All posts tagged: Initiative

New Africa Cultural Initiative Hopes to Build an Arts Infrastructure in Africa

New Africa Cultural Initiative Hopes to Build an Arts Infrastructure in Africa

Published by Jenni Sidey

For nearly a decade, Manju Journal has been establishing a vital digital archive and storytelling platform celebrating contemporary African art, fashion, photography, and the creatives shaping its future. Founded in Ghana in 2017, it has since grown into a global community. However, for founder Richmond Orlando Mensah, documenting the continent’s thriving creative scene wasn’t the only end goal. It has now officially transitioned into institutional work with the launch of its nonprofit extension, the New Africa Cultural Initiative (NACI). Building on Manju’s longstanding commitment to fostering creativity, preserving cultural heritage, promoting education, and supporting community-led creative practices across the African continent, NACI supports artistic development and exchange in Africa through research, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and strategic programming, all the while enhancing the continent’s cultural ecosystem. Related Articles As an organization that originated from a digital platform, NACI is focused on establishing a cultural infrastructure that is both locally rooted and sustainably built that also keeps the artistic capital it fosters in Africa. Mensah is developing a sustainable practice to create long-term impact, building on existing foundations …

Trump announces ‘Freedom Haulers’ initiative

Trump announces ‘Freedom Haulers’ initiative

Published by Sam Flores

President Trump on Thursday rolled out a new initiative dubbed “Freedom Haulers” aimed at employing U.S. military veterans as truck drivers, replacing the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who lost their licenses during the administration’s immigration crackdown. The president made the announcement alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.  The… Source link

California Democrats Attempt To Sabotage Voter ID Initiative

California Democrats Attempt To Sabotage Voter ID Initiative

Published by Jenni Sidey

In November, California voters will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition 39. The measure, officially the Voter Identification, Citizenship Verification, and Registered Voter List Administration Initiative, would require Californians to show identification when they vote and force state officials to clean up the voter rolls and verify that the people on them are eligible citizens. All signs suggest it will pass. A poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found in May that 71% of Californians support requiring proof of citizenship for first-time voter registration, and 54% want it required before every election. However, Attorney General Rob Bonta is trying to make sure it doesn’t pass. His latest move came on July 21, just months before the November election, when Bonta rewrote the official ballot title for Prop 39, replacing the language he himself approved last year with a new title that proponents say is engineered to make voters reject it. The original ballot title for the bill, approved by Bonta last year, read: ESTABLISHES ADDITIONAL VOTER IDENTIFICATION AND CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. …

European Processor Initiative: Project concluded

European Processor Initiative: Project concluded

Published by skeptic

Following the conclusion of the project, the European Processor Initiative outlines its advancements in sovereign chip technology for supercomputing and artificial intelligence (AI) during a final review in Luxembourg. The European Processor Initiative, a project of 27 partners, funded by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, concluded successfully four months ago, and has now undergone the final review in Luxembourg. After four years of the SGA2 project phase, the representatives of the partners presented their work to the reviewers and EuroHPC JU staff. In addition to the standard project review process, this one also had a special item on the schedule. The review was a special opportunity for the project consortium to showcase the results of their work – especially in the context of two processor families that were being developed – the Arm-based GPP brought up by SiPearl, and the European processor accelerator – EPAC – at the review. This is why the review also organised two types of demonstrations for the reviewers and …

Neurodivergent kids face special mental health risks. New initiative seeks ways to protect them

Neurodivergent kids face special mental health risks. New initiative seeks ways to protect them

Published by Sam Flores

Like many young people with a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Jacob Schreiber was creative, empathetic and endlessly curious. He found deep satisfaction in composing music and studying the stars. He took solace in understanding how and why the world worked as it did. His 2024 death from suicide at age 19 devastated his loved ones. In their grief, Schreiber’s family has turned to the questions Jake grappled with his whole life. “He was always searching for answers,” his mother Lori Schreiber said. “Why am I different from my sisters? Why do I feel different in my brain?” Jake Collective, a nonprofit foundation founded in Schreiber’s honor, is partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on a five-year, $5 million research initiative devoted the mental health needs of neurodivergent children and adolescents. Brown University student Jacob Schreiber died by suicide in 2024 at the age of 19. (Courtesy of the Schreiber Family) “Neurodivergence” is an umbrella term for a variety of conditions that affect the way a person thinks or processes information, such as …

