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KULTURAUSTAUSCH

On the beach in Tijuana, a Mexican band dances with their feet in the water while playing their instruments. The men are wearing a dark blue shirt, black trousers and straw hats. They play a drum, a timpani and brass instruments. The border wall between Mexico and the USA can be seen in the background, protruding into the water

New dossier

Mexico between resilience and a fresh start

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Dossier

Indigenous culture today

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Under a blue sky lies a rugged mountain landscape of light-colored stone. Three men are posing in the middle ground, a fourth is photographing them.

Dossier

Living in the desert

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Photo: Lidia Edith
Feminism & Pop | Tunisia
“United Colors of Emel”
Tunisian musician Emel Mathlouthi moves between genres and languages. Recently she has published an album exclusively produced by women. A conversation about metal, feminism and the Arabic language
Interview with Emel Mathlouthi08/12/2024
Photo: Max Hart Nibbrig
Remembrance | Netherlands
A house of loss
For a very long time, the Netherlands had no national memorial to the victims of the Shoah. For the recently opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, the team led by director Emile Schrijver developed a new approach to commemorating the genocide
By Senay Boztas09/09/2024

Ulrich Raulff

President, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

Cécile Calla is an editor. At KULTURAUSTAUSCH she has covered water rituals and the culture of violence in Mexico. When she is not writing or planning her next project, she likes to put her hands in the ground or go jogging. She has lived in Berlin since the end of 2003. Here are her current top picks:

Photo: Lisa Rose/ Collectivo
Indigenous life | Kenya
“Indigeneity is not a label”
Maori, Inuit or Maasai: What connects indigenous people worldwide? Kenyan activist Mali Ole Kaunga talks about the power of international networking and the political space it opens up
Interview with Mali Ole Kaunga04/02/2024

A woman with large red earrings looks into the camera

Older woman with short gray hair looks friendly into the camera. She has blue eyes and wears a yellow blouse. She holds her hand on the back of her neck.

A middle-aged man stands in front of a simple background. He is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and glasses and is looking sideways into the distance.

Young woman with long hair piled on top of her head looks into the camera seriously..

Middle-aged man looks friendly into the camera. He is wearing a checked shirt, glasses and a cap and has a beard.

M’hammed Kilito

[Translate to English:]

Abdulrazak Gurnah

Irina Sherbakova

Mustafah Abdulaziz

Máxima Acuña de Chaupe

Roongtip Luilao

Mohamed Amjahid

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung

The Kulturaustausch team — The KULTURAUSTAUSCH team

Photo: Ole Witt

KULTURAUSTAUSCH’s editorial team works from Berlin, but our networks of authors stretch around the globe – to Lagos, Taipeh, or Bogotá, for example.

Would you like to get in touch, send us feedback or drop a message to one of our contributors?

On the beach in Tijuana, a Mexican band dances with their feet in the water while playing their instruments. The men are wearing a dark blue shirt, black trousers and straw hats. They play a drum, a timpani and brass instruments. The border wall between Mexico and the USA can be seen in the background, protruding into the water — Photo: José María Cárdenas Camacho

Dossier

Mexico

Between resilience and a fresh start: Mexico is beloved by tourists but also struggles with inequality and rising violence. Will the new President Claudia Sheinbaum be able to usher in change?

In einer Allee — Photo: Luisa Dörr

Dossier

Indigenous culture today

Indigenous groups have long struggled to protect their traditional ways of life. Young activists are now building up international networks. Insights from a world that is being reshaped

Under a blue sky lies a rugged mountain landscape of light-colored stone. Three men are posing in the middle ground, a fourth is photographing them. — Photo: Solmaz Daryani

Dossier

Living in the desert

Dry, empty and hostile to life: the desert is etched in our collective imagination. But this unique landscape is often not what we expect

On a stony plateau, a group of people are sitting on several blankets under a tree. There are women, men and children of different ages. A little to the side, a boy dips his foot in a small stream. Mountains can be seen in the background. — Photo: Swinde Wiederhold

Dossier

Parents and children

Unconditional love and huge conflicts: few relationships are as emotional as those of parents and children. What connects us - and what have we always wanted to say to our parents?

View from a high vantage point over a modern city. Green plants can be seen in the very foreground, as if the viewer is standing in a park. In the middle ground rises a modern city center with many skyscrapers and a prominent high-rise tower. The sky shows an extremely dramatic cloud atmosphere between sun and darkness. — Photo: Franky Verdickt

Dossier

Voices from Taiwan

Taiwan is a key democratic ally in Asia for the West. But, looking beyond the looming threat from China, what makes this place unique and what do people in Taiwan dream of?

The outer wall of a one-story house is insulated with straw, there is no external facade. A ladder leans against the house, a middle-aged man steps out of the open door onto the dirt floor. He wears jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. — Photo: Antoine Bruy

Dossier

The limits of growth

The limits of growth have been reached, the climate crisis is real, the war in Ukraine is shaking up global politics. With the world in crisis mode, it's time to consume less!

