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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 387 news items in Culture & Community
    An island depends on him to run the ferry. Who will do it after Terry?
    Culture & CommunityMay 20, 2026

    An island depends on him to run the ferry. Who will do it after Terry?

    Excerpt from washingtonpost.com Terry Laird, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle, has spent his adult life keeping the people who live on a tiny Chesapeake Bay island connected. It’s 6:15 in the morning when 50-year-old Terry Laird starts work for the day. The moon illuminates the path he drives from his house to his little red-and-white boat, The Captain Jason. Little Terry, as he’s known on the island, unspools a thick brown rope and sets the boat free. He hops in the front seat and jets off. Orange and blue start coloring the sky.

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    ‘We feel forgotten about’: How ferry disruption is impacting island life
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    Culture & CommunityMay 7, 2026

    ‘We feel forgotten about’: How ferry disruption is impacting island life

    Excerpt from news.stv.tv Scotland’s islanders face weeks of disruption and delays as a beleaguered ferry service struggles to cope. Virtually every Scottish island has been cut off in recent weeks as state-owned operator CalMac warns of further disruption to the ageing ferry fleet. The delays, alongside planned maintenance of vessels, have seen ferries dominate the political agenda, becoming a major election issue as voters prepare to head to the polls in the Holyrood elections next month. On the Isle of Arran, one of the west coast’s best‑used ferry routes, the impact is being sharply felt.

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    Sri Lankan villagers adapt to threat of snakehead fish invasion
    Culture & CommunityDecember 8, 2025

    Sri Lankan villagers adapt to threat of snakehead fish invasion

    Excerpt from aljazeera.com An invasive fish is threatening livelihoods in a northwestern Sri Lankan village by devouring traditional fish and shellfish species in the Deduru Oya reservoir, but local fishers aim to transform this challenge into an opportunity. Over the past two years, fishermen have observed declining numbers of their typical catch while snakehead fish, previously unseen in Sri Lanka, have appeared in abundance. According to local officials, the snakehead fish, common in Thailand and Indonesia, likely arrived with imported ornamental fish. When they outgrew home aquariums, owners probably released them into the reservoir. Dr Kelum Wijenayake, a researcher studying the fish, explained that snakeheads have no natural predators in Sri Lanka’s ecosystem. “The Deduru Oya reservoir has provided them with an ideal breeding ground with ample food and no predator,” he said.

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    It’s time to raise soft boys and tough girls: Here’s how Iceland breaks down gender stereotypes
    Culture & CommunityNovember 27, 2025

    It’s time to raise soft boys and tough girls: Here’s how Iceland breaks down gender stereotypes

    Photo credit: Hiroshi Ichikawa/Alamy via monocle.com Excerpt from monocle.com If you had to name a nation that’s home to a network of schools practising strict gender segregation, your answer would probably not be Iceland. The country, which has been ranked first in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index for 16 consecutive years, currently has a female president, prime minister, head bishop and chief of police. But it is also the birthplace of the Hjalli model, an education system that is attempting to break down gender stereotypes among preschoolers by teaching girls to be more “masculine” and boys to be more “feminine”.

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    Curaçao to Cape Verde: Small nations make big World Cup history
    Culture & CommunityNovember 24, 2025

    Curaçao to Cape Verde: Small nations make big World Cup history

    Photo credit: Angel Batta/AFP via Getty images Excerpt from npr.org BOGOTA, Colombia — Few stories capture the magic of next year's FIFA World Cup quite like Curaçao—a small Caribbean nation that has defied history, geography, and every expectation to reach the biggest stage in global soccer. With 42 of the 48 spots to compete in the 2026 World Cup now filled, the tournament is already shaping up to be a historic one, with several other underdog nations defying the odds to play at the event jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada next summer. While several major European, Africa and Asian soccer teams failed to qualify, including Nigeria, China, India, Greece, Serbia, and Hungary, multiple small nations have made global headlines by securing their place in next summer's competition, some for the first time.

