World Questions

From Zimbabwe to Hong Kong, Washington to Seoul, World Questions showcases the views of a vast array of panellists and audiences from around the world. No two programmes are the same – yet the questions asked are often similar. Immigration, the environment, the rise of populism, wealth distribution and corruption - the themes are of universal concern.

Lagos - Nigeria’s biggest city and its commercial centre. It’s a noisy, vibrant, hectic place, one of the world’s fastest-growing cities and the most populated in Africa. Like most of Africa, the majority of Nigeria’s population is aged under 30. That’s more than 100 million people. And yet, the young are barely visible in the corridors of political power. But are they ready and willing to rise to the challenge?

In a highly charged debate, an audience of Zimbabweans debates the upcoming presidential elections, land reform, the economic crisis and the legacy of the former President, Robert Mugabe. The panel includes Paul Mangwana of Zanu PF, Welshman Ncube of the MDC Alliance, Fadzayi Mahere – independent parliamentary candidate, and Trevor Ncube – the journalist and publisher.

A Korean audience debates unification, nuclear weapons and the cancellation of war games in the wake of the Singapore Summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim

Allan Little brings politicians and commentators together to answer questions from the public. There was heated debate about billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis who has been struggling for months to form a coalition government. Which political direction should the country now take on issues like immigration, the health service, membership of the EU and foreign relations?

What can be done to counter the spread of false and misleading information on social media? Sir David Spiegelhalter, Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University, has been travelling to classrooms around the world for a World Service documentary examining new strategies to combat the phenomenon. Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London in April 2018, David talks to a group of the Commonwealth's brightest young minds about the challenges of assessing the truthfulness of claims in the news today. The six participants, drawn from the Commonwealth's affiliated youth organisations, discuss the issues affecting social media in their home countries and how they work to distinguish fact from fiction.

Ghana was the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to break free of colonial rule, and remains one of the most stable democracies in West Africa. It relies on gold, cocoa and more recently oil as cornerstones of its economy and has rich resources of fish, timber, bauxite and industrial diamonds. Despite those riches, poverty is widespread and corruption is rampant. How well is Ghana leading that fight? And what of other battles? In a country where working women and feminist campaigners are starting to claim 'cooking is slavery', what is happening to sexual politics in Ghana? Jonathan Dimbleby and a panel of influential politicians and thinkers discuss the future of Ghana with a public audience in the capital, Accra. BBC World Questions is a series of international events created in partnership with the British Council.

Unlike its regional neighbours, Lebanon appeared to be entering a period of political and economic stability. But tension is mounting as Saudi Arabia escalates its power struggle with Iran. As Iran continues to exert its influence and defend its interest across the region, there is growing concern about how the conflict might affect the stability of the fragile coalition in Lebanon and the impact on the wider Middle East.

BBC World Questions is in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia - a pivotal country between East and West - for a heated debate at Bitef Theatre. Jonathan Dimbleby discusses Kosovo, the European Union, Russian sanctions and Serbian democracy with a diverse panel: Nebojša Stefanović, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia; Marija Janjušević, Member of the National Assembly for the right wing party Dveri; Writer and human rights activist, Miloš Ćirić and Gordana Čomić of the Democratic Party, Deputy Speaker in the National Assembly. BBC World Questions is a series of international events created in partnership with the British Council.

After a historic election, Nepal has chosen a communist coalition to run the country. Could this landslide victory for the Left Alliance mark a turning point for the country, and deliver a long awaited period of political stability and peace? Will the coalition remain united? How will it deal with Nepal’s two giant neighbours – China and India? And how can the country reduce its pollution levels? The BBC’s Anu Anand is joined by former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, government representative Pradeep Gyawali, writer C. K. Lal and journalist Subina Shrestha in a debate led by questions from a public audience.