De Facto recommends

On October 8, De Facto will seek to create space between the lines that are drawn between Palestine and Israel. Jareach Gilula plays Arabic and Israeli music on her harp, seeking to emphasize what these groups share — even though this is becoming increasingly challenging. Furthermore, we will zoom in on the conflict between India and Pakistan, which recently flared up again. We will talk about this with Aletta André, former India correspondent. And: the story of Nutopia. Join us in MIMIK (Deventer).

How far would you go to uncover the truth? On August 22, De Facto’s Jorie Horsthuis will talk to Romy van Baarsen about the work of journalists at Europe’s borders, after watching Green Border, an impressive drama by Agnieszka Holland about the inhumane way in which migrants are treated. Join the conversation in MIMIK, Deventer.

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.

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.

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?

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

In October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that his country would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia, one of the islands, hosts a US military base and is at the center of the internationally lauded yet highly contentious agreement.

It has been more than 30 years since fighting broke out between Georgia and Abkhazia. Some of those whom the conflict displaced found refuge in a former Georgian sanatorium: the Hotel Metalurg. Now, they’re under pressure to leave again. Watch the documentary here.

The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.