Kulturaustausch: II/2024

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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 Varney 04/30/2024
“Fierté”: French photographer Marvin Bonheur began his career in Départment 93 on the outskirts of Paris, home to a largely marginalised part of French society

Photo: Marvin Bonheur

Society | France

“People we wouldn’t notice”

French photographer Marvin Bonheur grew up in the banlieue of Paris. Today, he works internationally as a documentary photographer and in advertising. In both fields, he is aiming to portray those who are most often overlooked

Interview with Marvin Bonheur 04/03/2024
The Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz

Portrait: Victor Boyko / Getty Images

Personal history | Brazil

A new world in every film

The Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz has always been drawn to distant horizons. From Brazil via New York, he found his way to Berlin

By Karim Aïnouz 03/14/2024
Photo: Luisa Dörr

Youth culture | Bolivia

“Cholitas” on skateboards

Young indigenous women skateboard through Cochabamba wearing traditional dress. Daniela Santiváñez explains what sparked them to form the collective ImillaSkate and how they stop their hats from flying off in the wind

Interview with Daniela Santivañez 04/02/2024
Activist Mali Ole Kaunga

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 Kaunga 04/02/2024
Unrealised design for the “Darkinjung Aboriginal Centre” in New South Wales

Photo: BVN Architecture

Architecture | Australia

“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

Interview with Kevin O’Brien 04/15/2024
Scene from the “Orion Au Sahara 2970” (2023) campaign, shot in southern Morocco

Photo: Azim Haidaryan

Indigenous futurism

“I love science fiction”

Futuristic films such as “Dune” often feature desert peoples reminiscent of the Amazigh culture of North Africa — without acknowledging their influence. British-Moroccan filmmaker and designer Elias Riadi, in contrast, is building on the Amazigh tradition of his ancestors to create his very own version of an „indigenous futurism“

Interview with Elias Riadi 04/02/2024
In 1972, Māori activist Hana Te Hemara brought a petition to the New Zealand Parliament to protect the Maori language. Fifty years later, artist Graham Hoete created this mural to commemorate the activist and her fellow campaigners

Photo: Vanessa Ellingham

Indigenous life | New Zealand

A long-awaited comeback

New Plymouth is on New Zealand’s North Island, where the Māori community of Te Ātiawa have lived since long before the British arrived. Now, finally, they are shaping the cityscape again

By Vanessa Ellingham 04/16/2024
Musician Elisapie Isaac

Foto: Leeor Wild

Playlist | Canada & Greenland

The Sound of the Inuit

Raucous vocals, nature-loving lyrics, love songs or simply some proper rock: the Inuit playlist by Canadian musician Elisapie Isaac

By Elisapie Isaac 03/14/2024
Sami activist Ida Helene Benonisen

Photo: Rasmus Berg

Indigenous rights | Norway

Wind turbines on Saami land

Norway spent decades trying to force the Saami to assimilate. The activist Ida Helene Benonisen is fighting for indigenous rights – in the tradition of her forefathers

By Ida Helene Benonisen 04/03/2024
Photo: Bas Losekoot

Family life | South Korea

The silent protest of women in South Korea

The East Asian country has a demographic problem: its population is ageing rapidly but many women have no desire to have children

By Hawon Jung 04/30/2024
Foto: Niklas Grapatin/laif

Design | Monobloc

Chair Today, Gone Tomorrow

In Europe, critics consider the Monobloc to be tasteless plastic rubbish. But for many people around the world, it’s the only affordable chair that is actually comfortable

By Heng Zhi 04/19/2024
Zehra Khan has founded the Home Based Women Workers Federation in 2009

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-Hitami 04/30/2024
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 Kiunguyu 04/30/2024
“Daniela” from the series “The Fury”, 2023

Photo: Shirin Neshat

Art | Iran

The body as a battleground

The artist Shirin Neshat has long been concerned with the role of women in Iran. Her work has never been as topical as it is today

By Jess Smee 04/15/2024
Rapper Suppra comes from Kennedy, one of Bogotá's poorer neighborhoods, but lives in Chile.

Photo: Daniel Lara Cardona

Music | Colombia

The beats of Bogotá

Colombia’s capital is home to a vibrant and political rap scene which reaches a large audience with its powerful lyrics

By Juan Álvarez 04/15/2024

Issue II/ 2026

Defence

Defence now dominates conversations around strategy, law and political influence. But beyond the rhetoric are individuals and communities whose lives are shaped by violence—both those who suffer it and those forced to enact it. In such circumstances, how do people retain dignity and a sense of hope?

Issue I/ 2026

AI and culture

Artificial intelligence promises progress and new possibilities - while at the same time raising questions about who we, as humans, will become in the future. As tech giants vie for global dominance, we are searching for answers to the loss of control, shifts in power, and the question of a more just future.

Issue III+IV/2025

What will become of Syria?

The Assad regime has fallen: this news moved millions of people in December 2024. Since then, a new government has come to power in Syria and many sanctions have been lifted. However, the new leadership's terrorist past has aroused mistrust. After the brutal massacres of minority groups, the initial euphoria has evaporated— yet hope for a new beginning remains.

Issue II/2025

The End of the West

The end of the West is currently being conjured up everywhere, whether as a feeling of collective exhaustion or as a sign of a shifting world order. Is this justified? In this issue, we look at the crisis of the West from a global perspective and question our self-image

Magazine I/2025

Informal living

Around one billion people live in informal settlements worldwide. Stereotypes of these dwellings often reduce them to poverty and deprivation. How are the people living in these places really doing?

