Society

The Hanseatic city of Bremen is high on the list of bike-friendly cities around the world, ranking above even Bogotá and Tokyo. But how do you go about turning a car city into a bike city? Michael Glotz-Richter from Bremen’s municipal authority reveals all.

In 2009, the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood in Montreal was ridden by heavy and dangerous traffic. The mayor of the borough had other ideas and pushed through a radical concept of appeasement against significant resistance.

Car pollution is one of the major causes of climate change. Large citys around the world are struggling with the persistent problem of excessive motoring. Estonian Tallinn sets a leading example. 

In the beginning was the tree: whether it is Little Red Riding Hood losing her way or wild men striking terror into people’s hearts, German myths and legends are often associated with the forest. Indeed the Germanic tribes depicted the entire cosmos as a tree. 

While the idyll of Romantic era songs may be gone, creative artists in Germany still explore the forest today – critically, ironically and with an eye to history. 

Lisa-Marie is doing an apprenticeship as a mechatronics engineer for commercial vehicles. In our “Survival Kit” column she tells us how she holds her own in a profession that’s very male-dominated, and why she feels totally at ease in her workshop despite that.

One year into the coronavirus pandemic, most people are tired of all the restrictions. How can they be inspired to embrace less consumerism for an ecological transformation? Sociologist Harald Welzer is confident that changing the narrative and positive visions will do the trick.

In the worst case, targeted disinformation can become a real and present threat to our democracy. A number of initiatives in Germany have responded by taking on the mission of fact checking information on the net. 

Translation is incredibly challenging: translating sensitively demands that historical, geographical, political and social contexts be taken into account. In their article, the literature scholars and editors of the platform poco.lit. Lucy Gasser and Anna von Rath look specifically at English and German, and discuss ten terms related to race that are difficult to translate.

The Corona crisis represents a turning point in our work culture – most of the work that used to be done at an office desk is now carried out from home. Does this mean more independence and freedom of action for everyone? Find out more in this interview with the social scientist Lena Hipp.

How do things stand with the equality between men and women in Germany? This is a conversation with the author Nils Pickert about the liberation from gender clichés, gender-inclusive language and the “diaper drill” – the parental leave for fathers.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, climate protests have mostly moved to the internet. We take a look at the environmental movements online world. 

“El siglo de las mujeres” (“The Century of Women”) by the Goethe-Instituts in South America develops strategies against patriarchal structures and violence against women. For International Women’s Day, “The Latest at Goethe” spoke with the Argentine anthropologist Rita Segato. 

(27 January 2021)
The extermination camp at Auschwitz was liberated 76 years ago today. Secretary-general of the Goethe-Institut Johannes Ebert writes about the personal and social responsibility that arises from commemorating the victims of National Socialism.