Home  >  Fifth Floor  >  Stories of hope and joy
Fifth Floor
Stories of hope and joy
Fifth Floor
Dec 29, 2023

BBC language service journalists share stories and experiences that lifted their spirits in a year with more than its fair share of tragic news.

BBC Russian's Nataliya Zotova explains how an imperious seagull named Agamemnon helped her settle in her new home in Riga, after leaving Russia.

BBC Delhi’s Divya Arya tells us about helping an interviewee who had shared her story of surviving domestic violence and living with significant facial burns, to become a guest presenter for BBC Hindi.

BBC Afghan's Aalia Farzan tells us about presenting a schools programme for Afghan children, and being able to return home and see her mother again for the first time since she was forced to leave in 2021.

BBC Brasil’s Joao Fellet shares the story of the Japanese Brazilian farmers in the Amazonian state of Pará, who have switched from mono-cropping to agroforestry, regrowing a forest of sorts and providing a profitable model for land cleared by logging.

And Ethiopian-based journalist Kalkidan Yibeltal shares the experience of travelling to the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia and experiencing the therapeutic quiet and stillness of the national park, in a year otherwise devoted to covering conflict.

(Photo: Seagull on windowsill in Riga. Credit: Nataliya Zotova, BBC)

More Episodes


Mar 29, 2024
From prison to president

After an election held just days after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become Senegal's next president, and at 44, the youngest in the country’s history. From Dakar, the BBC's Khadidiatou Cissé and Thomas Naadi tell us more about the new Senegalese leader.

Banksy's new neighbour BBC Mundo's Carlos Serrano shares his experience of finding himself at the centre of a big news story, after a Banksy mural was painted outside his apartment.

Kashmiri carpet weavers In Indian-administered Kashmir, an ancient code called 'talim' was traditionally used to pass on complex patterns to carpet weavers. BBC India's Priti Gupta reports on how computers and AI are changing this, and the impact on the traditional carpet industry.

Brazil’s forest-friendly rubber tappers The growing interest in sustainable ways of exploiting the Amazon rainforest has created new opportunities for Brazil's traditional rubber tappers, who can get enhanced payments for preserving the areas where they work. Julia Carneiro reported for BBC Brasil on how the scheme works.

The Big Korean Dictionary The Korean language has been diverging between North and South Korea since the peninsula was divided. To keep track of the changes, an inter-Korean dictionary project was set up in 2005, with linguists from both sides. But worsening relations mean the project was suspended in 2015, as BBC Korean's Seonwook Lee reports.

Come with us! The Fifth Floor is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don’t forget to subscribe or follow.

(Photo: Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Credit: Getty)


40min 56sec

Mar 22, 2024
Women's radio in Afghanistan

As a new school year starts in Afghanistan, 330,000 more girls will be excluded from secondary education, one of the ways in which women and girls are increasingly confined to their homes under the Taliban regime. In light of this, BBC Media Action is running the Women’s Voice radio project, training women to make programmes for other women on vital topics like health, work and education. Getti Sediqi is one of the trainers in Kabul.

Isabel, the giant armadillo The giant armadillo, found only in Latin America, has been called a "ghost species" because it's so rarely seen. But thanks to one particular armadillo in Brazil, called Isabel by researchers, many discoveries have now been made, as BBC Brasil’s Giulia Granchi reports.

Haji Firouz: Nowruz controversy in Iran Iran traditionally heralds its New Year with a festive figure known as Haji Firouz. The jester-like character sings and dances through the streets but has become controversial because performers blacken their faces and hands, a practice many find highly offensive. Now the character is being used as a form of protest to highlight the ongoing struggle for women's rights in Iran, as BBC Monitoring's Sarbas Nazari explains.

No bidders for Aung San Suu Kyi's iconic house A failed attempt was made this week to auction the lakeside home of the detained Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. A court had ordered its sale after a long drawn-out legal battle between Suu Kyi and her brother Aung San Oo. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than explains the significance of this house, and the possible reasons why no bidders showed up.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia's money glitch Ethiopia's largest commercial bank is trying to recoup millions of dollars' worth of currency after a 'system problem' allowed customers to withdraw unlimited funds. It's been reported that a large portion of the cash was withdrawn by students as news of the banking glitch spread around universities. Kaleb Moges tells us about developments.

(Photo: Nadia Shekib, journalist, producer and news editor at Radio TV Oboor. Credit: BBC Media Action)


41min 01sec

Stories of hope and joy

--:--
--:--