♪ lara: this is "focus on europe." i'm lara babalola, thanks for your company. the reconstruction of one of europe's holy landmarks, the notre dame cathedral in paris, is in full swing four years after a massive fire. a team of experts are working tirelessly in shifts to rebuild the roof truss and spire. stone statues are also being restored or renewed. still, much was completely destroyed by the blaze. people around the world were shocked to see footage of the

notre dame engulfed in flames in april of 2019. a massive influx of private donations followed, and these are now being used to fund the reconstruction of the cathedral in the heart of paris. if all goes according to plan, the notre dame will reopen next year. master glassmaker flavie vincent-petit is doing her part to meet the deadline. like hundreds of craftspeople and experts, she is working to ensure that the paris landmark shines bright once again. >> flavie vincent-petit is preparing for her day's work with care. a master glassmaker, she's one of the artisans tasked with restoring the stained-glass windows damaged in the notre dame fire, and cleaning the soot off them. it's a painstaking operation, but she's working at full speed so that the cathedral can reopen as soon as possible. it's also why they work in two shifts here, from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night.

>> our work to help repair this trauma is something really special. we usually have more time for our work, on projects that are planned for the long term, but this is an emergency of sorts. notre dame has a very special, symbolic quality, which we need to restore. >> as if by a miracle, most of the cathedral's stained glass withstood the heat and flames of the fire on the 15th of april 2019. but the iconic spire collapsed. the roof and parts of the vaulted ceiling were destroyed. the entire cathedral came close to collapse. after the fire, the french government announced an ambitious reconstruction plan -- notre-dame was to be repaired and re-opened in within five years, looking even

more splendid than before. >> only the best should work on such an important construction site. in our hiring process, we selected the most highly-skilled craftspeople in every trade. >> more than 100 companies and over 1000 craftspeople are involved in the reconstruction. not all of them are on-site. [bell ringing] >> artisans from across france were commissioned to repair the cathedral's windows. including flavie vincent-petit, who works in troyes, south of paris. she's mainly working on stained-glass windows from the 19th century, although some also date from the middle ages. without its windows, the cathedral cannot reopen. >> without these windows, the sacred atmosphere is lost and

becomes rather profane. the windows are filters that transform natural light into divine light. >> the cathedral's spire will also be rebuilt, exactly as it was before. >> at 100 meters tall, the wooden spire will rise into the parisian sky once again. we haven't done anything like this for a long time. we'll employ techniques used by the 19th century architect viollet-le-duc. >> reconstruction is taking a little longer than originally planned. notre dame is now scheduled to reopen at the end of next year. even though they can't go inside, visitors are thrilled to see the construction work. >> a building like this is something you just have to see. it's magnificent. >> i'm happy to see they're rebuilding the cathedral.

we'll have to see if the building will look like the original, or even better. >> it's amazing work! i'll come to see the cathedral once it's completed, that's for sure. >> money isn't an issue for the cathedral's parish. donations from around the world will cover the cost of the repair work. for many of the craftspeople though, this is a job that's a labor of love. >> we're part of a long line of glassmakers, who began in the middle ages. each of us works to preserve the building for the next generation. >> once the soot and the dust of centuries have been removed, the stained-glass windows will shine like new. and notre dame might even be a little more beautiful than it was before. lara: putin's war has brought immense suffering and destruction to the people of ukraine.

the invasion has been going on for over a year -- though many had initially expected a swift victory for russia's army -- one of the world's biggest. but troops in ukraine put up fierce resistance, and largely halted russia's advance. that's thanks in part to fighters like marta, a doctor from kyiv and her husband , serhii. the couple were thrust into the conflict and onto the frontlines of the war. ordinary civilians who felt compelled to defend their country. >> marta and serhii are on leave from the front. it's been months since they've had the time to stroll through kyiv together. they've been on duty since the very first day of the war. >> this time, it's like to return completely to the time before war. i could see all changes actually, what happens to kyiv,

but i think kyiv, like, renewed after a few months since beginning of war, so now, it's much more peaceful here, i would say. yeah, and it's good it's good to have a place where you could return from a front line and understand that it's quite peaceful. >> we first met the couple a few weeks before russia's full-scale invasion. marta and serhii had just joined ukraine's territorial defense forces, a military reserve of the country's armed forces. few members had previous military experience. marta and serhii didn't either. they got training once a week, in the very basics of combat. >> all this stuff that you could just see on the movies,

you know, on the documentaries, you know, it seems very simple, but in general, when you started to do it, it's quite difficult because you need to know how to do it correctly. not to be in danger for yourself and for your colleagues, so it's quite important skills -- very basic but very important skills. >> at that time, the territorial defense forces were intended to support the military in case of war, but mainly behind the front lines -- at checkpoints, for instance. a year ago, nobody knew whether or not russia would actually invade. but if war did come, marta knew she wanted to be prepared. >> it's difficult to explain to foreigners why we exactly know what to expect from russia, but it happens in our history many, many times, when they just physically destroy all roots of ukrainians. >> marta did not consider herself the adventurous type.

