IFA: Overview

11.03.10
Promoting German-Turkish literature

• A new German-Turkish translation prize has been announced, aimed at enhancing cultural understanding between Germany and Turkey.

09.03.10
Revitalising US-UK educational ties

• A British Council report has called for action to breathe new life into higher education ties between the United Kingdom and the United States.

04.03.10
Cultural volunteers abroad

• Young Germans who want to spend a year doing voluntary cultural work abroad are encouraged to apply in April to take part in the Culture Wide program.

02.03.10
The promise of big cities

• Artists in Berlin, Warsaw and Mumbai have begun work on a joint cultural project aimed at highlighting the challenges and the promises of life in big cities.

23.02.10
A United States of Europe

• How a culturally more united Europe might look in the future will be the focus of a week-long conference for young European leaders in Berlin next month.

18.02.10
goEast, where the films are new

• The newest talents in filmmaking from Eastern Europe will be on show at the 10th goEast film festival in the German city of Wiesbaden in April.

12.02.10
Arab readers abounding

• Promoting books better and overcoming copyright problems in the Arab world will be the focus of an international meeting of publishers in Abu Dhabi this month.

10.02.10
An Agenda 2020 for France and Germany

• Germany and France are seeking to intensify their already close ties by agreeing on a Franco-German Agenda 2020, a set of common goals for the future.

02.02.10
Central Asia’s giant and Germany

• After a year of promotion of Kazakh culture in Germany, now it’s Germany’s turn to show off its culture in Kazakhstan, with the launch this week of the Year of Germany in Kazakhstan 2010.

28.01.10
Promoting international study

• A new prize has been announced for the German university that best promotes international study and exchanges for foreigners as well as its own students and staff.

26.01.10
German Year in Vietnam

• Germany and Vietnam have launched a year of jointly-run cultural events to celebrate 35 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

21.01.10
Design as poetry of the functional

• In a year marking 90 years since the inception of the Bauhaus movement, an international competition is promoting a rebirth of poetic yet functional design.

19.01.10
Rekindling German-Italian relations

• German and Italian journalists and cartoonists are to take part in a two-year-long initiative aimed at renewing good cultural relations between Italy and Germany.

14.01.10
A cultural capital between two worlds

• Six thousand people will be involved in celebrations this weekend to officially launch Istanbul as the 2010 European Capital of Culture.

12.01.10
With the energy of youth in 2010

• Harnessing the imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in working to overcome worldwide problems is the aim of the United Nation’s International Year of Youth.

14.12.09
Claiming Human Rights in Africa

• An English and French website aimed at helping Africans to pursue cases of human rights abuse has been given a facelift.

A language nomad

• Where else in the world can an author draw on so much cultural and literary variety, where a Franz Kafka enriches Goethe’s German through Czech and Yiddish? Writer and translator Alban Lefranc reflects on linguistic variety in Europe.

Mediating between cultures

• Europe is historically, culturally and politically interwoven with neighbouring regions and thus perfectly poised to occupy the role of mediator. Here, the thoughts of Rafik Schami, an author born where Palestinians, Kurds, Circassians, Afghans, Greeks, Yugoslavs and Lebanese all lived cheek by jowl. He himself became a mediator between two worlds.

To be or not to be – translated

• Unless major East European authors publish their works in German, English or French, it is unlikely that any of their international neighbours will ever read them. Hungarian journalist Gabriella Gönczy on the need for more translation across Europe.

How we love to fear downfall

• The printed page is giving way to digital media formats. Yet to call this the beginning of the end for written culture is perhaps a little hasty, says Rüdiger Wischenbart. Here, the first of a series of articles from ifa’s Culture Report, Edition III, on literature in Europe.

Turkish Soft Power

• It’s keen to enter the European Union; it’s keen to remain a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. Kaitlin MacKenzie talks to Sedat Laciner from the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization about Turkey’s foreign policy strategies.

Talking to enemies

• Mark C. Donfried, director and founder of the Berlin-based Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, calls for a paradigm shift in foreign policy in this interview with Global View magazine.

