The Conversation

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women from France and Finland who service and create timepieces. Camille de Rouvray is a French watchmaker from a family of horologists. One of her ancestors was the official clockmaker for King Louis XV in the 1740s. Centuries later, when Camille was 35 years old, she decided to change careers completely to continue her family's legacy and follow her true passion. After training in Paris, she opened a watchmaking studio in Mirmande, a small village in the South of France. Camille is especially enthusiastic about antique clocks and feels a deep connection to the original creator when restoring them.Paula Pyhälä from Finland is a service manager at Lindroos, Finland’s largest privately owned watch service provider, established in 1878. She leads a team of nine watchmakers, four administrative staff and one polisher. Paula graduated from the Finnish Watchmaking School in 2008 and continued her training at the prestigious WOSTEP Watchmaking School in Switzerland. She says she often feels like a crime detective when servicing watches.(Image: (L) Paula Pyhälä, courtesy Paula Pyhälä. (R) Camille de Rouvray courtesy Camille de Rouvray.)

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women from Italy and US about the craft of film restoration and the importance of bringing movies, especially those by women, back to life.Sandra Schulberg is the founder and president of IndieCollect – a nonprofit in the US that has restored more than 85 films since 2016 and rescued thousands of abandoned film negatives. She describes the independent movies they care for as ‘orphans’ and says it’s vital to keep these films alive as they’re not just cinematic heritage, they’re cultural history.Italian-born Elena Nepoti is the film conservation manager at the British Film Institute National Archive. She’s particularly focussed on the restoration of films from the silent era and is currently managing an ongoing major project – restoring a series of Sherlock Holmes pictures from the 1920s which were given approval of Arthur Conan Doyle himself.Produced by Hannah Dean and Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Elena Nepoti, courtesy Elena Nepoti. (R), Sandra Schulberg credit Barbara Katz.)

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women running orchestras in Hungary and the UK.Orsolya Erdödy is the managing director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra working alongside founder-conductor Iván Fischer. The BFO is rated among the top ten orchestras in the world regularly performing at the world’s most prestigious concert venues. Orsolya is also chief musical advisor of the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma, founded in 996 one of the oldest buildings in Hungary. She regularly appears on the Forbes list of most influential Hungarian women.Sarah Bardwell is the Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK. An orchestra of around 100 musicians it tours globally performing with a range of international artists including Lang Lang, Diana Ross and Andrea Bocelli. As well as marketing, income generation, finance, staff and board management, Sarah is ultimately responsible for all the Orchestra's activities including touring, performances, artistic planning, conductor/artist selection, learning and community partnerships.Produced by Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Sarah Bardwell, credit Tim Lutton. (R), Orsolya Erdödy credit Halász Nóra.)

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks two women from the Czech Republic and the UK about the ways in which they use horses to promote human physical and mental health.Vera Lantelme-Faisan’s professional background is in Equine Assisted Physiotherapy in the Czech Republic. Between 2004 and 2009, she played a key role in establishing a EAT centre for children at a rehabilitation hospital in Saudi Arabia and last year she assumed the role of president of The Federation of Horses in Education and Therapy International (HETI) - a leading international resource for all those involved in Equine Assisted Services. Claudia Nicholson's personal experience of horses providing the support and sanctuary she needed throughout the angst of her teenage years is one of the reasons why she wanted to help people experience the therapeutic benefits of horses and other equines in their own lives. She now runs her own centre for Equine Assisted Learning at Downmere Farm, in the South Downs National Park where she prioritises working with vulnerable children and young adults - building up confidence and self esteem through non-ridden ground work exercises with the horses as active participants. Produced by Hannah Dean (Image: (L) Vera Lantelme-Faisan, credit Karolina Kutanorova. (R), Claudia Nicholson courtesy Claudia Nicholson.)

While confidence is widely understood as important, actually building and maintaining it can feel like an impossible task. A comedian from New Zealand and a body positive writer, speaker and influencer from the UK tell Datshiane Navanayagam about how they grew their self-confidence and give advice for others on how to get it.Megan Jayne Crabbe is a British bestselling author, presenter and body confidence advocate known for helping people improve their relationship with their bodies. She produces empowering content around body positivity, mental health and feminism which is shared with her more than 1.3 million social media followers. Her latest book is called We Don't Make Ourselves Smaller Here, which explores what we can do to live life as our fullest, boldest and most confident selves.Alice Snedden from New Zealand is a comedian and television actor, director and writer renowned for her confidence. Alice studied law at university but never practiced it. The night before she was admitted to the bar, Alice performed her first stand-up comedy set and never looked back. Television shows she has been involved with include Alice Snedden's Bad News, Starstruck and Break Clause. Produced by Emily Naylor(Image: (L) Alice Snedden courtesy Avalon. (R) Megan Jayne Crabbe credit Kiran Gidda.)

