use utf8;  #FOR THE "wide characters" IN YOUR OWN CODE

binmode STDIN,  ":utf8"; #FOR INCOMING UTF8
binmode STDOUT, ":utf8"; #FOR OUTGOING UTF8
binmode STDERR, ":utf8"; #AND FOR ERRORS SEPARATELY

use open qw/:std :utf8/;        #THIS ONE CAN BE PROBLEMATIC WITH DATABASE INTERACTIONS
use open ':encoding(utf8)';     #ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING IT

use feature 'unicode_strings';  #ANOTHER PART OF 'TMTOWTDI' FOR PERL UNICODE