Goodable

June 6, 2024, marks 80 years since D-Day, a pivotal moment that laid the foundation for the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Operation Overlord, as it was codenamed, saw tens of thousands of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada landing on five beaches in Normandy, France, transforming the course of history.

The planning for D-Day began over a year in advance, involving meticulous military deception to mislead the Germans about the invasion's timing and location. Originally set for June 5, 1944, the operation faced a one-day delay due to storms, finally commencing on June 6 at 6:30 a.m. Despite the challenges, the Allies successfully landed on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, securing a foothold that allowed them to push further into Europe.

D-Day demonstrated unprecedented international cooperation, with over 2 million troops prepared for the invasion. Not only did American, British, and Canadian forces participate, but troops from Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Poland also played crucial roles. This collaboration showcased the global unity and determination to overcome tyranny and restore peace.

Despite the initial heavy losses, particularly at Omaha Beach, the Allies' perseverance led to a crucial victory. The successful landings paved the way for the liberation of France and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. D-Day stands as a testament to courage, strategic brilliance, and the collective effort of nations united against a common enemy. This remarkable day reminds us of the power of collaboration and the enduring spirit of freedom.

80 Years Since D-Day: How the Normandy Landings Led to the Nazi's Defeat in World War II

Living and diving in the Florida Keys, Nick Kolor—nicknamed “Cuda” for his love of barracuda—had every reason to coast through his mid-20s. But instead, he made a decision most people would never consider.

He gave away one of his kidneys. To a stranger.

“I decided it really was impossible to justify not giving up the kidney,” Kolor said. “I don’t need it. Someone else does. It was pretty straightforward.”

Kolor became a non-directed living donor—meaning he didn’t know who would receive his kidney, only that someone out there desperately needed it. For him, the logic was simple: there are millions of young, healthy people walking around with two functioning kidneys. But most only ever need one.

“It is a spare part,” he said. “You don’t need it. There’s no clinical necessity there.”

After completing a thorough screening process, Kolor underwent surgery at Memorial Regional Hospital. When he woke up, the transplant team told him the kidney had gone to a 9-year-old boy who had been waiting three years for a match.

“The surgeon came and visited pretty right after I woke up and told me it went to a 9-year-old boy,” he recalled. “It was successful, that’s all that matters.”

Kolor got to meet the boy, briefly. “There was a thumbs-up exchange that we had… that was cute,” he said.

For transplant surgeon Dr. Linda Chen, moments like these are reminders of what’s possible.

“Altruistic donors who just are so selfless that they want to give an organ, that really touches my heart,” she said. “Because I know that there is good in this world.”

Lisa Mananzan knows that same feeling from the other side. A year ago, she received a kidney from a living donor. She says the gift transformed her life.

“I have a new lease on life, and I’m going to take full advantage of it,” she said. “I’m very proud of what Nick did. Just absolutely amazing.”

Kolor isn’t stopping there. Inspired by his experience, he’s launched The Spare Parts Project, a grassroots effort to encourage other healthy young adults to consider becoming living kidney donors.

“Donate life. Give a piece of yourself,” he said. “It’s just, it’s too easy.”

To learn more about kidney donation and how to become a living donor, visit: https://www.mhs.net/services/transplant/kidney-transplant
.

At 25, He Gave a Kidney to a Stranger. Now He’s Encouraging Others to Do the Same

Roughly 400 kilometers above Earth, a crew of astronauts aboard the International Space Station is preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving in microgravity—with a meal that’s anything but ordinary.

"This is my second Thanksgiving in space, so I highly recommend it," joked NASA astronaut Mike Fincke in a video message from the station.

Thanks to careful planning by NASA’s food lab and ground teams, the astronauts will enjoy a group dinner filled with both traditional holiday fare and a few high-end surprises. A recent resupply mission delivered a "Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bag"—or BOB—which contained everything from smoked salmon and crab meat to oysters, clams, and even quail.

