In a country with a long history of protecting its national identity, critical labor shortages and an aging population create the need for more “guest workers.”

true [X]

Help Wanted: Japan Slowly Opens the Door to Immigrants

The internet is indispensable to communication and education, but almost half of people on the planet don't use it. Can progress be found in an internet-carrying backpack?

The Internet-Packing Backpack

Not even a dark horse, she was practically invisible to the media — until she won.

The Viral Victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

In his robustly meatless middle age, the legendary DJ talks about his dietary philosophy and why there are plenty of funny vegans.

Google

How Moby Went from King of Techno to Vegan Activist

Improving people's lives in the poorest of places with the END Fund.

Talking TED: Ellen Agler on Eradicating Disease

Affecting millions of individuals and families worldwide domestic violence is a global public health problem of epidemic proportions.

A Call to Action: Mental Health and Domestic Violence

Using artificial intelligence to discover new treatments for incurable diseases

Talking TED: Leila Pirhaji on AI for Biotech

Jan Roessner’s career trajectory inevitably led him to where he is now

Gaming for Good with Jan Roessner

Professor Liu shares his philosophy of hard work, the rewards of teaching, the discoveries he's made in genome-related technology, and the relationship between art and science. 

Talking TED: David R. Liu on Rewriting DNA

Drawing attention to climate change's negative effects on the nutritional value of the world's crops

Talking TED: Kristie L. Ebi on the Health Risks of Climate Change

Michel Botzung is the Manager of IFC’s Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations Africa program.  Botzung and his team piloted IFC’s East African Refugee program, a first-of-its-kind initiative dedicated to private sector solutions for refugees and host communities.

Breaking the Mold: Unlocking Opportunities for Refugees and Host Communities

"For me as a photographer, it is important to get as close as possible to people’s lives, and to tell their story to as many as possible."

Photo Pages: Espen Rasmussen

Haunting collages made from plastic debris culled from the world's oceans.

Art Pages: Mandy Barker

Sounding the alarm about air quality before it’s too late.

An App for the Air in Indonesia

Searching for ways to replace plastics with renewable materials.

Converting Waste into Renewable Bioplastics in Mexico

On the cusp of broader legalization, the cannabis industry prepares for more competition, as well as helping reform and improve other fields of farming nationwide.

Can Sustainable Cannabis Disrupt Big Agriculture?

Finding new ways to conserve energy through rich data.

Saving Energy with Data and AI

It’s not just the trees, or even just the forests. Green incentives to invest in ecological restoration projects are booming, attracting capital from nations and startups alike.

Voting with Dollars on Reforestation

Independent researcher, photographer, and filmmaker Richard Kirby speaks for the plankton—the teeming microorganisms that form the foundation of so much of life in the sea. Kirby founded the Secchi Disk Study, an ambitious citizen-science project aimed at gathering reliable data about phytoplankton He says one of the worst threats to plankton is microplastic pollution.

Plankton and a Plague of Plastic

India’s Ganges is one of the world’s great rivers, and it's also heavily polluted. Solving such a massive problem will require many different approaches.

S'well

Cleaning Up the Ganges, High-Tech and All-Natural

British-born and now based in New York, artist Shantell Martin works in many spaces: drawing, performance, design, fashion, and lots of actual physical spaces.

Shantell Martin: Living Lines

Victoria Canal has had the use of only one full arm since birth due to amniotic band syndrome, but she hasn’t let it slow her down.

Victoria Canal: Intrepid Believer

A helping hand (or four) to make surgery easier and less invasive.

A New Robot Surgeon for the UK

Transporting vital medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas.

Drones Flying the Last Mile to Save Lives

Early steps on a very long road to synthesizing replacement human organs.

The Science vs. Reality of 3D-Printed Lungs

Using low-power radio, the system can track the movements and physical conditions of patients at home, giving doctors and caregivers a rich source of data to help guide treatment and spot problems early. And pharmaceutical companies are lining up to use the system in their clinical trials.

Monitoring Health at Home Through Movement

In some of Brazil’s poorest neighborhoods, locals are bootstrapping their own companies thanks to classes, competitions, and incubators created by a coalition of citizens and expats.

Building Bridges in Rio’s Favelas

While much of the developed world slowly ponders the implications of cryptocurrency and cashless systems, nations with a more entrepreneurial attitude are racing ahead.

Welcoming the End of Money

A Real Voter Drive from Lyft

How a small European state leapfrogged to the forefront of the digital citizen movement.

E-Estonia: Civil Innovation in the Digital Era

Can Crypto Transform Nonprofit Fundraising?

The nontraditional markets inspired by sustainable energy are fertile ground for a big-league scale play, courtesy of decentralized tech.

More Power, Powered by Blockchain

Cheap, plentiful and always where you don’t want it to be—and yet somehow, everyone who needs it is running out of sand. We can’t get more, we can’t make more, but the demand for sand won’t stop.

The Slippery Slopes of the World Sand Shortage

Even when done with the best of intentions, introducing fancy new technology into the voting process can create more uncertainty, degrade security, and cause more problems than it solves.

