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As we celebrate the start of a new year (and our 1st birthday!) here at pplkind, it makes sense to look back at how much progress we humans have made this year. And while so many terrible events took place, it actually looks like 2013 was one of our greatest years in history for positive evolution. Stay with me here. While we must not forget those that continue to suffer, let’s also not forget to celebrate the breakthroughs on cancer treatment, nuclear peace, gay rights and so much more that took place while all the bad stuff was going on. The good stuff got REAL in 2013.
The reason pplkind was launched at the turn of 2013 was to fill the gap in media for good news, show that humans are going in the right direction technologically, socially and psychologically – and inspire more good along the way with our easy charity donation buttons after each news story.
Take a look at the tiny list of examples of human progress below, and keep the positive evolution going by donating to any charity of your choice, or the ones hyperlinked from each story. Go on, be do-good gangster.
1. A 16-year old girl from Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai, became a global role model, inspiring young women to attend school against all odds in her home country. After she received death threats from the Taliban for her beliefs that girls should have equal rights to education as boys, Malala was shot in the head on her school bus. Fast forward one year, and she was shaking hands with US President Barack Obama and the first family at the White House. The President said: “Across the globe there are girls who will one day lead nations, if only we afford them the chance to choose their own destinies. And on every continent, there are girls who will go on to change the world in ways we can only imagine, if only we allow them the freedom to dream.”
2. Pope Francis, who became head of the Roman Catholic Church this year, set a game-changing stance on human kindness and gay rights. Since his leadership, we’ve been bombarded with endless tales of Pope Francis’ greatness such as the fact he used to sneak out at night to feed the poor, but his opinions on homosexuality have made the greatest waves, reigniting millions of people’s hopes for the church around the world. Among many wise words, he has said: ”It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the church’s pastors wherever it occurs.” Support gay rights causes.
3. The death of Nelson Mandela united millions around the world, who came together to celebrate the life of one of the greatest freedom fighters our planet has ever seen. And across South Africa, mourners remembered a man who transcended race in their nation, by proving his 27 years in prison had achieved what he wanted with joined hands. Patricia de Lille, Cape Town Mayor, said on the day of his funeral: “Nelson Mandela sacrificed so much for the freedom of this country. We will be failing in our character if we do not continue on the road that he put us on to.”
4. Child mortality rates hit their lowest levels around the world. Improving rates continued on from 2012, when about 18,000 children a day died before reaching their fifth birthday, according to a report by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division, a number which is roughly half the number who died in 1990. Life expectancy is continuing to grow in every single country on the planet thanks to growing economies, health care and education. Help get that rate to zero.
5. We discovered a new way of fighting cancer that transforms immune cells into tumor killers. The game-changer – which was awarded breakthrough of the year by US journal Science – has so far only worked on a limited number of cancer sufferers, but the potential for this is huge. The journal Science commented: “Oncologists, a grounded-in-reality bunch, say a corner has been turned and we won’t be going back.” 2013 was a big year of progress in the fight against cancer, and it looks like 2014 could bring even more breakthroughs like this that could lead to a new era of cancer cures. We humans just keep getting smarter – so be smart and give to cancer charities now.
6. 721 million fewer people now live on $1.25 a day than they did in 1981. Despite continued soaring population growth and its associated competition for our planet’s resources, 2013 saw real global poverty reduction, especially in China and India, according to the World Bank’s research. Poverty for middle- and high-income countries also fell by more than 50% since 1981. However, there are still millions suffering greatly from increased poverty, so please keep on donating what you can to charity.
7. Almost 40% of the whole world is connected to the internet. Thanks to advances in internet technology and and rocketing international communications through social media, as a global society we have created the perfect vehicle to share our breakthroughs in science, peace, democracy and kindness to all corners of the earth, meaning that those would otherwise be left in the dark are connecting to solutions faster than ever before, creating unfounded awareness and equality.
8. Landmark deal struck on nuclear peace in Iran. It was agreed that Iran would suspend most of its nuclear program as negotiators and six of the world’s biggest economies inked a deal to limit nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief, a landmark move which has signalled the start of a long-awaited reduced risk of another Middle East war. Support peace projects around the world.
9. UK and US say no to war in Syria, a victory for the anti-war movement. Britain decided not to join a US-led attack on Syria, marking a new direction in human history, with UK Parliament moving, at long last, away from a decade of the ‘war on terror’ and finally matching public opinion in challenging the UK’s relationship with the US and securing peace. President Obama also held back on an attack on Syria.
10. Nine US states legalised gay marriage, making a total of 18. The gay rights movement finally had a year to celebrate in 2013 with an all-time high number of US states where same sex marriage is now legal. American public support for same-sex marriage reached a record 58% according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. Across the countries, leaders from the armed services to famous athletes spoke out in gay rights.
11. China has agreed to phase out the use of HCFCs by 2030. Using $385 million coughed up by the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund this deal with China seems like we’re making progress on climate action. HCFCs are industrial gases that are used in useful but harmful things like refrigeration and air conditioning. And not just any kind of harmful. We’re talking triple whammy harmful, because these gases both warm the climate and destroy the ozone layer, as well as eventually increase skin cancer, quash our immune systems and other nasty side-effects of a warming climate.
12. Germany broke its solar power output record. Jumping from its previous 22GW capacity to 23.9GW over one weekend, solar power manufacturer SMA Solar, recorded the electricity increase and claimed it was sufficient to power 2.3 million homes. In 2013, 8.5 million German citizens live in homes that use solar power systems to generate electricity and heat and Germany’s solar power surge meant the country was receiving roughly 40% of its electricity demands through solar energy.