“We’ve even got some lobster, which is amazing,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. “So I think it’s going to be a really, really delicious meal.”

While the ISS kitchen doesn’t include an oven or stovetop, the crew’s holiday dinner includes turkey and mashed potatoes—classic dishes carefully packaged to avoid floating crumbs or spills in the station’s zero-gravity environment.

One festive item came from an unexpected source: Fincke held up a can of cranberry sauce, courtesy of the Russian space agency. “It’s kind of neat to have that up here because that’s one of my favorite parts,” he said.

Though Fincke admits he’ll miss being with his family, he said he’s grateful to spend the holiday with what he calls his “space family.”

This year’s Thanksgiving crew includes NASA astronauts Fincke, Cardman, and Jonny Kim, along with three Russian cosmonauts and Kimiya Yui from Japan’s space agency, JAXA.

“We don’t have Thanksgiving in Japan, but here, on ISS, everybody respects each other’s culture,” Yui said. “I’m looking forward to the dinner.”

And they might have a few more seats to fill. A Soyuz rocket carrying three new crew members—including NASA astronaut Chris Williams—is scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan early Thursday morning. If all goes to plan, the new arrivals will make it just in time for Thanksgiving dinner in orbit.

Astronauts Celebrate Thanksgiving With Festive Feast Aboard The ISS

BBC News

April Jeffers was just 15 when her world was turned upside down. Her mother was sentenced to three years in prison for drug offences, and no one came to check on her.

“There was no children’s services input, no communication with the Prison Service,” Jeffers said. “I remember being very emotional. I was just getting up and getting on with it.”

Now 38 and a mother of two, Jeffers lives in Newport on the Isle of Wight and works as a family liaison officer at Queensgate Foundation Primary School in East Cowes. On Tuesday, she helped launch a new national awareness day for children with a parent in prison—an event organised by the charity Children Heard and Seen to push for better support systems.

Her story is one of quiet survival and a determination to make sure no other child has to go through what she did.

When her mother was jailed, Jeffers was left alone in their home on the Isle of Wight. There was no official oversight, no welfare check, and no plan.

“I absolutely was very vulnerable,” she said. “The court case was in the local newspaper with my address. That made me a target for bullies.”

School wasn’t much better. Jeffers remembers trying to confide in teachers but said they seemed uncomfortable and unsure how to respond. “I do remember speaking to my school and the adults being quite awkward,” she said.

Eventually, after several weeks on her own, she moved in with a friend’s family. But the experience left a lasting impression—and a resolve to help children facing similar circumstances.

Today, she is campaigning for a change in how children are treated when a parent is incarcerated. She’s pushing for statutory alerts so schools and local authorities are notified immediately when a child is affected by a parent’s imprisonment.

She also wants to see Operation Paramount, a pilot project run by Thames Valley Police that supports children of prisoners, expanded nationwide.

Jeffers’ work in schools hasn’t gone unnoticed. After news of the charity’s awareness day was shared on Facebook, parents responded with praise.

“She is amazing at what she does,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “The best! Cannot thank her enough.”

For Jeffers, the work is deeply personal.

“I’ve always wanted to be working with children that have adverse childhood experience,” she said. “I’m glad to be able to make a difference.”

The national awareness day, held for the first time this week, aims to shine a light on the estimated 312,000 children across the UK who are impacted by a parent’s imprisonment each year. For too long, advocates say, these children have fallen through the cracks.

Jeffers is determined to make sure they’re seen and heard.

She Grew Up Without Support After Her Mother’s Arrest — Now, She Fights for Children of Inmates

NBC News

In most homes, Thanksgiving turkeys are served roasted, carved, and plated with stuffing. But just outside Nashville, at a sanctuary called the Gentle Barn, turkeys are the main attraction for a different reason: cuddle therapy.

Here, visitors don’t gobble them up—they cuddle them.

