host: welcome toto "global 300" todaday we take a close look t education and training. the main role of schools is to give children a firm foundation for a successful future. 200 years ago, just 2.3 million of the world's children attended school. now it's more like 700 million. that's almost 90% of all school-age kids. the right to an education is even laid down in the 1948 u.n. declaration of human rights. so education shohould be one f

the global success stories. and yet there's a widening gap between education standards across the world. children in developing countries are around 100 years behind those of industrialized nations. so why is that? well, many children in developing countries have to work outside of school. and armed conflicts can prevent them from attending school regularly. in wealthier countries, young people typically attend school for an average of 12 years. in developing countries, for just 6.5 years. and there are differences within industrial nations themselves, too. a child's background too often determines their success at school. poverty can be a huge obstacle when it comes to gaining a good education. those who can, often spend a lot of money on their kids' schooling. parents spend around 90 billion

euros worldwide on extra coaching every year. partly because they're afraid their kids won't otherwise make the grade. and so the gap widens. in china too, many parents and kids have one objective when it comes to schooling -- getting a good leaving certificatem or gaokao. it decides whether they will be wealthy or poor later in life. reporter: zhao ying waits here every day at 3:30 for her son's class to end. she quit her job so that she can spend more time raising xiaoxiao. the seven-year-old spends seven hours a day in school, but that's only part of his education. zhao ying has organized a schedule of activities for his afternoon. they start at 4:00 p.m. with a talk about the day's homework. zhao: i don't look at his grades

so much. but i do pay attention to his study habits. in first grade, hihis chinese characteters weren't v very n. but he's improved. it's hisis attitude towards learning that counts. reporter: like many middle class parents in china, she feels the regular school curriculum isn't enough for her child. it's common for families to pay for additional classes and tutoring. >> there must be giant slugs around here. xiaoxiao: there must be giant slugs around here. reporter: xiaoxiao's extrtracurricular lessons incle english, chinese, swimming, exercise, and math. chinese parents spend an a avere of 15,000 euros annually on private tututoring. xiaoxiao: i have eight minutes to complete this page.

zhao: i do think his schedule is very tiring. but children have endless eneney when it comes to d doing thins they like. you justst have to make sure hs in good spirits. when studying gets dull, he'll lose interest and you need to stop. reporter: the schools here expect parents to get involved inin the chihildren's learning process. zhao: this is the school's app. reporter: using the app, zhao ying gets daily reports from xiaoxiao's teachers on her son's performance and his homework. zhao: in china, homework is a tough job fofor the parents. it can give you a heart condition. reporter: by 5:45 p.m., xiaoxiao has finished his math and english exercises. he and his mother take a break for dinner. his father works 12 hours a day, so xiaoxiao barely sees him during the week. chinese children are already being trained for their later workload. xiaoxiao: i think i have enough time to play.

if i g get my homewowork doe ququickly, i have more, but if m too slow, i haveve less. sometitimes i have a an hour a, sometimes 40 minutes or just 20. itit depends. reporter: it's time for his evening class, a language and writing course. china's technophile society enthusiastically embraces new teaching methodsds, especiallyf they're more playful than traditional learning by rote. but zhao ying sometimes asks herself if she's pushing him too fafar. zhaoao: many children now in c a are excellent ststudents. but then t they fail an importt exam, and they can't deal with the frustrtration and they jup off f a rooftop. what matters most to me is to raise a healthy personality. reporter: that's an issue that's much discussed on the internet in china. the competition to enter the best schools and universities is fierce. and there is one thing that has not chananged for generations -

chinese characters require a lot of practice. by the end of primary school, children are expected to read and write 3500 characters. practicing those characters is xiaoxiao's f final task of the day. at 9:30, he's finally done. bedtime. he just finished 12 hours of studying and activities. now it's sunday. but he's not off today, either. weekends are the busiest time for tutors. besides regular school subjects, there is a broad range of subjects that parents can book for their kids. from ballet to chess, art, calligraphy, and even skiing. for children like xiaoxiao, saturdays and sundays can be just as busy as the rest of the week. xiaoxiao's parents have decided