before the war, she'd been living an ordinary, low-key life. she had a house just outside kyiv, a garden, and some pets. after studying medicine, marta was supervising studies for international pharmaceutical companies from home. but she sensed that the tranquility wouldn't last. >> it's almost impossible to imagine what will happen, if i have to leave it, if i have to just fight, and it will be destroyed. it could happen. i'm trying to be ready for this because it's still -- how to say -- definitely, i don't want to preserve this on the price of living under occupation. >> damn, that's close! >> war came much faster than expected. the pair was part of the defense forces as soon as the

war began. with russian troops swiftly advancing on kyiv, their hometown became a war zone. serhii was fighting in the trenches, while marta served as a medic in a first-aid station. these days, the territorial defense forces no longer stay well behind the frontlines. they've become active combat units and are deployed to some of the most perilous sections of the front. ♪ >> marta and serhii were both recently at the fiercely contested donbas front.♪ >> i am still afraid of anything because serhii is a

little bit - -i mean, not a little bit. he is far more advanced in this, and i'm still afraid. but what already happens when i have to go there, you know, i just could go. otherwise, i would never go there. ♪ >> now, for the first time, the couple has some time off together. >> honestly, i was not really optimistic in the first months of the war. i had the feeling that we were losing, each minute. it was a big problem. it was difficult to see this from the news, from the situation. but i see how the army became stronger. and i'm really proud to see

this. >> but as they walk around their hometown -- which for now, is more or less peaceful -- they come across reminders of the war. in the center of kyiv, the authorities have put wreckage of russian tanks on display. but the two have already seen plenty of those. the hypothetical situation they started preparing for over a year ago became a deadly and all too bitter reality. lara: his mother begged him not to ride a motorcycle. but italian vanni oddera couldn't ignore his calling. and following his heart has paid off. oddera has enjoyed great success in the world of freestyle motocross. he tours the globe on his bike, delighting fans with stunts and acrobatic jumps. and oddera's calling goes beyond competing and winning titles. he also uses his talent to bring joy to sick children.

♪ >> a day in the life of motocross freestyle champion vanni oddera in liguria. >> the beauty of this sport is that even the richest person in the world can't buy the feeling you get walking in the sky next to your bike. >> but it's not all backflips in the sky -- vanni oddera's wheels take him to all kinds of places , like this hospital in genoa. vanni's motocross journey started in 2002. he soon turned his passion into a profession and is now one of the most successful stars in the industry. his 200-horsepower bike sees him soaring up to 15 meters off

the ground -- but he's always afraid, he says. >> the fear is what drives you to push on. of course, it's very dangerous, but the more you train and the more you jump, the less risk there actually is. the bike becomes something like a third leg. >> his talent brought him fame, money, success and tournaments from brazil to russia. then one day, a taxi ride after a win in moscow changed everything. >> straight away i noticed a strong smell of urine. i snapped at the driver to hurry up and quickly take me to my destination. then i looked into his eyes and saw a man like me. but he was missing his legs. and he was sitting there, in his own urine. >> and from then on, vanni began to help others.

>> i gave the driver all the prize money and went up to my hotel room, ashamed of myself. i thought about what i could do to help the world. >> and that's how he got the idea for motorcycle therapy. >> the idea was to share my time and passion with others. i rang up associations and people with disabilities and talked about my project. they loved it and so i invited them to tournaments in italy and abroad. >> this is genoa on a wednesday morning. vanni and his friend matteo vigliecca bughi are preparing to visit a children's hospital in gaslini. they've been dropping into clinics since 2014. >> it's like hitchhiking!

>> go with bughi and pick a gift. >> and now it's his turn, he's never been on a motorbike before. >> hold on tight. off we go! luckily there are electric motorcycles, so the kids in hospital can enjoy them too. we want to make this place into a big circus. because kids should be able to feel like kids even in a hospital, not like patients. >> 24 young patients are waiting for vanni and his motorcycle in the cancer ward, too. he comes by twice a month. >> what's your name? >> agi. >> watch the tube! >> 1, 2, 3, go! drive slowly!

