De Facto recommends

The standard ‘design’ of the Dutch borderline is often seen as a self-evident representation. Yet this abstract form in no way reflects the geographical, social, and political reality. How can we rethink and redesign the representation of the multiplicity of Dutch borders? A workshop by designer and researcher Annelys de Vet and Professor of Geopolitics and Political Geography Henk van Houtum.

The dominant narrative insists that borders keep us safe. But from what, and from whom? What if borders are systems of power designed to divide, to dominate, to decide who gets to move, who gets to stay, and who is left behind? Film, talks, music and poetry on 20 June in Amsterdam.

What if we could dream beyond borders, beyond displacement, beyond extraction? A powerful one-day experience of collective imagination, embodied storytelling, and radical futurism led by displaced communities. Part of Refugee Welcome Week in Amsterdam.

From winding borders to straight lines and landlocked nations, Al Jazeera explores the stories behind Africa’s map. From Bir Tawil to Cabinda to the Caprivi strip: a visual explainer of some of the continent’s most unusual borders.

Map lines are inherently political. After all, they’re representations of the places that are important to human beings — and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world where multiple nations often share the same maps. Trump’s geographic renaming plans leave mapmakers pondering what to do next.

The breakaway republic of Transnistria has been plunged into an energy crisis following the end of Ukrainian transit of Russian gas. If it is Kyiv and not Moscow that comes to the unrecognized statelet’s aid, Russia risks losing any remaining influence in the region.

The secret mission left the smallest number of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay since the day the detention center opened in 2002.

With the lightning success of the 11-day offensive by the Islamist faction Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other rebel groups and the fall of the Assad regime, a new question comes to the fore. Will a Syrian transitional government, backed by Turkey, accept the Kurdish-led autonomous zone in the northeast of the country?

The Anarchist Citizenship: People Made of Stories exhibition, from 27 October 2024 to 26 January 2025 at Framer Framed, examines how storytelling, visual culture, architecture and social life (re)shape citizenship in Somaliland, the Somali region and its diaspora.

Overwhelmed by the vast offerings at The International Film Festival Amsterdam? Let yourself be guided by the IDFA Pathways. De Facto especially recommends ‘Palestine’, ‘The Law of the Land’ and ‘Life in Europe’. See you there?

And strangely enough, it means China and the Philippines have traded positions.

Taipei sets aside fears of Chinese invasion and trade-war crossfire to focus on potential cooperation with the new administration