CultureThe good news
Sovico celebrates its renewed library, with books and games
The 24 October inauguration celebrated the Salvatore Quasimodo library. A limited service had already resumed in September.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
From the archive: the edition of , with the original dates and sources for every story. Read the latest edition.
Music for today ·Edition of 27 October 2026
N° 049 8 stories to take with youPerspectives.
ScienceThe good news
NASA follows autumn through the red in the leaves
A satellite story published on 26 October compares colours earlier in the month, while distinguishing forests, crops and clouds.
EnvironmentThe good news
Germany announces €15 million for landscapes and biodiversity
The contribution to the Nature Investment Facility will support programmes in Africa and South-East Asia. Environmental outcomes remain to be verified.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
WorldThe good news
Ethiopia’s hand-hygiene work also starts with budgets and responsibility
A national meeting examined what reliable services need. WHO reports gaps and recommendations, rather than newly completed facilities.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
Moving forward.
CultureThe good news
Poggibonsi reopens a village where history gets to work
The council estimates around 2,500 visitors over the completed Archeodromo’s opening weekend, bringing archaeological research into contact with the public.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
SocietyThe good news
Lucernate reconnects two green spaces with a renewed park
Rho inaugurated the Parco Ritrovato on 24 October, with walking and cycling routes, a teaching garden and protected road crossings.
Photo · Comune di Rho · CC BY 4.0
EnvironmentThe bright side
Somerset opens applications for its community nature fund
The Community Seed Fund application window runs from 26 October to 4 December 2026, alongside the county’s nature recovery strategy.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
EnvironmentThe good news
In Georgia, crop leftovers become a farmer’s first compost
FAO follows Nana Nikuradze’s practical training and first compost production in 2026, keeping future ambitions separate from achievements.
AI illustration · Positive Times · ImageGen
A little more to discover.
Design · Philosophy · Plants · Curiosities · Words · Food · Cultures & peoples. Ideas worth a closer look.
01Design
Jasper Morrison: the space inside a chair
Air Chair reveals how a manufacturing technique can shape an everyday object without turning the finished design into a spectacle.
Read the full story
John Ruskin: wealth that can be lived
Ruskin’s phrase shifts attention from owning to living: which possibilities make the things we produce genuinely useful to people?
Read the full story03Plants
Pachira aquatica: who made the braid?
The braided trunk of a Pachira comes from cultivation: looking at its leaves helps separate the plant from its presentation.
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Why does iron leave a smell on our hands?
A handrail seems to leave its own signature. Chemistry instead reveals an encounter between the metal and our skin.
Read the full story05Words
Scrupolo: a small stone between doubt and care
The Italian word scrupolo connects an uneasy doubt with careful attention; its documented history begins with a tiny stone.
Read the full story06Food
Saffron: a spice hidden in a flower
Saffron threads are a precise part of a flower: following their journey reveals the work behind a very small quantity.
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Pysanka: a design made where the colour cannot enter
In Ukrainian egg decoration, wax protects parts of the shell; a patient technique stays alive through the people who practise it.
Read the full storyOriginal illustrations made with AI assistance. Facts and sources stay in plain sight.
A chart a day
Edition of
Enlarge the chart One qualification, two percentages
- Data period
- 2025
- Datobello chart dated
In 2025, 40.1% of women and 33.7% of men aged 25–64 in the European Union had completed tertiary education. In Italy, the shares were 25.9% and 18.6%; in Germany, 33.9% and 36.7%. Comparing all 27 member states shows that Germany was the only one with a higher male than female share. The chart presents six selected comparisons, including the EU aggregate. [1]
Each percentage refers to its own age and sex group in the population living in private households: it does not describe the composition of a single year’s graduates. “Tertiary” covers ISCED levels 5–8, from short-cycle higher education to doctorates. The figures come from the European Labour Force Survey and annual averages; these differences alone do not explain causes, course quality or employment opportunities. Adaptation and translations by Positive Times: Eurostat is not responsible for this presentation. [2]
A project by gaiaz · Instagram
View the sources
- Population in private households by educational attainment level (edat_lfse_03): ages 25–64, tertiary, 2025 Eurostat · Published · Accessed
- Educational attainment level and transition from education to work (EU-LFS): reference metadata Eurostat · Published · Accessed
That is quite a lot of good for one day.
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