Teenagers from the around the world talk to the technology pioneers who have shaped their lives. Each episode is introduced by seventeen year old Anna Zanelli, a budding designer from London. Young people get the chance to ask leading innovators the questions they want answered. We find out about the inspiration behind some of the most important digital inventions, what their creators needed to do to make them a reality, and hear words of wisdom from brilliant minds.
Teenagers from the around the world talk to the technology pioneers who have shaped their lives. Each episode is introduced by seventeen year old Anna Zanelli, a budding designer from London. Young people get the chance to ask leading innovators the questions they want answered. We find out about the inspiration behind some of the most important digital inventions, what their creators needed to do to make them a reality, and hear words of wisdom from brilliant minds.
The digital world only works if it is connected. In the early 1970s, Professor Bradford Parkinson was working with the United States Air Force as an engineer leading the team that developed the Global Positioning System, or GPS, which uses satellites to pinpoint users wherever they are. Sixteen-year-old Malak from Israel finds out from Professor Parkinson how it all came about, and why he still uses maps to sail by.
Producer: Tamsin Barber. World Wise Web is a co-production between BBC World Service and BBC Rewind. Music composed by Nick Thorburn