People Fixing the World

Often described as underwater rainforests and the “lungs of the ocean”, kelp forests line as much as 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide important shelter and food for fish and other marine life, and are vital for our oceans’ ecosystems. However kelp is under severe threat because of climate change, warming seas and overfishing. We look at projects in California aimed at stemming the decline of kelp including how scientists are growing it in a laboratory to be planted at sea as well as tackling a key cause of kelp degradation - sea urchins. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Frank McWeeny

Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care - but that isn’t always available. So, doctors in Colombia are teaching mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young. It’s called "kangaroo mother care" and instead of being in an incubator, babies are wrapped tightly against their mother’s skin. The technique was developed in Bogota in the late 1970s as a response to overcrowding in hospital maternity units. There weren't enough incubators and around 70% of premature babies didn’t survive. Doctors started using this simple skin-to-skin method. They found it wasn't only saving babies but was also helping them to thrive. Now, kangaroo care has spread around the world. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Vadon Email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: A baby in the kangaroo position

The fashion industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the world consuming huge amounts of the world’s resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. But some innovators are trying to make the industry more sustainable. We discover how old fire hoses in the UK have been diverted from landfill and turned into fashionable bags and accessories. Plus we visit Mongolia to find out about a new luxury material made from yak hair. It's an eco-friendly replacement for cashmere which comes from goats who are causing desertification. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Executive Producer: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound Mix: Andrew Mills

Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, to an app teaching tens of thousands in Somaliland. Plus how adults in the UK are improving their reading skills thanks to an army of volunteer teachers using a method developed in prison. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Andrew Mills (Image: Jahura Begum, Shabnur Akhter, Rashida Begum at Friendship class in Bangladesh, Friendship)

We all know about the power of music to change our mood or to make us move. But an increasing body of evidence is showing that music has an amazing ability to help us heal. In this programme we are going to meet people working at the cutting edge of music therapy. We find out about the innovative system that uses music to help people with dementia live at home for longer. We will see how using songs and rhythms is helping people with Parkinson’s move more freely. And in a refugee camp in Uganda we meet the teachers using music to bring people together and overcome trauma. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Mix: Frank McWeeny (Image: Salam Music Program in Bidibidi, Uganda)

Transforming the global food system is vital in the fight against climate change. Currently, food production accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the food system also fails to properly nourish billions of people worldwide. In this edition of People Fixing The World we’re looking at high and low tech solutions to transform the ways we produce and consume food to make it greener and more equitable. In London, we visit a startup company making cheese from genetically modified microbes rather than cattle, in a bid to make dairy production better for the planet. And in Philadelphia we look at how planting fruit and nut trees in ‘food forests’ is tackling hunger by providing access to healthy, nutritious food for low-income communities across the city. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Frank McWeeny

Could psychedelic drugs help in the treatment of mental health conditions? We look at pioneering research into psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms. We visit a clinic in Oregon, the only state in America where the use of psilocybin in therapeutic sessions is legal and hear from one patient who says it's the only treatment she's ever had that makes a difference to her depression. And we hear about some of the widespread concerns that widening access to such drugs could have. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Ben Wyatt Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Sam Bonham Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner

Whistleblowers - they're the good guys right? The ones who speak truth to power and have films made about the heroic stands they took? Sometimes. Often the people who speak up in the workplace are ignored or shut down. Worse still they're often bullied or harassed or end up losing their jobs. They're the ones you never hear about. This week we hear about two projects that are encouraging people to speak up about wrongdoing at work and how they're improving people’s work environment, saving time, money and even saving lives. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bowes Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner

Schools across Senegal have discovered a clever way for children to surf the web even when there isn't any signal. They're using a special WIFI hotspot which works without an actual internet connection, so students and teachers can access all the relevant bits of the web, offline. Around the world, innovators are coming up with solutions like this - all designed to get children learning. We also hear from an entrepreneur revolutionising how science is taught in Ghana and a night school in Pakistan for children not in formal education. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Craig Langran Reporters: Borso Tall, Tooba Masood Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner (Image: Students using science kit, Dex Technology)

Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australia’s indigenous languages are considered “highly endangered”. Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghil’ad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australia’s dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents. We speak to Ghil’ad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Shania Richards, in the uniform of the Youth Governor of South Australia

Barcelona in Spain is famous for its beautiful streets, lined with tall apartment buildings. But the architecture is a problem for many people who have lived for years in upstairs apartments but who now find the stairs unmanageable. In 2008, a survey found that in one district there were 300 people who could not leave their homes alone. A group of volunteers decided to do something about this and got hold of a special wheelchair with caterpillar tracks, so it can be used to take people up and down stairs. After an initial pilot scheme they launched a local service called “Let's Go Down to the Street”, to help elderly residents go shopping or meet up with friends. Sixteen years on, the service is offered across the city. Plus, we visit a home for senior citizens in an unlikely location: a university campus. The Mirabella complex at Arizona State University in the US offers its residents the chance to sample the college lifestyle – from lectures to shows and sports fixtures. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: William Kremer Reporters: Esperanza Escribano, Anthony Wallace Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound mix: Gareth Jones