Getty Names Final Grantees for Conserving Black Modernism Initiative

Getty Names Final Grantees for Conserving Black Modernism Initiative

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Getty Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have announced the final cohort of grantees for the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, which focuses on preserving the work of Black architects.   This year’s grantees range, which each receive $150,000 for a total of $750,000 for the cohort from an urban park to a shopping mall. The funding will primarily be used to support historic structures report for the buildings that will help guide their future preservation.  Related Articles The five awardees are the Central City Plaza in Milwaukee, the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanities Center at Texas Southern University in Houston, the Park-Johnson Hall at Fisk University in Nashville, the Southwest Corridor in Boston, and St. Mark AME Zion Church in East Chicago, Indiana. Several of the buildings are designed by groundbreaking architects: Alonzo Robinson Jr. (of Central City Plaza) was Wisconsin’s first licensed Black architect; Wendell Campbell (St. Mark AME Zion Church) was a co-founder and the first president of the National Organization of Minority Architects; Moses McKissack III (Park-Johnson Hall) was the principal of the oldest Black-owned architecture firm in the US; and John Saunders Chase Jr. (Martin Luther King Jr. Humanities Center) was the first licensed Black architect in …

€50m Q-PLANET initiative to accelerate quantum chips production

€50m Q-PLANET initiative to accelerate quantum chips production

Published by skeptic

Europe has officially launched Q-PLANET, a €50m initiative designed to accelerate the industrial production of quantum chips for next-generation computing, sensing and communication technologies. Coordinated by Pasqal, the project is one of six Quantum Chip Stability Pilot Lines established under the European Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU). The consortium brings together 28 research organisations, industry partners and academic institutions from 11 EU Member States. Over an initial three-year phase, Q-PLANET will develop industrial-grade components for neutral atom quantum technologies, creating manufacturing processes capable of supporting large-scale commercial deployment. By improving manufacturing standards, reducing barriers for emerging companies and strengthening Europe’s domestic supply chain, the project aims to help transform quantum research into commercially viable products while reinforcing Europe’s technological competitiveness. Building the next generation of quantum chips Quantum technologies are increasingly viewed as strategically important across industries, with potential applications ranging from pharmaceutical discovery and advanced materials research to secure communications, navigation and precision timing. Despite rapid scientific progress, widespread deployment has been constrained by manufacturing challenges. Producing reliable quantum chips at scale requires highly …

Asteroids2029 initiative to advance planetary defence awareness

Asteroids2029 initiative to advance planetary defence awareness

Published by skeptic

Bringing together more than 70 experts from space agencies, research institutions, educational organisations, and science communication networks, the programme aims to strengthen global understanding of asteroids and promote international cooperation on planetary defence. The initiative is centred on the close approach of asteroid Apophis on 13 April 2029, when the near-Earth object will pass closer to Earth than some orbiting satellites. Although the asteroid poses no danger of impact, the event presents a rare opportunity to engage the public in asteroid science and highlight the systems already in place to detect and monitor potential threats. Through a coordinated programme of worldwide activities, Asteroids2029 seeks to increase awareness of asteroid research, encourage citizen participation in science, and leave a lasting legacy of stronger international collaboration on planetary defence ahead of the historic fly-by. Asteroids2029 prepares the world for Apophis Operating under the theme “Observe. Explore. Safeguard.”, Asteroids2029 brings together governments, space agencies, scientific organisations, educators, and communicators to showcase both the scientific value of asteroids and the importance of monitoring potentially hazardous objects. The campaign is …

On Pride Day, Dr. Helmut Love links AI to spiritual promises through Georgia initiative

On Pride Day, Dr. Helmut Love links AI to spiritual promises through Georgia initiative

Published by Sam Flores

Atlanta community leader launches AI-for-Good Georgia, a nonpartisan statewide initiative to proudly align AI with humanity’s highest values. ATLANTA — One year after calling for spiritual awakening during Atlanta’s mayoral race, gay Christian technology strategist, community leader, and father Dr. Helmut Lucero Love is expanding that message into one of the defining conversations of the modern era: artificial intelligence. On National Pride Day, Love is launching AI-for-Good Georgia, a non-partisan initiative dedicated to ensuring AI serves humanity’s highest moral, spiritual, and human potential. “Though Pride began as a movement for the liberation of those shamed because of their gay (LGBT) identity, the work is not finished,” Love said. “Together with our straight brothers and sisters, we must move beyond ending shame and toward elevating human dignity itself — our character, integrity, and shared values.” Love believes AI presents both extraordinary opportunity and profound risk. “The question before us is not simply what AI can do,” he said. “The question is who we become as human beings while building it.” Last year, Love released Wake Up to …

US announces initiative to create and deploy world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computers

US announces initiative to create and deploy world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computers

Published by skeptic

The Quantum Genesis initiative will serve towards the Department of Energy’s goals as outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order, Ushering the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the establishment of the ambitious new Quantum Genesis initiative to develop and deploy the world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computing capability for research and development by 2028. The Quantum Genesis initiative follows other American efforts to lead in quantum computing, such as the establishment of the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science (QC-ADDS) Effort. “The Quantum Genesis initiative is the first step in delivering on President Trump’s charge for a national effort in developing a quantum computer powerful enough for scientific research,” said Michael Kratsios, assistant to the President and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “This effort will strengthen U.S. competitiveness, drive breakthroughs that classical systems cannot achieve, and ensure America remains at the forefront of one of the most consequential technologies of our time.” The Quantum Genesis, a core component of …