Need to Know
24 : 09 : 18

US – The LGBTQ dating app has launched an initiative called Kindr which hopes to foster a more inclusive online environment.

The platform’s issues with discriminatory behaviour has become widely known. ‘Sexual racism, transphobia, fat and femme shaming and further forms of othering are pervasive problems in the LGBTQ community,’ says Landen Zumwalt, head of communications at Grindr.

In order to address these problems, the Kindr campaign is built around new community guidelines, stricter enforcement policies and videos that showcase some of users’ negative experiences. As a leader in the gay dating space, Zumwalt believes that Grindr has a responsibility to set the standard for the broader queer community and provoke change both online and offline.

Chauvinistic behaviour can also affect communities that were created as a safe space. Kindr showcases how these platforms can take responsibility to educate their users.

Los Angeles – The Wolves is a new bar by Kevin Lee that creates its own vermouth, amaro, liqueurs and bitters.

While bartenders have been known to experiment with their own spirits, they tend to rely on branded products such as Campari and Martini & Rossi when it comes to ingredients such as bitters and vermouth. The Wolves is changing this by using local spices, herbs and botanicals to create ingredients that put a Southern Californian spin on the mass-produced European originals.

When mixed with Lee’s concoctions, the resulting cocktails feature flavours such as seaweed bitters, Korean pear vermouth and carrot liqueur. Hyper-local ingredients are one of the concepts we’ll be exploring at our upcoming Food & Drink Futures Forum.

Mexico – The traditional family board game Lotería has been given a female-focused rebrand for 2018.

Feminist artist Ilse Valfré has released a modern version of game, which is a staple in many Central American households, adorned with pieces of original artwork. Valfré’s brand, which sells apparel, accessories and gifts, is known for its playful illustrations of women.

Her signature characters now replace the numbers in a special edition of the Lotería board game, which has been likened to bingo. By upgrading the game for a new generation, Valfré hopes to increase the lifespan of a Mexican tradition.

Similarly, in the UK, the Girl Guides was rebranded in order to better reflect the values of young females today and continue its relevance for years to come.

A theme discussed in the latest global survey by the Gates Foundation is the booming African population. Of the four billion more people born by the end of the century, three billion will be born in the continent.

This leads to various challenges for Africa’s infrastructure. ‘Africa must almost quadruple its agricultural productivity to feed itself. That’s very daunting,’ says Bill Gates. The Foundation also found that three waves of poverty reduction in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa have lifted more than a billion people out of extreme poverty.

While Africa is already the youngest continent on Earth, businesses must prepare for even more extreme growth among African youth. Read our Emerging Youth: Nigeria market to learn more about the continent’s most populous country.