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“These days, we have very few trials”

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Judge Abby Abinanti was California’s first Native American female lawyer. She says much can be learnt from indigenous approaches to justice, which are rooted in cooperation and help.

By Abby Abinanti

“English is still not a language of intimacy for me”

Author NoViolet Bulawayo writes about Zimbabwe using the rhythms of her mother tongue Ndebele – even though she has long lived in the USA. A conversation about modern African storytelling and living between languages.

By NoViolet Bulawayo

Beyond the European bubble

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German media outlets are often indifferent when it comes to reporting from outside Europe. German journalist Mohamed Amjahid has realised that writing about sex helps break down barriers.

By Mohamed Amjahid

Special feature: “Precious Freedom. Voices from Taiwan”

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

A country special on Taiwan

With contributions by writers Li Ang and Wu Ming-Yi from Taiwan, Yan Lianke from Beijing and others.

Also in the mix: British publisher Margaret Busby, Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo and many more! 

“Reporter Ho Hui-An reports that Taiwan is already ‘in the midst of an information war’ with China, and activist Hsi Jui-Ting says a (probably only half-joking) saying is doing the rounds in Taipei: ‘I have a hut in the mountains - let's all go there when the Chinese come.’

With this issue’s focus on Taiwan, we feature a range of Taiwanese perspectives, offering a close-up understanding of their homeland.”

By Kai Schnier, from the editorial



“Take care of yourself, Ming-Yi”

The Taiwanese author Wu Ming-Yi and the Chinese writer Yan Lianke exchanged letters for us. The result is a very personal exchange about censorship, loss, and the pain that is expressed between the lines
by Yan Lianke, Wu Ming-Yi

The sand pirates

Chinese freighters are hunting for one of the world's most coveted raw materials off the Taiwanese coast. But the search for sand doesn’t only pose a problem for Taipei, but also for Beijing
by Will Yang, Yian Lee

“We’re in the middle of an information war”

Manipulated images, cyberattacks and viral fake news: in Taiwan, digital disinformation is commonplace in Taiwan. Ho Hui-An of the Taiwan FactCheck Center explains how this threat is being combatted
Interview with Ho Hui-An

Photographic essays

The simple life

In search of people who have had enough of big city life, the French photographer Antoine Bruy has traveled through Europe and North America. The result is the visually stunning photo series “Scrublands,” in which he documents people who opt out of society, depicting their everyday lives.
by Antoine Bruy

“Water is like a mirror”

Droughts, forest fires, floods: humanity is quietly heading for a climate crisis. With his photo series on the subject of water, Mustafah Abdulaziz is holding a mirror up to what’s happening. A conversation
with Mustafa Abdulaziz

Someone else’s paradise

The Maldives are seen as a slice of paradise by tourists from all over the world but the archipelago’s inhabitants live a different reality. Here is a photo gallery about a radiant island kingdom and its shadowy world. An interview
with Philipp Spalek

Make it yourself: Ten ideas from across the globe

Around the world, people design and create things by hand. In our KULTURAUSTAUSCH issue on make it yourself, design experts had their say and so did people who simply enjoy making things. A magazine exploring why we make things ourselves – with instructions for making ten objects from across the globe.



A bag made from flax

Weaving with flax is a traditional Māori handicraft which requires a lot of practice and remains popular today
by Yvonne Hammond

In the cultural battlefield

From flawless craftsmanship to clumsy do-it-yourself: our ideas of “homemade” are wide ranging
by Justin McGuirk

A hut made out of wood

The Sámi from Scandinavia know how to build a house. For 4,000 years they have been building goahtis to withstand the harsh climate
by Joar Nango

KULTURAUSTAUSCH in conversation

“We need a culture of less”

Vandana Shiva wears a green Sari. She is standing in front of a shelf with many tins and looks calmly into the camera

For half a century, activist and author Vandana Shiva has been criticising the excesses of the global economy and arguing for a simple life
an interview with Vandana Shiva

“We are mismanaging it badly”

Melting glaciers, rising sea levels: scientist Aditi Mukherji explains why it is high time we change how we deal with water
an interview with Aditi Mukherji

“Colonialism keeps going”

In his books, Abdulrazak Gurnah takes a close-up look at life under colonial rule - and probes both his East African roots and his British homeland
an interview with Abdulrazak Gurnah

Afghanistan: Fear of women

Since Western troops withdrew, women in Afghanistan have been robbed of their rights. 

They have lost their jobs and are locked up at home.

But the new generation refuses to be quietly driven out of public life.

In our current issue, women are raising their voices! 


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News from ifa

Interview: The Long Struggle of Women

Christa Nickels was not only a co-founder of the Green Party, but also a member of the German Bundestag in the 1980s. In 2008, she was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for her services. In April 2023, she spoke in Japan about political equality. How she made herself heard and why a feminist foreign policy is important

Podcast: Civil war in Myanmar

Since 2021, when a military coup abruptly put down the pro-democracy movement, a civil war has been simmering in Myanmar. In the new episode of the ifa-Podcast “Die Kulturmittler:innen”, surgeon, author, and fellow of the Martin Roth-Initiative Ma Thida talks about the role of icons in revolutions and literature as a tool for freedom and protest while giving us an insight on recent developments in her country

Venice: 18th International Architecture Exhibition

This year, for the first time, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La biennale di Venezia is focusing on Africa and the African diaspora under the title “The Laboratory of the Future”. Among others, the architectural office Kéré Architecture is represented and shows a realisable and fantastic vision of architecture