'Hero Reports': MIT Collaborates With Mexico Cities To Promote 'Positivism'

It’s not everyday you hear good news, and lately, it feels like good news is especially in short supply coming out of Mexico. Luckily for the citizens of this our southern neighbor, a campaign promoting 'positivism' called “ Cronicas de Heroes/Hero Reports,” aims to do just that--by reporting everyday acts of kindness to prove that there are still 'heroes'. In so doing, Hero Reports hopes to lift the morale of Mexican citizens through their crowd-sourced mapping project, a refreshing alternative to the maps that trace daily acts of narco violence.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Civic Media has collaborated with local organizations to help promote this non-profit project. The goal at a local level is to instill some positive "energy and civic pride into the city" and bring back the "fighting spirit" that has characterized cities like Ciudad Juárez, throughout history. However, for the international stage, the project wants to open the eyes of the media and people who only relate Cuidad Juarez to drug-cartel violence.

The site asks citizens of Monterrey, Juarez, and Tijuana to “report moments when others make a difference.” As Hero Projects states:

Hero Reports asks citizens to report moments when others make a difference. These can be small acts of kindness. Giving up a seat for a pregnant woman, holding the door for another, the hero who picks up a fallen child, the bystander who assists in a car accident.

This summer, Hero Reports received it's 1000th report of civic heroism in its most successful city, Juarez.

Potential partners such as with New York, Boston, Detroit and even Kazakhstan are also underway.

WATCH (IN SPANISH):