Perspective

A renowned Iranian filmmaker who's now based in France says it's very important for her to make films that tell the truth about her childhood and life inside Iran. Sepideh Farsi says she is able to give an independent view as to what happens in the country, unlike filmmakers who still live there. She spoke to us on Perspective about her latest film "La Sirène", or "The Siren". The animated feature tells the story of a teenage boy named Omid at the start of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, during the siege of the city of Abadan. Farsi herself was a teenager the same age as Omid at the time.

A radical rethink is needed in terms of how population numbers are framed, according to the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency. It says that government policies to raise, lower or maintain fertility rates are often ineffective and can actually erode women's rights. So are we asking the wrong questions when it comes to the global population? Diene Keita, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, joined us for Perspective to give us her take.

To what extent is the well-being of a country's youth a barometer for the state of society at large? Do dictatorships or geopolitical isolation affect citizens' sense of direction? And can love or friendship save people from the deepest depths of despair? These are some of the themes explored in Russian director Marusya Syroechkovskaya's film "How to Save a Dead Friend". She joined us for Perspective.

While the right to asylum is enshrined in both European and international law, asylum seekers and refugees are confronted with a host of administrative and social challenges, with the recurring shipwrecks in the Mediterranean serving as a grim testament to these obstacles. In reaction, ordinary citizens have stepped up to extend their support, endeavoring to make asylum seekers and refugees feel more welcome. The Refugee Food Festival stands as a prime example of such initiatives. Participants Guillaume Schwoob and Haitham Karajay joined us for a discussion on Perspective.

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting foreign leaders in Paris for a summit focused on how to help the world's poorest countries deal with increasingly catastrophic events linked to climate change, without being saddled with huge debts. The big focus is on reform of the decades-old Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the IMF. One of the key attendees at the summit is Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. She joined us for Perspective.

The world should abandon its constant race for economic growth. That's the idea behind a new book written by the UN's Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty. In it, Olivier De Schutter argues that the system is now counterproductive in rich countries and that the Earth cannot continue to provide the resources we demand of it. "Infinite growth is not possible on a finite planet," he told us in Perspective.

This week, Paris is aiming to send a message to world leaders that the major issues facing the planet such as extreme poverty and climate change have to be tackled now. The "Power Our Planet" concert on June 22 in front of the Eiffel Tower is being organised by the NGO Global Citizen, an organisation that has already raised over $40 billion worldwide to fight poverty. The event is being held as world leaders meet in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. In Perspective, we spoke to Global Citizen's Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer, Michael Sheldrick.

The world's first international treaty to protect the high seas is set to be adopted at the United Nations later this Monday. Amid rising sea temperatures, overfishing and even the fear of underwater mining, countries have come together to forge an agreement to try to protect international waters. The text is being seen as a huge step forward after more than 15 years of talks. In Perspective, we spoke to Jessica Battle, a senior expert on global ocean policy and governance at the WWF.

"4,211 km" is the distance between Tehran and Paris. It's also the title of a new play by French-Iranian director Aila Navidi showing at France's famed Avignon theatre festival next month. The show centres around a young woman named Yalda Farhadi, born in France to Iranian dissidents who never give up their dream of returning to their home country. Navidi says the play is almost completely autobiographical and that writing it felt "very necessary – like an emergency." More than 40 years after the Islamic revolution, she says her parents' generation has more hope than ever of one day going back, particularly since the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini nine months ago.

"I Will Live" is the best-selling account of the challenges faced by a young woman growing up within the confines of a strictly religious Turkish-Dutch family, and her efforts to break free of that conservative culture. Upon its publication in 2021, Lale Gül was greeted with a wave of condemnation, including death threats from members of her own Dutch Muslim community. The award-winning author joined us for Perspective to tell us more.