A real-time global empathy visualizer that maps acts of compassion, solidarity, and humanitarian response worldwide using live data from multiple sources.
How It Works
GLOWBE aggregates signals from news feeds, knowledge bases, seismic monitors, and encyclopedic edits to paint a living picture of how people around the world respond to crisis and connect through empathy. Color-coded arcs sweep between cities, each representing a different category of human action and empathy to raise awareness and promote a more caring world.
Live Data Sources
GDELTGlobal Database of Events, Language & Tone — monitors news media worldwide in 100+ languages, surfacing humanitarian and solidarity stories in near real-time.
ReliefWebUN OCHA Humanitarian Reports — curated reports on disasters, displacement, and aid operations from the United Nations.
USGSEarthquake Hazards Program — significant seismic events (M5.5+) that trigger global humanitarian response.
WikipediaWikimedia EventStream — real-time edits to the world's encyclopedia, reflecting collective knowledge-sharing across all languages.
Empathy Categories
● Thoughts & Prayers — expressions of spiritual support, memorials, and vigils
● Donations — financial contributions, crowdfunding, and supply drives
● Time & Volunteering — hands-on service, pro bono work, and disaster response
● Solidarity — marches, vigils, human chains, and collective action
● Awareness — journalism, education, social media campaigns, and wiki edits
● Environment — conservation, cleanup, reforestation, and climate action
● Earthquake — seismic events and the humanitarian response they trigger
Voice & Text Query
Click the 🎤 button to ask questions in natural language. Examples:
“What is happening with floods in Brazil?”
“Why is everyone talking about the earthquake in Turkey?”
“Show me humanitarian events in Syria”
The globe spins to the relevant location and displays articles from GDELT and ReliefWeb.
Feed items with ↗ are clickable — opens the source article
About
GLOWBE was conceived by Dave Lorenzini as a way to visualize the positive side of global connectivity — the empathy, generosity, and collective action that emerge when the world faces adversity. Built with Three.js, Go, and real-time open data.