How Good Tech Can Make Bad Elections

Millions of bananas are thrown out annually due to ripening too soon for sale. A new gas-absorbing wrap could save them for a hungry public.

Keeping Bananas Greener, Longer

A complex solution to a simple-seeming problem.

Fixing Leaks with Big Tech

Combining traditional methods with modern ecology, and reviving the potential of a historic regional crop.

Sustainable Coffee in Costa Rica

Recycling food and volunteer labor add up to a successful nonprofit eatery.

‘Freeganism’ as Business Model

The challenges of a food supply future outside the European Union, for a United
Kingdom that hasn’t fed itself for generations.

A Brexit Beef About Food and Democracy

Another in a growing wave of tech-enabled group hacking events focusing on
solving real problems.

A Hackathon for Hunger

Empowering African women by helping them create sustainable businesses as community entrepreneurs.

Mama Maji: Making Water Women’s Business in Kenya

The acclaimed novelist, short story writer, essayist, and socially and politically conscious individual speaks on the impact of social media and its effects on elections.

Rick Moody on Art and Political Action

An inspiring look at just a sampling of the major contributions from women
in the human race for space.

The Exxpanse: Women Strive for the Stars

How Radio Is Helping the Rohingya

Of the many markets powered by big data, few are as important — or as largely unknown — as the burgeoning system of voter data brokers.

The Secret Power of Political Data Trusts

Putting politics on the blockchain and bringing science into the statehouse.

The Radical Stand for the Center

As younger voters become more engaged in the democratic process, campaigns are learning to compete for their hearts, minds, and online eyeballs.

The Kids Are Online: Social Media as Political Arena

Technology has affected the act of voting like everything else in contemporary life, but the stakes are much higher for bugs, mistakes, vulnerabilities, and fraud.

From Electoral Rolls to Pinch and Scroll: How Tech Is Transforming Voting

The pandemic led to a marked fall in particulate matter and thus pollution, we examine the trend

Stepping up to a sustainable future, post Covid-19: The impact of reduced air pollution in our major cities

Environment & Ecology

Stepping Up to a Sustainable Future

Friends of Overture participated and captured moments from different cities as protests roil the world

Scenes from the Protest: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and a Turning Point for the Nation

First Person

Scenes from the Protest

Contact tracing is an essential to managing the global COVID-19 pandemic and tech companies and goverments are searching for ways to digitize it.

Contact Tracing Apps: Information Collection and Management for COVID-19

Health & Well-being

Could be essential to managing the global COVID-19 pandemic

Contact Tracing Apps for COVID-19

A soul man and a world-music trio talk about their global influences and of course, Texas.

Leon Bridges and Kruangbin: 
An Unexpected Side of Texas

A soul man and a world-music trio speak

Leon Bridges and Kruangbin: An Unexpected Side of Texas

Enter the Chamber: From Wu Tang Clan to Wisdom Man

RZA on spirituality and creativity

Understanding the complex data of refugee populations is key to addressing the causes of displacement and distress.

Populations of Concern: Our World of Refugees

Human & Machine

Data is the key to dealing with the causes of displacement

Humanitarian Response: Evolution or Revolution?

Transforming Food and Water Insecurity with Tech

Investing in Refugees at the Tent Foundation

The Other Trauma: Treating Refugees with PTSD

The New Threat of Climate Change: Environmental Refugees

Brendon Babenzien: Street Preacher

Overture Global Magazine | Spring 2019 | The Refugee Issue | Issue 003

Overture Magazine 003

Building a community of leaders improving the world with technology. Are you a Digital Humanitarian?

Stepping Up to a Sustainable Future

Scenes from the Protest

Contact Tracing Apps for COVID-19

Leon Bridges and Kruangbin: An Unexpected Side of Texas

Enter the Chamber: From Wu Tang Clan to Wisdom Man

Populations of Concern: Our World of Refugees

How Moby Went from King of Techno to Vegan Activist…

Talking TED: Ellen Agler on Eradicating Disease…

A Call to Action: Mental Health and Domestic Violence…

Talking TED: Leila Pirhaji on AI for Biotech…

Gaming for Good with Jan Roessner…

Help Wanted: Japan Slowly Opens the Door to Immigrants…

The Internet-Packing Backpack…

The Viral Victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…

Overture Magazine
December 2019

Current Issue

Talking TED: David R. Liu on Rewriting DNA…

Talking TED: Kristie L. Ebi on the Health Risks of Climate Change…

Breaking the Mold: Unlocking Opportunities for Refugees and Host Communities…

Photo Pages: Espen Rasmussen…

Art Pages: Mandy Barker…

An App for the Air in Indonesia…

Saving Energy with Data and AI…

Cleaning Up the Ganges, High-Tech and All-Natural…

Shantell Martin: Living Lines…

Victoria Canal: Intrepid Believer…

A New Robot Surgeon for the UK…

Drones Flying the Last Mile to Save Lives…

The Science vs. Reality of 3D-Printed Lungs…

Monitoring Health at Home Through Movement…