Emissions | ARTE

Sendungen | ARTE

Magazine Shows | ARTE

Emisiones | ARTE

Magazyny | ARTE

Programmi | ARTE

Tracks reports on geek culture, current music, film and emerging artistic forms

Alternative & Underground Culture

 Tracks

Current Highlights

Thirty years after the war that tore Yugoslavia apart, could the three main states that emerged, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia, build closer relations? And could the Franco-German  example serve as a model?

Former Yugoslavia: Reconciliation in sight?

Thirty years after the war that tore Yugoslavia apart, could Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia build closer relations?

ARTE Reportage

Beijing finally gave in to protests: As Chinese people wanted to regain their freedom all restrictions have been lifted and life has returned to normal. But now a massive wave of COVID-19 infections has swept through China.

China: Lockdown to Chaos

With restrictions lifted in China, a massive wave of covid has swept through the country.

The self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, separating from Georgia in the early 1990s, is a tiny state on the Black Sea recognised by only a handful of states.

Abkhazia: Russian or Georgian?

China, the very first country hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is also the last to lift restrictions. Chinese residents have spent much of 2022 in repeated, strict lockdowns to curb the circulation of the virus. For the most time in years, a protest movement critical of the CPP has sprung to life: protesters are angry that the rest of the world has got back to normal while they have to live as though it's still 2020.

China: One Lockdown Too Many

China, the very first country hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is also the last to lift restrictions.

In Khartoum an anonymous protester dressed as Spiderman has joined hundreds of thousands of demonstrators protesting against the military coup of October 2021, becoming an icon of the protest movement in Sudan.

Sudan: Spiderman - Hero of the Resistance

An anonymous protester dressed as Spiderman has joined demonstrators protesting against the military coup of October 2021 in Khartoum.

Russians long considered Armenia an unimportant vassal that could easily be brought back into line if the Kremlin choose to do so. In an ironic twist of fate, it is now this little neighbour that many Russians now turn to for asylum. Russia's youth and well-off middle-class rejects Moscow's politics and fear being drafted into fighting a war they don't believe in. 

Armenia: Russian Refuge

Russia always looked down on Armenia, but now Russian asylum-seekers are turning to Yerevan for help.

Ivory Coast has a pesticides problem. Farmers use chemicals that are banned in Europe in unregulated mixtures, and wearing little to no PPE. They say they have no choice. Cocoa prices have fallen and to meet the shortfall, yields have to go up for farmers to make a living. 

Ivory Coast: Toxic Africa

Farmers use chemicals that are banned in Europe in unregulated mixtures, and wearing little to no PPE.

Less than 40 kilometres separate the French coast from England at Calais. The crossing seems easy to many, although in reality it is highly dangerous. Smugglers have recently been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life.

Children of Calais

Smugglers have been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life in England.

Their names are Ibrahima, Coumba and Bakary. Born in France to Senegalese parents, they have decided to make the same journey as their parents, but in the opposite direction and they are making a difference in Africa.

Senegal: Paris to Dakar

Born in France to Senegalese parents, these French citizens have decided to make the same journey as their parents, but in the opposite direction.

NASA images reveal that Africa is a global wildfire hotspot. Madagascar, home to 5% of the world's species, is no exception to the rule: in 60 years, the island has lost almost half of its forest. The fires will get more frequent as woodland dries out due to global warming. But they're also often set intentionally, to create farmland.

Madagascar: Fire Island

NASA images reveal that Africa is a global wildfire hotspot.

With drought and population increase, deforestation is a real problem in Senegal. The NGO Nebeday aims to plant at least 1.5 million trees in 2022 with the help of local village children.

Reforesting Senegal

In Senegal the NGO Nebeday aims to plant at least 1.5 million trees in 2022, with the help of local village children.

The historic Senegalese city of Saint-Louis is protected from the sea by a thin sandy peninsula, the Langue de Barbarie. But this densely populated fishing district is at threat from rising sea levels.

Senegal: Building Sea Walls

Jackson, a poor city in the southern United States, is in an extended state of emergency over its water crisis. Either there is no water, or the water is at low pressure or dirty. Residents have been told to boil it before drinking. For many, this latest scandal feels like the last straw. The economy is dying, shops are closing, and young graduates move to other cities. Local politics meanwhile is increasingly divided.

Jackson: A City in Crisis

Jackson, a poor city in the southern United States, is in an extended state of emergency over its water crisis.

In Qatar, foreigners make up 90% of the population. They work in every sector from services to construction, and though the country is totally dependent on them, they are often treated like serfs. Due to international pressure, Qatar reformed its labour law, but workers say that while their rights have improved on paper they've since little real change.

Qatar: Exploitation of Workers

The foreign workers who helped build Qatar's World Cup buildings say they haven't been paid and are kept in substandard accommodation.

Since the military coup and the withdrawal of French troops, Mali has become more and more unstable. Armed terrorist groups are gradually taking over the positions occupied for years by the French operation Barkhane. The operation is wrapping up, and the last French military personnel are preparing to leave.

Since the military coup and the withdrawal of French troops, Mali has become more and more unstable.

