In sports and the arts, making room for mental health and disabilities
American fans are becoming more accepting of athletes who discuss their mental health
Though an estimated one-third of elite athletes have mental health concerns such as depression, many fear they could face rejection from fans, colleagues, and sponsors if they talk about their struggles.
In a 2022 study, researchers analyzed social media posts responding to tennis star Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open for mental health reasons. They found that 51% of posts supported her decision, while only 19% were negative. More recently, a study found that fans felt just as favorably toward athletes who took time off to address mental health concerns as those who did so for physical injuries.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, there’s more recognition that everyone from athletes to people with disabilities deserves to be accommodated. Sports fans are supporting stars’ taking care of their mental health. And formal venues – from ballet stages to classical music halls – are getting less stuffy to allow enjoyment by more patrons.
Stories shared by elite athletes “have helped the public recognize that these admired athletes are just as vulnerable to mental health conditions as anyone else,” wrote Professor Dae Hee Kwak of the University of Michigan. (Read more about Olympians advocating for broader public discussion and support of athletes’ mental health here.)
Sources: The Conversation, McLean Hospital
To protect animals raised for food, the U.K. Parliament bans live exports
Live farm animals intended for slaughter are often shipped on long journeys, enduring stress, overcrowding, and dehydration. European Union regulations had prevented the United Kingdom from passing a blanket ban. The law, enacted by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, does not include Northern Ireland due to trade agreements following the country’s exit from the EU.
Though by 2012 only one British port still allowed live exports, the new legislation is the culmination of nearly 50 years of activism. In 1995, activists blockaded sea and air routes to halt the exports; fierce protests roiled the small English town of Brightlingsea for 10 months. Since 1960, nearly 40 million animals have been exported from the U.K.
This year, Australia began a four-year phaseout of the live export of sheep by sea.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, The Humane Society of the United States, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Solar power that depends less on public utilities is expanding in Africa
Some 600 million people on the continent, virtually all in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have electricity.
But in 2023, Africa added a record-breaking 3.7 gigawatts of photovoltaic power. While South Africa is notorious for rolling outages, or “load-shedding,” it leads the new charge, having increased its solar capacity from 2.8 gigawatts to 7.8 gigawatts in two years. The solar boom is driven in part by an ongoing drop in the cost of solar panels and the expansion of “minigrids” owned by private firms.
Minigrids also create jobs: In Kenya, such systems employ six times as many people as the largest utility, and in Nigeria, they have created nearly as many jobs as in oil and gas. In April, the World Bank and the African Development Bank announced a project to expand electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa to 300 million people by 2030.
Sources: The Economist, Africa Solar Industry Association
Thai officials use satellite and drone data to help farmers decide when it’s safest to burn fields
In a compromise between strict fire bans and the burns that sometimes make Chiang Mai the most polluted city in the world, local officials are encouraging use of a system that’s intended to exert some environmental control without jeopardizing livelihoods.
The need for this balance led to the creation of FireD, an app that allows farmers to submit requests to burn. Local atmospheric conditions are used to decide on a case-by-case basis if a blaze will have too much impact on pollution levels. In the most recent burning season, the number of days with dangerous levels of particulate matter fell by 24%.
Because some farmers lack internet access, they must submit written requests instead of using the specially designed app. Some avoid the system because it doesn’t allow enough scheduling flexibility. But local leaders are focused on increasing communication to encourage adoption by farmers. FireD received 14,000 burn requests in 2024.
Source: Grist
Fine arts organizations are putting on sensory-friendly shows to build audiences
From Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, to the Queensland Ballet, to the Philadelphia Ballet, companies are featuring modified performances and looser theater rules for neurodivergent children and people who would appreciate a “relaxed” format. Theaters lower sound volume, dim lights rather than darkening them completely, and allow people to move around as they need. Les Grands Ballets offers “quiet zones” where people can go if they’re feeling overwhelmed.
ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra) in Houston emphasizes multigenerational accessibility and innovation in classical music. It offers child care at certain shows so that parents can bring children who attend a portion of the performance. “We’re all about making ‘human-first’ decisions,” said Alecia Lawyer, artistic director for the orchestra. “The people who make the art and the people who experience it are at the core of our vision.”
Sources: Canadian Broadcasting Corp., ArtsHub, Queensland Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
