ifa blog

Interviews, essays, reports – in the ifa blog, the diverse topics of the ifa are vividly presented in various formats.

Here, refugee mothers and children from Ukraine find a place where they can feel safe and receive counselling. Photograph: Natalia Sergheev

Life on the edge of war: the Moldovan activist helping Ukraine’s refugees find new homes

Three-quarters of a million refugees have crossed Ukraine’s border with Moldova since Russia invaded. A year ago, Constanta Dohotaru volunteered to assemble food parcels for them; ...

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In September and October 2022, thousands of trucks and cars waited daily in kilometre-long queues at the Russian-Georgian border. Photograph: Oleg Morgun

Difficult neighbours

Russians fleeing mobilisation are putting huge pressure on Georgia’s citizens, in a country already wary of its neighbour’s might. 

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Freedom of Speech or "Extremism"? Lukashenko's ongoing crack-down on independent media in Belarus

Attention has shifted to Russia´s aggression in Ukraine, while little is known about the human rights violations in Belarus. This article highlights five Belarusian media whose editors ...

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Neon Letters on a dark background saying "Love thy Neighbor"

Liberalism under attack

Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Narendra Modi in India and Donald Trump in the United States: all three have undermined liberal institutions. The left has also accused liberalism of a lack of ...

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"Iranian women need the world's help"

Under the condition that they remain anonymous, a legal expert from inside Iran explains the political dimensions of this special piece of cloth. 

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Escaping the chains of debt

In Pakistan, the poor turn to a sophisticated network of philanthropists to avoid the shame of borrowing from family and friends.

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Butterflies in the Brain

Making traditional Ukrainian hair wreaths is an art that is no longer very common today. Olena Afanasenko talks about preserving the cultural heritage of her homeland in an interview ...

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A window on the world

40 years of ifa exhibition funding - With more than four decades of experience and over 2,000 artistic positions abroad, ifa supports artists worldwide. How has ifa's exhibtion funding ...

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Sablettes beach in Algiers. The pace of illegal migration has intensified, despite prison terms of six months for those arrested by the coastguard. Photograph: Zineb Bettayeb

'I live on crumbs': why older Algerians risk the small boats to Spain

Nouara is 65 but ready to join thousands of others who burn their ID and pay traffickers for a chance of a new life in Europe.

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