Hello and welcome to the Good News Movement weekly roundup!
Our first story comes from a website that is also dedicated to sharing good news in the community – Positive News – and features a Dutch movement towards phone-free social experiences.
The Offline Club, which is a ‘digital detox café’ based in Amsterdam, encourages patrons to ditch the device and read, converse, play board games, and take a break from the constant notifications of being always online. It’s a movement that is gaining steam as more people become concerned about the effect devices are having on their lives.
Read more at Positive News here: https://www.positive.news/society/dutch-digital-detoxers-unplug-will-the-world-follow/
The Disney movie Moana, which charmed audiences around the world a few years ago, is getting a live-action remake – and the star hails from Sydney!
Catherine Laga’aia, the daughter of Jay Laga’aia who many will know from his roles on Australian TV shows (and most importantly, Play School) has been cast in the highly sought-after role.
The role of Maui, the cartoonishly buff demigod voiced in the original animated film by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, will be played in live action by…. Cartoonishly buff demigod Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
From ABC Newcastle comes the story of Mark, who has learnt to both express himself creatively and improve his mental wellbeing through a local community program.
Rely-Ability, which provides programs to NDIS participants that enable them to get creative in a range of fields, says hip-hop has become their most popular offering.
Being a part of the program has enabled Mark to embark on a fledgling rap career, and he says he’s able to express himself through beats and rhymes in a way he wasn’t able to before.
More from Laurise Dickson at ABC Newcastle: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-12/music-hip-hop-mental-health-newcastle-ndis/103952518
As soon as we saw the words ‘Comedy Pet Photo Awards’, we knew it had to appear in any half-decent Good News Roundup.
The distinguished winner this year was Hector (and his owner Sarah Haskell, I guess) who tried his best to get through a cat flap, but failed dismally.
The photos from the competition are immensely worth your time.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/518918/dog-in-a-flap-collars-top-comedy-pet-pic-prize
Whether you see this as good news probably depends on your view on remote/hybrid work, but an economist from no less an institution than Stanford University says in five years, remote work levels are likely to be higher than they are now.
As pioneers of remote and flexible working at both Profile Media and the Good News Movement, we love this trend – long may it continue!
And finally, another one from the ABC: an Australian woman has won the title of top young female shepherd in the world at a competition in France.
As Emily Doak reports for ABC Rural, 25-year old Gabbie Horton was one of the stars of the competition, a thing we have just learned about but are very excited that it exists.
Competitors from “19 countries to take part in a series of challenges including shearing, foot trimming, ewe health assessment and electric fence building.”
As the famous chant goes, Aussie Aussie Aussie, Baa Baa Baa. Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-13/australian-wins-title-worlds-top-female-young-shepherd/103965138
