You are here: Homepage Subjects In KULTURAUSTAUSCH, the magazine for international perspectives, authors from around the world give their takes on key political and social talking points. Environment and climate policy “We are losing fertile land every year” Why are deserts increasing worldwide? An interview with the Romanian meteorologist Roxana Bojariu 01/26/2024 Young men take a dive at the Oued Sayad dam near the Taghjijt oasis in southern Morocco Photo: M’hammed Kilito Desert oases under threat Oasis ecosystems are perfectly adapted to the harsh desert environment. Today, many are threatened by drought and mismanagement. Photographer M’hammed Kilito zooms in on the people working to save them 01/25/2024 Wang Chung-Yong watches a dredger Photo: Ann Wang / Reuters The sand piratesChinese freighters are hunting for one of the world's most coveted raw materials off the Taiwanese coast. But the search for sand poses a problem not just for Taipei, but for Beijing06/01/2023 Postcolonialism Unrealised design for the “Darkinjung Aboriginal Centre” in New South Wales Photo: BVN Architecture “Building with country” The Australian architect Kevin O’Brien fuses indigenous and colonial legacies to create buildings that reflect the culture and climate of their locations. A conversation about Torres Straits Islanders’ beach huts, clichés about modernism and loving Australia 04/15/2024 Children play on the beach in Iqaluit, Nunavut on wrapped canoes from the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest incorporated company in Canada, founded in 1670 Photo: Rosemary Gilliat Eaton / Library and Archives Canada Nunavik, my icy homeland In northern Canada, the indigenous population has always lived in balance with nature - but then Europeans found their way to the icy desert. The newcomers harvested its raw materials. A personal story about life on the periphery of North America 02/16/2024 Photo: The Guardian / eyevine / laif Africa as a construct and as a continent In his coming-of-age novel “The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa”, Stephen Buoro shows how pop culture imported from the West reinforces post-colonial trauma. A conversation 12/25/2023 In 2015, after months of student protests, the statue of British colonist Cecil Rhodes has been removed from the grounds of the University of Cape Town Photo: Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images Postcolonialism Acknowledging the colonial past of countries, identifying the impact of colonialism on former colonies (and within former colonial powers) and reflecting on the inequalities that have emerged… Visitors in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem International Holocaust Memorial in Israel (January 2017) Photo: Lior Mizrahi / Getty Images The culture of remembrance Dealing with historical events can also spark tensions. KULTURAUSTAUSCH regularly dives into the background narratives and offers international perspectives on the culture of remembrance… The Secretary-General of the United Nations addresses the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (April 2023) Photo: Ed Jones / AFP / Getty Images International relations Although the creation of organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union appeared to usher in the age of multilateralism, world politics remains largely shaped by inter-state relations... Smoke rises from an illegal fire near Manaquiri in the state of Amazonas. At the beginning of September 2023 alone, 2,500 illegal fires were registered in the region by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research Photo: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images Environment and climate policy Environmental and climate issues play an increasingly important role on a national and global level. Climate policy has far-reaching effects worldwide. We report on climate change and sustainable development, outlining local climate initiatives and international conflicts linked to the environment... At a protest march in Istanbul, several women shout slogans and hold up signs with the portrait of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini (October 2022). Mahsa Amini had died in custody of the Iranian guidance patrol Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images Human rights There is hardly a subject the global community is as united on as that of human rights - and yet there are still disputes about their status and supposed universality… Migrants arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos near the village of Skala Sikaminias after crossing the Aegean sea in an inflatable boat from Turkey (2015) Photo: Matej Divizna / Getty Images Migration How are societies and states shaped by displacement and migration? And how do migrants’ stories influence the arts? At Mystetzki Arsenal in Kyiv, curators and museum staff continue exhibition operations under difficult conditions because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One challenge of many the staff are dealing with are regular power outages (fall 2022) Photo: Oleksandr Popenko / Mystetskyi Arsenal Literature and arts At KULTURAUSTAUSCH we explore the bigger picture, talking to artists from Global South and offering updates on the international cultural scene. In addition to short reviews and event tips, you'll also find interviews with top authors, filmmakers and theatre professionals… Aerial view of large container vessels and shipping containers at Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai (April 2023). The port is one of the biggest transport hubs in China Photo: VCG / Getty Images Economy and trade How are relations between states and societies shaped by economic relationships? How do trade agreements and cultural diplomacy interconnect? Market life in Lagos, the largest metropolis in Nigeria (2017) Photo: Patrick van Katwijk / Getty Images Society and everyday life In KULTURAUSTAUSCH, authors from around the world offer personal insights into everyday life, society and politics in their home countries…