Issue III+IV/2024

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?

Issue I/2024

Broader horizons

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

Das Cover der Ausgabe IV/2023 von KULTURAUSTAUSCH. Auf dem Foto ist eine Gruppe Menschen zu sehen, die sich offenbar nahe stehen. Im Zentrum ein etwas älterer Mann mit kurzen grauen Haaren, um ihn herum gruppiert sechs junge Menschen.

Issue IV/2023

Inner circle

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?

Issue II+III/2023

Precious freedom

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?

Issue I/2023

Living on less

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!

Issue IV/2022

Fear of women

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

Issue III/2022

Are we running out of water?

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

Issue II/2022

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? Our issue on culture clashes

Issue I/2022

Under the Earth

We plunder raw materials, build secret escape tunnels and dig up remnants of prehistoric times: There is much more happening under our feet than we realise. A journey into the underground

Issue IV/2021

Make it yourself

Around the world, people design and create things by hand. A magazine exploring why we make things ourselves – with instructions for making ten objects from across the globe

Issue III/2021

The new Poland

Judicial reform, freedom of expression, women's rights: Poland is rife with dispute and the issues strike the heart of democrcacy. A deep dive into a divided nation

Issue II/2021

The hunters and the hunted

Many animals are loved and worshipped by humans. Many more are cramped in factory farms. A magazine about the ambivalent relationship between people and animals

Issue II/2019

Issue II/2019

When do people feel guilty? And who gets to define what that is? A magazine with tales of perpetrators, victims and witnesses, about how we deal with injustice and the role of forgiveness

Heroes

Issue II/2018

The end of heroism has often been declared, but we are still in thrall to the notion of heroes. Who are our role models, what idols are adored around the world and why do we need them?

Earth, how are you doing?

Issue I/2018

People spend a lot of time mulling over how nature will look tomorrow. But the future of our planet is one thing above all others: Uncertain. But one certainty is how our world looks today. A snapshot.

High. About elites

Issue I/2015

Exquisite taste and good manners, influence, power and top positions: A themed issue about people who know more, achieve more, or simply have more, than others

The scam factories

Cambodia has become a hub for online fraud — often run by trafficked foreign workers forced into the trade

By Danielle Keeton-Olsen07/08/2026

Ramon Espinosa/AP

Humanitarian crisis | Cuba

“Cubans are being pushed to the limit”

Playwright Yunior García Aguilera sounds a warning about Cuba’s humanitarian crisis — and explains what it would take to finally spark political change

Interview with Yunior García Aguilera05/20/2026

Photography | Ukraine

War and a bit of peace

The Kyiv photographer Vic Bakin portrays Ukrainian soldiers at home, far from the front line, in his photographic work “Hell Was Full”

By Ole Witt05/07/2026

Junger Mann mit Brille schaut ernst Richtung Kamera — Foto: Ole Witt für KULTURAUSTAUSCH

In exile | Hong Kong

“I was threatened with ten years in prison”

The activist Ray Wong is fighting for democracy in his homeland Hong Kong from Germany.

Interview with Ray Wong Toi-yeung05/03/2026

Photo: Gundula Haage

Hunting with drones

In northern Georgia, Russian soldiers are pushing back the border. A few brave individuals are documenting the land grab on social media

By Gundula Haage04/29/2026

Photo: Koshkin Serhii

Culture wars | Ukraine

A question of guilt

The Ukrainian soldier and writer Artur Dron calls on Europe to stop publishing Russian authors during the war.

By Artur Dron04/29/2026

Photo: Amr Attamimi

Sunny to partly cloudy

The photo book “Photography from Yemen” changes the way we see a country torn apart by civil war. A conversation with editor Ibi Ibrahim

By Ibi Ibrahim04/08/2026

[Translate to English:] — Foto: Hannah Yoon

Society | India

Home alone

More and more people around the world are living alone. Have they embraced the ‘dolce vita’ – or merely succumbed to the dreary routines of late capitalism?

By Suraj Yengde04/07/2026

An illustration of Jeanne d’Arc wearing armour. — Visual: Julia Neller

Feminism | War

Who's afraid of Penthesilea?

The notion of women going off to war still strikes people as unnatural. But the truth is, women have been fighting since the dawn of our species.

By Morgane Llanque04/02/2026

Top-chef Dieuveil Malonga on his property in Rwanda. — Foto: Dieuveil Malonga

Food culture | Africa

Africa's culinary heritage

Raised in the Republic of the Congo, trained in Germany, and shaped by travels across the African continent, Michelin-starred chef Dieuveil Malonga draws on an eclectic biography to enrich his cuisine

By Dieuveil Malonga03/24/2026

Photo: B'Tselem

Human Rights | Israel

“The system is based on violence”

Yuli Novak heads the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, which campaigns for the rights of Palestinians. As a result, she is under increasing pressure in her home country.

By Judith Poppe03/24/2026

eine bunte Wand mit Bildern aus Textilien

Roma art | Poland

“Art and activism belong together“

Textile artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas made art history in 2022 as the first Romani woman to exhibit at the Venice Biennale. How can Roma narratives be kept alive through art?

Interview with Małgorzata Mirga-Tas03/17/2026