multiculturalism

Matonge district of Brussels, home to Swahili, Hindi and Lingala

A stone's throw from the European parliament, with its suited and booted men and women, lies a kingdom of imposing African women, urban gangs, African beats, busy call centres and Western Unions. The black district of Brussels takes its name from the business centre of the Congolese capital

by Bibbi Abruzzini @ // 15/02/13

multiculturalism, belgium, brussels, culture, travel, society, congo

Odin, Koreja: Europe's top multilingual, multicultural theatre

The Italian theatre company Koreja is inspired by the legendary performance art theatre, Odin Teatret. The Danish ‘company of exiles’ employs foreign actors come from all walks of life and agree on one philosophy: ‘always live a new life offstage’

by Valeria Nicoletti @ // 06/02/13

multiculturalism, italy, festivals, balkans, william shakespeare, poland, culture

Riff Cohen: ‘Many Israeli artists become reluctant ambassadors’

In mid-2011, youtube exploded with the video of a petite, dark-haired girl dancing around the colourful streets and markets of Paris, along with a belly dancer and foreign looking youngsters, singing in French to an upbeat rhythm mixed with oriental tunes. It turned Riff Cohen into a sensation. Born in Tel Aviv to a French-Algerian mother and an Israeli father with a Tunisian background, the 27-year-old has been working towards her first official video since childhood

by Alexandra Belopolsky @ // 21/12/12

multiculturalism, paris, brunch, culture, tel aviv, music, algeria

Anouk Aïata and her 'grand dames of French music'

After years spent in the obscurity of small Parisian venues, the French singer can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. When opportunity came knocking a year ago, she grabbed it with both hands. Her vibrant EP, released in October, serves as a prelude to a near-completed album due for release in 2013

by Amélie Mougey @ // 10/12/12

multiculturalism, paris, culture, music, concert, album, france

Sinterklaas and Black Pete's multicultural evolution in Netherlands

The Dutch holiday figures of  'Santa Claus' and his helper Black Pete have long endured charges of racism and cultural insensitivity. Nevertheless, the 5 December celebration is endearing itself to new generations of immigrants and facilitating their integration into Dutch society

by Francisco Cantu @ // 05/12/12

multiculturalism, christmas, lifestyle, history, society, children, populism

Jewish culture in Poland: hipsters and good sports

Analysts are heading to Poland to research the social legacy of euro 2012, a major sporting event which took place on both Polish and Ukrainian soil between 8 June and 1 July. Prior to and throughout the event, the western European media were particularly moved by the alleged anti-semitism in Poland. From hooliganism to outdated stigmas, the Polish seem stuck in a cycle of prejudice towards the jewish community

by Matthieu Amaré @ // 30/11/12

multiculturalism, football, religion, jews, racism, poland, warsaw

Does Turkish food in Berlin taste like Turkish food in Turkey?

Thousands of Turks who went to Germany 50 years ago to work in factories settled down, their juniors opening markets and restaurants offering a great variety of Turkish food. Berlin has a population of over 300, 000 people of Turkish origin, and these first- and second-generation immigrants confirm that it is not so hard to cook traditional meals with German products

by elif @ // 08/11/12

multiculturalism, recipe, expatriation, germany, food, berlin, culture

Ljubljana's latent multicultural layers

Religious minorities, foreign artists and understanding a nationalist self: these are some of the elements explored during cafebabel.com’s final mission to Slovenia in 2012 in the framework of the ‘MultiKulti’ aka ‘multiculturalism on the ground’ special series. The central European country’s history started within the vast Austro-Hungarian empire in 1848. Since then there has been an impulse for a national identity, for obtaining one nation state. Yugoslavia dissolved on 25 June 1991 when many of our generation and contemporaries were still children. A country became independent and had to decide between east and west, opting to join the European union in 2004 with a flood of other central and eastern European states. As it balances its European and Balkan identities, a team of Spanish-Bulgarian-Brazilian-German-Italian journalists, videomakers and photographers tried to delve deeper into its multicultural soul (Image: © Eloisa D'Orsi for 'MultiKulti' aka 'multiculturalism on the ground', Ljubljana 2012)

• Read the special edition Ljubljana's latent multicultural layers
• Jewish Slovenia (but maybe not for much longer)
• Multicultural Slovenia: where did the minorities go?
• Asylum meets art in Slovenia

Riace, Calabria, where immigrants are welcome

Until ten years ago Riace was one of the many Calabrian villages destined to disappear due to high emigration rates. Today it is one of the most famous towns in Europe, repopulated by immigrants. A closer look into this huge scale, real life social experiment proves right those who believe immigrants are an asset to Italian and European society

by Tetyana Kostyuk @ // 11/09/12

multiculturalism, italy, mafia, immigration, illegal immigrants, fair trade, best of cafebabel.com