“We are losing fertile land every year” Why are deserts increasing worldwide? An interview with the Romanian meteorologist Roxana Bojariu 01/26/2024
Young men take a dive at the Oued Sayad dam near the Taghjijt oasis in southern Morocco Photo: M’hammed Kilito Desert oases under threat Oasis ecosystems are perfectly adapted to the harsh desert environment. Today, many are threatened by drought and mismanagement. Photographer M’hammed Kilito zooms in on the people working to save them 01/25/2024
Wang Chung-Yong watches a dredger Photo: Ann Wang / Reuters The sand piratesChinese freighters are hunting for one of the world's most coveted raw materials off the Taiwanese coast. But the search for sand poses a problem not just for Taipei, but for Beijing06/01/2023
Unrealised design for the “Darkinjung Aboriginal Centre” in New South Wales Photo: BVN Architecture “Building with country” The Australian architect Kevin O’Brien fuses indigenous and colonial legacies to create buildings that reflect the culture and climate of their locations. A conversation about Torres Straits Islanders’ beach huts, clichés about modernism and loving Australia 04/15/2024
Children play on the beach in Iqaluit, Nunavut on wrapped canoes from the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest incorporated company in Canada, founded in 1670 Photo: Rosemary Gilliat Eaton / Library and Archives Canada Nunavik, my icy homeland In northern Canada, the indigenous population has always lived in balance with nature - but then Europeans found their way to the icy desert. The newcomers harvested its raw materials. A personal story about life on the periphery of North America 02/16/2024
Photo: The Guardian / eyevine / laif Africa as a construct and as a continent In his coming-of-age novel “The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa”, Stephen Buoro shows how pop culture imported from the West reinforces post-colonial trauma. A conversation 12/25/2023
In 2015, after months of student protests, the statue of British colonist Cecil Rhodes has been removed from the grounds of the University of Cape Town Photo: Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images Postcolonialism Acknowledging the colonial past of countries, identifying the impact of colonialism on former colonies (and within former colonial powers) and reflecting on the inequalities that have emerged…
Visitors in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem International Holocaust Memorial in Israel (January 2017) Photo: Lior Mizrahi / Getty Images The culture of remembrance Dealing with historical events can also spark tensions. KULTURAUSTAUSCH regularly dives into the background narratives and offers international perspectives on the culture of remembrance…
The Secretary-General of the United Nations addresses the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (April 2023) Photo: Ed Jones / AFP / Getty Images International relations Although the creation of organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union appeared to usher in the age of multilateralism, world politics remains largely shaped by inter-state relations...
Smoke rises from an illegal fire near Manaquiri in the state of Amazonas. At the beginning of September 2023 alone, 2,500 illegal fires were registered in the region by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research Photo: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images Environment and climate policy Environmental and climate issues play an increasingly important role on a national and global level. Climate policy has far-reaching effects worldwide. We report on climate change and sustainable development, outlining local climate initiatives and international conflicts linked to the environment...
At a protest march in Istanbul, several women shout slogans and hold up signs with the portrait of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini (October 2022). Mahsa Amini had died in custody of the Iranian guidance patrol Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images Human rights There is hardly a subject the global community is as united on as that of human rights - and yet there are still disputes about their status and supposed universality…
Migrants arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos near the village of Skala Sikaminias after crossing the Aegean sea in an inflatable boat from Turkey (2015) Photo: Matej Divizna / Getty Images Migration How are societies and states shaped by displacement and migration? And how do migrants’ stories influence the arts?
At Mystetzki Arsenal in Kyiv, curators and museum staff continue exhibition operations under difficult conditions because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One challenge of many the staff are dealing with are regular power outages (fall 2022) Photo: Oleksandr Popenko / Mystetskyi Arsenal Literature and arts At KULTURAUSTAUSCH we explore the bigger picture, talking to artists from Global South and offering updates on the international cultural scene. In addition to short reviews and event tips, you'll also find interviews with top authors, filmmakers and theatre professionals…
Aerial view of large container vessels and shipping containers at Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai (April 2023). The port is one of the biggest transport hubs in China Photo: VCG / Getty Images Economy and trade How are relations between states and societies shaped by economic relationships? How do trade agreements and cultural diplomacy interconnect?
Market life in Lagos, the largest metropolis in Nigeria (2017) Photo: Patrick van Katwijk / Getty Images Society and everyday life In KULTURAUSTAUSCH, authors from around the world offer personal insights into everyday life, society and politics in their home countries…