Stay ConnectedDiscover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.
A weekly programme looking at common challenges around the world and the creative ways people are trying to tackle them.
Presenter Myra Anubi speaks to reporters, experts and innovators to investigate how effective different solutions are, share their successes and inspire listeners with what is possible.
Copyright: © (C) BBC 2022
The ability to print objects in three dimensions has been heralded as the solutions to many problems. We check out some of the latest innovations. In Jordan we hear from the doctors who are printing prosthetic arms for people injured in conflict. In the UK we meet the man fitted with the world's first 3D printed eye. And we find out how an Egyptian inventor is using 3D printing to help blind children in the classroom.
Presenter: Jo Mathys Producer/reporter: Claire Bates Additional reporting: Toka Omar and Suzanna Goussous
(Picture: A 3D printer prints a sphere. Getty Images)
The ability to print objects in three dimensions has been heralded as the solutions to many problems. We check out some of the latest innovations. In Jordan we hear from the doctors who are printing prosthetic arms for people injured in conflict. In the UK we meet the man fitted with the world's first 3D printed eye. And we find out how an Egyptian inventor is using 3D printing to help blind children in the classroom. Presenter: Jo Mathys Producer/reporter: Claire Bates Additional reporting: Toka Omar and Suzanna Goussous (Picture: A 3D printer prints a sphere. Getty Images)
Our desire for new clothes creates a lot of waste and much of it ends up in landfill. But a lot of that discarded material can be turned into something useful. We hear from the people in Ghana who are taking old clothes that are sent from Europe, and turning them into pillows, doormats and mops. In Italy, we visit the company making affordable clothes out of fabric that luxury fashion brands don't want. And we meet the Chilean entrepreneur who's turning clothes that are dumped in the desert into insulation for houses.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Craig Langran for the BBC World Service. Photo: Kantamanto Market, Accra (Yayra David Agbofah/The Revival)
Politics in the age of social media can often be angry and divisive. And many people feel their voices aren’t being heard by those in power. But Polis is an online platform that’s trying to make democracy work better. It helps people to reach a consensus even on very polarising issues. We visit Taiwan where it’s been used to draft more than 20 laws and regulations. And in the UK, we see how Polis is helping to sort out difficult local issues.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Carl Miller Produced by Shiroma Silva and Richard Kenny for the BBC World Service. Picture: Getty Images
More than 100 million people have been forcibly displaced from their home around the world – fleeing conflict, natural disasters or persecution. Millions end up in refugee camps, living in tents.
Around the world, designers and architects are trying to improve the lives of these displaced people, by improving the temporary homes they’re living in.
From prefabricated shelters made using Swedish flat-pack design methods, to the homes made from scratch using local knowledge and materials, we meet the people trying to replace tents with homes that have a little more dignity.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Producer: William Kremmer Syria Producer: Ali Haj Suleiman Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy
Photo credit Ali Haj Suleiman
Description Kafirjalas IDP camp Idlib, Syria
Bank accounts and clever investment schemes are being used to help improve the lives of homeless people. In the UK, a number of banks have started offering accounts to homeless people - which until recently were only available to people with a fixed address. Having a bank account can be a crucial turning point, and we meet a disabled homeless person in one of Britain's biggest cities, who's now able to receive welfare payments as a result. We also hear from the city of Denver, Colorado, in the United States, where investors were invited to finance a scheme to house people classed as ‘chronically’ homeless. If the scheme succeeded in saving money for the City council by keeping those people out of Emergency Rooms and police cells, the investors would get their money back - if the initiative failed, they'd lose their cash. Find out what happened on People Fixing the World. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Daniel Gordon Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Hands holding a house (Getty Images)
If your child develops cancer and you live in a wealthy country there’s a really good chance they will survive - more than 80%. If you live elsewhere, the chances are much lower - less than 30%.
Over a decade ago, Dr Mae Dolendo set up a centre in the Philippines to treat children with cancer. Since then she’s saved the lives of hundreds of children who’ve received treatment for free. Now others are replicating her trailblazing hospital.
We head to the Philippines to meet Dr Dolendo and see how she’s linking up with St Jude’s paediatric cancer team in the US — one of the best of its kind in the world. Doctors from the team provide expertise remotely, enabling Dr Dolendo to save lives for a fraction of what it would normally cost.
Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Micaela Papa Producer: Jo Mathys Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy
Image: Dr Mae Dolendo
Therapy has been helping Boko Haram survivors and street youth in Liberia turn their lives around. In northern Nigeria, a programme called Counselling on Wheels is offering mobile mental health services in remote and dangerous areas. They’ve been giving Boko Haram survivors and others affected by conflict a safe space to talk about the horrific violence and trauma they have been exposed to. In Liberia, a project called Sustainable Transformation of Youth in Liberia has been using cognitive behavioural therapy and a cash reward to turn young men away from crime. A new study has shown the scheme is working. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Lucy Burns Liberia producer: Massa Kanneh Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Counselling on Wheels (Credit: Neem Foundation)
How enzymes and earthen pots could help keep medicines safe. Access to life-saving medicines often relies on a complex system known as the cold-chain – the refrigerated lorries, store rooms and fridges, which keeps them at the right temperature from the factory to the patient. However, a traditional cold chain runs on electricity- meaning that it’s often difficult to keep medicines and vaccines cold for long enough to reach the remote places and look after them when the electricity supply is intermittent. The food we eat also relies on the cold chain to keep it cool from the farm until it reaches our plates. We meet some of the inventors and entrepreneurs working on cooling solutions, from using enzymes from a special bacteria that make water freeze at a higher temperature, to the earthen pots keeping insulin cool in India. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Craig Langran Reporters: Mayank Prakash Bhagwat, Daniel Ominde Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Andy Mills Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Image: Alkesh and his insulin (Credit: Mangesh Sonawane, BBC)
Could floating wind turbines and kites that generate electricity help fight climate change? There are lots of innovative new ways people are harnessing the power of the wind. We visit a floating wind farm off the coast of Scotland, check out wind turbines on street lamps and see how much power giant kites can generate. Along the way we investigate the massive potential of wind energy and assess the challenges involved in catching the breeze. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Reporter: Craig Langran Executive producer: Tom Colls Production Coordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Illustration of a wind turbine on a cloud (Getty Images)
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