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.
Éléonore Laloux changes lives as first French public official with Down syndrome
In Arras, France, a city council member is making history as the city’s public official in charge of inclusion and happiness. Éléonore Laloux is the first and only person with Down syndrome to be elected to public office in the country. Laloux was recently awarded membership in the National Read More...
New Zealand mandates climate change disclosures for financial institutions
New Zealand has introduced legislation to increase climate transparency in banking. The country’s new policy will require publicly listed companies and large insurers, banks, non-bank deposit takers, and investment managers to make climate-related disclosures. Most companies and banks Read More...
Costa Rica approves legalization of medicinal cannabis
Last week, Costa Rica’s Congress approved the legalization of medicinal cannabis, overcoming the opposition from conservative groups and President Carlos Alvarado, who has yet to ratify the law. If President Alvarado vetoes the law, then lawmakers would have to vote on it again and approve it Read More...
Egypt's State Council swears-in the nation's first female judges
Egypt’s State Council was established in 1946 and is an independent judicial body that deals with administrative disputes, disciplinary cases, appeals, reviews draft laws, decisions, and contracts that involve the government or a government-run body. And until recently, was exclusively Read More...
FDA takes steps to authorize over-the-counter hearing aids
A new policy from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to make hearing aids more accessible and affordable in the US. The new policy will make hearing devices available over-the-counter as early as next fall. Hearing aids currently cost more than $5,000 a pair and are not usually covered Read More...
EPA draws up a plan to regulate the use of dangerous “forever chemicals”
Back in 2016, the Obama administration enacted an unenforceable recommendation that limited the amount of polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), otherwise known as “forever chemicals” for their inability to degrade in nature, to 70 parts per trillion or less in any given product. Read More...
Following shut offs and hurricanes, Puerto Ricans want a solar future
Puerto Ricans pay nearly twice as much for electricity as mainland Americans, yet random shut-offs and natural disasters like Hurricane Maria often leave many without power. In the wake of the hurricane, a social movement called Queremos Sol was born. Meaning “we want sun,” the movement Read More...
California says goodbye to gas-powered gardening equipment
We recently wrote an article about why you should invest in all-electric gardening equipment. Recognizing the environmental and public health benefits of this transition, California has signed a bill into law that will ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf-blowers, lawnmowers, power washers, and Read More...
Ethnic studies to become high school graduation requirement in California
California high school students graduating in 2030 or later will be required to take at least one semester of an ethnic studies course. Legislation mandating the new graduation requirement was signed into law last week, following similar policies in Los Angeles Unified and Fresno Unified school Read More...
Nobel prize awarded for work demonstrating benefits of raising minimum wage
US-based economist David Card is one of this year’s recipients of the Nobel prize for economics, awarded for his work which helps answer one of the field’s most contested ideas surrounding minimum wage. Card is Canadian born but based at the University of California, Berkeley. So what Read More...