Review of 2023 (part 1)

The environment was at the forefront of people's minds in 2023.

Almost at the top of the world on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, we saw the implementation of better practices in the transport sector to help mitigate the high carbon footprint in this ecologically fragile region.

Børre Haugli: "The tourist industry themself in Svalbard want to have sustainable industry and they develop themself into more sustainable activities."

The narrative of women and their place in history was also a hot topic. An artist in Italy sought to restore 'Allegory of Inclination', an extraordinary oil painting by the Baroque woman painter Artemisia Gentileschi for an exhibition. Gentileschi, an anomaly for her time, was one of few recognised female artists and commanded considerably higher fees than those of her male counterparts.

Linda Falcone: "She had to know how to market herself, and that's what she's actually doing with the painting because not only is she tributing Michelangelo but she's saying, 'I as a woman have the inclination to paint'."

Sending shockwaves through the political sphere, Jacinda Ardern stood down as New Zealand's prime minister. Ardern had concluded that she 'had nothing left in the tank'. Becoming PM in 2017, aged 37, Ardern broke records as the youngest female head of government. A year later, she became just the second woman to give birth in office.

Lia Correa: "I think she'll leave behind a really good legacy, cause like, she's a woman prime minister who kicked ass. She was awesome. She did everything she could during the pandemic. Kept a lot of people safe. Yeah, I think she's gonna have a great legacy."

Meanwhile in Gabon, technology came to the rescue with wildlife conservationists using smart cameras to curb the practice of animal poaching.

Thijs Suijten: "And this minicomputer downloads the images from the camera and then uses artificial intelligence to automatically classify whether there is an animal, an elephant or human on the photo."

The climate crisis triggered large protests on Earth Day 2023 with demands for greater political action to tackle the problems. In London, Extinction Rebellion and climate activists rallied in a four day campaign in front of London's Houses of Parliament, hoping to influence politicians to act.

However, people also took to the streets in celebration as well as protest as London played host to the pomp and ceremony of the coronation of the new monarch, Charles III, the first in 7 decades.

And in the jungles of Mexico, a team of Franco-Mexican scientists was investigating infectious diseases that transfer from animals to humans, known as 'zoonoses' in an attempt to prevent another Covid style pandemic.

Science and culture joined hands for a ground-breaking collaboration between the US National Philharmonic Orchestra and NASA. Fusing the magic of music and the mysteries of the universe, they created a Space Symphony entitled 'Cosmic Cycles'. The composition uses images captured by the James Webb space telescope projected on a background screen and blends them with music by Henry Dehlinger.

Henry Dehlinger: "I think the music written for a lot of those space movies, space films are, is, is fantastic. But what we're seeing tonight at this premiere is not science fiction. It's the actual science. It's the real deal. We're actually looking at the Sun. We're actually looking at the solar system. We're actually looking at the origins of the universe."

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