tagged w/ WORLDwrite
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This simple make-it-at-home hoe is a powerful device that enables you to plough vast fields in your own back yard, grow all the food and dig all the wells you need. No longer will there be any need for supermarket shopping for groceries or spending hard-earned cash on environmentally-unfriendly packs of bottled water. To top it all off, you get all your daily exercise and a trim figure, just like the cavemen.This simple make-it-at-home hoe is a powerful device that enables you to plough vast... more
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The prestigious Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition runs this national debating competition for sixth form students in the UK and in partnership with the British Council in India. Honoured to be partners with this inspiring organisation which privileges content over style, WORLDbytes volunteers have filmed many debates and edited this short glimpse of the toughest intellectual challenge around for 16-18 year olds. With hundreds of schools involved and top level judges, the competition puts learning on a new level, deals with issues which affect us all and never fails to inspire. For full details of the competition and to take part visit http://www.debatingmatters.com/The prestigious Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition runs this national... more
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Gay rights have vastly improved over the decades, but have we progressed enough? This lively on-the sofa discussion with Jason Smith a freelance journalist and director of Birmingham salon explores the state of ‘queer progress’ today, from Clinton and Cameron’s advocacy of tying foreign aid to gay rights to Stonewall calling for a policing of anti-gay speech in the playground. Has intolerance of anti-gay intolerants lead to a tyranny of the minority? Are gay individuals so vulnerable they now need posh protectors to police our views and intervene in African states?Gay rights have vastly improved over the decades, but have we progressed enough? This... more
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On the streets of Walthamstow in East London, we ask the public what they think about the European Union. It’s clear that opposition to the EU is not the preserve of bigoted ‘little Englanders’, far from it. Eloquent, well informed citizens are seriously concerned at the EU’s undemocratic set up and want to have their say. Individuals backing the EU are hard to find and are against a referendum as they see their fellow citizens as ignorant and too ill educated to ‘understand the issues’.On the streets of Walthamstow in East London, we ask the public what they think about... more
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Parents, it seems, are no longer trusted to parent. If you fail to take on the latest childcare fad deemed best by policy makers for your baby, then you risk being judged a 'bad parent' - guilty of some kind of negligence and abuse. Hence the recent story in the UK of four children being taken away from their parents, without a right to contact, because the family were fat. WORLDbytes Citizen TV makers visited Jennie Bristow, journalist and writer of Standing Up To Supernanny and Alison Small and Jane Sandeman, members of the Institute of Ideas Parenting Forum who provide a critical and thought provoking perspective, questioning prevailing distrust.Parents, it seems, are no longer trusted to parent. If you fail to take on the latest... more
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In the run-up to Christmas, many charities are encouraging us to shop ethically. By making moral choices about what you put in your shopping trolley, these charities say, you will not only have a guilt-free shopping experience but you will be helping millions to escape the worst excesses of poverty. But what exactly are these ethical principles which underlie the fair trade label and what do we really know about it? In this revealing report, we ask the public if they buy into fair trade and the response is a mixed bag. Many base their purchasing decisions on price and need and plenty of people who know the score in the developing world see it as far from fair.In the run-up to Christmas, many charities are encouraging us to shop ethically. By... more
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The wind up is a small gadget with big uses. This seemingly normal handle is a device designed to power any electrical appliance by simply winding it up. Tipped to become the century’s most important invention preventing trillions of units of carbon emissions from polluting the air, reports suggest the wind up could reverse the effects of global warming within our lifetime.The wind up is a small gadget with big uses. This seemingly normal handle is a device... more
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Innovations in clinical practice, drugs and other technologies can improve the quality and extent of patients’ lives – but they are often expensive. With budget cuts looming, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been charged with helping the government to decide which treatments are sufficiently cost effective to be made available on the NHS. But for those facing life threatening illnesses, can a price be put on life? We ask the public whether medicine should be rationed due to its price and denied according to your lifestyle. For many, this is an affront to the value of human life and most argue that medicine should not be rationed even it only gives us a few more weeks life. Lifestyle however is a different ball game and sadly the idea that healthcare should be rationed for smokers, drinkers and the obese is gaining ground.Innovations in clinical practice, drugs and other technologies can improve the quality... more
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Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to surpass London as a great city. Unlike the poverty tourism and accolades awarded to communitarian slum living by the likes of Prince Charles and Kevin McCloud, Dharavi residents think big. Sadhvi Sharma takes us through the streets and introduces us to aspirant families for whom Dharavi is a place of transition. The least we can do, she argues, is support their aspirations.Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to... more
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A pot that will grow food for your family and the entire world from the comfort of your own home is now a reality. A breakthrough in food production, a single pot will grow food for an entire household. In less than a week, you can grow your own tomatoes, parsnips, peppers and greens without worrying about the well-documented health and environmental risks of genetically modified food. What’s more, famines will be a thing of the past and nasty supermarkets will die a natural death, as they should. So get your pot, some seeds and start growing.A pot that will grow food for your family and the entire world from the comfort of... more
