Perspective

In this edition of Perspective, engineering student Ana Graham and professor Denis Bruneau join us to talk about their BaityKool project. The prototype of a sustainable, eco-friendly building adapted to hot temperatures won third prize in the Solar Decathlon Middle East competition in 2018. The innovative building offers a peek into what the future of sustainable housing could look like.

This year's World AIDS Day puts the spotlight on ongoing inequalities in the fight against HIV, the virus that impacts some 38 million people worldwide. Dr. Alexandra Calmy, the head of the HIV/AIDS Unit of Geneva University Hospitals, says the inequalities surrounding HIV/AIDS are much like those witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic, with access to treatments and prevention spread unevenly across the world's population. Forty years after the first case of HIV was detected, stigmatisation also remains a major obstacle to eradicating the virus. Dr. Calmy's message for anyone worried they might have HIV is "don't be afraid of yourself".

Shooting to fame at the height of the Roaring Twenties in Paris, Josephine Baker was a Missouri-born dancer who found her spiritual home in France, far from the racial segregation of her native USA. Yet the early years of her career can make for uncomfortable viewing for a contemporary audience, with Baker seemingly complicit in numerous racist stereotypes. But for Ilana Navaro, director of the film "Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening", Baker "took what she had and, later on, turned it into a political tool" – as part of the French Resistance during World War II, and even later as a leading voice in the US civil rights movement.

For British author and photographer Johny Pitts, black communities across Europe are the “visual markers”of the legacy of European colonialism. These communities are disparate, with each contending with their own specific cultural and political context, but they have a huge amount in common and that’s something to seek out and celebrate.

It is the last place on the planet where the Sumatran rhino, tiger, elephant and orangutan still roam together in the wild – and it is under threat.  The Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh, Indonesia is facing a series of mounting pressures, including loggers, plans for hydroelectric dams, and human encroachment on the land.  Now activists, led by a group of women, are fighting to ensure it survives.  We spoke to Farwiza Farhan, one of the women on the front line of forest conservation.

In January 2017, an all-female orchestra from Afghanistan performed for world leaders at the World Economic Forum, a symbol of just how far the country had come since the dark days of the Taliban. Viola player Zarifa Adiba was just 18 years old when she led that orchestra in Switzerland. Her memoir, which has just been published in French, is an extraordinary account of how music offered her a chance to show herself, her family and the world what Afghan women are capable of. She joined us for Perspective and told us about her fears for Afghan women and girls, now that the Taliban are in charge once again.

In 2015, Shiori Ito was a young journalist who went to meet a would-be mentor for drinks, only for the night to end in him raping her. She won a civil case against him in 2019, but only after years of fighting a judicial system that seemed determined to look the other way. Ito's memoir "Black Box" is the story of one young woman's quest for justice in a country where talking about sexual assault, and even sex education, is still very much taboo. She joined us for Perspective and told us that things are gradually moving in the right direction, but that she still receives "threatening emails every day" for speaking out.

The things we hold on to often define who we are. Letters, our favourite books or pieces of jewellery are just some of the many objects that people accord sentimental value to. They often tell a story about the defining moments of the eras in which we live and how we became who we are. From that basic assessment, Aanchal Malhotra decided to revisit the 1947 partition of British India into the two nations of India and Pakistan in her book, "Remnants of a Separation". She joined us for Perspective.

He was the last surviving member of the Companions of the Liberation, an elite group of Resistance fighters hand-picked by Charles de Gaulle. Hubert Germain passed away in October at the age of 101. Today, he will be laid to rest at the Mont-Valérien war memorial outside Paris. For many, the passing of Germain marks the end of a chapter in French history and opens a new debate on how to keep the memory of the French Resistance alive. Historian Guillaume Piketty joined us on Perspective to tell us more.

Stories of courage, specifically about women, are the theme of a special festival organised this weekend by Amnesty International in Paris. For three days, the curtain will go up on the 12th Cinema and Human Rights Festival. The event invites moviegoers and activists to watch a series of short and longer films and then debate their content. In Perspective, we spoke to coordinator Ievgeniia Sokova.