Wereld

Column

African literature doesn’t need the Nobel Prize to make it valid

29 March 2022 -

In 2021, the Nobel Prize for literature went to Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah. Writer Chika Unigwe believes that African literature does not need the Nobel Prize to be validated, but it is good to see influential bodies like the Swedish Academy recognizing works from the continent.

Column

Colonization was the epitome of arrogance

15 March 2022 -

There is still a need for an honest history of colonization. This is illustrated by a playful action in London by a man who claimed to have “discovered” the River Thames, writes MO*columnist Chika Unigwe. ‘To discover something that already exists and stick another name on it is pure arrogance.’

Interview

‘Ecosocialism (including degrowth) is the way forward’

17 January 2022 -

Jonas Van der Slycken, guest lecturer on sustainable development and columnist for mo.be, where he writes articles on the topic, believes in an ecosocialism that says farewell to the growth economy. ‘Ecosocialism does not need to be as counter-hegemonic as the degrowth movement, but as system-changing.’

Interview

From tomato picker to contemporary Jesus. ‘We need each other to tackle inequality’

16 April 2021 -

‘I use cinema to address an issue.’ Yvan Sagnet refers to the pitiful working conditions of African migrants in the south of Italy, to pick vegetables that end up in our supermarkets. In Milo Rau’s "The New Gospel", he plays the lead role of a contemporary Jesus.

Opinion

‘Making peace with nature is possible, if we start now’

18 February 2021 -

Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, believes our 'environmental, social and economic challenges are interlinked'. 'This year, we must make peace with nature.'

Opinion

Future of Development: International Solidarity is the Key

30 October 2020 -

While country after country is returning to strict measures in order to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, UN assistant secretary general Ulrika Modéer looks beyond the current crisis to discern the challenges on the road ahead ‘towards more sustainable, just and inclusive societies.’

Report

Activist Mwazulu Diyabanza visits Antwerp: ‘Chef Ne Kuko must come home!’

19 October 2020 -

In recent months, activist Mwazulu Diyabanza has made several attempts to remove African looted art from European museums. At the request of MO* he visited the Antwerp exhibition 100 x Congo in the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS).

Video

MO*conference @ Forward Fest: Development in a New Geopolitical Context

19 October 2020 -

These are times in which international relations are being transformed at breakneck speed and in which the existing world order is being questioned fundamentally. Will these turbulent times enable us to bring about sustainable development and a just redustribution of wealth? Is this finally the right time to decolonize, are we heading into the ...

Analysis

In Kenya garbage is recycled into opportunities for the young

14 October 2020 -

As the Kenyan economy grows, the amount of waste grows along with it. A flood of new disposable materials, from mouth masks to gloves, puts extra pressure on faulty policies. Can a sustainable waste policy offer young people growth opportunities and reduce the waste heap?

Analysis

Money, Power and Politics at the WHO

7 October 2020 -

Fien Van den Steen takes a look at the geopolitics that shaped the WHO’s manoeuvring throughout the global coronavirus pandemic.

Interview

We cannot address inequality, migration, climate crisis or pandemic without international order

15 September 2020 -

International cooperation has a bad name because its results have often left much to be desired. But without a United Nations, climate summit or other international agreements, chaos and conflict loom. MO* put five crucial questions about world order and disorder to five internationally recognized experts. Is global governance still what we whant, ...

Opinion

The corona pandemic blows the lid off the idea of Western superiority

24 April 2020 -

Olivia U. Rutazibwa looks at the spread of the corona virus in Europe from a great distance as she is on a writing retreat at the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies (JIAS) in South Africa, where a national total lockdown was declared on March 26th. While she’s there to write and dig into books and the past, she sees how in these extraordina ...