“Once I started to write myself, I began to realize how this powerful act of self-expression was the counter opposite of the seclusion, alienation, and repression that mandatory veiling had imposed on me” says Iranian author Ava Homa. In her article, she points out various forms of protest with which women in Iran fight for freedoms and participation – one of them is writing.

 The neoliberal political elite are uninterested in the needs of a society stricken by a pandemic. Their egotism favours informal structures leading to a creeping "Russification" of the country.

With more than eight million sq. km of karst, Asia has the largest share worldwide. But karst areas like the Kendeng mountains in Indonesia are under threat to be destroyed by the cement industry. This article highlights the long-term value of intact karst systems.

Bangkok residents are finding more options for plant-based meat, with names like ‘More Meat’, ’Never Meat’ or ‘Let’s Plant Eat’, in groceries. In Manila, a government agency ran a contest for creating plant-based versions of native dishes. Over in Vietnam, social media influencers are urging followers to think sustainability through their food habits.

The climate crisis is the result of relations of power and exploitation, between the Global North and the Global South as well as between people and nature. A decolonial approach in climate activism stands for a radical break with colonial principles of economic, political and social systems – including industrial agriculture and landgrabbing. A conversation with Ruth Nyambura, climate activist from Kenya. 

For centuries, resources have been extracted from the African continent without adequate payment or compensation. With colonialism, Khoikhoi and San, the first inhabitants of Southern Africa, lost their land and many lost their lives. During decades of Apartheid they were racially discriminated and still have to fight for political and economic inclusion in the post-Apartheid era. We spoke to the Khoikhoi lawyer Lesle Jansen about her fight for the community and for the legal acknowledgement of the cultural heritage of Indigenous people.

Queer feminism allows us to understand that patriarchy harms all of us and only an intersectional approach enables collective liberation and working together in solidarity. Queer resistance can also be fun - and sometimes a dandy outfit is enough to make patriarchy shake. We talked to Yvee Oduor about activism and mobilization of genderqueer people in Kenya.

As part of a larger geopolitical region, the Wider Black Sea requires greater commitment from the EU in the areas of security, renewable energy, and connectivity.

The election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is an historic opportunity. They both stand for a political commitment to liberal democracy and a societal commitment to unity instead of division. Democracy instead of autocracy, cooperation instead of divisiveness and nationalism: these are also the most important political fault lines for the shaping of the future global order.

A conversation with Ellen Ueberschär and Barbara Unmüßig about crucial future questions, the clash of ideas and the role of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.