World in Progress

This week it's all about art and the struggles artists often face. We hear from musicians in India whose craft is on the brink of extinction, how ballet teaches girls in the slums of Kenya so much more than just how to dance and what it's like to work as a singer for Japan's tough J-Pop industry.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a challenge the world over. They are curable, but it's been difficult to reach patients in developing regions. There's an international summit in Geneva this week to help step up efforts. We'll hear from a medical doctor how to fight NTDs and check in around the world to see how far we've come in eradicating them.

Transportation special: How road rage galvanized cycling activism in Latin America - Braving traffic jams in Jakarta - Pushing green mobility in Kabul - Bicycles and big data in China.

Landrights in Sengal - economic interests versus rural communities without land titles - Dangerous salvation promises in South Africa - bagpipe renaissance in Scotland

The 'Ndrangheta is one of Italy's most dangerous mafia groups. For generations, children of the mafia families have been trained from an early age to continue the criminal business of their clan - with no other options. But an initiative in Reggio Calabria has begun to change the fate of some of these children.

Cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast have been pushed to the limits as the cocoa crisis drags on; owners of chicken restaurants in South Korea risk losing it all in a dangerous game of chicken. And who said feeding the poor had to be a grim affair?

White slums in South Africa - Making births safer in Kibera, Kenya  - Giant benches bring joy and tourists to Northern Italy 

German computer game developer - Pioneering women in the IT industry - Schoolgirls in India help bust a trafficking ring - An all female orchestra in Canada - What's so special about Brazil's female soccer players?

We unlock the mystery behind the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, hear how Ukraine's internally displaced people are faring and why cancer patients in South Africa struggle to get access to the medication they need. We also go star-gazing in Kenya.

India's ruling party hopes to win the elections despite the demonetization crisis/ Dubai World Government Summit/ Standing up for the peace process in Colombia

From Zanzibar's recovering addicts to the struggle of ending female genital mutilation - we'll hear from a strong woman who was cut when she was a little girl and now works against it. We'll also hear how Mina the menstruation cup is changing girls' lives in South Africa and how a brave woman tries to change Moroccan society.

Topics this week: Millions of women across the world to lose access to family planning services due severe US funding cuts - Taking stock five years after the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases - The invisible killer: Schistosomiasis on Lake Victoria - Teenagers teach street kids in Karachi

A show about migration: Mongolian nomads turn to their country's capital for shelter after a harsh winter destroyed their livelihoods. And economic migrants in China turn their backs on the big city life and return to their rural home towns.

lllegal immigrants in the US fear Trump - Returnees to Afghanistan - Ongwen trial resumes in The Hague - Study warns of increasing monopolization in the food industry

What's life like in Eritrea, one of the most isolated nations in the world? And how are North Korean defectors dealing with a somewhat unexpected challenge: Speaking Korean in South Korea? All that on this week's World in Progress.

Bluegrass, a traditional form of American folk music is still alive in the Appalachia region, which also has a reputation as being America's poorhouse. Outsiders have labeled the people here 'hillbillies', stereotyping them as backwards. But there's more to the region and its bluegrass culture reporter Andreas Horchler discovered.

India's economy has grown at an exceptional speed since the early 1990s, when the country began liberalizing its economy and opening up to foreign investment. Yet while hundreds of millions have benefited from the rapid economic growth, hundreds of millions more continue to struggle for their survival.

Countering rising acrimony between religions in Berlin - Religious diversity in Singapore - Providing emergency care in Africa -- Virtual Cows in South Africa

Outspoken diplomat: UN Human Chief Zeid - Hongkong's opposition struggles with the One China policy --  How a community in Indonesia is breeding mosquitoes to help fight dangerous diseases. 

Who do you look up to? Are there people who inspire you? Hereos and role models - that's the topic of this week's edition. Find out about people's personal heros and role models, and the history behind heroes - and heroines.

Today on the show we travel from the Indian subcontinent to Africa. In one way or another everyone is trying hard to make their world and their futures better -From the Indian students risking their mental health to get into the top educational institutes; to the Tanzanian scientists trying to keep one step ahead of deadly Malarial mosquitoes.

Prisons in the Philippines are full the to brim due to President Duterte's war on drugs - South African miners are looking to sue their former employers for better compensations - Textile workers in Bangladesh still struggeling despite improvements in the industry - Indian farmers trying to make a living in Georgia

In Venezuela, shortages of food, medicines and basic supplies have sparked protests and lootings over recent months. Families don't have enough food to feed their children. Patients in hospitals die from diseases that could be cured. And crime is rife. The oppostion blames socialist president Maduro for the severe economic crisis.

A political future for women in Tunisia - Kickstarting women's businesses in Africa - Singing against prejudice in India - Women divers of South Korea's Jeju Island

Thousands of teachers sacked in Turkey - Financial problems in Morocco's state schools - Drug addiction increasing in India's Punjab State - Hunger crisis looming in the lake Chad region