle Eastern women. They are not powerless, and Islam is compatible with women’s rights. Candidates wave during a rally ahead of parliamentary elections in Jordan, 2 September 2016. (EPA/Jamal Nasrallah) This is the...
by Zaid Alamarat | 18 Apr 2019 | Discovery, Identity, King's Academy, Middle East, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
A Jordanian youth reflects on the tangible and intangible objects, the memories and values that he carries with him each day. A pupil’s backpack. (EPA/Pablo Gianinazzi) I carry my black Hawaii Y5 phone. It’s not the newest technology, but it satisfies me. I...
by Souleymane Diallo | 16 Apr 2019 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Mother Africa, tell me, why so much suffering? Dry your tears, for your children will assert themselves and affirm your diversity. South Africans listen to President Cyril Ramaphosa during an election rally in Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 April 2019 (EPA-EFE/Kim...
by Raghda Obeidat | 12 Apr 2019 | Contest winners, Immigration, King's Academy, Middle East, Refugees, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Jordan has long been a peaceful center in a tumultuous region. But the Syrian crisis has forced it to revisit a thorny social problem: child marriages. This article is the first of a six-part series on women’s rights in the Middle East. Winner of first prize in our...
by News Decoder | 11 Apr 2019 | Chadwick School, China, Podcasts, Student Posts, Youth Voices
By Kyle Hong and Jack Kim The South China Sea is a strategic region in global politics, and in recent years it has become the focal point of a major power struggle between China and the United States. We wanted to interview an expert on this sensitive region and on...
by Hyuntae Choi | 10 Apr 2019 | Americas, Future of Democracy, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Since 2010, big money has flooded U.S. politics following a Supreme Court ruling that interpreted the First Amendment expansively. Is reform possible? Opponents of the Citizen United ruling protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court, 20 January 2012 (Photo By Bill...
by Souleymane Diallo | 9 Apr 2019 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Identity, Student Posts, Youth Voices
The African man is in an impossible situation. He is neither the man before colonialism nor a true Westerner. He is lost in a chasm between two worlds. Hawkers sell patriotic merchandise ahead of Ghana’s 50th anniversary of independence, 2 March 2007. Ghana was the...