Die Kulturmittler:innen – Der ifa-Podcast zu Außenkulturpolitik Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa)

Myanmar seemed to be on a well-paved road to democracy, after political reforms had been initiated in 2011 and the first free elections had been held after 25 years in 2015. The military coup in 2021 ended it abruptly. Ever since, a civil war has been simmering, in which thousands have been arrested and killed. Among those arrested was the democratically elected leader of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi. She started out as one of the revolutionary icons in the democratic protests in 1988, known as the 8888 protests. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but was later on heavily criticized for her stance on the Rohingya genocide in 2017.

Our guest, Ma Thida – surgeon, author, and human rights activist – joined the prodemocratic movement behind Suu Kyi. In 1993, she was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for her political engagement and support of Suu Kyis party. After six years, she was released due to her health conditions and international pressure. In this episode of ‘Die Kulturmittler:innen’, Ma Thida talks about the role of icons in revolutions and literature as a tool for freedom and protest while giving us an insight on recent developments in her country.

All previous episodes of ‘Die Kulturmittler:innen’, e.g. on Taiwan as a democratic role model, can be found here: https://www.ifa.de/ifa-podcast/

Do you have topic requests or feedback? Feel free to send them to podcast@ifa.de.

More information on ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen at https://www.ifa.de.

While the art of curating was once led by museums, its role has been transformed over the years. A curator nowadays wears many hats: They are curators, producers, mediators – working across fields and disciplines, across borders and mediums, and across physical and virtual spaces.
The freelance curator and architect Paula Nascimento is part of this ever-changing process. Having participated in interdisciplinary and collaborative projects, the Angolan curator has a unique perspective on her profession that she shares with us in this episode.

Nascimento explains the many layers of curating and how she herself has experienced it in collaborative and interdisciplinary projects. In this episode, we also take a look at the role of international exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennial, where Nascimento co-curated the Angolan pavilion in 2013. It was the first and only time, an African country received the golden lion for its national representation. And finally, she gives us an insight into virtual art spaces, with ifa’s digital exhibition “ARE YOU FOR REAL – Phase 1” that she curated together with various artists and curators.

If you want to learn more about the digital exhibition, ARE YOU FOR REAL, click here: https://www.ifa.de/tournee/are-you-for-real/

For more information on the potential of transnational cooperations in curating, you should read our study “What does ‘curating’ mean today?” by the art historian Annette Tietenberg. You can find the full study here: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/details/what-does-curating-mean-today/

All previous episodes of “Die Kulturmittler:innen”, e.g. on feminist foreign policy or our special episodes on Ukraine, can be found here: https://www.ifa.de/ifa-podcast/

Do you have topic requests or feedback? Feel free to send them to podcast@ifa.de.

More information on the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen at https://www.ifa.de.

Colonial legacies continue to shape international cooperation and climate policy. While actors in the climate debates seem to be aware of that, the question remains: what is specifically being done about it? In this episode researchers Marina Caetano and Pedro Affonso Ivo Franco talk about their study “Analysing Decolonial Climate Perspectives: The Case of the Brazilian Legal Amazon Region” and explain their position that a decolonial perspective needs to be central to the global response to climate change.

Read the full study here: Analysing Decolonial Climate Perspectives https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/details/analysing-decolonial-climate-perspectives/
You will find more research on topics of international cultural relations supported by ifa here: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/

For all other information visit our website: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/
To learn more about ifa: https://www.ifa.de/en/

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at podcast@ifa.de.

Dürre, Überflutungen und Flächenbrände. Wir sehen die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise fast täglich in den Nachrichten. Worüber bisher aber kaum berichtet wird: wie diese Katastrophen unser materielles und immaterielles Kulturerbe beschädigen oder sogar gänzlich zerstören.
Deshalb sprechen wir in dieser Folge von „Die Kulturmittler:innen“ mit Johanna Leissner. Sie arbeitet für das Fraunhofer-EU-Büro in Brüssel und forscht seit über 20 Jahren zum Erhalt des kulturellen Erbes, wobei ihr Schwerpunkt auf den Auswirkungen des Klimawandels liegt.
Im Interview erzählt sie, wie sehr die Klimakrise weltweit Kulturstätten bedroht, inwiefern auch immaterielle Kulturgüter davon betroffen sind, und welche Lösungsansätze und Strategien existieren, um Kulturerbe zu schützen.

Weitere Informationen und Beiträge zum Thema Kultur und Klima finden Sie hier:
https://www.ifa.de/kulturbeziehungen-und-klimaschutz

https://www.ifa.de//insel-der-uebriggebliebenen
https://www.ifa.de/podcast/klima-krisen-und-kultur-mit-r-andreas-kraemer

Taiwan is still not recognised as a state by the international community. What role does its external cultural policy play for the country? In this episode, we talk to Yuqing Yang about the topic. The historian and research associate at Hertie School in Berlin furthermore gives a brief insight into the “External Cultural Policy Monitor – Taiwan”. In this country report on Taiwan, she presents insightful data and information on Taiwan’s external cultural policy.

Read the full Taiwan Country Report here: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/details/taiwan-country-report/

For more information on the External Cultural Policy Monitor, click here: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/#c12686

You will find more research on topics of International Cultural Relations supported by ifa here: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/en/research/

To learn more about ifa: https://www.ifa.de/en/

Do you have topic requests or feedback? Feel free to send them to podcast@ifa.de

Taiwan usually appears in Western media because of the simmering conflict with mainland China or its global dominance in the semiconductor industry. The entrepreneur and podcaster Emily Y. Wu lets us in on other issues that are moving the Taiwanese people today beyond these two topics. In this episode, she gives an insight into her work and her country – one of only three “full democracies” in Asia.

Wu explains how metal music and politics fit together, what tensions still remain between the various ethnic groups in Taiwan and how she lives with the constant threat of a Chinese invasion.

Furthermore, the ifa magazine KULTURAUSTAUSCH has dedicated its current issue II/2023 to Taiwan. In doing so, it also sheds light on topics beyond the current news situation and offers other perspectives on the island state in the West Pacific.

For English articles from the current edition of KULTURAUSTAUSCH, you can visit the website at kulturaustausch.de or order the German print issue of the magazine here: https://www.kulturaustausch.de/de/bestellen/bestellung

To listen to Freddy Lim’s personal playlist, click here: https://www.kulturaustausch.de/de/archiv/dossiers/taiwan/playlist

If you want to learn more about Taiwan’s approach on cultural diplomacy, you can download our country report on Taiwan: https://culturalrelations.ifa.de/forschung-detail/taiwan-country-report/

If you would like to find out more about Emily Wu’s work, listen to her podcast „Metalhead Politics“.

All previous episodes of “Die Kulturmittler:innen”, e.g. on feminist foreign policy or our special episodes on Ukraine, can be found here: https://www.ifa.de/ifa-podcast/

Do you have topic requests or feedback? Feel free to send them to podcast@ifa.de.

More information on the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen at https://www.ifa.de.