2023 everything on the rise - 29th December 2023

Addressing the unfolding challenges globally, ingenious strategies were devised to make improvements in various fields.

In response to a wave of cybercrime during the Covid pandemic, Danish officers replicated their usual street presence in the digital world, making themselves available to the public online. This measure is intended to foster a safer online environment and safeguard young isolated gamers from becoming targets for online criminals.

Sisse Birkebaek: "When we tell them about what our main target is, is just to be present and try to, to make it a safer place in the internet, especially for, for youngsters, then they are actually quite happy about it, especially the parents."

Sports women were on top form at the 2023 Women's Football World Cup, hosted in Australia, where Spain was crowned champion, defeating England 1-0. The match drew crowds of fans to Stadium Australia in Sydney, seating 76,000 fans, who were joined by millions more, glued to screens around the world.

Jolie Hill: "The fact that like 50-60 years ago, we weren't even allowed to play football in this country, and now we're here in the final of the Women's World Cup... I'm so proud of them. Like, genuinely, it, it does bring a tear to my eye."

While women succeeded down under, the sky was the limit for Indian scientists. India secured their spot in the race for space when it successfully landed a spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3, near the moon's south pole, heralding a new era for the nation and space exploration.

P Veeramuthuvel: "The entire mission operations, right from launch till landing, happened flawlessly as per the timeline. And, we became the fourth country to land, to demonstrate the soft landing onto the moon's surface and we became the first country to go to the near to the south pole of the moon."

Significant strides in technological innovation have been dedicated to fostering inclusion and diversity around the globe.

Music lovers, including the hearing-impaired, soaked up a classical concert in New York. Thanks to ground breaking software by Music: Not Impossible, members of the deaf community could appreciate the concert via vibrations from wearing haptic harnesses and wrist and ankle bracelets placed on the skin.

Flavia Naslausky: "As you know already, this was designed with and inspired by the deaf community. And along this journey, though, we realised that everybody wants to use it. This is about shared connections, shared experiences, bringing people together that otherwise wouldn't be together."

Similar innovative feats have been achieved in the gaming world aimed at accessibility and inclusivity. A new Playstation controller designed for people with disabilities was launched by Sony, in response to looming pressure over this long-neglected area within the industry. The device supports disabled gamers by rendering the gaming experience more manageable.

Melanie Eilert: "I can only play with my right hand. So the number of inputs I can do is limited.

Interviewer: And so how does this change your whole gaming experience?

Melanie Eilert: "So, with the external buttons I can attach, the number of buttons I can use increases."

In the face of global innovation and strides to better our world, the looming peril of climate change remains constant. As the year drew to a close, world leaders convened in Dubai to deliberate on the climate crisis and devise strategies to alleviate its far reaching repercussions. Nevertheless, amidst these discussions, attention reverted to the fragile Arctic, highlighting the profound effects of climate change on the Inuit community.

Erling Rasmussen: "But it's melting so maybe in a few years it's gone. It can be a problem. So I think in the future the city will have to get its drinking water from the ocean."