Pakistan’s glacial melting woes Published: 2 May 2022 There are more than 6,000 glaciers in northern Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). These are clean water reservoirs that actually irrigate Pakistan. But these glaciers are changing rapidly due to climate change. The ecosystem of these areas is changing. Global warming has accelerated their melting and more lakes have been formed as a result. Flooding due to the melting endangers lives and livelihoods of millions of local people and adversely affects the ecology.
Locating Gender in the Disinformation Landscape Published: 28 April 2022 Digital Rights Foundation, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, conducted a series of focus group discussions with researchers from across the globe in order to deconstruct ‘gendered disinformation’, understand existing work on the subject and identify areas for future interventions.
Early Warnings Published: 26 April 2022 In the battle against climate change the Global South has a lot to teach and give. Yet its voices and contributions are significantly underrepresented and consistently ignored by the dominating Global North in imperialist fashion.
Acting Straight: A Message for My Kind Published: 21 April 2022 In an excerpt from his essay “I, ,the fag'”, Syrian author Raeef al-Shalabi reflects on an inner struggle that helped to position himself as a gay man and ultimately to think about human rights in a new way.
Winning the Marathon and the Sprint: Achieving long-term economic policy objectives in an era of short-term responses Published: 21 April 2022 This article wants to provide food for thought on what a long-term economic policy could look like. In the context of the climate crisis, increasing inequality, the loss of biodiversity and financial instability, the challenge is to craft a strategic approach that can set the course for long-term success.
Global Feminist Pitch 2022: Call For Application Published: 14 April 2022 The Global Feminist Pitch is back to support feminists from Latin America, Asia, Africa, Middle East and (South) Eastern Europe. This year we are looking for ten feminists who will write on the topic of feminist mobilisation in their region. Apply now!
Statement on the ban of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Russia Published: 8 April 2022 Today, the Russian Ministry of Justice has revoked the registration of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, as well as that of other German political foundations and international organisations, thus peremptorily banning the activities of these foundations in Russia.
Narrowing room for manoeuvre: The effects of Putin's war on Hungary Published: 7 April 2022 Hungarian foreign policy has been standing on two pillars in the past decade: building multilateral ties with great economic powers in order to boost trade, foreign investment, and development, and in the meantime maintaining traditional commitments to EU and NATO allies in the security and defence realm. However, with the tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalating to a war, Hungary has had to change its long-established attitudes overnight. In such a situation, any pro-Russian stance and balancing became practically impossible.
Higher education in Taliban’s Afghanistan Published: 6 April 2022 The unexpected ban of secondary school education of girls on 23 March 2022 by the Taliban authority was condemned by the international community. Professor Michael Daxner, who has been actively involved in the higher education sector in Afghanistan for the last several years, gives an overview of challenges currently faced.
Further and Further Away"- Environment and Identity in Cambodia Published: 6 April 2022 The short film “Further and Further Away” is portraying a brother and sister who belong to the Bunong ethnic minority in Cambodia. We spoke with director Polen Ly and producer Daniel Mattes about the process of making the film, youth in Cambodia and the opportunities for independent film making in the country.
Punches in the Margins of Massacres and Calamities Published: 4 April 2022 “We live between great countries and superpowers. We laugh and cry, fear and suffer.” In recounting seven punches in the face, Avo Kaprealian's essay tells the story of Armenians in Syria that begins and ends with an exodus.
Fact: LGBTIQ+ rights are human rights Published: 14 September 2022 Systemic exclusion, various kinds of violence, and discrimination are still being imposed on LGBTIQ+ people to deal with, individually and on a daily basis. Criminalization and stigma have further hindered access to basic human rights and needs, as many countries continue to foster a culture of social homophobia and transphobia. The COVID-19 crisis did not make things any better and LGBTIQ+ people were vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus and the fallout it created.
Making the great turnaround work Published: 13 September 2022 The online dossier of our Brussels office features videos, podcasts and articles related to the publication "Making the great turnaround work - Economic policy for a green and just transition".
War in Ukraine: The effects are dramatic Published: 31 March 2022 How the war in Ukraine threatens global food security – an interview with Dr Martin Frick, head of the Berlin office of the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
Digging another metre deeper in Bosnia and Herzegovina Published: 29 March 2022 Democratic values and principles have been under fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, from within and without, a battle between ethnocracy and democracy is being waged in the country at the expense of its citizens.