“You can get on the ground in front of them, and you can scootch up real close so they’re right here,” said Ellie Laks, founder of the Gentle Barn, as she sat in front of Serena, a turkey with a fuzzy pink head. “Then you can kiss their fuzzy pink heads and just pet them and talk to them.”

For many, the experience is unexpectedly emotional.

“The majority of people who come to the Gentle Barn and cuddle a turkey for the first time burst into tears because they’re so surprised at their unexpected show of affection,” said Laks.

Founded in 1999 in California’s San Fernando Valley, the Gentle Barn has grown into a sanctuary for more than 200 rescue animals—turkeys, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, and more. In 2015, Laks and her husband opened a second location in Tennessee, inspired by one very special cow named Dudley.

Dudley had lost his foot in an accident and was in constant pain. His owner tried to care for him, but couldn’t do enough. A friend began calling sanctuaries across the country looking for help. After striking out with 200 of them, she reached the Gentle Barn in California.

Laks didn’t just offer advice—she flew out to help. With the help of specialists, Dudley received a prosthetic foot and a series of surgeries, including acupuncture and underwater treadmill therapy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“When it was time for him to be discharged, we didn’t want to drive him all the way to California, so we opened a location here,” Laks said.

Now, the Gentle Barn hosts visitors year-round, offering school field trips, private tours, and therapeutic sessions. But one of its most unique offerings happens every November: “Gentle Thanksgiving,” a day of connecting—not consuming—turkeys.

“It was always my dream to be able to help animals and then partner with them to heal and help hurting humans,” said Laks.

Volunteer Nicole Downs knows that healing well. She had never even been on a farm before her first visit. “My first experiences here were with chicken cuddling, and I fell in love with the chickens,” she said. “It was a natural progression then to want to cuddle with the turkeys.”

Now a weekly visitor, Downs said those sessions have become an essential part of her mental health routine.

“It has become my kind of go-to grounding space for if I’m having an anxiety attack,” she said. “We have so many things available to us now that we can put in our toolkit, but this is by far the best.”

She calls it “therapy that you didn’t know you needed until you do it, and then you’re like, Where was this all of my life?”

That’s the kind of response Laks was hoping for. She believes the bond between animals and people can be transformative—especially during a time when so many are struggling.

“As depression and anxiety come to an all-time rise, I would invite people to come out to the Gentle Barn and find the love and nurturing here,” Laks said. “We need each other, and we need the animals, and they’re here for us.”

At the core of it all is a simple idea: that compassion can come from unexpected places—even from a turkey.

“There’s just so much unconditional love and gentleness,” Laks said. “And I don’t know, there’s not a lot of that in the world today, so sometimes you have to get it from a turkey.”

At This Tennessee Farm, Thanksgiving Is for Cuddling Turkeys—Not Eating Them

People

Before he was spinning beakers and shouting “Science rules!” in classrooms across America, Bill Nye was a mechanical engineer with a day job at Boeing—and a side hustle in comedy.

Now, as he turns 70 on Nov. 27, the man best known as “The Science Guy” is reflecting on a life spent teaching generations how the world works.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1950, William Sanford Nye grew up in a household shaped by service and science. His mother, Jacqueline Jenkins, was a codebreaker during World War II. His father, Edwin Nye, was a veteran. After high school, Nye headed to Cornell University, where he studied mechanical engineering and took classes from Carl Sagan.

He joined Boeing after graduation, working on the 747’s horizontal stabilizer. But Nye’s curiosity wasn’t limited to aeronautics. He started dabbling in stand-up comedy at night—first as a hobby, then as a full-blown second career. He eventually quit Boeing altogether.

His big break came on Almost Live!, a local Seattle sketch comedy show. It was during a segment correcting someone’s pronunciation of “gigawatt” that host John Keister jokingly called him “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” The name stuck.

From there, Nye parlayed his passion for science and comedy into national television. In 1993, he launched Bill Nye the Science Guy, a fast-paced, fact-filled show that became a staple in American classrooms. Produced by Disney for Seattle’s KCTS-TV, the show combined slapstick humor with real scientific concepts—and kids loved it.

