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KULTURAUSTAUSCH

New 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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A family is sitting on a blanket under a tree having a picnic. The ground is dry and stony. There are 15 people in total, from young children to old women.

Dossier

Parents and children

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Das Bild zeigt einen Blick über Taipeh mit zahlreichen hochaufragenden Hochhäusern. Die Lichtstimmung am Himmel wechselt dramatisch zwischen hell und dunkel.

Dossier

Voices from Taiwan

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Photo: Rosemary Gilliat Eaton / Library and Archives Canada
Inuit | 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
By Sheila Watt-Cloutier02/16/2024
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 Bonheur04/03/2024

Ulrich Raulff

President, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

Jess Smee is an editor at KULTURAUSTAUSCH. She has recently covered indigenous justice, Russian internet trolls and electronic music from Angola. In her free time, she loves swimming in lakes around Berlin. Here are her recent 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

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

[Translate to English:]

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.

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.

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

Abdulrazak Gurnah

Irina Sherbakova

Mustafah Abdulaziz

Máxima Acuña de Chaupe

Roongtip Luilao

Mohamed Amjahid

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung

Five people are seen in a group portrait, three women and two men. They look friendly into the camera and stand in an office stairwell — 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?

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

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

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

In a snowy, dark wasteland, a slanted entrance to an underground cellar juts out. The glass door in the entrance is illuminated by the sun. — Photo: Jonas Bendiksen / Magnum Photos

Dossier

Underground

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

Gitte Zschoch

Secretary general, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

A man in a yellow T-shirt and baseball cap stands on a balcony, his gaze fixed on the wall of the tower block opposite, the number 93 written on his back — 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 Bonheur04/03/2024

Man walking in the desert — Photo: Azim Haidaryan

Indigenous futurism

“I love science fiction”

Iter Mora, the fashion label by designer and filmmaker Elias Riadi, combines Amazigh traditions, films such as “Dune” and ancient astronomy to forge a kind of indigenous futurism

Interview with Elias Riadi04/02/2024

A young woman in traditional clothing skates past shopkeepers who stare after her in amazement — 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 Santivañez04/02/2024

[Translate to English:] — 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 — 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 Isaac03/14/2024

A portrait of Ma Thieda, aged around 55. Her hair is chin-length, she is wearing a dark sweater and glasses and is looking past the camera on the right. — Photo: Ole Witt

Personal history | Myanmar

“I always knew what I wanted”

Doctor and author, Ma Thida, spent a long time in prison as a result of fighting for democracy in Myanmar. Regardless, she hopes to return to her country soon

By Ma Thida02/26/2024

Several children jump on upturned canoes along the coast. — Photo: Rosemary Gilliat Eaton / Library and Archives Canada

Inuit | 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

By Sheila Watt-Cloutier02/16/2024

Technology | Feminism

Artifical intelligence and its biases

It is well known that algorithms have a way of reinforcing social prejudices, but what can be done about it? Scholar Alex D. Ketchum takes a feminist look at the issue

Interview with Alex D. Ketchum02/12/2024

A young woman with long, red-colored braids poses in front of a deep blue sky with few clouds. She looks into the camera from above and points directly into it with two fingers — Photo: Michelle Isinbaeva

Pop culture | Uganda

Get up and dance!

In Uganda, even the dancefloor is politically contentious. The Nyege Nyege Festival and the Hakuna Kulala label provide the soundtrack for cosmopolitan Africa

By Andrew Kaggwa02/05/2024

A stony, dry path leads up a rocky hill. There are no plants to be seen anywhere, the landscape is completely barren — Photo: Getty Images

Desert | Israel

As fleeting as shifting dunes

With their sweeping horizons and emptiness, deserts have inspired religions, myths and inner-reflection. But ever since last year’s violence, Israel’s Negev desert has been linked to new and devastating images

By Ayelet Gundar-Goshen02/05/2024

Many colorful houses are scattered on a dusty, steep hillside. They are all very simply built and small. Footpaths and steps lead up the slope, there are no roads. There is not a plant to be seen anywhere. The weather is dry but cloudy — Photo: Marco Garro

Climate | Peru

The thirsty metropolis: Lima

Lima is one of the largest desert cities in the world. Of its inhabitants, 635,000 have no access to water. Climate change may make the situation in the Peruvian capital even worse

By Elizabeth Salazar Vega01/26/2024

Technology | Diversity

“Indigenous languages don't make it easy for AI”

Michael Running Wolf worked as a software engineer on the virtual voice assistant Alexa. Now he is revitalising indigenous languages with AI

Interview with Michael Running Wolf01/26/2024