Berlin has a reputation for being loud, non-conformist and just a bit rude. Our author Nele Jensch looks into what the German capital is really like as she takes readers on a tour of the city where you can see more in one go around the block than elsewhere over the course of year. 

The image of the moody teenager who is thinks politics is just boring blah, blah is outdated. The Fridays for the Future movement has shown how enthusiastic young people can be about democratic processes and political issues. It would seem then, that an overhaul of the voting laws is long overdue. 

(27 November 2020)
The Contemporary And (C&) platform, founded by Julia Grosse and Yvette Mutumba, has been offering insights into contemporary art and cultural scenes from Africa and the global diaspora for seven years. “The Latest at Goethe” spoke with them.

(13 November 2020)
On the occasion of the official handover, The Latest at Goethe spoke with the outgoing president of the Goethe-Institut Klaus-Dieter Lehmann and his successor Carola Lentz.

(17 November 2020)
For “Hack Your Culture” by the Goethe-Institut, three representatives of cultural institutions in Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya met to discuss digital challenges.

Ideally books for children and young adults open up a world of possibilities and convey ideals, norms and values in the spirit of the times. When, though, do they go too far? 

At the Goethe-Institut symposium “Decolonising Classical Musics?” participants discussed colonial aspects of classical music.

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.

On 8 October in Berlin, the president of the Goethe-Institut Klaus-Dieter Lehmann opened a conference series of the Goethe-Institut’s Europanetzwerk Deutsch on the topic of multilingualism. 

Would it not be great if we could study how to make the world a better place? Sadly, it is not quite as easy as that. But there are now a number of study programmes in Germany covering sustainability subjects that come fairly close. Here is a selection.
 

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”. 

On August 28, the Goethe-Institut will hold a digital ceremony to present the Goethe Medal to Zukiswa Wanner, Elvira Espejo Ayca and Ian McEwan. Watch the stream of the event with film portraits, talks and musical performances at 11 a.m. (CET).

How do you teach a foreign language effectively online? What are the challenges involved in “all-digital” learning? Here are the latest research findings on the subject of e-learning.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has held the world in thrall since spring 2020. Drastic changes to our everyday lives are supposed to slow its spread, and the coronavirus could have a lasting impact on some areas of our society. We look at developments so far.

The internet is characterised by power structures. Digital colonialism shows how established hierarchies can also become entrenched on the World Wide Web. But activists and artists are growing increasingly resistant, says Ina Holev.

Social media is the window into people’s lives that’s constantly left ajar. This modern type of closeness was captured not only in film scripts at the Berlinale, but artists used it as a medium to tell tales of today.

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.

Media artist Choy Ka Fai experimentally explores movement, art and technology with some science added to the mix. His pieces delve into and document traditional and contemporary Asian dance culture.

GROOVE music magazine and the Goethe-Institut are holding a programme of workshops for journalists around the world. The organisers Laura Aha and Kristoffer Cornils spoke with “The Latest” at Goethe about “Global GROOVE” and their dream for international music journalism.

Whether it is a case of believing someone has long since died, although he or she is still in fact enjoying the best of health, or singing song lyrics with the wrong words – when many people collectively remember things falsely, we speak of the Mandela effect. It could never happen to you, right? A look at our examples might prove you wrong.

Jackie Karuti from Kenya is the recipient of the second Henrike Grohs Art Award, an award for African artists in the visual arts founded by the Goethe-Institut and the Grohs family. Akwasi Bediako Afrane (Ghana) and Sabelo Mlangeni (South Africa) were selected as runners-up.

Together with the Asinakuthula Collective, Athambile Masola tells the stories of black African women that have not been in history books or Wikipedia so far. After an edit-a-thon as part of the project “Decolonise The Internet”, she spoke with “The latest” at Goethe about her work.

The Annual Report 2019/2020 of the Goethe-Institut is dedicated to Europe. In his editorial, Johannes Ebert, Secretary-General of the Goethe-Institut, speaks out in favour of solidarity and cultural and social networking – especially in times of the Corona pandemic.

