As the official response has struggled, the crisis has given birth to a global network of new humanitarians as Syrians on the ground and overseas have come together to find ways to get aid to their beleaguered country. Unorthodox but determined, inexperienced but with a deep knowledge of their country, they’ve created aid procurement and delivery systems handing everything from food aid to hospital management.

Turkey's Jewish community is using the occasion of Ramadan to highlight unity with the Muslim faith by hosting an outdoor iftar (fast-breaking meal) at a synagogue in Edirne, reported the Daily Sabah on Friday. The feast was held outside the Great Edirne Synagogue, recently restored by the government, which stands in remembrance of the Jewish community that was forced from the city during the Thrace pogroms of the 1930s.

Rwandan coaches are going to see what youth coaching in Park City is all about during a 10-day cultural exchange hosted by Kids Play International (KPI), a charity that uses sport to promote gender equity in communities impacted by genocide. From June 16-26, eight of Kids Play International's Rwandan coaches will be in town to discuss gender equality in youth sports and coaching techniques used in the U.S. in an event sponsored by the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Muhammad Ali, the American three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, whose death at the age of 74 was announced by his family on Saturday, will be remembered as a superstar in the ring – but also as cultural icon who touched the hearts of people around the world – including China. Ali made two important visits to the mainland during this lifetime, which effectively helped to end the Communist Party’s two-decade-long ban on the sport of boxing.

Ten refugee athletes will act as a symbol of hope for refugees worldwide and bring global attention to the magnitude of the refugee crisis when they take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016 this summer. The athletes will compete for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) – the first of its kind – and march with the Olympic flag immediately before host nation Brazil at the Opening Ceremony. 

Sitting in class, studying for a bachelors’ degree in business at the University of Kansas, Heidi Rickels felt her heart beating faster every time the professors talked about developing economies or international issues. So, after graduation, she moved to Colorado and began working for a nonprofit based in Denver that collects donated medical supplies to send overseas. 

Christians and Muslims lived together for decades in Bambari, and throughout the Central African Republic. [...] “The radio hopes to be a kind of bridge over the river that could help people to be reconciled,” said Mathias Manirakiza, the Central African Republic director for Internews, the international media development nonprofit that helped the community establish the radio station.

A center for children of African migrants and asylum seekers in south Tel Aviv, were all smiles this week as they received an unexpected surprise. The Diplomatic Spouses of Israel (DSI), a group of some 170 spouses of accredited diplomats from more than 50 countries, together with internationally renowned artists Max Levi Frieder and Joel Bergner of Artolution, joined the children to paint a symbolic mural and beautify the kindergarten.