to limit his activities on weekends to one class per day. on sundays, he gets tutored in physical fitness. guo: schools focus on intellectual activities. the space for physical exercise is limited. most k kids spend a lot of tie sitting and doing homework. they don't have enough time to train their body. reporter: another tough week is over for x xiaoxiao. no more classes and no more homework. in the afternoon, his parents have something special in store. they're taking him to a museum. host: whether through apps or virtual realality, technologogs on the risise in the clalassr. mamany experts b believe tht acquiring skskills in the lalat techchnologies wilill be essenl for children's futures. after all, around two billion lolow-level jobs are likely to disappear in future as a result of increasing automation. and yet, in developing ununtries,s mamany anine i in

ten n children typically lveve scol w witho any s such skills. reporter: here, at the tamarind untree school, in the alli in cocoastal town o of dahanu, chin fromom the indigenenous warli e ararlearning about social juste e and decracacy. michle: tamarind treis a an ih the e mainalized tribal come histororically been n denied tr right to heaealth, educatition,a dedecent living,g, access to tr forerest. e school is not just a school,i. society for various reasonthe it's a r radical alterernativo say thatat education must bebe t social justitice. togegether along witith this gp of p pple we are experimtiting wi howow open source

porter: this approach means ththat thehildldren'famililies don't hahave to buy anany schl books. tamamarind only ususes onlie educationanal resources ththate acaccessible foror free. ththis system isis known as on education, which works on the ememise th higigh-quity educatational materirial and tetechnology shohould be availe to all. the tamarindreree scho alslso wants the lessons to be n.n. it a r radic deparartu from the more h hierarchical system common in indian schools. the school computers use open-source software that is also available for free. the children can then modify it themseselves. mimichelle: younung students e learning to code, they're ararning tprogograprobablyly a ththey grow oldeder, they're learning t to make smallll vio animatiogames, ty're arning tprododucthings througthe e inrnetet. the other very importantnt principle e in tamarind trtres workrk is that, asas we said earlier, we arare part of the on source movemenent, so everytytg

our campus is open. reporter: : michel chaharla ad hehemant babu momoved from mumuo dahahanu over 15 y years ag. nce then, they've worked osely with t l local community. determined n not to turn t thiso a charitle institute, thescscho, enensuring that t they stay invested many of f the childrenen's parn are unablele to read andnd wr. hemant: inin a way it is easiere the chan o of a better l life. rst-generation learners. sohehe parts of f e studentsts, herealally, they jusust have fa, they just have t trust that, k whatever thehese guys are doin, they musbe d doing irighght, becacause they didn't have anfa, they just haidea trust that, k repopoer: after centuries of discmination, esese chilen ararthe first from the warli tribtoto expernce e thisind ofof respect. their education will givive thm e opportunity to overcome thele face in inindian society..

host: inin our "global t tee seseries, we meet t younpeopoe from around the world. face in inindian society.. >> i i am a global teen. host: this week, our teen comes from india, and he's a big fan of school. karanraj: hi. my name isis karanraj dewasi. my father is a teacher and works in jalore district. he teaches the children social sciences. i love to go t to school becausi get to meet my friends there and i love spending time with them. also, the teachers at the school

teach us something new every day, so i really like going to school. in my free time, i like to play cricket. i also like to read books. and i like to ride camels. sometimes i also take the buffaloes out to graze. i think pollution is the biggest problem in the world at the moment. pollution is harming our farmland.

our plants, the crops, are unable to grow properly. carbon dioxide is increasing because we don't have enough plants to take it up. i like how my parents and grandparents used to live. they stayed healthy, they didn't get sick often. they ate desi ghee, and they drank buffalo and camel milk. camel milk doesn't cause diabetes. nowadays, all people do is run after money half their life. then they spend the other half of their life curing themselves of diseases.