A group of creative entrepreneurs in various disciplines have since May 2020 engaged with each other and advisors on how to make the best of their business ideas, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Where do they belong? Ownership claims to cultural assets from the colonial period are often controversial and negotiating possible restitution is frequently a fraught and drawn-out process. Germany is taking some initial steps towards a resolution.

Will youth unemployment rise sharply in Europe due to the coronavirus health crisis? How can the European Union prevent this? These questions were posed during the online conference "Preventing a Lost Generation 2.0."

The Goethe-Institut is strengthening its European commitment for Germany’s EU Council Presidency. A few days before the start of the council presidency, at the “United for a New Future” conference, cultural and creative professionals sought ways out of the crisis together with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the EU Council.

What role does the colonial era play in the cultures of remembrance in Namibia, Germany, or India and how does that era influence the present? Urvashi Butalia, Nelago Shilongoh, Mark Terkessidis, and René Aguigah discussed this at the “Latitude” festival. 

France meant something to him during his childhood, but Europe didn’t, recounts French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière. In conversation with opera director Jeanne Pansard-Besson he talks about how he regarded his work in Germany shortly after the war and why he still feels ambivalent about European unity to this day.

It is almost impossible to find an affordable flat in many parts of Germany’s capital today. This may soon change though, now that the rent cap law went into force in Berlin in March 2020. It freezes existing rents for a period of five years. But it is not the only means of protecting Berlin’s tenants.

The entire net community looks forward to re:publica Berlin every year – and not just in Germany.  The conference’s curator, Geraldine de Bastion, talks about re:publica’s history, its importance abroad, and how Germans are talking about digital issues.

The homeless newspaper “Arts of the Working Class” and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles present the special edition “Worlds Of Homelessness”. In an interview with “The Latest” at Goethe, editors María Inés Plaza Lazo and Alina Ana Kolar talk about their idea of an art magazine for everyone, how a distribution network of homeless people helps with its realization, and how Covid-19 affects the magazine and its sellers.

In 2019, global problems found their way into the German scene: Climate crisis, displacement from inner cities, Israeli-Palestinian conflict – it seemed as if the club culture was no longer the hedonistic playground it was meant to be. However, the year’s musical trends put a stop to that.

Promoting alternative facts and conspiracy theories: a look into the world of climate change deniers.

What does being a man mean these days? We have asked a few people in Germany what masculinity means to them.

Domestic violence is still a huge taboo in Germany – despite alarming statistics. What do women need to know about this subject? What can they do? Nine questions and answers.

The EU is frequently criticised for excessively bureaucratic, putting the needs of the private sector ahead of those of its citizens, and a lack of transparency. But are these accusations actually true, and, if so, what is Brussels doing to address them?

A very small number of people question whether each individual online search query or the sending of every photo on the Internet is really necessary – this, too, can actually be environmentally harmful.

As part of the nationwide closure of educational institutions, the Goethe-Institut is ending all classroom courses in Germany with immediate effect. All German courses now underway will be offered as online courses from 18 March to 19 April or later. Johannes Ebert, Secretary-General of the Goethe-Institut, has also spoken out in favour of securing the incomes of artists and freelancers in the field of education.

Between racism and absurd expectations: Several films in the “Panorama” section explore post-migrant perspectives on Germany.

Some big changes are coming to Germany's biggest and biggest-name film festival this year. Here’s the lowdown on what’s new at the Berlinale 2020.
 

Post-war glamour and glory, scandalous films and a movie star on the red carpet wearing a paper bag over his head: some highlights from the tumultuous history of the world’s biggest film festiva

Three films in this year’s competition, “Berlin Alexanderplatz”, “Undine” and “Schwesterlein”, are set in Berlin. They’re about crime, love and death.

The Berlinale 2020 has undergone a reshuffling at the top: Carlo Chatrian is its new artistic director, working alongside the festival’s new executive director, Mariette Rissenbeek. In this interview, Chatrian talks about films as a mirror of troubled times and about the inestimable importance of the film-going public.

“Sow the Wind”, a film by Danilo Caputo set way down in southern Italy, portrays a young woman torn between family traditions and the exigencies of modern society.

World premiere for the movie “Time to Hunt” by Korean director Yoon Sung-hyun – and for the audience an exceptional cineastic experience.

