Each of these men had to walk a long hard road, paved with blood, sweat, and tears, to arrive at this moment, embracing each other as both patient-physician and colleague-colleague. From his birth in a powerless, waterless village in Ethiopia 41 years ago, Mesfin Yana has often found himself at the mercy of the kindness […] The post A Surgeon Saved His Life as a Teenage Immigrant. Now They Operate Together for Charity in Ethiopia appeared first on Good News Network.

Just off the bustling Rue Montorgueil, one of the most commercial streets in Paris, the Centre Cerise, or Cherry Sociocultural Center, is a haven of local community. At the cafe in the back, where the ceiling is covered in a sea of mirrors, a young barista whistles behind the counter and a trio of elderly women chat over an afternoon coffee. These humble surroundings, simple as they appear, are a pillar of local democracy. And they recently received a much-needed, city-funded renovation. “Paris has become very expensive. Many people can’t afford to eat in the restaurants around here,” says Anne-Valérie Desprez, a manager at the Cherry. “That’s why we need places like this. To provide everyone with somewhere to come together.” The Cherry Center cafe. Credit: Peter Yeung For the past decade, every year, Parisians like Desprez have been able to see their proposals come to life on the streets of the French capital. Under the city’s Participatory Budget, any resident above the age of seven, regardless of their nationality, can propose a project to be paid for by municipal funds. The model, increasingly popular across the globe, is helping authorities spend resources efficiently and boost democratic participation in an era when trust in government is low and political apathy is on the rise. In Paris, more than 21,000 ideas have been submitted by citizens since the scheme launched in 2014, resulting in 1,345 funded projects and an expenditure of €768 million (almost $900 million), including €263 million set aside for low-income districts. Each proposal must pass a feasibility study by city hall before being voted on by residents online or at hundreds of ballot boxes installed across the city in the fall. “It is a very good device and it’s important,” says Yves Sintomer, a French researcher and co-author of the book Participatory Budgeting in Europe, an analysis of initiatives in 10 countries. “Paris has invested a lot, and with that you can transform a lot of things.” It’s led to the creation of rooftop farms, children’s play areas, community art murals, shade structures and baggage storage for the homeless, as well as a number of projects at the Cherry, which was founded in 1999. In 2017, following the center’s first successful budget proposal, benches were installed in the street out front, providing a place for people to congregate for free. Further funding from the participatory budget enabled the center to buy a cargo bike — shared with other local businesses — for short-distance deliveries in 2019, re-do the entry sign in 2021, and renovate the cafe a couple of years later. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] “The place had fallen into disrepair, it was yellowing, the lights weren’t working well,” explains Desprez. “We had to save the cafe.” While the Parisian participatory budget is now the largest in the world — worth hundreds of millions of euros a year, or five percent of the city’s total spending — the model was pioneered in Brazil in the 1980s, according to Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government at the Harvard Kennedy School. In 1989, he says, the progressive Workers’ Party in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre set aside 10 percent of the annual municipal budget in an effort to help redistribute funding towards low-income communities and to fight corruption by improving transparency. Participatory budget voting in Paris. Credit: Peter Yeung Although during the first few years there were logistical challenges, Fung says the Porto Alegre initiative went on to become a “huge success,” funneling resources to communities in need and involving tens of thousands of citizens in the political process. From 1988 to 1997, for example, the percentage of households with sewer and water connections increased from 75 to 98 percent. The number of schools more than quadrupled. Public housing increased more than tenfold. “It really did work, allocating more to disadvantaged people and reducing corruption,” says Fung. “It put a big thumb on the scale [to make the city more equal].” Since then, participatory budgets have exploded in popularity and spread across the globe. According to Participedia, a resource founded by Fung in 2010, there are more than 2,350 examples of innovative schemes involving the public in democratic processes (including but not limited to participatory budgets) across 160 countries today. These include a Canadian non-profit working with prisoners to decide how to invest five percent of its resources; development agencies launching a budget with residents in the west African nation of Benin; and British firefighting authorities collaborating with locals on how money is spent in order to improve safety. In New York City, which launched its pilot initiative in 2011 with four city council districts, over 93,000 residents cast ballots to decide how to spend $30 million of the city’s 2026 budget.  Proponents say participatory budgets provide authorities with valuable information about the real needs of communities, are an efficient use of resources and create buy-in and engagement from local citizens.  “In local and national democracies all over the west, there’s a greater desire for democratic innovation driven by a dissatisfaction with political systems and how democracy is working,” says Fung. A 2025 study found that, on average, municipalities in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America that adopted participatory budgeting saw public trust rise significantly — from 55 percent in 2020 to 70 percent in 2024. The researchers concluded that the model “fosters financial prudence, reduces corruption risks and strengthens public engagement in governance.” The 2025 participatory budget in Paris saw a record 162,395 residents vote. Credit: Peter Yeung Experts like Fung argue that participatory budgets are more successful when they have a clear impact on people’s lives. Therefore, projects on housing, water and energy work well, but addressing more complex issues such as climate change is tougher. Pilots with state-level participatory budgets in Brazil also faced difficulties, he adds. “It’s more appropriate for the local level, to address very tangible problems in a community,” Fung explains. Context matters, too. While one of the key problems faced in Porto Alegre was the deeply-entrenched corruption, it’s simply not on the same scale in Montreal, where political disengagement is more of a concern. The goals of participatory budgets should be adapted accordingly. Back in Paris, the 2025 edition saw 261 projects proposed and 104 selected after voting by a record 162,395 residents. City hall officials point to a crisis of democracy as one of the main reasons it has invested so heavily in citizen participation. “We believe these actions allow us to reconnect with our fellow citizens, at a time when the democratic crisis reflects a lack of trust and a feeling of disconnect from public affairs,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We don’t simply invite Parisians to participate every six years at elections; we empower them throughout the term. This citizen participation enriches our public policies, making them more tailored and better suited to their needs.” The spokesperson also pointed to other democratic mechanisms, such as referenda and the Citizens’ Assembly, which have led to shared e-scooters being banned from public spaces, and the decision to create 500 “garden streets” throughout Paris. Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime Yet researcher Sintomer argues that Paris’ participatory efforts do not go far enough. Major policy decisions, such as banning all vehicles from the major road running along the right bank of the river Seine, were not put to the public, he says. Sintomer also argues that the deliberation aspect of the participatory budget is currently “not very significant” — in essence, there is voting but not much debate. City hall, too, admits there have been challenges. It has had to rework departments that weren’t adapted to working with citizens, and meanwhile many Parisians are still unaware of the very existence of the participatory budget. A study is underway to take stock of the decade of the program and identify potential avenues for improvement. Nonetheless, those at the Cherry Center, which also hosts language exchanges, exercise and knitting classes, and art exhibitions, see the participatory budget as a step towards breaching the divides between politicians, policy and real people.  “This is a way for our voices to be heard, especially at the local level,” says Desprez. “Every person can be involved.” The post Anyone in Paris Can Decide How the City Spends Its Money appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is defined by many things: a love of the color yellow, "work minimalism," and the Gen Z stare. Recently, Gen Z has started to gain a reputation for behaving like Baby Boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964) in form and function.Gen Z and Boomers have become peas in a pod, sharing many similarities. According to research from youth-focused creative agency Adolescent Content, Gen Z reports having values and outlooks similar to Boomers when it comes to marriage, family, homeownership, and more. @four.nine Are Gen-Z the new Boomers? #generation #generations #genz #boomers #millenials #millenial #genzvsmillenial In a Reddit discussion, Gen Zers shared their most Boomer opinions. From technology to tipping, here are 21 takes they fully stand by:"Sometimes the music is TOO LOUD." - User Unknown"You don't need an Apple watch!" - DawnofMidnight7"Cars have too many screens and too few buttons and knobs." - User Unknown"The loss of ownership. Everything's moving to a subscription, lease, or rental model. I fear someday we'll own nothing and you'll subscribe/sign a lease/rent everything." - User Unknown"You don't need a phone in grade school." - DEA187MDKjr"I can't stand QR menus." - Prestigious-Ear5001"Stop giving your kids iPads so young. My mom gave me a ds & a leap pad. DS can still have an addictive quality, but it's not the same level of 'bad' that an iPad has. I got my iPad at 13 after saving for a whole summer as well as birthday/Christmas money from that past year & I still saw things I probably didn't need to see at 13. I truly can see a difference in the emotional regulation of iPad kids vs other kids." - TheNarwhalMom - YouTube www.youtube.com "'Dumb' TVs need to be made for those who don't want ads and Internet connection, I just want to watch TV ?." - yerboiboba"Internet should be on my phone and my computer only. I barely allow my tv to have it. My fridge, my toaster oven, my washer and dryer DO NOT NEED INTERNET CONNECTION." - king-of-new_york"Not everything needs to be a smart device. Let the fridge be a damn fridge it shouldn't need software updates." - ceejay267"Disney was better back in our day." - User Unknown"We really need to let kids be kids. Additionally: work is good, actually. There has never been a point in human history where work has not only not been a necessity of survival but something that human