Orla Barry is the Europe correspondent for The World. She has been a producer with the BBC World Service for six years, working on Outside Source, World Have Your Say and Newsday. Orla has been a national broadcaster on the Irish radio station Newstalk, where she presented the daily morning show and a weekend arts and culture show.
Orla has produced a series of documentaries from East Africa, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. She also presented a BBC Radio 4 documentary on the Irish women who built Britain. She previously worked as an independent producer for NBC and Arte. Orla has been a columnist with two Irish national newspapers, the Irish Examiner and the Irish Independent. She has a Master’s degree in politics and development studies.
The ‘Say Hi’ campaign in Sweden is helping to combat loneliness
Åsa Koski, a social strategist with the Luleå municipality in northern Sweden, started the Säg hej! (“Say hi!”) campaign to try and get people to interact more with each other to combat widespread loneliness.
Demise of ‘Crooked House’ pub is cautionary tale about loss of British heritage
The changing landscape for Sweden’s successful music industry
Gang shootings in Sweden are on the rise. But local communities and former gang members are fighting back.
Arrest of online influencer Andrew Tate puts Romania’s webcam industry in the spotlight
Webcam studio owners say the business is legal. Anti-sex-trafficking groups say the Andrew Tate case tells a different story.
Romania's traditional blouse industry under threat by mass production of fake replicas
The Romanian blouse, IA, is one of the best-known symbols of Romania’s culture. But cheap replicas manufactured in China and India threaten the future of the homegrown industry.
Ukrainian refugees create their own school in Romania
Ukrainian refugees who fled abroad often struggle to find work and a suitable school for their children. In Bucharest, Romania, two Ukrainian mothers came up with a solution: create their own school.
‘Trade is trade and war is war’: Romanian farmers say helping Ukraine is hurting their bottom line
A row over cheap Ukrainian grain threatens to fracture a show of solidarity between the EU and Ukraine. Romanian farmer Ionut Spiță said his profits took a hit due to a glut of cheaper Ukrainian grain and oilseeds intended for Africa and the Middle East that flooded Eastern European markets.
Filmmakers hope that Oscar nomination for 'The Quiet Girl' renews interest in the Irish language
“An Cailín Ciúin” (“The Quiet Girl”) is Ireland's first film to be nominated for best foreign language film in the Academy Awards. Language enthusiasts in Ireland are hoping that the new film will give their mother tongue a much-needed boost in a country where less than 2% of the population speak it on a daily basis.
Ukrainian refugees in Poland will now be charged to stay in state-funded housing
Poland has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other European nation. But from March 1, the Polish government has ruled that Ukrainians living in state-funded accommodation will have to start contributing toward their housing and food costs.
New Cate Blanchett film 'Tár' divides opinion among female conductors
“Tár,” about a virtuoso female conductor, has shone a spotlight on the continuing dearth of women leading major orchestras worldwide.
An unseasonably warm winter in Europe threatens ski resorts, tourism
Countries across Europe are experiencing unseasonably warm weather this January, causing a headache for ski resorts and broader concern for what it might mean for the year ahead.
This pastor officiated Orbán’s wedding. Now he’s one of his fiercest critics.
Pastor Gábor Iványi is one of Hungary’s best-known religious leaders. He officiated over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s wedding and baptized two of his children. Today, he is one of Orbán’s fiercest critics.
'Nothing Orbán says is by accident': Jewish leaders in Hungary grapple with anti-Semitic tropes in politics
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of using anti-Semitic tropes to promote his vision of Hungarian nationalism. Some members of the Jewish community say this makes them uncomfortable, but Jewish leaders have been slow to speak out about it.