Like the acclaimed and applauded Sweet Country and The Nightingale, Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s potent outback western High Ground interrogates the country’s colonial history.

Namibian nurses learn German to work in Germany.

Until the 15th century, the Atlantic Ocean marked the perceptible border between Africa and Europe on the one hand and America on the other. Their overcoming set in motion a history of colonization, enslavement, exploitation and migration. The Goethe-Institut's conference "Echoes of the South Atlantic" puts this past in the center of an intercultural discourse.

The African continent is young and full of creativity. The Goethe-Institut supports cultural actors and networks them through projects and exchange platforms. Johannes Ebert, secretary-general of the Goethe-Institut, presents the work of the Goethe-Instituts in the cultural and creative industries in Africa in a special issue of the newspaper Politik und Kultur published together with the German Cultural Council.

The formation of a collective identity scarcely seems possible unless boundaries are defined. The construction of a "we" entails an "other", most often set up as negative image of "our" communal values and their positive connotation.

Only six of ten foreign students leave Germany universities with a degree. For many, dealing with different learning cultures  is difficult. How can they prepare themselves for studying in Germany?

The Goethe Institute in Los Angeles organized a four-day conference last week, called “Worlds of Homelessness”, bringing local and international scholars, advocates, artists, architects and current or formerly unhoused people together for conversations held in downtown Los Angeles.

I’d never thought about shame as a luxury before. I’d never thought about shame much at all. Felt it, yes, but never tried to pin it down and ask it when, why, and how it became part of my life.
 

How African artists see German colonial history became clear during the cultural week “The Burden of Memory” organised by the Goethe-Instituts of the Sub-Saharan African region, held in the Cameroon capital city of Yaoundé.

At the end of November 2019, the launch of the exhibition project "Invisible Inventories", which is supported by the Goethe-Institut, took place in Kenya. At the "Object Movement Dialogue #4" in the Nairobi National Museum, the role of local communities within the restitution debate was discussed. The Kenyan journalist Abigail Arunga was on site for "Goethe aktuell".

Is it possible to live in a Christian country like Germany and keep up Islamic traditions? And how do Muslims in Germany celebrate Ramadan?

​“Sometimes you wake up with an idea, sometimes it comes from taking a walk or a drive.” Film-maker, director and writer Florian Schott's creativity is evoked by various instances in life – from conversations and films to music and books.

Social media, smartphones, the Internet of Things – whatever happened to privacy? Or has privacy become an outdated idea? This is a conversation with Jan Philipp Albrecht, a staunch advocate of data protection.

Now more than ever, the discussion around the state of Kenyan cultural objects abroad and the gaps left by their absence has reached a tipping point. 

Modern-day development projects vs. trailer parks and teepees: where the Wall once divided Berlin in half, the city's housing culture is now torn between memory and modernity, nostalgia and progress.

The media art project “Smile to Vote” revolves around a voting booth that scans faces and automates the vote-casting process. Its originator, artist Alexander Peterhaensel, criticises the increasing encroachment of technology on privacy. 

Two theatre practitioners from Namibia and Germany in 2019 engaged on a project through the Goethe-Institut International Co-production Fund to manifest a theatre production that investigates theatre as a space in which knowledge and reflection are explored and shared. 

"Truthfulness" was the motto of this year’s "DokuBaku" Documentary Film Festival in Azerbaijan. In close cooperation with the Goethe-Zentrum Baku, 38 films from around the world were shown at three venues. The independent film festival was launched in 2017 in Azerbaijan with the aim of supporting local filmmakers and non-fiction film genres.

The historian, Dietmar Bleidick, has been using the Library of the Ruhr for nearly twenty years. Its collection focusing on the past and present of the Ruhr area is unique in Europe. That, however, is not the only reason why it is so very special.
 

Landscape architect and urban planner Regine Keller seeks solutions that meet contemporary demands in both the city and rural space. Her focus is people’s quality of life.

The African cultural infrastructure is presently at a turning point. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, president of the Goethe-Institut, highlights the positive and mutual interest in the urgent questions of postcolonial museum work in his keynote address at the opening of the final international Museum Conversations conference in Windhoek.

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?  