Over its five-year run, the show earned 23 Emmy nominations and won 19, including one for Nye as Outstanding Performer in Children’s Programming.

“People come up to me, [saying the show is] 'the reason I became a physician, the reason I became a geologist,’” Nye said in an interview marking the show’s 30th anniversary. “It’s overwhelming. I try to get it, but it’s amazing.”

Even after The Science Guy ended, Nye stayed on screen. He appeared on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, took a spin on Dancing with the Stars, and returned to streaming in 2017 with Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix. The show took on current scientific issues—from climate change to artificial intelligence—with the help of guest experts and recurring correspondents like Karlie Kloss. It ran for three seasons.

In 2022, he teamed up with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and Star Trek producer Brannon Braga for The End Is Nye on Peacock. The show imagined global disasters and how science could solve them.

Off-screen, Nye’s public role as an advocate for science has only grown louder. He’s become a familiar voice in climate change discourse, urging people to “follow the facts,” as he put it during his Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in early 2025.

President Joe Biden honored Nye for being “a beloved science educator for the nation,” adding, “He also earned the trust of millions of children and families. By sharing the magic of fun and science, he inspires generations of Americans to follow facts and reason and leave the world better than we found it.”

A few months before his 70th birthday, Nye received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 2,281st honoree to do so. “His star is a tribute to his dedication in making science accessible and entertaining for all ages through his iconic educational show,” said Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame.

Nye used the occasion to reflect on his unique career arc.

“When you're in love, you want to tell the world! And I love science, I love comedy, I love television,” he told the crowd. “All of my work ... is a celebration of the PB&J, the passion, beauty and joy of science, coupled with the art of television and the moving image.”

Nye also recently marked a milestone in his personal life. In 2022, he married journalist Liza Mundy at the Smithsonian’s Castle Building in Washington, D.C. The two connected after Nye read Mundy’s book Code Girls, which told the story of the American women who served as codebreakers during WWII—including Nye’s own mother.

Now, at 70, Nye is still teaching, still cracking jokes, and still showing up for science. In his Walk of Fame speech, he left the audience with a reminder: “Your actions—every single one—affect everyone, everywhere. They influence the course of history.”

Bill Nye Turns 70: How He Went From Engineer to Emmy-Winning Science Icon

Upworthy

When Sarah Cummins' dream wedding was abruptly called off just a week before the big day, she was faced with a painful decision — and a $30,000 reception already paid for.

Instead of letting that heartbreak define the day, she turned it into something unforgettable — not for herself, but for dozens of strangers who rarely get to be celebrated.

“I just wanted to give them a small comfort,” she told CBS News. And so, with the food already ordered for 170 guests, Cummins invited residents from local homeless shelters, including the Dayspring Center in Indianapolis, to come and enjoy the reception meal she never got to share with her groom.

She greeted her guests with a smile and open arms. No wedding gown, no ceremony — just kindness, compassion, and trays of gourmet food. “For me, it was an opportunity to let these people know they deserved to be at a place like this just as much as everyone else does,” she said.

With help from local businesses who donated formalwear, buses to transport the guests, and the support of her family and a few bridesmaids, Cummins turned what could’ve been a day of sorrow into something deeply meaningful.

“I feel like [people experiencing homelessness] are some of the most ignored and judged people we come in contact with,” she said. “These had to be the guests.”

The evening left a lasting impact on those who attended. Charles Allen, a guest from one of the shelters, said, “For a lot of us, this is a good time to show us what we can have. Or to remind us what we had.”

Guests mingled over a full meal, hugged Cummins, and expressed their gratitude for a moment of dignity and joy. “We shared something so intimate and so unique that it was kind of hard for me to just say goodbye,” Cummins said.

The story quickly gained attention online, with strangers reaching out to share their support and appreciation. “It was nice to have an outpouring of support from strangers,” she added. “It was reassuring that I did do a good thing.”