The EU must stop appeasing “Putin’s puppets” in Bosnia Published: 28 March 2022 The Russian invasion of Ukraine will bring flashbacks to millions of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo, who have all suffered massively under the regime of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević. In April 1992, Serb nationalists waged a war on my home country under a similar pretext as Putin did with Ukraine, denying its statehood, history, and national identity. Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the worst crisis since the end of the war.
The Never-ending Story of Building Bosnia-Herzegovina Published: 23 March 2022 Not a dormant ethno-national conflict is the main problem in Bosnia. Rather, the source of crises since 1995 lies in the state’s weakness as well as a political class prone to corruption, nepotism, and abuse of power in the name of ill-defined ethnic interests. Is the Russian aggression on Ukraine a wake-up call for US and EU’s engagement in Bosnia?
High-risk geoengineering technologies won’t reverse climate breakdown Published: 21 March 2022 Techno fixes like carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management are no substitute for exiting coal, oil and gas – whatever polluters would like you to think.
Climate mitigation and adaptation requires gender-responsive financing Published: 21 March 2022 Among those hardest hit by the climate crisis, women have taken some of the leading roles in combatting it. On local levels they are directly addressing the effects of climate change. Here we present some of the core calls for fair and gender-equitable climate financing on a global scale.
Overexposed Published: 21 March 2022 Women are more affected than men by plastics. Biological reasons are part of the problem: their bodies react in different ways to toxins, and the hygiene products that women use are often contaminated. But alternatives do exist.
“Net Gain” is a lose-lose for rights, gender justice and social equity in biodiversity policy Published: 17 March 2022 A new policy paper by the Global Forest Coalition addresses offsets to biodiversity. It shows that offsets mostly do not contribute to biodiversity conservation and also have significant negative impacts on women and indigenous peoples.
“Welcome culture” with staying power! Published: 15 March 2022 The largest refugee movement since the Second World War now requires coordination throughout Europe.
"Mainstreaming gender and empowering women for environmental Sustainability" Published: 14 March 2022 In March 2020, the OECD Global Forum on Environment focused on "Mainstreaming Gender and Empowering Women for Environmental Sustainability". This summary report on the OECD-Forum highlights selected environment-related sectors and policies, and how they should be discussed from a gender-responsive perspective.
Strengthening gender justice in global environmental crises Published: 11 March 2022 To deal with the dramatic consequences of the global environmental and climate crises, international attention is also growing for civil society environmental movements and their louder feminist demands.
"It's not just the carbon footprint – we also have to see the feet" Published: 11 March 2022 Gender justice, democracy and socio-ecological sustainability are politically and economically inextricably linked. Barbara Unmüßig, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, gives an insight into her own experiences and develops recommendations for action for politicians.
New Czech Government: First Stumbling Blocks after a Hopeful Start Published: 9 March 2022 Hopes were high for a progressive turnaround after the populist previous government of Andrej Babiš. What is the balance sheet of the first steps of the new Czech government?
International Women’s Day: The diverse meanings of “work from home” for women in Asia Published: 7 March 2022 Increase in domestic violence, lay-offs, care responsibilities, restrictions on domestic and international movement, economic insecurities, psychological burdens - these are just a few of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Asia in the last two years. The gendered nature of COVID-19 impacts is obvious and has sparked large feminist responses in the region.
The ‘Chinese Way’ to decarbonisation Published: 2 March 2022 How will the world’s biggest developing country bring down the world’s highest greenhouse gases emissions to net-zero in the shortest period of time? (How) is China’s decarbonisation different from the rest of the world?
Civil society briefing on the Working Group II Report of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment: Beyond the Limits. How Gambling on Overshoot is Pushing the Planet Beyond a Point of No Return Published: 28 February 2022 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is releasing the second part of the Sixth Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability on 28 February 2022.
Solidarity with Ukraine Published: 24 February 2022 We declare our full solidarity with Ukraine. We stand by the side of our Ukrainian partners and colleagues and, at the same time, by the side of our partners in Russian civil society who are beset by harsh repression.