There are no bad experiences since we always can leverage the lessons that life provides us to avoid mistakes in the future. Growing violent extremism is one of the scariest phenomena of today’s society and this became the theme of the Against Violent Extremism (AVE) new digital project, brought by Google Ideas, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), the Gen Next Foundation and Rehabstudio. The idea behind the platform, which was seeded and launched by Google Ideas at the 2011 Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin, is to connect former extremists (‘formers’) and survivors, who will be sharing their theme-related experiences to help youth at risk to avoid joining extremist gangs and organizations. The new digital hub seems like a Facebook for extremists, but in fact works rather as a preventive tool, which teaches kids teh truth and urges youngsters think hard before they take the wrong turn.
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The long-awaited could platform Google Drive has been finally launched. Now, Google users can store up to 5 GB of data online totally free of charge and can get even five times more by paying a modest price (or receive even more space for more money). The new storage space allows users to upload data in various formats (PDF, images, Google Docs, video files and many more), get instant access to their ‘treasure box’ whenever they need it and also share the data with friends and open documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. to colleagues when collaborating on a project. People who view the files can edit or leave a comment on the shared item, and the user can reply to them as well.
While the Stella Artois lager brand is celebrating cinema spirit with its promotional initiatives ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, Grolsch has stepped into the art-house filmmaking world with its Grolsch Film Works production platform, doing its part in supporting independent movies. The Dutch beer brand, which launched the platform back in April 2011, last fall announced that a new film, which was to merge creative visions of three directors (from Russia, Poland and the USA) went under production. The new experimental film titled ‘The Fourth Dimension,’ funded by Grolsch and created in partnership with Vice Films, finally premiered last weekend at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Following its Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz keeps pace with trends in other spheres as well. The automaker is launching a collection of furniture at the current Milan Furniture Fair running from April 18 to 22. The untypical for an auto producer project is collaboration between the Mercedes-Benz Style division and furniture manufacturer Formitalia.
McDonald’s, which is often blamed for promoting unhealthy meal choices, is doing its best clearing its image by improving food standards and adopting greener choices in its business. The biggest fast-food chain in the world has issued the 2012 Global Best of Green report, which highlights 90 examples of its environmental best-practice innovations. The 46-page illustrated report is spanning across eight categories—energy, packaging, anti-littering, recycling, logistics, communications, green building, and greening the workplace—and tells about the company’s achievements in each of them.
Milan’s internationally renowned week-long design fair last night hosted the unveiling of a crowd-sourced nightclub concept from Heineken. A yearlong design exploration project, created through the progressive minds of 19 emerging designers from across the globe, resulted in a prototype of a futuristic nightclub.