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    Holding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands
    Culture & CommunityNovember 16, 2025

    Holding on to home, as the ocean engulfs the Solomon Islands

    Photo credit: © IOM/Junior Patrick Makau via News.un.org Excerpt from news.un.org Sikaiana, less than two square kilometres, is encircled by the sea and is home to just 300 people. It is also more than 200 kilometres from the main island of the Solomon archipelago. Most homes lie steps from the shore, where high tides flood the tree line and seep into wells, making freshwater scarce. Still, life continues with a sense of routine. Children walk barefoot to school, fishermen prepare their nets, and families tend to their gardens as they always have. At the island’s only school, Principal Tuiao Kapule pauses to draw rainwater from a storage tank – a precious resource on this isolated atoll where every drop counts. “When I was growing up, life in Sikaiana wasn’t like this,” he says. “Now the tides are higher, saltwater levels have risen, and it’s harder to grow food the way we used to.” He watches his students playing nearby, their laughter echoing through the schoolyard. “Families are finding it hard to cope with the changes,” he says. “Some students stay home when there isn’t enough to eat.”

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    ‘Our land is not for sale’: Indigenous people protest at COP30 in Brazil
    Culture & CommunityNovember 14, 2025

    ‘Our land is not for sale’: Indigenous people protest at COP30 in Brazil

    Excerpt from aljazeera.com Indigenous protesters have stormed the COP30 climate summit venue in Belem, Brazil, confronting security guards as they demanded climate action and forest protection. The demonstrators on Tuesday tried to enter the United Nations compound, where thousands of international delegates are gathered for the climate talks. Many carried flags advocating for land rights and signs declaring, “Our land is not for sale.” “We can’t eat money,” said Nato, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community, who uses only one name. “We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.” Security personnel pushed back against the protesters, barricading the entrance with tables. A witness reported that one guard was evacuated in a wheelchair while holding his stomach. A security guard told the Reuters news agency he suffered a cut above his eye after being struck with a heavy drumstick thrown from the crowd. Security confiscated several weighty sticks from the protesters.

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    Scottish Government confirms funding boost for island communities
    Culture & CommunityNovember 14, 2025

    Scottish Government confirms funding boost for island communities

    Excerpt from publicsectorexecutive.com The Scottish Government has confirmed that 23 community-led projects will benefit from £5.9 million in dedicated islands funding for 2025–26. The funding, drawn from the Islands Programme and the Carbon Neutral Islands Fund, will support infrastructure and decarbonisation projects across 22 islands in Argyll and Bute, Highland, Na h-Eileanan Siar, North Ayrshire, Orkney, and Shetland. Four islands – Luing, Lismore, Scalpay and Ulva – will receive funding for the first time, marking a significant expansion of the programme’s reach. In total, 18 projects will receive support this year, with a focus on community resilience, sustainability, and infrastructure development. The Carbon Neutral Islands Fund, now in its second year, has provided over £1.4 million to support decarbonisation efforts while delivering wider benefits to island communities. Projects are delivered in partnership with local authorities and Community Development Officers from each Carbon Neutral Island. To date, the Islands Programme has supported 88 locally-led projects across 55 islands, helping implement the strategic goals of the National Islands Plan.

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    Hawaiʻi Is Making A Big Push To Increase College Enrollment. Will It Work?
    Culture & CommunityNovember 10, 2025

    Hawaiʻi Is Making A Big Push To Increase College Enrollment. Will It Work?

    Excerpt from civilbeat.org As a senior at Castle High School, Shanelle Bartlett wished for an easier way of applying for college. She planned to enroll in Kapiʻolani Community College’s competitive medical laboratory technician program, but she didn’t know how to apply for the program and struggled to find financial aid options. “I had to figure out how to do the KCC application by myself,” said Bartlett, who graduated from high school in May and is now pursuing the college’s medical laboratory technician program with a scholarship covering her first year of tuition. “I was very confused, and I didn’t understand anything.” Hawaiʻi lags behind the nation when it comes to college attendance. Just over half of Hawaiʻi high school graduates attend college, compared to the national average of 63%, with roughly a third of graduates attending a University of Hawaiʻi campus.

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