On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet people who’ve helped overcome long-standing cultural biases to create better outcomes for everyone. In India we hear about the social media campaigns which have helped city dwellers in Bengaluru see those who pick waste from rubbish dumps not as dangerous and dirty but as invaluable recyclers. In Nigeria we meet a traditional healer and a health worker who are collaborating to help improve the treatment of psychosis and break down some of the unhelpful attitudes towards severe mental health problems. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Makuochi Okafor, Claire Bowes Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Andrew Mills (Image: Chief Mukaila Yusuf, BBC)

From beavers in the UK to bison in Romania and jaguars in Argentina, ecologists around the world are reintroducing animals that once flourished in particular areas. The theory is, if done correctly, they can boost biodiversity and restore ecosystems with benefits ranging from reducing forest fires to tackling invasive species. But the strategy is controversial. Opponents say some species are no longer suited to certain areas and cause conflict with farmers, adding there is little evidence it works. Proponents admit some well-meaning projects haven’t worked in the past, but insist properly planned rewilding, which has involved all the stakeholders from the start, can be very successful. We take a close look. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound mix: Gareth Jones

The Amazon is the largest forest in the world, spread across nine countries in South America and home to 47 million people. It’s crucial for the planet’s biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. But vast numbers of trees have been cut down for logging, construction, mining and farming. On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet those who are making a living from the Amazon while keeping the trees standing - through rubber tapping and fruit picking - as well as big companies looking to make more of the fruits, nuts and other natural products. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Julia Carneiro Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Andrew Mills (Image: Brazilian entrepreneur Francisco Samonek, BBC/Julia Carneiro)

This week we have a host of great ideas inspired by solutions we've told you about in 2023. We find out how scientists are using fake birds to help populations of seabirds to recover. By putting out model birds in restored habitats they trick the real ones into nesting there. Then we have the heartwarming tale of Theo – a man in his seventies - and Bickel the dog. We look at how dog sharing can deal with loneliness and bring improved health and happiness. And we uncover an innovative way of dealing with the scourge of Japanese knotweed - by turning it into paper. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Richard Kenny, Zoe Gelber, Claire Bates Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Hal Haines email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk (Image: Jessica Vagg with a tern decoy, BBC/Richard Kenny)

Landfill sites are an icon of our wasteful society and the harm we cause to Planet Earth. But around the world, people are trying to make these filthy places a little bit better. We visit the human-built island in Singapore made of burned waste that has become a thriving ecosystem. And in France, we hear how gas leaking from landfill sites is being collected as a source of energy. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bowes Singapore reporter:Tessa Wong Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Annie Gardiner email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk (Image: Semakau island, Singapore National Environment Agency)

Loneliness affects millions of people around the world and can have a significant impact on our mental and physical health. In the Netherlands, they are taking the problem seriously, with a national coalition of organisations all trying to bring people together and build connections. We visit a youth club teaching teenagers how to overcome shyness and social anxiety. Plus, we drop in on a soup-making session that's bringing the generations together, and breaking down stereotypes. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Gareth Jones email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk (Image:Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at Oma's Soup)

How do you stop people chopping down precious rainforest? In the Indonesian part of Borneo, researchers for a conservation charity discovered that local people were chopping down the rainforest around them for an incredibly understandable reason – they needed to pay for medical treatment for themselves and their children. So they started a project that would hopefully protect the forest and help the local communities at the same time. They built a health centre and gave people a big discount on medical care if they stopped chopping down the trees. Ten years on, we visit the forest to see what happened next. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Ade Mardiyati Producer: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Hal Haines email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Baby orangutan in Borneo forest

Every year the world produces 400 million tonnes of plastic – the same weight as all the humans on earth. Only a small proportion of this is recycled, and this isn’t proper recycling but “downcycling” – the new plastic is of a lower quality, meaning that almost all plastic eventually goes to waste. But now French company Carbios is using enzymes to break plastic down into its chemical building blocks – which can then be used to make high quality plastic again. So is plastic on the brink of becoming a resource like glass or aluminium, that you can keep on moulding and recycling again and again? Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: William Kremer Series producer: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk

Millions of women around the world lack access to safe and hygienic menstrual products. But there are people trying to change that. We meet the British student who learned to sew in lockdown and started making reusable sanitary pads for refugees. She’s helped distribute tens of thousands of pads and is now training refugee women in Lebanon how to make money by sewing the pads themselves. We hear about a design project inspired by tea cups which has created an efficient way of washing reusable pads. And in India we meet the woman who is challenging the stigma around periods with a comic book that’s being read in thousands of schools around the country. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Lorna Acquah Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Richard Vadon email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Reya, a student in Beirut who is sewing period pads