Spotlight on Germany ©Ceparedonda Pixabay Take a closer look at different aspects of life in Germany. Photo (detail): © Noshe Pop and Electronic Music 2020 The figures aren’t everything 2020 was a year of great upheavals, a turning point. The pop and electronic music sectors had to grapple with the basic question of how to make a living amid a pandemic, ensuing crisis and concrete policy decisions. Photo (detail): © Staatsoper Stuttgart Classical, Contemporary and Early Music 2020 The year the show went online As in many other areas of society, the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on German musical life in 2020. Patrick Hahn recalls what did happen last year all the same in the classical, contemporary and early music scenes. He also takes a look at new developments and asks about the future prospects for the music industry amid ongoing uncertainties. Photo (detail): © Adobe City and country Home is where your WiFi is You read and hear in the media at regular intervals that people are either moving to the country or moving away from it. What is really going on? Is it an urban or a rural exodus? Where are Germans going? Foto (Detail): Arne Dedert © picture alliance/dpa/POOL Frankfurt Book Fair 2020 Anne Weber Awarded German Book Prize 2020 „Annette, ein Heldinnenepos“ by Anne Weber has won the German Book Prize for novel of the year at the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/dpa/Wolfgang Kumm 30 years of a united Germany “There simply was no alternative” Thirty years after German reunification, are there still differences between East and West? In an interview, former GDR civil-rights activist Freya Klier talks about the time just after the Berlin Wall fell, the new freedoms it brought and about whether Germans are now “one people”. Photo (detail): © DEFA-Stiftung DEFA Film Heritage “Did they really allow things like that?” The films of the GDR’s state film production company, DEFA, always bore the stigma of being permeated by propaganda. That, however, is only part of the truth. When it comes to feature and animation films, fairy tales and documentaries there is a valuable artistic film legacy to be found. The DEFA Foundation wants to make them more easily available digitally. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Sebastian Gabriel Andrea Lissoni “A true home of the arts” From London’s Tate Modern to Bavaria’s capital: curator Andrea Lissoni is moving to Munich to head up the Haus der Kunst in Munich in April 2020. Photo (detail): © privat / Ars Edition Britta Teckentrup Atmospheric Objectivity “Nature and emotions” are easy for her, she says. Children’s book illustrator Britta Teckentrup likes to focus her drawings on the profound and relies on a balance of objectivity and empathy. Society Photo (detail): picture alliance/Marc Vorwerk/SULUPRESS.DE Coronavirus policies “Conflict can build bridges” Thousands have taken to the streets in Germany to protest the government’s Coronavirus policies. Driven by very different motivations, the protests have created an intersection of new agers, conspiracy theorists and far-right radicals. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Westend61/Uwe Umstätter Digitalisation Digitally Sidelined Signing petitions, booking a visit to the local swimming pool, home schooling – all kinds of everyday things work digitally today. Those who have no access to the internet or who have only limited digital skills could be marginalized in our society. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Rolf Zöllner/SZ Photo Theatre United against a shift to the right Pressure on the German theatre and cultural landscape has increased significantly since the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party won seats in parliament. The institutions have developed ways to deal with right-wing attacks – in part by joining together in solidarity. Media Photo (detail): © Adobe Podcasts The attractiveness of the auditory experience One in every four Germans listens to podcasts, and in the United States it is one in every two people. What makes the audio programs so popular and who is involved in the German-speaking podcast scene? Photo detail: © picture alliance/Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopress Streaming services On demand From Netflix and Apple TV to RTL Now, Germans are streaming more and more series and films. Public broadcasters are jumping on the bandwagon and making their own series looking to conquer the international market. © Richard Hübner/ ZDF / funk Young Adult Series “Druck” “A little flippant and imperfect” “Druck” (Pressure) is a young adult television series that features authentic actors and dialogue. Most of the actors are amateurs, and the transgender character is played by a trans man. The show has been a run-away success. Sustainability Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Norbert Probst/imageBROKER Sustainable Towns Digital villages, green towns Germany’s most sustainable towns and cities rely on the participation of their residents. Quite a lot can be achieved even with comparatively few financial resources. Photo (detail): © Sirplus Rescuing food Can this still be eaten or does it have to go? Almost 13 million tons of food goes to waste in Germany every year. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has ambitious plans halve domestic food waste by 2030, a problem private initiatives have already begun addressing. Photo (detail): © Adobe Climate change Carbon compensation – a feel-good solution? Carbon offset schemes promise to compensate for the emissions caused by private individuals – as air travellers, for instance – with donations to climate projects. But are they not just a way of salving guilty consciences? Top