host: around 260 babies are born every minute. how things then go for them is determined by their background, their place of birth, and the medical care they receive. every year, around a million infants die within a day of being born. the highest mortality rates are found in african countries. that's why doctors in madagascar are focusing on training midwives. reporter: crowds wait in anticipation for the arrival of dr. zavaniarivo rampanjato. she supervises 30 healthcare centers in the highlands of madagascar. she wants to improve the healthcare available to pregnant women in this area. dr. zava: no need to be afraid, it won't hurt. reporter: this expectantnt motr has never had an ultrasound scan. dr. zava, as she's known here, has brought the equipment with her.

she and her team work for the nonprofit organization doctors for madagascar. not even the midwives here are familiar with the ultrasound equipment. so understandably, many of the pregnant women need reassuring. dr. zava: there are still some who are afraidid of it because they have to be affirmed that there is no impact for the baby. but they are still afraid, "how about the baby? it might be dangerous." but we still inform them. but for some people it's a joy for them to come to see the baby. >> of course many of the women are very happy when they see the baby for the first time. and they're also happy that these checkups are free of charge. reporter: dr. zava is providing traiaining for the midwives. one focal point is the importance of hygiene, which is vital for the health of both mother and child.

but the midwives are also learning more about what they need to do during the birth. ththe midwives often only have basic medical knowledge. by providing them with additional training, ngo doctors for madagascar wants to improve the standard of pre-natal care at the health center. in this way, potential complications can be recognized earlier. doctors for madagascar has also set up a digital health insurance system. it's c called m-tomamady. it's particularly helpful for the pregnant women. they pay three euros a month into the insurance scheme. they then get free prenatal checkups, and all the hospital costs for the birth are also covered. the women's mobile phone sim card is their membership i.d.

dr. zava and her team are going to visit a pregnant woman who wants to join the insurance scheme. if an emergency were to crop up in this remote region, there would be very few families who could afford to pay for transport to the hospital. this mother wants to use her new sim card to transfer the equivalent of five euros to m-tomady. after that, she'll pay three euros a month. whatever customers pay in gets automatically doubled thanks to donations from germany. once they've built up a credit of 30 euros, their medical care is covered. dr. zava: we havave shown her tt her money is increased with a bonus,s, and she have now in hr account 30,000 ariari, in the account. so we prove it to her the money

is there. repoporter: that's nearlrly 10 euros, so she's already one third of the way there. in the evevening, the teteam res to the capapital antanananari. dr. zazava uses the e time dug the drivive to plan whwhere she needs s to visit the n next d. a short distance from the ntnter thehe thr milliliontrong ty, she arrives at the officeo. the organization was set up eight years ago and now employs 30 people, including doctors, midwives, anand i.t. specialiss like noelson laiafarke. his team is working to improve the digital platform for m-tomady, which records all the insurance payments and medical treatments. german physician julius emmrich is one of the founders of doctors s for madagascar. he set up the m-tomady platform two years ago.

dr. emmrich: we've been totally surprised at how many have joined. we have more women and families using it than we expected, and we're also getting requests from hospitals, including ones in completely different parts of the capital and others outside the city too, all wanting to use the system. we think it is great. reporter: : m-tomadylrlready hs 6000 payining members. and now the e government o of a has also expxpressed intereresn this health insurance scheme. host: health care, secury, a sosocial networkrk -- as manys four billion people worldwide have no accecess to such b bac protection. those with the lowest levels of education are most at risk. in brazil, casual trash pickers are e now being given the chane torarain as ficicial wte

sorters stead. reporter: this patch of land 20 kilometers outside the capital brasilia used to be the biggest landfill site in latin america. last year the dump was closed, and the 60-meter-high mountain of garbage was covered with earth. construction waste is still being dumped there, although that's illegal. the national waste policy aims to eradicate landfills and promote e recycling, with residl waste either incinerated or going to sanitary landfills that protect the environment. but there are still 2500 open landfill sites across the country. lúcia fernandes worked here as a waste picker for 20 years, mainly at night. she supported her four children by selling anything of value she found. they used to live in a shantytown right beside the dump. lúcia: we were always in a struggle with the trucks, the bulldozers, and with more than 1000 other people working here. it was survival of the fittest.