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To mark the world’s population reaching 7 billion on Halloween 2011, WORLDbytes has launched this hilarious parody of modern day Malthusian thinking. The programme features talented Blood Brothers star and ex-RSC actor James Hirst as the central character, Bill. For Bill the news of 7 billion is a Halloween nightmare. His solutions include: getting rid of ‘thickies’, euthanasia, gelding and paying African women not to have children- a carbon offsetting scheme first proposed by the Optimum Population Trust, now rebranded as Population Matters. Bill is no Daily Mail reader, he gets his over-consumption paranoia from the Guardian and he’s going for the cull. This parody reflects WORLDbytes’ concern to challenge the profoundly anti-human roots of over population ideas.To mark the world’s population reaching 7 billion on Halloween 2011, WORLDbytes... more
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The decision to punish the ‘Facebook rioters’ with four years in jail is now being appealed, and other cases are sure to follow. Is harsh sentencing the way forward? In this extraordinary report the public are clearly not convinced rather, they suggest, we need to address the loss of adult authority and rift between adults and young people. In other parts of the world we learn, young people know the rules and ‘child centred’ policies have not degraded parent power. This report shows how most people just want to be allowed to raise (and tell off!) their own children with the support of their community but without government interference.The decision to punish the ‘Facebook rioters’ with four years in jail is... more
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The banana leaf tampon is all the rage for menstruating women from Sweden to Singapore to Sierra Leone. This made-to-measure tampon is the latest in sustainable gadgetry and a breakthrough in global female sanitary provision, affordable for women even in the most remote parts of the developing world. This is the friend we have all been waiting for. It will help women in rural communities achieve their full potential and take part in all aspects of society. Hail the banana leaf tampon. Here’s how to make one of your own.The banana leaf tampon is all the rage for menstruating women from Sweden to Singapore... more
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This appetiser reminds us their is no feast for the mind like the Battle of Ideas festival. Challenging new ideas blend with historical insights at this ‘free speech allowed’ weekend. This is a must for anyone interested in cutting edge thinking. With 75 debates and 350 speakers, a huge range of contemporary issues are covered. Mixed with snippets of debate, this programme features vox pops filmed by WORLDbytes volunteers at last year’s Battle of Ideas festival and their excitement is infectious. As one attendee tells us: “it covers issues most politicians won’t touch.” The full programme of debates and tickets for this year’s event on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October 2011 are available now; just visit the Battle of Ideas website.This appetiser reminds us their is no feast for the mind like the Battle of Ideas... more
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Governments and policy makers are concerned over our individual happiness. This year, the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) began compiling data for Cameron’s so-called happiness index. Meanwhile at the launch of ‘Action for Happiness’ members made a simple pledge: ‘to try to create more happiness in the world around them through the way they approach their lives’. Both assume that material advancement and economic development can’t buy you happiness. This seems obvious, or is it? Should happiness be our end goal? Is getting rich bad for our wellbeing? Should the government measure our happiness levels? Luke Gittos, a WORLDbytes reporter, investigates the happiness agenda and talks to the Director of Action for Happiness, Mark Williamson and Daniel Ben Ami, author of Ferraris for All.Governments and policy makers are concerned over our individual happiness. This year,... more
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The 'apocalyptic' media frenzy post Fukushima which displaced the real disaster story and horrific loss of life wrought by the earthquake & tsunami, sickened Japanese born Mari Shibata. Along with WORLDbytes volunteers she investigates the fear factor. Why did a nuclear incident affecting only a small area fuel global meltdown stories? In an interview with the Director of the Science Media Centre we learn of news values shaped by a concern to terrify people, journalists removed from stories for being too measured and scientists accused of lying. Granted unique access to Oldbury, the oldest nuclear power station in the world we learn how seriously safety is taken and due to fears of terrorism post 9/11 its tragic shut down to visitors. Through talking to relatives in Japan we learn of the progress being made to clear up the real mess made by a natural disaster, a story neglected by the Western media.The 'apocalyptic' media frenzy post Fukushima which displaced the real... more
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In the wake of the riots in London, WORLDbytes reporters hit the streets of Enfield and Hackney to find out what the public think. Unlike the over fearful response of the authorities, some residents in these two riot stricken boroughs thought that boarding up shops and not dealing with the looters there and then gave rioters free reign. Sadly the effective stand against the looters many made has been vilified as vigilantism and potentially racist. Yet didn't they set an example we could all learn from? One member of the public points out, when the authorities dictate every aspect of how we, as adults should interact with children, people are not able to think for themselves and end up scared of the kids.In the wake of the riots in London, WORLDbytes reporters hit the streets of Enfield... more
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A breakthrough in low cost water technology, the tippy tap is a simple device for hand washing with running water at no cost to the environment and a marvel for the poor in rural areas, where disease and germs dominate. The idea behind the tippy tap is, just because you’re poor does not mean you have to be dirty. Here’s how to make your own tippy-tap in your front room.A breakthrough in low cost water technology, the tippy tap is a simple device for hand... more
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London has a love-hate relationship with fast food. Public health campaigns and celebrity chefs vilify it and warn it could kill us; yet, as this film shows, we’ve never had it so good. This programme provides an unadulterated celebration of fast food, showing, with an emphasis on our lunches, how food and eating have evolved since the 1950s. Special emphasis is made on the evolution and importance of supermarkets. As Rob Lyons, author of Panic on a Plate, tells us, supermarkets have enabled more people to be fed more inexpensively, conveniently and well.London has a love-hate relationship with fast food. Public health campaigns and... more
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This programme advises visitors and residents in the UK on how to behave appropriately in Britain. The message is, we are incapable of either tolerating people’s irksome behaviours or of speaking to people ourselves. Warning: this programme contains rude noises, toilet humour and bad images.This programme advises visitors and residents in the UK on how to behave appropriately... more
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