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On Outlook

Outlook 24th-26th December

Wednesday 24th December

US Presidential Inauguration
How do you plan a party when you're expecting more than a million guests? Outlook speaks to Washington DC's Deputy Mayor, Dan Tangherlini, as he prepares America's capital for the inauguration of the country's first African American president.

Can You Teach Peace?
Reporter Jenny Steel finds out if teaching peace really works in the final part of our series Can You Teach Peace? You can find out how the group of young Palestinians and Israelis brought together to try and find common ground got on. And find out if, two months on, friendships last when they are back home in the Middle East.

Vatican Astronomer
Stargazing through the Pope's telescope. The BBC's Katy Hickman travels to the Catholic Church's observatory in Arizona to meet the Vatican's astronomer.

Bruno Tonioli
"I'll give you a ten". Strictly Come Dancing's excitable judge, Bruno Tonioli, tells Outlook why he thinks the UK based show has become a global success.

End of Section

Thursday 25th December

Poles Apart
Outlook's Matthew Bannister discusses climate change with people on the front line, living poles apart, but facing the same challenges.

Dr Atiq Rahman in Dhaka, chairman of Climate Action Network South Asia
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Patricia Cochran from Alaska, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council
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Vassen Kauppaymuthoo

Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, oceanographer and environmental consultant in Mauritius

Savio Carvalho, Oxfam country director for Uganda
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Nikita Zimov, of Siberia's North East Science Station and the Polaris Project
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Find out more about the Polaris Project

And Acie Marshal, Zimbabwean student in London, and member of the UK Youth Parliament
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The panel discuss the impact climate change is having where they live, what their fears are for the future, and what needs to be done now.

End of Section

Friday 26th December

Nelson Mandela Celebrates His 90th Birthday

On Outlook today we devote the whole programme to "The Mandela Machine", in other words, the men and women in his inner circle who are charged with protecting him and what he stands for.

It's Outlook's way of marking Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday which was in July this year.

Our programme includes a rare and frank interview with Mandela's formidable personal assistant, Zelda la Grange. She tells us what it's like to look after the man who she regards as a grandfather and how she can't be sidetracked by the emotions attached to the job.

We also hear from "The Memory Man", the person charged with archiving Nelson Mandela's historic pictures, documents and personal recollections.

And we hear how members of The Nelson Mandela Foundation make sure that their founder's name, image and profile is not corrupted and used for commercial gain.

End of Section

Past Programmes: 17th-23rd December

Tuesday 23rd December

Sandra Laing
Sandra Laing was born into a white family in South Africa during the apartheid era. However due to a genetic throw back she looked black, which affected her entire life and that of her family. Outlook hears from Sandra Laing, and talks to the author Judith Stone who has written a book about Sandra - When She Was White.

When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race by Judith Stone is published by Miramax Books

Teaching Peace
In the last edition of Outlook we featured a report about an experiment run by a European NGO called Dialogue Lab which brought a group of young Israelis and Palestinians together on neutral ground in Belgium. It was the first time many of the participants had met people from the other side of the conflict and the aim was to see if they could get along well and form a network concentrating on conciliation and peace. After a difficult start connections were made, but in the second of her reports Jenny Steel shows how painful past experiences can threaten newly established trust.

Danny Wallace
What do you think would happen if you said "yes" to everything? How about if it got you a new book, a new girlfriend and a film deal that resulted in a big hit movie starring a Hollywood superstar? Well that's just what's happened to writer and TV presenter Danny Wallace whose book Yes Man has been turned into a film starring Jim Carrey.

Click here to find out more about Danny Wallace

End of Section

Monday 22nd December

Can Peace be Taught?
Earlier this year a group of young Israelis and Palestinians were brought together in Belgium under the auspices of a European NGO called Dialogue Lab. The aim was to see if they could gel together enough to form a network to push for peace. Over the next three days on Outlook we get the views of young people from both sides.