you took as much as you could get. and for women, it was very challenging. people lost their lives while working here. it's very tough. reporter: at first, lúcia fernandes was very much against the closure of the garbage dump. she had little faith in the city authorities' pledge to provide jobs for some 750 trash pickers in new recycling facilities. but now that is where she works, and she has changed her mind. lúcia: i never thought i might one day have a real job. me, a simple waste picker, with nono rights and no social insurance. and now i work here. i even have an office. if only it paid a little better, it would be perfect. reporter: she used to earn four times as much scavenging on the old dump. she and her colleagues now belong to a cooperative that

operates one of the recycling facilities. what they earn depends on how much trash they sort. on average, only about 200 euros a month so far, because for now, not enough waste is delivered to the facility. lúcia fernandes is a supervisor. she makes sure the work is done properly. lúcia: if there aren't enough people working on the conveyor belt, a lot of recyclable material gets through. then we have to check it to make sure things don't end up in residual waste that don't belong there. if i s see that happening, i pt more people on at the end of the belt. reporter: the process is set to become more efficient, with the help of some students from the university of brasilia. until recently, their professor, paulo celso dos reis gomes, was deputy director of the municipal sanitation authority. he helped restructure brasilia's waste management systems.

paulo: everybody is collecting something different. she's sorting out glass bottles. she's sorting out plastic bottles. further along, somebody is pulling out the cardboard. it's possible that the process could be made more efficient if the positions were switched around. that's something we need to tetest. reporter: but not all the trash delivered here to be sorted can be recycled. much of it has to be disposed of. the aim of the program is to increase the proportion of waste that can be recycled. paulo: everything that can be sorted and sold is returned to the production chain, to the recycling industry. it doesn't end up being dumped. so we're saving the cost of taking it to the landfill, extending the lifespan of that site, and reducing emissions. reporter: this is brasilia's new landfill site. far more waste is ending up here than planned. one mountain of garbage is complete and being covered with earth. the pit for a second one has

been lined with waterproof sheeting to protect the groundwater from contamination. the plan is to capture the gas produced by the decomposing waste and use it. in brazil, greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector have continued to rise dramatically in recent years. the german development agency giz is advising brasilia's sanitation authority on how to reduce emissions. márcio: we're investing in expanding waste sorting and the composting of organic waste. that will allow us to reduce the volume of residual waste and thereby, methane emissions as well. at the same time, we aim to raise public awareness so pepeoe sort their recyclable trash. porter: prprofessor r paulo ds reis has orgrganized a a cross-disciplinary sememinar t the university. 90 students from various fields are working on developing

sustainable waste management solutions. paulo: one approach is to make waste sorting more efficient. another is to focus on technology. trucks, sensors, logistics. others aim to raise environmental awareness. how can the public be involved more closely in the waste recycling process? reporter: the program brings students together r with representatives of the municipal sanitatation authority, the recycling cooperativesanand also commercial enterprises. in cooperation with gigiz, the university of brasilia is setting up a post-graduate program in waste management. among brazil's cities, the capital has taken the lead in developing a sustainable waste management strategy. waste sorting and collection have just been expanded across the city. lúcia fernandes is optimistic about her future. there'll now be more waste delivered to her cooperative to sort, and that means she and her colleagues will soon be earning more.

hohost: that's a all from us s time. whatat did you f find particuly educational about the program? let us know, global3000@dw.com. see you next week. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

- what's your problem, what's your solution? this is an interview series about changing the world. the news about global warming is almost invariably bad. project drawawdown turnsns the e doom of global warming into opportunity, innovation, and solutions. drawdown's executive director, jonathan foley, has spent over two decades as a researcher and lecturer of environmental issues. jon foley is an environmental leader, and a forward-thinking scientist. welcome to kamp solutions. (exciting musisic) - welcome jonathan. you're leading project drawdown, which is also a book, this book. what's the message of drawdown?