Two days in Berlin with my Polish grandmother

Two generations have always separated us; today, 600km do too. As any grandmother would do, Wiesia came to visit her granddaughter and two trilingual baby great-granddaughters in the German capital for a weekend, to celebrate her 80th birthday

by AnnaAlboth @ // 31/08/12

multiculturalism, ageing society, germany, berlin, poland, best of cafebabel.com, family

Yann Tiersen: ‘France denies its own cultures and smothers others’

The Breton musician splits his time between touring and his ‘home’ of Ushant, a small island off the Finistère coast where he works alone on his albums. His slightly matted hair and earring give Yann the air of a sailor, one of those people who are quick to recognise the immense diversity of the world and leave their homes to understand it better

by Marine Leduc @ // 27/08/12

multiculturalism, yann tiersen, brunch, best of cafebabel.com, music, rock, france

Strasbourg pilgrimage: Erasmus, Germans, Muslims and Roma

The European community needs new challenges. It’s the perfect opportunity for a pan-European team of journalists to write from Strasbourg. The city is commonly evoked to illustrate the warring relationship between France and Germany - but just look at its good products, such as the two-decade old unique television station Arte. Strasbourg is also the headquarters for the immovable European parliament, but everything circling it is in perpetual movement. New Roma camps mix in with a general mood of recognition for old and new religions, whilst the expat-erasmus scene of foreigners who define this city explain why it is their home away from home. Strasbourg’s frontiers definitely stretch beyond the political to the social and cultural. Special edition for ‘MultiKulti’ aka ‘multiculturalism on the ground’ via Polish, Italian, British and German eyes (Image: (cc) alex dram/ Flickr)

• Read the special edition Strasbourg pilgrimage: Erasmus, Germans, Muslims and Roma
• The life and political opinions of Strasbourg's Roma minority
• Arte: Franco-German television channel rocking multiculturalism for 20 years
• German Erasmus students: missing black bread and subculture in Strasbourg
• Strasbourg’s muslims: bury me in Turkey, Tunisia or here

Vietnamese and pleased to be Polish

In a society where 96% of the population is of Polish nationality, it might appear to be difficult to integrate as a minority. Yet every hundredth person in the capital - with its 1,800,000 inhabitants - is of Vietnamese origin

by Silvia Diez Ginestar @ // 23/07/12

multiculturalism, warsaw, europe, poland, culture, society, multikulti on the ground

National anthems Euro 2012: you don't sing, you don't win

Since Germany’s elimination from the European football championships (in a semi-final against eventual runner-up Italy), an absurd debate about the national anthem has sprung up in Germany – with dangerously exclusive undertones

by Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere @ // 21/07/12

multiculturalism, sport, germany, national anthem, euro 2012

Evening school on Greece coast, where clergymen, footballers and grandmothers learn

In a nod to the ‘European year of active ageing and solidarity between generations 2012’, the Argostoli Evening School works with students aged between 14 and 60 from all walks of life: high-school dropouts, shepherds, housewives and builders. Established in 2004, it’s also a multicultural hotspot, with Greek-Albanian-Roma and other nationalities and backgrounds

by Mina Theofilatou @ // 09/07/12

multiculturalism, greece, education system, students, discrimination, albania, society

Berlin, the multicultural mashup of mashups

If football is a mirror of society, then Germany is defined by its multi-ethnic national team who bowed out of the Euro 2012 quarterfinals in June. Entire districts are Turkish, like trendy Kreuzberg. The expats, be they Mediterranean students or Scandinavian musicians, respond to the appeal of a city which is a temporary home away from home. Like its Mannschaft, Berlin is as Ghanaian as it is Polish. These cannot be passing fads in the capital, part of which gained a new identity after living under the communist former GDR, and which is unified through concepts as diverse as skates and soil. Follow our Finnish-French-Bulgarian-Italian team through the German capital this summer (Image: © Maria Halkilahti for 'Multikulti’ aka ‘multiculturalism on the ground by cafebabel.com, Berlin 2012)

• Read the special edition Berlin, the multicultural mashup of mashups
• Skating: important sub-culture in multicultural Berlin
• Berlin expats: Spanish, Italian, Greeks go from limbo to limbo
• Berlin's multicultural music mix: subsuming Berlin
• Turkish for Beginners: German girl meets Turkish boy in TV series set in Kreuzberg, Berlin