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News
=Oslo celebrates the memory of designer and photographer Dimitri Koutsomytis
Earlier this month the news broke of the death of Dimitri Koutsomytis, who dedicated 14 years of his life to working with street papers, specifically Norway’s =Oslo. Here the magazine presents some of his best photography, which was just one skill Dimitri used to better the fortunes of the street paper and, in turn, its vendors.
News
“I hope the whole community will rise again”: Street paper vendors look beyond the pandemic
For society’s most vulnerable and marginalised, 2020 – and the pandemic that has defined it – has exacerbated problems already familiar to them: food security, unstable housing, social isolation, income, and access to social services as they are weakened at a time they’re needed most. Street papers, which exist to alleviate that strain, have been impacted too. It’s been hard, but the effects they’ve felt have not been uniform. As the new year approaches, INSP checked in with street paper vendors of differing circumstances across the world to reflect on these past months and to look forward with some hope.
News
Pope Francis sends message to the street paper network: “The coronavirus pandemic has made your work difficult, but I am sure you will return stronger than ever”
In a personal message to the street paper network – expressing his solidarity with its journalists, its frontline staff, its volunteers and its vendors – Pope Francis hails the work being done by street papers to help “the vulnerable and invisible” in the testing circumstances created by COVID-19.
News
Street papers provide global update on how the world’s homeless population is facing the coronavirus
The Big Issue took stock of how coronavirus is affecting the world’s homeless community, providing another update on just how severely the spread of the virus is impacting street papers and the people for which they provide an income.
News
UK street papers sold in stores for first time in response to coronavirus crisis
UK street papers The Big Issue and Big Issue North will, for the first time, be sold in select shops and supermarkets across the country in response to the effects of the crisis caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. Vendors of both magazines had been advised to no longer sell on the streets after the UK government enforced lockdown measures in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
News
Street papers adapt to a new reality: coronavirus and a world in lockdown
As the world reacts to the outbreak of COVID-19, street papers are having to adapt to an environment of social distancing and isolation, a situation not conducive to selling street papers in the traditional way – by vendors on the street. They are now facing up to the challenge of how to continue providing a livelihood for those that rely on them. Supported by a global network, they are coming up with innovative ways to keep going.
News
There are literally thousands of people dying homeless on the streets of America
Days before Christmas, communities across the US joined together to memorialise those who had died while homeless that year. INSP North America director Israel Bayer summed up the tragedies that have beset countless homeless Americans, while a group of the country’s street papers collaborated on making sure these remembrances, and the people they were about, were noticed.
News
When a street paper ceases printing…for the right reasons
Megafon, the street paper of Bergen, Norway, has been going since 2007 but, this festive season, its annual Christmas book will be its last edition. However, Megafon’s closure is an example of the stellar work it has done rising to the challenge of addressing homelessness and poverty, to the point that it is no longer needed as an alternative income source for the city’s poorest people.
News
US street papers collaborate with non-profit Law@theMargins on series centring voices from the homeless community
Four US street papers have collaborated on ‘The Right to a Home’ series with non-profit media organisation Law@theMargins and its Community Based News Room project. The stories produced amplify voices from within the homeless community, exploring how homelessness is being addressed at a local level across the country.
News
Street papers onstage with game changers of the magazine industry at Magfest 2019
The street paper network was represented at a recent gathering of the best in the magazine and publishing industry by INSP, Nikoleta Kosovac of Liceulice and Big Issue editor Paul McNamee. Spreading the word of the work of street papers, Kosovac and McNamee were involved in a panel, joined by individuals from other extremely influential publications, talking about how magazines can make change in the world.
News
Introducing Peatón – Peru’s first street paper
Last weekend marked the first time a street paper was sold on the streets of Peru. The first edition of Peatón was sold by the fledgling organisation’s first two vendors, Olga and Eremia, in Piura, a city located in north-western Peru. Peatón is a brand new member of INSP, and joins a contingent of Latin American street papers hailing from Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. INSP spoke to Peatón founder Jorge Ledesma to find out more about the project.
News
The Big Issue launches first ever augmented reality street paper edition
To kick off 2019, UK street paper The Big Issue is implementing cutting edge augmented reality technology with an edition of the magazine to create an interactive reading experience, allowing Big Issue vendors to tell their important stories of experiencing homelessness directly to readers, as well as much more.
News
As the rest of the country gears up for Christmas, US street papers mark National Homeless Persons Memorial Day
Since 1990, communities across the US, while shoppers frantically prepare for Christmas, meet on the first day of winter and longest night of the year to commemorate those who have died while homeless in the last year. This year, 150 such gatherings took place on what is known as National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. Among them were those attended and organised by US-based street papers, accounts of which are collated here.
News
Italian street paper Scarp de’ tenis comes to the small screen in new documentary series
This week, Italian broadcasting network TV2000 will air a four-episode documentary series celebrating the work of Italian street paper Scarp de’ tenis, the lives of its vendors and those who work with homeless people in their daily lives. The show is gaining national interest thanks to the participation of film star Giacomo Poretti, who presents with “irony and a lightness of touch”.
News
Just doing it: BISS CEO Karin Lohr talks about her time at the street paper on its 25th anniversary
2018 marks 25 years since the launch of Munich-based street paper, BISS. To mark this significant landmark, Karin Lohr, the CEO of BISS, talks to Christoph Gurk, one of the leaders of the BISS writers’ workshop, about loyal customers, why permanently employing vendors is so important to the magazine and why deeds, not words, are vitally important.
News
From Russia with love: To show initiative and be in the minority
As Russia prepares this week to welcome legions of soccer fans to the country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, editor of St Petersburg street paper Put Domoi, Arkady Tyurin, reflects on the life of a street paper in Russia, its vendors, the homeless population, and how the international tournament will affect them.