DE / EN

Out now: “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 want to avoid the trap that country expert Marcin Jerzewski warns against when he recommends that the island state ‘is not be seen only through the lens of its relations with China’. For that reason we feature a range of Taiwanese perspectives, to offer a close-up understanding of their homeland.”

By Kai Schnier, from the editorial



Lonely island

Everyone talks about Taiwan, but what do we really know about the island republic in the western Pacific Ocean? A close up look at life in Taiwan beyond the Chinese threat.
editorial by Kai Schnier

“Today an invasion is more likely than ever”

Taiwan’s diplomatic representative Shieh Jhy-Wey strives to promote his country’s interests in Berlin. A conversation about democratic alliances, the country’s authoritarian legacy and Xi Jinping.
an interview with Shieh Jhy-Wey

What we don’t talk about in Taiwan

Taiwan is often portrayed as a model Asian democracy by the West. But how free and open-minded is the country really? The author Li Ang has been asking this question for decades.
by Li Ang

The big photography interview

Icebergs like spaceships

The life of the Inuit in the north of Canada is characterized by ice and snow. A visual journey.
an interview with Sergey Ponomarev

Scenes of protest

Before the corona crisis took hold, people were protesting around the world. Bartosz Ludwinskis photographs capture tense moments of resistance – from the West Bank to Sankt Peter-Ording. 
an interview with Bartosz Ludwinski

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

One year of war: How is the Ukrainian cultural sector faring?

“People need to restore their sense of safety”

[Translate to English:]

Mystetskyi Arsenal is the national culture, arts, and museum complex, housed in the old fortress of Kyiv. Museum manager Olga Zhuk describes the race to put up exhibitions between power outages, and why it is so important to retain spaces for reflection.

“We get a huge emotional feedback from our audience”

[Translate to English:]

The National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Lviv is considered the cultural centre of the city. General director Vasyl Vovkun talks about how his team adapted and how the relationship with their audience has changed since the beginning of the war.

“Even during the war, people cared about their education”

[Translate to English:]

Projector offers online classes for creative and technology-based jobs. After the Russian invasion, the institute halted all operations. But demand for professional education in the creative industry is rising, not least because many people seek new work online, says Head of Product Anna Chernysh.

Latest

Beyond the European bubble

[Translate to English:]

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

Cartoons against the Taliban

[Translate to English:]

What does it mean to report on politics in Afghanistan? The Afghan journalist Uzra Shamal talks about her work and why she chose an unusual form of reporting: the cartoon. A conversation.

By Uzra Shamal

The long shadows of apartheid

[Translate to English:]

Damon Galgut won the Booker Prize for his novel “The Promise”. In our interview he talks about the psychological effects of apartheid and South Africa‘s enduring inequality.

By Damon Galgut

Culture clashes: Too much black and white thinking

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? In our KULTURAUSTAUSCH issue on culture clashes, international authors wrote about their experiences and views on black and white thinking:



Exclusionary tactics

When today's conversations about history turn political, they can stray into virtue signalling territory. That gets in the way of genuine and democratic debate.
by Ute Frevert

Where do we stand now?

Discrimination, hate crime, equality: Where was progress seen over the past years and what more needs to be done?
by Julia Neumann

White thinking

What it means to work your way up in professional soccer and still not feel treated equally.
by Lilian Thuram

KULTURAUSTAUSCH in conversation

“We are living in an age of extinction”

The system critic Naomi Klein explains why she still has a glimmer of hope, despite the climate crisis.
an interview with Naomi Klein

“Accustomed to holding power”

Some sit in the boss's chair, others in a retirement home: The author Pankaj Mishra on the baby boomer generation and the challenges of aging.
an interview with Pankaj Mishra

“Racism does not go away if you remain silent”

Classical music was long the domain of white men. If opera singer Golda Schultz has her way, that's about to change. A conversation about prejudice on and off the stage.
an interview with Golda Schultz

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! 


The KULTURAUSTAUSCH world map

All of our articles and photos at one click

News from ifa

Jordan: Forests in the desert

 “It is pretty simple. If it was once a forest, it could be a forest again. It is in the land’s DNA.”: Although Jordan is one of the driest nations on the planet, the architect and urban forester Deema Assaf believes that with time, patience and new conservation techniques she can turn it green again

Exhibition: C& Center of Unfinished Business

The C& Center of Unfinished Business is a reading room that offers visitors an extraordinary, and also disconcerting, selection of books that are connected to the topic of colonialism in various ways. This year the platform will present a very special edition of its offline project at ifa Galerie Berlin 

Podcast: What comes after the War?

In this episode of “Die Kulturmittler” Deputy Director of the Ukraine Institute Alim Aliev talks about the strategies Russia is using to try to bind Crimea closer and explains how the Ukraine Institute works against Russian propaganda and how it tries to preserve and spread Ukrainian culture and history