beings have actively sought out as enrichment. When people complain about work, they are more often than not describing issues with work culture under capitalism rather than the concept of work itself. You don't actually hate work. You just want to be treated humanely as a worker." - OhLookItsGeorg3"It's much more convenient to write stuff down on paper instead of a note app." - Essen_lover"This generation is way too comfortable putting off things they need to do because they're 'uncomfortable.' Sometimes we have to suck it up and just do what we need to do, even if we don't necessarily want to." - mssleepyhead73 A Gen Zer takes notes in a notebook.Photo credit: Canva"If the burger is $10+ it comes with fries and a soda fountain cup." - SecretWasianMan"No I'm not tipping if I see a service charge on the receipt, especially if you didn't tell me up front. I'm especially not tipping more than 10% if you just get a can out of the fridge or throw a bagel in the microwave." - SecretWasianMan"In store shopping is better than Amazon if management actually gives a sh*t about product knowledge and customer experience." - SecretWasianMan"Yes, you should get your drivers license even if you don't plan on driving right now. No one has a crystal ball and I haven't met a 25 year old that has their sh*t together but can't take 10 minutes to fill out an online application with the DMV." - SecretWasianMan"People are way too obsessed with social media." - TheRealLaura789"I miss the AUX port on my phone :( I don't like AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds, I want the wired ones!" - doguillo77"I hate when teenagers are being teenagers in public." - Puzzleheaded-Plum192

There are certain words, expressions, and references that, when used, can absolutely give away a person's generation. If someone hears "Leave a message on my machine," they might assume they're dealing with a Boomer. On the other end of the spectrum, if someone says, "Hit me up on Snapchat," one could place bets that it's not a Boomer or even a Gen X-er talking.So when @Bittenhand19 took to Threads to state, "If I hear a person say 'VHS player' I know for a fact that person was born after 1995," it got quite a lot of people weighing in. But let's rewind for a quick technological history lesson. A brief history of the VCR. www.youtube.com, 21st Century Entertainment Way back in the 1950s (1956, to be exact), the first VCR, or Video Cassette Recorder, was released to the public. According to Christian Roemer's article on the history of the VCR, "The first widely available VCR-like device was mainly intended for television networks, and it was incredibly expensive. Its 1956 price tag was $55,000, which converts to about half a million dollars in 2022. That's right: the first VCR analogue was more expensive than a house!"Over the decades, the price tag dropped, and by the early 1970s, the first VCRs were hitting store shelves for consumers. But here's where the confusion might come in for some. "The problem was that VCRs didn't all use the same tapes at that point," Roemer wrote. "Sony had Betamax, JVC had VHS, and a couple other stragglers bounced around too. Sort of like different video game systems, the different home video formats vied for market share and duked it out for a while. By the late 1970s, the public had spoken with their wallets, and VHS won the day. VCRs would eventually be in practically every home worldwide." A VHS tape is pulled out of a VCR. Giphy Video VHS GIF Interestingly, a post titled "The Rise and Fall of the VCR: A Comprehensive History" on the DiJiFi website further explains: "Despite incorporating state-of-the-art sound and audio quality at the time, Betamax and VHS were at war. JVC developed and released the VHS in Japan in 1976, then released the product in the U.S. market a year later. While Sony's Betamax machine was the first form of videotape hardware to host home videos, it was no match for JVC for several reasons.The VHS has a lighter build, resulting in cheaper manufacturing. The rectangular box could hold twice the amount of film tape, allowing it to play longer features that Betamax could not. While Sony's Betamax had superior picture quality, the VHS took first place in terms of cost-effectiveness and convenience, making it the preferred home videotaping format."Which brings us back to the Threads post. With nearly 2,000 likes and more than 300 comments, people most definitely had their own takes. Some jumped in to say the correct term was "tape player," with one person specifically writing, "tape player, if you're nasty." A Betamax sits on the floor. commons.wikimedia.org, File:Sony Betamax SL-C7E.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Many seem to know that the correct term is VCR, since VHS was merely a brand name (not unlike the way "tissues" and "Kleenex" are often used interchangeably).Another commenter went into greater detail, while also pointing out that someone born in 1995 understands the distinction: "1995 here. Wrong. All VCRs played VHS tapes, but not all VHS players were VCRs. There were dedicated VHS players that could only play tapes, but couldn't record onto those tapes."This commenter goes deep into the weeds: "You do not know this for a fact. They could possibly be someone who thought Betamax was a superior format for video cassette recorders. Or differentiating from their regular VHS VCR and one that did S-VHS, Video8, VHS-C, Hi8, PXL-2000, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes people have to make a distinction."Some went the humorous route: "VHS player? That's a VCR. Stands for…video…crambobulating…robot."Perhaps even more interestingly, some claim it's not a generational thing at all, but a geographical one: "Funny, if I hear a person say 'VCR,' I know they're American."