Liberian Childbirth
We hear about the plight of pregnant women in Liberia from Suzannah Parker, an aid worker who's just returned from the the region where one in twelve mothers dies in childbirth.

For more information on Save The Children click here

Calm Kids
Phil Mercer visits a clinic in Brisbane Australia that offers stress busting sessions for toddlers and young children. The Calm for Kids clinic teaches relaxation techniques to children as young as two years old.

Mamma Mia Mayor
The Mayor of Skopelos, the Greek island featured in the hit movie Mamma Mia, tells Valerie Sanderson how his local tourist economy has been given a boost by fans of the film.

End of Section

Friday 19th December

Lockerbie
20 years ago the Very Reverend Patrick Keegans was a parish priest in Lockerbie when Pan Am flight 103 crashed into the town. It killed all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. Now he finds himself torn between his sympathy for victims and his concerns about a possible miscarriage of justice. He tells us why he's written a letter of support to Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan currently serving a life sentence in a Scottish jail for blowing up the plane.

Kazakh Biker
Dmitriy Petrukhin has become a leading member of the establishment in Kazakhstan for promoting his country around the world - from the back of his motorbike. In 2004, the former miner and soldier went round Europe. Two years later he embarked on a world tour covering 52 countries and was declared a national hero on his return. That status also earned him a seat in parliament. He tells us about his latest trip to Asia.

Argentinian Sex Clinic
A recent survey in Argentina found that one-in-three people had no idea how HiV is transmitted. And only a quarter of those approached said they took precautions to protect themselves against the virus. Argentina also has tens of thousands of prostitutes working around the country, most of them outside or on the edges of the law. Daniel Schweimler reports from La Plata where a health clinic specially for sex workers has been set up.

End of Section

Thursday 18th December

Sudan
Osman Humaida from the International Federation of Human Rights talks to Outlook about being beaten and tortured by the Sudanese Security Forces. He was suspected of helping the International Criminal Court which was investigating alleged war crimes in Sudan. However, the allegations proved false and now Osman's left Sudan. Our Khartoum Correspondent, Amber Henshaw, also gives us some background to the case.

A "Travesty Of Justice"?
We speak to the father of Michael Shields, the young football fan who's in prison after a Bulgarian barman was attacked. The Shields family and many in the Liverpool community he was brought up in believe he's innocent and there's a high profile campaign to secure his release from jail. This week a British court ruled that the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has the power to pardon Michael Shields and Mr Straw is now considering that decision.

Hairbraiding
Outlook's reporter in the Ivory Coast, John James, meets the country's top hair braider, Valerie Esther Brou. To prove it, she's just won a national competition and what's more, she braids John's short blond hair into something special.

Acting Up As Hamlet
UK actor Edward Bennett, comes into the Outlook studio to describe what it's like to take over from the star of the show. Edward is the understudy for David Tennant, who's well known as Doctor Who on television. Due to a bad back he's had to step down as Hamlet, giving Edward the chance to shine as Shakespeare's Danish prince.

Hair Styles in Ivory Coast

Edward Bennet: from understudy to star of Hamlet

End of Section

Wednesday 17th December

Nicaragua
Outlook's Vera Frankl reports on the impact Nicaragua's abortion ban is having on women and their families. She meets one woman trying to come to terms with the loss of her daughter, who was refused a therapeutic abortion when her pregnancy became life threatening.

Zimbabwe Ballet
Zimbabwean ballet dancer, Bawren Tavaziva, tells Outlook how he is trying to show the world what is happening in his country through the ballet he has choreographed entitled 'My Friend Robert'. He also describes his disappointment with President Mugabe - his former hero.

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Andy Kirkpatrick
Outlook speaks to mountaineer, Andy Kirkpatrick, about his passion for scaling some of the most dizzying heights in the world and what it's like to sleep on narrow ledges, thousands of metres above ground level.

Andy's book is called Psychovertical (published by Hutchinson in Sept. 08)

Click here to view Andy's website