In a time of personal heartache, Cummins chose empathy over grief. She didn’t get a wedding, but she created something even more powerful — a celebration of humanity, a lesson in resilience, and a night of warmth for people who needed it most.

Bride Turns Canceled Wedding Into Feast For The Homeless, Spreading Joy And Generosity

Space

A rare and ghostly ring of red light briefly lit up the skies over northern Italy earlier this month—and one lucky photographer was ready.

Valter Binotto, an experienced skywatcher from the town of Possagno in the Italian Alps, captured the dazzling atmospheric phenomenon known as an elve on the night of November 17. It appeared as a giant red disc hovering above the horizon, lasting only a fraction of a second—but it was enough for Binotto’s camera to catch the spectacle in action.

Elves, which stand for “Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources,” are among the most elusive forms of upper-atmospheric lightning. They form high above thunderstorms—up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) above the ground—when an extremely powerful lightning bolt sends an electromagnetic pulse racing into the ionosphere. That pulse causes a rapid expansion of ionized air, producing a disk-shaped flash of red light that can grow up to 480 kilometers wide.

They’re almost impossible to spot with the naked eye, but Binotto had set up his gear specifically to try and catch another rare form of lightning called sprites. When he pointed his camera at a relatively clear patch of sky above a distant storm, he didn’t get the sprites—but he got something even more unusual.

“I didn’t capture any sprites, but fortunately, I managed to capture this elve!” he told Space.com via email.

Binotto used a Sony A7S camera with a 20mm f/1.8 lens, ISO set to 51,200, and recorded video at 25 frames per second. The resulting image is taken from one frame of that video.

According to Spaceweather.com, the elve was triggered by a powerful lightning strike in a storm about 300 kilometers away near Vernazza. That strike carried an immense -303 kiloamperes of current—roughly 10 times stronger than the average lightning bolt. (The minus sign indicates the polarity, not a negative value.) The energy from that strike produced an intense electromagnetic pulse, which lit up the ionosphere like a ripple in a pond—except this ripple was more than 300 kilometers across.

This isn’t Binotto’s first brush with the phenomenon. He also photographed an elve in March 2023, again from his home in Possagno. That image showed an even more detailed view of the red ring’s structure as it spread across the night sky.

Elves were only confirmed by scientists in 1990 and remain difficult to study, in part because of how fast they occur. Unlike lightning bolts that streak downward from the clouds, elves flash outward and upward, creating fleeting halos of light too fast for the human eye to process in real time. But thanks to high-speed cameras and skywatchers like Binotto, we’re now getting rare glimpses of just how dramatic Earth's upper atmosphere can be.

Photographer Captures Rare "Elve" Lightning Phenomenon Over Italian Alps

Smithsonian Magazine

Growing up near the forests outside Lisbon, Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça never imagined their childhood sanctuary would one day be reduced to ashes. But over the years, the two 19-year-olds watched as wildfires scorched the Portuguese landscape, stripping hillsides bare and threatening rural communities that depend on forests for food, water, and cultural identity.

That loss led them to create Trovador—a six-legged autonomous robot designed to replant trees in the places humans can’t reach.

“We built worlds in that forest. It was our playground, our sanctuary,” Bernardino said. “But it kept disappearing before our eyes.”

Portugal’s wildfire problem

Portugal is no stranger to wildfires. According to a 2024 study by atmospheric scientist Carlos C. DaCamara, over 1.2 million acres have burned across the mainland between 1980 and 2023—more than half of the country’s territory. In 2017 alone, wildfires wiped out 32,000 acres of forest cover, the most recorded in a single year.

More than 60 percent of Portugal’s forests lie on steep slopes, where traditional reforestation methods—like tractors or manual crews—are either ineffective or too dangerous. Tractors compact soil and damage underground ecosystems. Volunteers can’t safely navigate the terrain. And aerial drone seed drops, while increasingly popular, come with their own flaws: they often waste seeds and result in survival rates below 20 percent for some species.

