Policy Making
Strong public policy leads to more cohesive, resilient, and sustainable societies. In this section, find out about the latest legislations from around the world aimed at making our world a better place.
Greece creates climate crisis ministry in the wake of summer fires
Following a summer of devastating fires and record temperatures, Greece’s government has created a new ministry to address the impact and risks of climate change. Led by former European Union commissioner Christos Stylianides, the ministry will be in charge of firefighting, disaster relief, Read More...
Mexico is first country in North America to ban animal cosmetic testing
Mexico becomes the first country in North America and the 41st country in the world to completely ban cosmetics testing on animals after Mexico’s Senate voted unanimously to do so. This change in legislation is believed to have been influenced by the Humane Society’s International Read More...
Labor Day: A brief history of the holiday
Today, the US celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September to commemorate the social and economic achievements of American workers, but did you know it had been a federal holiday since 1894? That’s just 24 years after Independence Day and Christmas became federal holidays. Back before Read More...
Paris lowers the speed limit on most city streets
Pedestrians and cyclists in Paris are welcoming a new policy that will restrict the speed limit on nearly all streets in the French capital to just 30 kph, down from 50 kph. The law is the latest move by the municipality to advance the city closer to its climate targets and transform people’s Read More...
Football Association of Ireland to pay women and men’s teams equally
Ireland is taking a big step in sports equality with the announcement that the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) will pay the women's and men's teams' equal match fees. Match payments paid to male athletes will be reduced while match payments paid to female athletes will be increased to reach Read More...
Community-level big data offers a clearer picture of disaster resiliency
Hurricane Ida has demonstrated once again how chaotic the days after a natural disaster can be. Relief organizations are often on the ground right away, but determining the extent of damage and displacement can take time, delaying the delivery of essential supplies. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Read More...
Arizona abolishes peremptory challenges to improve juror diversity
Arizona’s state Supreme Court has announced a policy change to improve juror diversity and reduce racial bias in the legal system. The state will eliminate peremptory challenges, the practice that allows lawyers to remove jurors from a case without justification. In both criminal and civil Read More...
Donate and volunteer: Where to support Hurricane Ida victims
Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm. This is the largest hurricane to hit Louisiana since Katrina and the storm is causing widespread damage across Mississippi as well. Although it has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves northeast, it left one million Read More...
New law makes it easier for veterans to adopt service dogs
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a new program that aims to make service dogs more available to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The newly-signed Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act is the result of years of work from Read More...
Lost your ball over the fence? Belgian law gives you the right to retrieve it
Have you ever lost a ball because you’ve accidentally kicked it over the fence and into your unfriendly neighbor’s yard? Well, from the first of September, if this happens to anyone in Belgium, they’ll have the legal right to retrieve it (though this probably won’t temper the reaction of Read More...