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The Syrian Laptop "Revolutionary"

Ala'a Basatneh lives in Chicago but spends her days coordinating anti-government protests in Syria

Ala'a Basatneh lives in Chicago but spends her days coordinating anti-government protests in Syria. The 22-year-old political science student uses social media to keep in touch with activists on the ground in Syria, helping them to organise demonstrations, upload videos of protests and even coordinating evacuations of people under threat of attack.

Norma Miller was a member of one of the most famous American dance groups of the 1930s and '40s, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. Now 95 years old, she is still promoting the dance and is known as the Queen of Swing.

Kyila grew up in a small town near Mount Everest in Tibet. She was born blind and until she was 12-years-old led a very sheltered life, rarely leaving the family home. Then her parents found out about a new school for blind people in Tibet that changed Kyila's life.

Zimbabwean breakdancer and entrepreneur Winston Ruddel created opportunities for young people in the ghettos of Dar es Salaam by setting up a circus school.

(Photo: Ala'a Basatneh, also known as #Chicago Girl. Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Available now

55 minutes

Last on

Wed 18 Feb 2015 03:05GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 17 Feb 2015 12:05GMT
  • Tue 17 Feb 2015 23:05GMT
  • Wed 18 Feb 2015 03:05GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

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