“The soil is too damaged and the fires too frequent for nature to heal on its own,” Bernardino said. “And the terrain itself has become the enemy.”

The birth of Trovador

In 2023, the two high school students set out to solve the problem themselves.

They started with a €15 ($17) prototype built from recycled parts. What they created was a six-legged robot capable of climbing 45-degree slopes, dodging boulders, and planting tree saplings directly into the ground. That early version planted 28 percent faster than human crews and achieved a 90 percent survival rate—with no follow-up care required.

Unlike drones that scatter seeds with low precision, Trovador carries saplings on its back and places each one individually using a three-step dig-place-tamp sequence. It uses AI and sensors to assess soil pH and moisture in real time, skipping over dry ground and targeting the micro-niches most likely to support new life.

Built-in depth cameras map terrain and obstacles, while a cloud connection uploads GPS coordinates, soil data, and battery status for remote monitoring. One robot can plant up to 200 trees per hour, with minimal soil disturbance.

“We designed it to solve everything that’s broken about current reforestation tools,” said Bernardino.

Recognition and momentum

The response to Trovador was swift.

The project earned a spot as a top finalist in National Geographic’s 2024 Slingshot Challenge and received a $10,000 grant. It also caught the attention of Europe’s robotics community, making Bernardino and Mendonça the youngest ever recipients of the continent’s top sustainability award in the field.

Landscape architect Miguel Jerónimo, who coordinates rewilding projects at Portugal’s Group for Studies on Spatial Planning and the Environment, sees promise in the invention.

“It’s an innovative project with potential,” he said. “The concept of a six-legged robot moving across steep slopes and dense vegetation offers a practical framework for reforestation in hard-to-reach areas.”

But he cautioned that turning an experimental prototype into a field-ready product would require more testing—especially in Portugal’s rugged, humid, and densely vegetated forests.

“Durability, ease of maintenance, and cost will be key,” Jerónimo added.

From prototype to platform

Bernardino and Mendonça are already thinking ahead. Rather than selling the robots outright, their plan is to offer Trovador as a service—providing “trees-in-the-ground” for clients ranging from local governments to NGOs and insurers.

Clients would be able to draw a polygon on an app, choose native species, and get a quote. With reduced labor costs and better survival rates, Bernardino says the robot could be up to six times cheaper than manual crews and four times more cost-effective than drones.

Field trials in Lisbon over the summer helped the team refine the robot’s performance. Now, they’re focused on building a minimum viable product and scaling up.

By 2026, the two hope Trovador will be ready for deployment in large-scale restoration projects, starting in Portugal and potentially expanding to other regions facing similar challenges.

“The climate models are clear,” Bernardino said. “We need to restore millions of hectares of forest this decade. That means reforestation that’s fast, precise, audit-ready, and scalable. That’s what we’re building.”

These Young Innovators Are Building a Robot To Tackle Reforestation Challenges In Portugal

GoodGoodGood

In a small German-speaking corner of Belgium, a quiet democratic experiment is making big waves.

Back in 2019, the regional parliament of Ostbelgien — a community of just 80,000 residents tucked near the borders of Germany and Luxembourg — launched a bold idea: hand over part of the policy-making process to ordinary people, randomly selected, with no political experience. They called it the Ostbelgien Model.

Six years later, that experiment is being hailed as a breakthrough in participatory democracy — and inspiring copycats across Europe.

At its core, the Ostbelgien Model is simple. Every year, 1,500 invitations go out to randomly chosen locals. From those who say yes, about 30 people are selected to form a Citizens’ Assembly. They meet once a week for two months, are paid €155 per day, and dive deep into a policy issue — education, housing, healthcare. With the help of independent experts and a trained moderator, they develop policy recommendations and submit them directly to the regional parliament.

The kicker? While lawmakers aren’t obligated to adopt the proposals, they are required to formally consider them.