>> i never thought the motorcycle could move so fast. i could feel my skin, my body. then i thought, there's a door ahead -- why isn't he braking! and then he made this spectacular stop. it was fantastic. >> vanni's visits give the little patients feelings of joy. and the hope that they'll see each other again soon for the next ride. lara: is there something you would like to preserve for future generations? a memoir or a doctoral thesis perhaps? then you may want to consider paying martin kunze a visit. for a small fee, the austrian will bring your work to safety, deep in austria's salzkammergut mountains. the warehouse lies in one of the world's oldest salt mines near hallstatt. and to ensure the data stored in this treasure trove withstands any catastrophe, kunze doesn't secure it digitally, but on a material

you can find at any hardware store. >> martin kunze is on his way to his treasure trove. located deep in a mountain in austria, it's a vault of stone and salt. he's given the project the name "the memory of mankind." >> we're in the "salzberg" of hallstatt, the world's oldest salt mine. we're going to take this old mining train around 500 meters into the mountain. >> this group of mountains in upper austria is called hirlatz. the region is famous for its rock salt, extracted here for centuries. the old pits and shafts provide ideal protection for martin kunze's archive project. the data is inside these boxes of fired clay. but here, data isn't being stored digitally. it's on ceramic tiles, not unlike those you can buy.

kunze burns texts and images into the tiles. what gets stored is selected according to his own criteria. >> we've brought another handful of tiles into the mountain and will now put them into this box here. this is part of a locksmith's training journal from the 1950s. things were done differently back then, which is why i think it's worth preserving. >> besides his own selections, kunze will also store private texts and images for anyone in exchange for a small fee -- stories about the covid lockdown, for example. or the doctoral thesis of a pakistani antiquities researcher, who doesn't want to only rely on digital clouds and servers.

>> our internet and information storage isn't as long-lasting as we think. that's one of the reasons why i decided to set up this archive. so that information can be stored for the long-term, for future generations, so that they can gain some insight into their own past. >> kunze says his tiles are indestructible. and the vienna native knows what he's talking about. he's a trained ceramics specialist and well-versed in these materials. he even developed a special process for burning high-resolution images and texts onto the tiles in his workshop at home. it can take hours or even days. >> this white glaze of the tile bonds with the color grains, then it cools. after that it's a smooth surface. that's why it's so durable.

>> whenever a batch of tiles is finished, martin kunze heads for the salt mine and hallstatt. the picturesque location attracts many tourists, and has been used as a film-location. visitors from around the world come to hallstatt, but few know that deep in a mountain above them, a time-capsule archive has then growing for a decade -- tile by tile. this tile is particularly important to martin kunze. it shows how a glacier has melted in just a few decades. >> that's a central element of the archive -- documenting climate change. because if we don't safely preserve the raw climate observation data, future generations might not understand that climate change took place, and certainly not to what extent. >> the project won't be limited to just tiles. scientists are working with martin kunze on new data storage materials to fit more

data on smaller spaces, because there's plenty of demand. even the university of vienna has tiles here. the project "memory of mankind" is to last forever for everyone. lara: spain's countryside has seen populations plunge as people leave their home villages for big cities. it's a phenomenon that's become known as empty spain. in the southeast of the country, the village of peña zafra day abaho has all but emptied out. the youth have left the elderly are left behind. it's a bitter pill to s wallow for lusia nicholas, who runs the village. but she's not giving up just yet. lusia has launched an eye-catching campaign that shows the villagers in a new light. these spaniards bared all - >> including squash farmer juanjo pérez. here, the 68-year-old reenacts the pose he struck last summer - when he and most of his

fellow villagers agreed to be photographed nude. >> i just had to take part. they told me there weren't enough people. because we have so few residents, i had no other choice. >> peña zafra de abajo is home to just 16 people. they bared their bodies to keep their hamlet from dying out. but here in southeastern spain, the nude photos have raised eyebrows. they now grace a calendar. may's picture is of antonia perea. she wants to show that folks here are more progressive and open than many people think. >> we're just depicted in a bad light. we'd like to be viewed the way people in larger communities are. we pay our taxes, too. but, here in our little hamlet,

we feel sort of left behind. >> photographers david cantó and juanjo ramírez had little trouble convincing the locals to take part. ♪ >> in the villages, things function via word of mouth. people see their neighbors doing it and how well they come across. so they spur one another on. >> the idea for the calendar came from lucía nicolás, head of the residents' association. at 30 years of age, she's one of peña zafra de abajo's youngest inhabitants. she commends her neighbors' courage. >> it's not only a kind of liberation. we're dispelling stereotypes, too. these aren't pictures of buff bodies. they're of ordinary people. here folks can show themselves

as they are, unlike many of the nude photos we're familiar with. i let myself be photographed, too. and the picture is great!" >> peña zafra de abajo and its calendar are now known well beyond spain's borders, to the delight of squash grower juanjo pérez, who's discovered an unknown side of himself. >> i no longer have any inhibitions, though i'd never done anything like this before. i'm on board for next time. >> in the hamlet they're already making plans for next year's calendar -- with even more residents revealing everything peña zafra de abajo has to offer! ♪ lara: a gift idea for that friend who has everything. that's all from us this week at "focus on europe." thanks for your company. you can watch more of our show online at dw.com. bye for now.

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05/04/23 05/04/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> israeli security forces thought u could take pictures of the palestinians to run to the database and seef they uld find aatchnd it ha been refred to as policy. dehumanizing to be treated as if you are part oof it again.