University teaching has become increasingly specialised over the centuries. But the topics addressed in research today increasingly require an interdisciplinary approach.  Leibniz Association president Matthias Kleiner sees a renaissance of universal research. 

Roland Schimmelpfennig is considered to be one of the most prolific theatre writers in Germany. In 2019, not one, but two of his plays were performed at the Jaffa International Theatre Festival in Israel.

One of the few court hearings to address the crimes committed in Eastern Congo was actually an art project: theatre and film director Milo Rau’s “The Congo Tribunal” has had a significant impact and cost three ministers their posts.

The continent of creativity: Enter Africa, a network project by the Goethe-Institut in 15 African countries, presented the mega-game Busara for the first time in the Indie Arena Booth at gamescom 2019.

Visitors to museums and archives usually interact with exhibits locked in display cases in darkened rooms. Yet modern technology has given us ways to more directly experience art and cultural artefacts. Coding da Vinci is an open, cultural data hackathon that digitally brings museum pieces to life.  

With its three transformable stages, the “Schaubühne at Lehniner Platz” is the largest theatre in West Berlin and features productions on political and socio-political issues by renowned directors.

On 25-26 March 2019, the Goethe-Institut Namibia hosted a Symposium “Colonial Repercussions IV - Colonial Injustice – Addressing Past Wrongs”, in conjunction with the Academy of Arts/Akademie der Künste (AdK) and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).

The Goethe-Institut Namibia recently sent an afro-futurist writer and photographer, Masiyaleti Mbewe, for participation in the Kultursymposium 2019 that was held from 19-21 June in Weimar and under the theme of ‘Recalculating the Route’.

Politics has always played out on stages: from the popular assemblies of antiquity and to the live-feed public parliamentary debates of today, politicians have performed for their voters. Social media have both expanded and fundamentally changed this political stage.

Contracts, love letters, school essays – ink blots have ruined many a written document over the years. Happily though, in Europe the simple quill pen developed into a sophisticated writing instrument: the fountain pen.

Who are they and how do they live? The advertising and media world has discovered a new target group: Generation Z, fully digitalized since birth, is coming of age. But on screen they are (still) representing the lives of Millennials.

Artur Brauner was a legendary German producer. Nobody else shaped German post-war cinema quite like he did, and he did it above all with light entertainment. However, since 1947 Brauner also delved into the Nazi era. Now he has died.

In an interview with Goethe.de, Ben Gibson, director of the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, explained that cooperation was immensely important to him. In February 2017 he will have been in office for a year. Reason enough to look both back and forward.

Hans Weingartner’s films focus on young people determined to make a difference, talking about and trying out ideas for a better world. The director and producer has not only shaped German-language cinema; he has also conquered silver screens around the world. 

Care, equity or empathy: What do we need to gather around? The Goethe-Institutes’ Tanzkongress in Dresden and the previous Tanz Salons connected dance with questions of encounter in new ways. Finnish choreographer Maija Hirvanen summarizes her personal impressions for "Goethe aktuell".

The fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising is a reason to celebrate, but also to continue fighting for queer rights. The exhibition Queer as German Folk will be on view at the Goethe-Institut New York until 3 August. It’s a space to experience the past and present of the queer movement.

“Politik im Freien Theater” is a free theatre festival where youngsters address political issues. What can theatre do that school cannot? “It prompts discussion and creates access,” says drama teacher Anne Paffenholz.

The women’s movement, homosexuals and people who do not wish to commit to a traditional gender order have often supported one another. In concrete politics, however, the alliance also raises problems. Historian Miriam Gebhardt’s assessment.

At the beginning of 2019, population registers in Germany were amended to include a third gender category. The option box is headed ‘divers’, which translates as ‘miscellaneous’ or ‘other’, and it was introduced for a dual purpose: to remove the burden from parents faced with deciding an intersex child’s future and to show that being different can also be normal.

Politically motivated flash mobs and performances respond to current questions of society with popular and contemporary forms of dance. Can the body give answers to oppression and violence?

There is a debate on post-colonialism being conducted in Germany more vigorously than ever before. The Goethe-Institut is tackling the topic in a series of projects, thus providing a platform for those voices from the countries of origin that are still not heard often enough.