And they’ve done more than just listen. The citizen-led panels have successfully pushed policies like:

Loosening requirements for low-income housing

Boosting financial incentives for young people to enter the nursing profession

Banning cell phones in middle and high schools

“If we want citizens to have more confidence in politicians, we, as politicians, have to give more confidence to the citizens,” said Ostbelgien’s minister-president, Oliver Paasch.

The model has been so successful that it’s catching on in places far beyond Belgium’s borders. In 2021, Paris launched its own Citizens’ Assembly, directly inspired by Ostbelgien. The 100-member group now helps shape the city’s budget priorities, propose new legislation, and evaluate existing policies.

Their first major act? A citizen-drafted bill to combat homelessness. It called for more emergency shelters, expanded social services for youth under 25, and structural reforms to tackle housing insecurity across the French capital.

“The politicians were very impressed by the capacity of the citizens,” said Elian Belon, who runs the Paris assembly. “They questioned, ‘Can citizens really do better than them on a subject they’ve worked on for years?’”

Apparently, the answer is: yes — or at least, differently.

Critics might argue that randomly chosen citizens can’t rival experts or elected officials, but supporters see it another way. These assemblies, they say, reflect everyday life and everyday concerns — and give people a real reason to believe in democracy again.

“In a time when trust between citizens and government is faltering, these new institutions embody the potential of democratic renewal,” said Claudia Chwalisz, one of the architects of the Ostbelgien Model.

That renewal might be happening one small region at a time. Ostbelgien may be the smallest legislative area in the EU, but it’s proving that size isn’t everything — and that real participation isn’t just possible, it’s powerful.

As Chwalisz puts it: “If more citizens demand this kind of change… another democratic system is possible.”

In Belgium and Beyond, Random Citizens Are Now Helping Run the Government — And It’s Working

Talker News

Seven-year-old Riley and five-year-old Josy didn’t need to leave their hospital rooms to see giraffes, meerkats, and penguins up close — they had a robot to do it for them.

Both children, currently receiving treatment for cancer and unable to visit public places due to weakened immune systems, were recently treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Edinburgh Zoo, thanks to a small remote-controlled AV1 robot and the UK charity SpecialEffect.

The robot, part of SpecialEffect’s BubbleBusters project, was operated by each child from their home or hospital bed using a secure app on a tablet or phone. Equipped with a camera, microphone, and speaker, the AV1 allowed Riley and Josy to explore the zoo in real-time, speak to zookeepers, ask questions, and control what they saw — all without leaving their rooms.

“It becomes the child’s eyes, ears, and voice,” explained the charity. Originally designed to help children attend school remotely during long periods of treatment, the robot proved just as effective at delivering a magical day out.

Jaima Smith, community and discovery program officer at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which operates Edinburgh Zoo, said it was a moment to remember.

“Hearing their laughter and excitement as they explored the zoo and connected with our animals was truly heartwarming,” Smith said. “Being able to help create such a special day for these children is a huge part of why we do what we do.”

Through the robot, the kids were given exclusive access to some of the zoo’s favorite residents, and learned more about their behavior, conservation, and care. From waddling penguins to towering giraffes, the animals were just a screen tap away.

Paige Harvey, gaming community manager at SpecialEffect, said the visit was about much more than animal facts — it was about inclusion.

“We were thrilled to be able to bring two of our young BubbleBusters to the zoo via accessible technology, highlighting the importance of inclusion while having fun and engaging in a shared love of the natural world,” Harvey said. “We can’t thank the team at Edinburgh Zoo enough for working with us to help make their dreams come true.”

SpecialEffect is a UK-based charity known for helping disabled people access video games through adaptive tech. With the BubbleBusters program, they’re expanding that mission into education and play, ensuring that even the most medically vulnerable children can stay connected to joy, learning, and the wider world.

For Riley and Josy, it wasn’t just a virtual visit — it was a chance to be kids again.

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