Trends and society

North Macedonia: a promised land for migrants and refugees?

27/10/2023 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

Located at the heart of the "Balkan route", North Macedonia has been a transit country for many migrants in search of a new life in Europe. Some of them, however, decided to stay

Armenia, selective abortion remains a concern

22/08/2023 -  Armine Avetisyan Yerevan

Once a widespread phenomenon in Armenia, selective abortion has declined in the last decade. However, according to the data up to 2022, the practice of prenatal selection based on gender has started again

Topolò, Europe. Voices from the border/2

17/08/2023 -  Paola Rosà

The end of the Station and new beginnings with the Robida collective, between nostalgia, mountain sobriety, and lucid enthusiasm: the second part of a reportage from Topolò, which never ceases to be a forge of cultural and life projects despite all the difficulties, including bureaucratic ones

Topolò, Europe. Voices from the border/1

10/08/2023 -  Paola Rosà

Bilingualism denied, espionage in families, Gladio: history on the border has left indelible marks on the present of Topolò, a town on the Italian-Slovenian border where, also thanks to European funds, attempts are being made to build a future. First part of a reportage

To be a surrogate mother in Armenia

22/06/2023 -  Armine Avetisyan Yerevan

Every year dozens of children are born in Armenia with the help of a surrogate mother. Although there are no clear statistics, experts state that the figure is increasing year by year. A story of a surrogate mother

Fashion Week, Yerevan's first time

20/06/2023 -  Marilisa Lorusso Yerevan

There is great anticipation in Yerevan for the first edition of the Armenian Fashion Week, to be held in early July. The ambitious event is the first of its kind in the country

Marx, Mohammed, and “wudu capitalism”. A meeting with Recep İhsan Eliaçık

08/08/2023 -  Francesco Brusa Istanbul

Synthesise and integrate two "failed", seemingly antithetical political thoughts, the Marxist and the Islamic one. This is what EKP-dominated Turkey needs according to Recep İhsan Eliaçık, Turkish thinker and activist, animator of the first collective of "anti-capitalist Muslims”

David Pejić, “Best European organic farmer”

24/07/2023 -  Giovanni Vale

David Pejić, born in 1990, won the European Commission award for "Best European organic farmer" last September. David is at the helm of the oldest organic farm in Croatia and his is a very unusual story that crosses agriculture and philosophy

From Yerevan to Moscow, the business of branded clothes

05/04/2023 -  Armine Avetisyan

Many Russian citizens buy in Armenia – and resell in Russia – what cannot be found at home because of sanctions

The most popular figures in the street names of European capitals

09/03/2023 -  Gianluca De Feo

We have compiled a ranking of the 100 men and women that appear most frequently in the toponyms of 15 European capitals. There’s a lot of saints and white men from the 19th and 20th century, but there’s also quite a few actresses and female Nobel laureates

The gender gap in Europe’s street names is here to stay

06/03/2023 -  Lorenzo FerrariAlice Corona

In 30 of Europe's biggest cities, streets named after women make up only 9 per cent of the streets dedicated to individuals. The imbalance has started to narrow in some places, but progress is too slow: at this rate, it would take centuries to really close the gap.

Transylvania: memories of pickled gherkins

17/02/2023 -  Sielke Kelner

For families who emigrated from Eastern Europe, affection and memory are also handed down through culinary inheritances. Distant and recent memories of a Transylvanian grandmother intertwine remembering Erzsebet's passion for coffee and her lost pickled gherkins recipe

Green, fair, and pacifist Turkey: glimpses from Bozcaada

02/12/2022 -  Sofia Verza

Bozcaada has hosted an ecological documentary film festival for nine years now. A community-building cultural initiative that is of crucial importance in today's repressive climate in Turkey. We were there from 12 to 16 of October

Kosovo, making the best use of innovation potential

17/11/2022 -  Ornaldo Gjergji

Kosovo is growing fast in the field of innovation, but the strong potential of the sector is currently not being used as much as it deserves. We talked about it with Uranik Begu, director of the Innovation Center Kosovo

Innovation in the Western Balkans, looking for stars

02/11/2022 -  Francesco Martino

Supporting the development of young and innovative businesses in the Western Balkans. This is the objective of the Star Venture programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We talked about it with regional coordinator Dejan Tonic

