Impacts of climate change on African mountain communities are more severe than we thought. Farmers report alarming shifts in weather patterns, including rising temperatures, altered rainfall, and more extreme climate events such as droughts and floods. These changes have disrupted agricultural practices, leading to reduced crop yields and food insecurity. The study, based on data from eight African countries, emphasizes the need for tailored solutions that consider local environmental, social, and political contexts, especially in conflict-affected areas. Immediate action and global support are crucial to help the communities in these biodiversity hotspots to adapt and protect their livelihoods.

Researchers reveal polarized global landscape and 'systematically neglected' SDG targets affecting nations' trajectories toward sustainable development, while leaving behind hundreds of millions of people.

Adolescence is a stage of great changes: in addition to the important physical and cognitive transformations that occur during this period, it is from the age of 12 when affective and sentimental erotic interests begin to arise and young people enter into their first romantic relationships. The intensity of the changes that occur during this stage of life and the impact they have on people's subsequent development have meant that adolescence constitutes a field of study of great interest in the social sciences, providing vital information to address problems like violence in young couples, and bullying at schools. Adolescence, however, is much more than a stage of high-risk behaviors; it is also a time featuring opportunities for learning and development that should be viewed positively. The Coexistence and Violence Prevention Studies Lab (LAECOVI) at the University of Cordoba adopted this positive perspective, rather than the traditional one, focused on problems and risks, in an innovative study focused on understanding how affective competences develop during adolescence and the impact that young people's first relationships have on their acquisition of tools and skills to build healthy bonds. The study concludes that adolescence is also the stage during which romantic relationships are trained, and that adolescents acquire skills over the years as they live new experiences. Understanding adolescence as the testing ground for affective skills is key to design effective intervention programs, which should not only take into account the pitfalls of this stage, and its potential risks, but also the opportunities for learning and change that it entails.

Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. Vocational training can increase employment opportunities, but women may not be able to attend training programs that require them to be away from home. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with an international research team, explored whether hybrid distance learning can improve accessibility to job training for rural women in Nepal.