The annual report 2015 of the Heinrich Böll Foundation offers an overview about the work in that year of the 31 international offices worldwide and 16 state-level Böll Foundations in Germany.

While the privileged few may cross legitimately by simply presenting their passport, for most, borders present difficult if not insurmountable hurdles. Furthermore there are plenty of other lines of division: social, ethnic, religious and ideological. Any border is a painful memory of the fact that it is not an individual’s choice to define which side he or she is on.

Across the world, activists, social movements and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are facing verbal hostility from politicians, new laws and regulations that curtail their ability to operate, and outright violence. Africa is no exception.

The Middle Eastern and Northern African (MENA) region, faced with tumultuous changes in the last five years, shows a picture of shrinking spaces for civil society activism. In contrast, ecological activism is growing and connecting the fight for climate justice to other demands for community and indigenous rights, gender equality, democracy and transparency.

The Brazilian non-governmental organization Justiça Global, partner organization of the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, released this publication, that intends to be a tool that allows journalists to know the other side of this mega event, which resulted in the aggravation of processes of segregation, control and privatization of public spaces, and extermination of the black, poor population in the city.

While it is broadly recognised that hunger is a function of entitlements and not of food availability as such, there is still a vacuum in research and development education with regard to introducing a human rights and governance lens to teaching. This paper showes how this can be done.

What is the relationship between expropriations, removals, new housing developments, security policies and large-scale projects in the Olympic city Rio de Janeiro?

The private security industrie is definitely among the sectors that most benefit from mega events. Within a dubious relationship the security industry does not only supply the Brazilian State with surveillance systems and weapons, it also influences the organization of federal police and military forces.

The City of Rio de Janeiro is the stage for several projects, now at the preparation of the city for the 2016 Olympic Games. The population of the city has already realized that the project Rio Olympic City, which comprises the developments for the 2014 World Cup, and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as large projects such as Porto Maravilha, will not bring the promised benefits.

Iraqi and Syrian Kurds have gained increasing international recognition for their efforts in combating ISIS and some observers conclude that the conditions for an independent Kurdistan have never been as favorable as they are now. What are the prospects for a Kurdish nation state?