The global housing crisis continues to grow, with the UN’s urban development agency estimating 40% of people worldwide lack access to adequate housing. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to female architects in Tanzania and Spain designing cheaper, more sustainable homes.Victoria Heilman founded the Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity (TAWAH), a group of architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and scientists. TAWAH tackles housing poverty and gender inequality by teaching women construction skills. The training enables them to build affordable, environmentally friendly homes for elderly residents who would otherwise be living in unsafe and uncomfortable housing, at a time in their lives when they are most vulnerable. Cristina Gamboa is a Spanish architect and co-founder of Lacol, a cooperative of 14 architects established in 2014 in Barcelona. The group design homes, offices, community buildings and art spaces that are environmentally sustainable, affordable and bring people together.Produced by Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Victoria Heilman courtesy Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity. (R) Cristina Gamboa credit Lacol.)

Two women from Greece and Sweden tell Datshiane Navanayagam about the dog training process and the prejudices service dogs still face when it comes to broader societal acceptance.Lia Stoll is a Greek-Canadian guide dog trainer and co-founder of Lara Guide Dogs school in Greece. She was inspired by her father, who was also a guide dog mobility instructor, as Lia grew up with guide dogs and working with people who are blind and partially sighted.Anki Celander is a dog behaviourist and trainer who co-founded an assistance dog school in Sweden and now helps people with disabilities to train their own dogs to become certified assistance animals. She has over two decades of experience.Produced by Emily Naylor(Image: (L) Lia Stoll courtesy Lia Stoll. (R) Anki Celander courtesy Anki Celander.)

Two women from Italy and the US tell Datshiane Navanayagam about following the movements of growing wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park and the Italian Alps.Elisa Ramassa started work as a park ranger in Italy's Gran Bosco di Salbertrand, near Turin, in 1997. That same year the park recorded the first sightings of a wolf pack. They'd been extinct in the Italian Alps since the 1920s. She's spent the whole of her career tracking the local wolves, observing pack behaviour and family structures, while watching the population re-establish itself. Erin Stahler is a biological science technician and the programme manager for the Yellowstone Wolf Project. Wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995 and there’s now 10 packs making up a steady population of around 100 wolves. She says the wide open spaces of Yellowstone National Park make it a perfect place for studying the fascinating behaviour of wolves.Produced by Jane Thurlow (Image: (L) Elisa Ramassa courtesy Elisa Ramassa. (R) Erin Stahler credit NPS.)

Two women from Australia and Germany tell Ella Al-Shamahi about their work in robotics: from tackling loneliness with humanoid companions to making industrial robots more accessible. Australian Grace Brown began building robots at 15, but it was the isolation of pandemic lockdown - five months without human contact - that led her to create Abi, a friendly humanoid companion robot inspired by Disney and Pixar characters. Working in secret while her family believed she was completing her master’s degree, Grace instead launched Andromeda Robotics from her bedroom, testing early prototypes in Melbourne nursing homes to help combat loneliness. Grace was recently named one of Forbes Australia's 30 under 30. Maria Piechnick is a German engineer and co-founder of Wandelbots, a company passionate about making robotics accessible to everyone. Her mission is to democratize the field of robotics and enable small and medium sized businesses to be able to deploy robots for any task with ease and efficiency. Maria's work spans a wide range: from enabling a cake company to decorate its products with robotic arms to developing advanced systems that safely defuse unexploded bombs from the Second World War.Produced by Emily Naylor(Image: (L) Maria Piechnick credit Wandelbots. (R) Grace Brown credit Andromeda Robotics.)

Two women from Nigeria and the Czech Republic speak to Ella Al-Shamahi about what it's like to lead adventurous expeditions for other women to countries not usually on the tourist trail.Lenka Hrabalová is an expedition guide and academic from the Czech Republic. Her PhD focused on the destruction of cultural heritage in the Muslim world. Lenka uses her knowledge to lead adventurous expeditions across the Middle East and North Africa, many exclusively for women. She is the author of several books including Sahara Stories and Mosaic of Iran.Temi Popo from Nigeria has always loved to travel. She was inspired by her grandmother’s legacy as a pioneering diplomat and educator, as well as having lived in seven countries. Temi is the founder of Girls Trip Tours, a travel company that aims to transform the tourism industry in Africa by centring women. They create travel experiences that empower women while uplifting local communities throughout Africa.Produced by Emily Naylor(Image: (L) Temi Popo credit Khalipha Nkloko. (R) Lenka Hrabalová credit Petr Florián.)