The worst of times for literary translators in Germany?

• Government to cut funding for international literary projects

The Local, 10.03.10

IGCC to be inaugurated tomorrow

• The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre promotes cultural exchange between India and Bangladesh

The Independent, 10.03.10

Artes Mundi prize contenders’ art goes on show

• International artists reflect politics from formerly communist countries

The Guardian, 09.03.10

Building a New Tradition for the Persian New Year

• Washington museum celebrates Persian culture to help preserve Persian traditions in America

America.gov, 09.03.10

Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education, Expert Says

• Many American students are "overentertained and distracted"

The New York Times, 09.03.10

France salutes her women

• In France, Women’s Day is celebrated more than in English-speaking countries

Times Online, 08.03.10

A Struggling Detroit Art Museum Tries to Reach Out

• The DIA presents Islamic Art in an effort to connect with the Muslim community

Time, 08.03.10

Ultra-modern Chopin museum opens in Poland

• Visitor’s can learn about the composer’s life through interactive technologies

The Independent, 07.03.10

Germany launches fellowship to boost South Asian culture

• ARThinkSouthAsia helps train India’s cultural leaders

Little About, 07.03.10

Importing Germany’s Imams

• Imams from Turkey try to understand German Muslims and their problems

Spiegel Online, 05.03.10

Russian Fashion Week to host British Day

• Designers from around the world will participate in Eastern Europe’s biggest fashion event

fibre2fashion, 04.03.10

China’s First Lady of Opera

• 93-year-old Zhou Xiaoyan paved the way for Western opera tradition in China

The New York Times, 04.03.10

China writer blocked from going to German festival

• Liao Yiwu, a government critic, was arrested when he tried to leave the country

Las Vegas Sun, 04.03.10

Maronite language on its last legs

• Only a thousand native speakers of this Cypriot minority language are left

The Telegraph, 04.03.10

Bollywood actresses go size zero

• How the Western beauty ideal is affecting the way Indian’s look at their bodies

The Telegraph, 04.03.10

Mills and Boon answer call on India’s new middle class for English novels

• The Indian market for books in the English language is growing rapidly

The Guardian, 03.03.10

How China bucked the trend

• China now plays a leading role on the international arts market

The Economist, 03.03.10

A celebration of Mexican art

• Arts institutions in Los Angeles exhibit Mexican artworks spanning 3000 years of history

The Christian Science Monitor, 03.03.10

Faisal Awards presented

• This year the "Arab Nobel Prize" goes to laureates from the UK, Egypt, Russia and others

A1SaudiArabia.com, 03.03.10

Training must meet modern challenges effectively: Kaira

• Pakistan and the UK cooperate in training government officers

Associated Press of Pakistan, 03.03.10

A Generation on the Move in Europe

• Young Europeans feel comfortable with several countries, cultures and languages

LatinAmerican Post, 03.03.10

Nigera: Tackling Corporal Punishment Through Art

• Nigerian and German artists work together to fight child abuse in education

allAfrica.com, 02.03.10

US grants German homeschoolers asylum. Will others follow?

• In Germany, homeschooling is punished with fines or even imprisonment

The Christian Science Monitor, 02.03.10

New Study Shows American Attitudes Towards Germany Improving

• Americans consider Germany a modern country and an important international partner

Spiegel Online, 02.03.10

Japan, China, and South Korea to Foster Student Exchange by Standardizing Credits

• Erasmus-style program will make it easier for Asian students to study abroad

The Chronicle, 02.03.10

Evidence in Africa: Dance Troupe as Ambassadors

• U.S. State Department sponsors Evidence Dance Company’s tour around the world

The New York Times, 01.03.10

Turkey’s booming arts scene

• Contemporary Turkish film, music and visual arts are becoming increasingly popular

Financial Times, 27.02.10

It’s time to protect Chinese language

• Can Chinese withstand the influx of English words?

People's Daily Online, 26.02.10

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