A woman is standing at the open window, her face turned away from us, looking into the distance. She wears a black headscarf and a patterned outer garment. — Photo: Sayed Aman Sadat

Dossier

Women’s rights in Afghanistan

Since the withdrawal of NATO in 2021, women in Afghanistan have been stripped of their rights, freedom and dignity by the Taliban. In this dossier, they raise their voices!

Three people standing on a sheet of water. — Photo: Mustafah Abdulaziz

Dossier

Are we running out of water?

Without water, life on our planet would be impossible, but we are too careless with it. A dossier on the complicated relationship between humans and the big

White illustration on black background shows a small orchestra playing together on a podium on the right, and a single triangle player standing excluded from the central action on the left, eager to join in. — Illustration: Felix Möller

Dossier

Polarised society

How fairly do we all live together? Who has power, who is left on the sidelines? How do we deal with other people’s opinions? Our issue on culture clashes

Gitte Zschoch

Secretary general, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Conflict | Israel

“How do you keep a vision of peace without sounding naïve?”

Avital Benshalom runs the Hagar School in Be’er Sheva, where Jewish and Arab children learn together. How did the school continue its work after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza?

Interview with Avital Benshalom09/12/2024

Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Teaching dialogue | Israel

“I don’t want coexistence if I don’t have equality”

Following the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war in Gaza, peaceful coexistence between Jewish and Arab Israelis seems more difficult than ever. Mohammad Darawshe discusses his ongoing work as a peace activist at Israel’s biggest peace organisation Givat Haviva

Interview with Mohammad Darawshe09/12/2024

A light-flooded, light grey and soberly furnished hall. Winter sunlight falls through the window front on the left. The room is recognisable as an exhibition hall thanks to display cases and wall texts — Photo: Max Hart Nibbrig

Remembrance | Netherlands

A house of loss

For a very long time, the Netherlands had no national memorial to the victims of the Shoah. For the recently opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, the team led by director Emile Schrijver developed a new approach to commemorating the genocide

By Senay Boztas09/09/2024

A young woman wears a tight-fitting, colourful T-shirt. She looks to the side and holds her pigtails to the right and left. She is standing in front of an undefined grey wall — Photo: El Rey de Aragón

Pop culture | Mexico

The sound of Mexico

Paulina Sotomayor sang in a mariachi band for years, but today she mixes electro with Mexican folk music, cumbia, conga and afrobeats. This is her personal playlist to celebrate female empowerment

By Paulina Sotomayor09/07/2024

An illustration depicts Mexican commuters — Illustration: Daniel Barreto

Notes and observations | Mexico

A journey into the heart of Mexico City

The average “chilango”, or resident of Mexico City, spends around one and a half hours a day on public transport. An essay on public and semi-public transport in the Mexican capital

By Mateo García Elizondo09/07/2024

A man stands behind the crowded sales counter of a store and looks into the camera with a smile. The shelves behind him are full of cans and packages — Photo: Miguel Tovar for KULTURAUSTAUSCH

Vox pop | Mexico

Mexico’s fourth transformation

Mexico’s outgoing president launched extensive social reforms, and his successor Claudia Sheinbaum promises to continue his work. What has changed so far? A snapshot of the prevailing mood in Mexico City

By Paula Mónaco Felipe09/07/2024

Photo: Jörg Kandziora

Literature | Nigeria

“I’m interested in mundane acts of resistance”

Francesca Ekwuyasi is a Nigerian writer whose debut novel “Butter, Honey, Pig, Bread” follows three women on a journey of love, reconciliation, and food. In an interview, she talks about living in the diaspora and writing about queerness and faith.

Interview with Francesca Ekwuyasi08/12/2024

Photo: Lidia Edith

Feminism & Pop | Tunisia

“United Colors of Emel”

Tunisian musician Emel Mathlouthi moves between genres and languages. Recently she has published an album exclusively produced by women. A conversation about metal, feminism and the Arabic language

Interview with Emel Mathlouthi08/12/2024

Photo: Gary Doak / Alamy

Manifesto | Mexico

My president

For the first time in history Mexico voted for a female president. Following Claudia Sheinbaum’s landslide win, the writer Gabriela Jauregui lists her demands for the new Presidenta

By Gabriela Jauregui05/29/2024

A woman in a mustard yellow shirt with a patterned scarf is leaning against a railing in front of a concrete wall next to a window. She wears glasses and her long grey hair is tied back. She looks thoughtfully out of the window to the side — Photo: Natalia Bronny

Trade unions | Pakistan

Invisible women workers in Pakistan

Women working from home are an important economic factor in Pakistan, but they are often isolated and deprived of their rights. The Home Based Women Workers Federation campaigns for change

By Hannah El-Hitami04/30/2024

Opinion | Nairobi

I think that Fitness should be straightforward again

The pressure of social media can quickly become overwhelming. But fitness doesn't have to be expensive, complicated or perfect

By Kylie Kiunguyu04/30/2024

[Translate to English:] — Photo: Abigail Varney

Flying visit | Australia

The hunt for opals in Australia

Coober Pedy in the Australian outback is considered the world capital of opals. That does not make it a glamorous place, though

By Abigail Varney04/30/2024