Tetovo, where languages open doors

25/10/2022 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

Tetovo, North Macedonia, is one of the most multi-ethnic and multicultural cities in the Balkans. Here many inhabitants can speak all the many languages of the city: a skill appreciated for the ability to open doors, friendships, and possibilities

Croatia, let's finally talk about menstruation poverty

19/10/2022 -  Marina Kelava

Recent research on menstrual poverty in Croatia, conducted by the PaRiter association, has allowed the issue of menstruation to be addressed by educational institutions. Various initiatives to make menstrual products free

Gaming in Serbia: unity is strength

27/10/2022 -  Francesco Martino

The gaming industry in Serbia is growing exponentially. More and more companies in the sector are growing thanks to mutual collaboration. We interviewed Kristina Janković Obućina, director of the Serbian Game Association

Marko Pejcinovski, the young swimmer who inspires North Macedonia

15/09/2022 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev

Swimming for dozens of kilometres without using his legs, a sixteen-year-old Macedonian boy is teaching not to give up in the face of difficulties and inspiring the entire country

Economy and morality on the long way towards reconciliation in Cyprus

09/08/2022 -  Mary Drosopoulos Nicosia

First the pandemic, now the price crisis have been increasingly pushing the Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus to cross the de facto boundaries that divide them and to interact, despite the persistence of prejudices and mutual distrust. A reportage from the island

Russians in Armenia, looking for a normal life

08/06/2022 -  Armine Avetysian

With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, thousands of Russians have moved to Armenia. There is an actual emigration wave of Russian entrepreneurs with their families. Most of them choose to live in the capital Yerevan in search of peace and stability

"In corpore sano", Serbia's hymn to health for Eurosong in Turin

05/05/2022 -  Nicola Dotto Belgrade

"(Umetnica) mora biti zdrava" [(The artist) must be healthy] is the warning and call to everyone's responsibility on the subject of health launched by Serbian artist Konstrakta, who will perform on the stage of the next "Eurovision Song Contest" of Turin. We interviewed her

Croatia: thinking with your feet

29/03/2022 -  Giovanni Vale

Their father used to produce shoes, but Domagoj and Hrvoje have led the family business into a green, sustainable turn

"We are losing the Balkan lynx"

01/02/2022 -  Marco Ranocchiari

The results of the latest surveys on the Balkan lynx, present only in the mountains of North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, do not bode well for the future of one of the most endangered mammals in Europe

Bulgaria, the consequences of the pandemic on young students

16/12/2021 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Bulgaria has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, especially at the expense of young students. The disparities have been particularly apparent in the more fragile communities, such as the Roma and Turkish ones

Boris Dezulovic: hopeless Croatia

18/11/2021 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Thirty years ago, the siege of the city of Vukovar – one of the symbols of the war in the former Yugoslavia – ended. Boris Dezulovic, leading Croatian journalist, in a recent editorial that we translated, tries to highlight the profound contradictions of today's Vukovar. This, however, earnt him death threats. We interviewed him

Armenia and sport: the virus sets the rules

22/11/2021 -  Armine Avetysian Yerevan

In addition to changing everyday life, the pandemic has also heavily impacted the world of sport. Artyom Arakelyan and Vahagn Davtyan, a coach and an athlete, share their experience

Slovenia: young environmentalists and the pandemic, the unexpected consequences

08/11/2021 -  Marco Ranocchiari

In Slovenia, as in the rest of the world, Covid-19 has upset the dynamics of youth activism, including the environmental one, which was in full swing before the pandemic. Despite the assembly ban, the closed universities, and the economic crisis, environmentalists have achieved a historic referendum victory with another unexpected consequence: to take root in the rural country, traditionally impervious to mobilisations

“VivaBiH”: vegans in Bosnia and Herzegovina

01/11/2021 -  Nicola Dotto

“VivaBiH” is the first registered organisation fighting for animal rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2016, through projects and media campaigns, it has pursued the complete abolition of systems that exploit any animal, promoting veganism. An interview

Jovanka Broz in colour

12/10/2021 -  Luciano Panella

"Jovanka Broz – in colour" is the title of the exhibition that was inaugurated last week at the Belgrade headquarters of the Serbian Radio Television and which will be open until November 30th