13. We worked out a way to 3D-print human organs. Using breakthrough 3D printing, scientists managed to produce human embryonic stem cells (hESCs, aka super cells which are able to become cells of any tissue type) - three-dimensional, organic tissue. Or the scientific term: totally real human bits. From a printer.
14. Hope given to two men who were ‘cured’ of HIV. The two patients in Boston stopped taking anti HIV medicine several weeks ago, yet there is ‘no trace’ of the virus, according to the Washington Post. We may not be able to celebrate global headlines for once just yet, but these two guys represent a momentous finding in HIV research that could lead to a wider cure and save the lives of millions of people around the world. These results could open up further research, that may well soon lead us to a universal cure to one of the worst epidemics humankind has ever faced.
15. David Beckham gave all of his salary to charity. David Beckham’s altruistic move to give all of his Paris-St Germain salary to a children’s charity may have been hit with nothing but criticism by British newspapers. But we’re totally crushing on him all over again, in a way that involves our <3s.
16. Acts of kindness were shared and celebrated around the world. Many of which we have written about on pplkind, including an amazing story about a diamond engagement ring that was returned by a homeless man called Billy Ray Harris, who found it inside his change cup. But instead of pawning the jewellery to make some money — and maybe afford some food and a room for the night — Billy Ray kept hold of the ring in the hopes its owner, a lady called Sarah Darling who had dropped the ring when donating change in a hurry, would return. And she did. And thousands of people said thank you. Stories like these are becoming increasingly popular as people look for hope in the human race, and increase it by passing the tales on through social media.
17. President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, gives 90% of his presidential-suite sized salary away. So as you can imagine, we’re plastering Mujica’s face all over our hearts. Mujica told local Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he only keeps $1,250 of his monthly $12,500 pay for himself, stating: “I do fine with that amount; I have to do fine because there are many Uruguayans who live with much less.” Phew. It turns out there are some genuinely incredible people leading the world everyone! You can relax for a minute. Follow in Mujica’s footsteps and give your small change to charity.
18. Hurricane Haiyan in the Philippines uncovers surge in acts of kindness. One of the most powerful storms to ever reach landfall, super typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines this year, killed more than 5,200 people and left millions hurt and homeless. But while many newspapers reported the small amounts of looting and violence that have taken place in the wake of Haiyan, not many have written about the many tales of kindness that have happened too. But, as is the case for many natural and not so natural disasters this year, huge acts of generosity are happening daily since typhoon Hiayan struck.
19. Scientists got closer to working out what the hell dark matter is. The scientists in Europe and the US announced that we’re even closer to tracking down that spooky “dark matter” we’ve all heard so much about. You know, the magical, mystery, mad stuff that happens to make up at least a quarter of the whole universe. Yep, we’re one weird step closer to identifying what dark matter is made of, hereby solving one of the biggest mysteries in science, in the universe, and well, in the whole wide weird.
20. Teenagers are turning their backs on celebrities that just want to make money, rather than do social good. New research shows that young people are losing trust in people like Jay Z, because they’re ‘not sure what he stands for’ any more. These younger consumers apparently prefer to buy products from celebs and brands they think are ‘honest’, and importantly, they also place a high precedent on the companies and A-listers that boast good social goals.
21. We humans figured out a big breakthrough in Parkinson’s Disease. A breakthrough study by the New England Journal of Medicine has found that implanting the treatment ‘deep brain stimulation’ in the early days rather than the end (as is usually done), can massively reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. While there is still no absolute cure for Parkinson’s Disease, the findings are very important and will completely shake up the way treatment is implemented around the world. This is science and research at its most gangster.
22. Random acts of kindness kicked off around the world. We love random acts of kindness. You know, those special moments where you witness, or, if you’re lucky, experience a completely altruistic instance of generosity, restoring your faith in the awesomeness of people. They make you feel good, they make someone else feel good, and they remind you that our species ain’t all bad. Back in August we covered the growing random acts of kindness (RAK) movement with some hand-picked examples of RAK from across the world. And as the world keeps spinning, you all just keep being good to each other.
23. People use crowdfunding to help those less fortunate out. You’ve heard of crowdfunding, right? Well that’s a good start. The concept of altruistic ‘giving’ may seem complicated to some, but it’s not just fancy new technologies and promising sounding supernatural book series that are getting funded. People are also starting to use crowdfunding websites to source cash to pay for their medical bills. And people being people, are kindly offering to pay up.
24. One of the world’s biggest banks offers to pay back what it owes. JP Morgan Chase, America’s biggest bank agreed to pay a record $13 billion penalty on civil claims from authorities that the bank wrongly sold mortgage-backed bonds that were based on loans that were much weaker than advertised, including a $4 billion bonus to distressed homeowners. The move could mark the beginning of the end of big, bad banks running, or not so running, the world. Donate to poverty projects now.
25. Celebrities and pop culture comes good. Kanye hiccups aside, from chart-topping pop songs taking a moral turn towards topics such as feminism (Beyonce, of course) and charity shop (Mackloremore), and popstars finally doing more good than bad – and being proud of it (here’s our favourite 5), culture often reflects the mood of a society. So it seems apt that the number 1 pop song for the 1st January in the UK is Pharrell’s Happy, a vision of what our society could be if we were all a little nicer to each other. Let’s keep happy going on beyond 24 hours – to all of 2014 and beyond.
When you look at our pace statistically, 2013 saw fewer wars and crime, letting us see past some of the bad news for a moment to see that our world is becoming a better, safer, kinder place to live. Keep the positive progress of humankind going by donating to charity now. See you in 2014, you kind, kind people.
Inspired? Search and give to kindness causes now.
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Filed under: Culture, Green, Kindness, Mind, Peace, Policy, Science, Technology Image may be NSFW.
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