“Namibian artists often do not have the luxury of focusing on their craft as a result of there not being enough curators available, who are qualified.” National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) Curatorial Coordinator, Ndeenda Shivute.

Six books from Macmillan Education Namibia Publishers, Kuiseb Publishing House, Yambeka Children Media and Wordweaver were made available for this project and three of the ICT students who produced the best apps will be sent to present their ideas at the Conference on Culture and Computer Sciences; Virtual History and Augmented Present in late May.

An International Finding Committee announced on 22nd February 2019 in Kassel that the Indonesian artist collective ruangrupa will curate the documenta 15 in 2022.

Berlin is filled with back-to-back museums, theatres, galleries, clubs and cinemas. Amid this cultural bounty, more and more ‘off-spaces’ are developing - open art spaces devoted to art free of commercial constraints.

On the tenth anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Onna, the Goethe-Institut Rome asked the photographic artist Göran Gnaudschun to produce an exhibition on the past and present of Onna’s village community. Voci che si cercano (Voices Seeking One Another) will be on display from 6 April to 15 September 2019 at the Casa Onna Community Centre. In a conversation with The Latest at Goethe, Gnaudschun talks about his encounters with the people of Onna and how they deal with loss. 

Are machines really learning to think? In his latest book, Robert Feustel demonstrates how we have elevated digitalisation to a religion.

Hardly any other topic is presently dividing political debates in Europe like the Brexit. While its outcome is still unclear, with its Europe Actually series of events the Goethe-Institut London emphasises the importance of the European sense of community. Brexit was illuminated from new angles in a public debate called Recalculating the Route. The chief results of the discussion will be presented in Weimar at the Goethe-Institut’s international Kultursymposium from 19 to 21 June. 

For the cultural hackathon Coding da Vinci Süd, the Goethe-Institut invited 15 cultural professionals, coders and hackers from Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania to Munich to present ideas and innovative apps for the digitisation of cultural assets.  

Imagine climbing to the top of the Acropolis, running along the flanks of the sphinx or balancing on the gable of Cologne Cathedral. Parkour as cultural mediation is the focus of a pilot project. 

As a holiday destination, Germany attracts visitors from all over the world because of its rich cultural and natural heritage. But what does Germany have to offer besides Cologne Cathedral, the Semper Opera House and Schloss Neuschwanstein? Check here to discover sights that you may not have been aware of. 

German television shows tend to have a bad reputation for poor writing and cheap productions not suited for an international market and audience. Now series like “Deutschland ‘83” and “Babylon Berlin” are putting a new shine on that tarnished image. 

At its opening, the 23rd Berlin & Beyond Film Festival is showing the film 25 km/h starring Bjarne Mädel and Lars Eidinger. Bjarne Mädel, this year’s recipient of the Spotlight Award in Acting, tells us what’s behind his acting career. 

While many Germans love football, radical fans repeatedly cause ugly scenes. To combat this, football associations and politicians across Germany are pinning their hopes on fan projects.

This four year pilot project is the first official attempt in Germany to broaden the awareness for dance in an aging society. Artistic Director Christopher Roman in an interview.

Many artists live in precarious conditions, and few can make a living off their art. Initiatives like fair music providers and fair-trade certificates for music labels show how a more equitable value chain could be created. 

Germany is presenting itself at the 2019 Taipei International Book Exhibition under the motto “German Stories.” At the invitation of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Goethe-Institut Taipei and the German Institute Taipei, 13 German authors are presenting their works in tandem with Taiwanese authors. Bestselling author Marc-Uwe Kling spoke with journalist and author Yu Li Lin about his dystopian satire Qualityland.

The Ethnologisches Museum Berlin houses one of the world’s oldest collections of Angolan art. It is closely linked to the collection of the Museu Nacional de Antropologia in Luanda. In December, the two museums will start a partnership with the Goethe-Institut with goals set by the partners at a workshop in Berlin. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding to signal their longer-term cooperation.

Fifty-four countries, ten thousand artists, one platform: The Music in Africa platform has been online since 2014 to offer in-depth information about the African musical landscape and facilitate collaboration.