Mali: The Last Soliders of Barkhane

The Wagner group, a secret mercenary far-right Kremlin army, has struck a deal with the regime of Faustin-Archange Touadéra to stabilise the country in exchange for mineral resources. Russia is taking advantage of France's waning influence in this former colony. Our reporters met Central Africans who welcome the mercenary army, while others have fallen victim to their brutal attacks.

Russian Soft Power in The CAR

Russia is trying to increase its influence in the Central African Republic via the infamous Wagner Group.

Beginning in April, a phone line, website and text messages throughout Russia aimed at encouraging people to report the "suspicious" activities of anyone who does not support the Russian offensive, on behalf of the fight against extremism to justify the actions of the security forces against the opposition. Nearly 189,000 cameras monitor public space in Moscow, helping to install a general climate of fear where any divergence from the official Kremlin propaganda can have serious consequences.

Since April, Russians have been encouraged to denounce fellow citizens that disagree with the war on Ukraine. 

Russia: The Risk of Dissent

Morocco has long been one of the world's largest producers of cannabis resin, but it's a trade that was illicit and unregulated. For decades, authorities cracked down on the hashish trade, one of the few industries open to the impoverished people of the Rif. But now, restrictions around cannabis have been relaxed for medicinal, cosmetic, and industrial uses – opening the way for a whole new growth industry.

Morocco: The Kings of Rif

Loosening restrictions around cannabis in Morocco could be a gamechanger for the impoverished people of the Rif.

A group of Israelis are trying to mobilise to protect the country's ecosystems, including migratory birds in the Jordan Valley. In Jerusalem, Amir Balaban, who is responsible for Israel's flora and fauna, initiated an ecological movement by showing the people how many animals and plants live in the Wailing Wall. 

Israel: The New Environmentalists

A group of Israelis are trying to mobilise to protect the country's ecosystems.

Mali is becoming the Sahel's gold trading hub. Most of the precious metal ends up in Dubai. By turning a blind eye to the origin of the ingots that arrive in the country, the United Arab Emirates is indirectly supporting a dangerous and unregulated industry. The OECD is calling for much stricter rules.

Dubai's Dirty Gold

Dubai is turning a blind eye to the Sahel's illegal gold trade

More

Huge territories, communist legacies, authoritarian leaders: China and Russia have much in common, as the good personal relations between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin seem to show. Mapping the World demonstrates that behind the façade, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

China and Russia: Firm Friends?

Behind the façade of friendship, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

Mapping the World

In his memoirs, the founding father of the European project, Jean Monnet, wrote: "Europe will be forged by the crises it faces, and will become the sum of the solutions it finds during those crises." A prescient sentence that has never been more apt than during the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks and is more unified than it has been in years.

The EU and Crises

During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks.

Egypt is the country of the pharaohs and Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, at the head of the country for almost a decade, often likes to hark back to this glorious past. This nostalgia is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt, from Mehmet Ali, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, to Morsi. 

Egypt's Pharaoh Syndrome

Nostalgia for a glorious past is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. One of the richest countries on the planet due to vast oil and gas deposits, Qatar has invested heavily in soft power projects such as education and communication.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. 

Qatar, World Cup Host

The two main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of a growing global taste for sweet treats. On the one hand there are multinational corporations that control the entire value chain, on the other, small cocoa producers trying to support their families.

Cacao: Who Profits from Chocolate?

The main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of growing global demand

Qatar has long relied on football to increase its prestige, from buying French club Paris-Saint-Germain to sponsoring Barcelona. With TV rights selling for astronomical amounts, football is much more than just a sport.

Football Power Play

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries: many European countries have legislated for same-sex marriages. However, in some parts of the world LGBT communities still face discrimination or persecution.  A focus on LGBT+ rights around the world.

LGBT+ Rights in the World

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries, while in others discrimination and persecution remain commonplace.

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people. Mapping the World takes a look at this country of volcanoes, fishing and geothermal energy.

Iceland: 100% Green

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people.

Places of learning, universities also have another role: to affirm the status of their countries and guarantee their cultural influence. Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified; especially between East and West.

Soft Power - Universities at War

Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified

With the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party taking place recently, Mapping the World dedicates a special extended episode to an analysis of China today.

Xi Jinping's China

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is in a war zone, and the area has been bombed. Damage to the plant, or cutting off its electricity, could mean a major radioactive leak at Europe's largest nuclear power plant. We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

Nuclear Energy - Past or Future?

We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

With a wave of strikes this summer and inflation at 10%, the UK seems to be in a febrile mood. Mapping the World examines the state of the British economy after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?   

UK: The Impact of Brexit

Mapping the World examines the state of the Britain after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?  

Russia views the former Soviet republics as its ‘near abroad’ and a strategic sphere of Russian influence. Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

Putin: Nostalgia for Empire

Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

Founded in 1948 after the trauma of the holocaust, Israel, where three-quarters of the population is Jewish, has gone through many crises and has tense relations with the Palestinian territories and neighbouring Arab states.

Israel: Endless Conflict, New Alliances

It is a vital shipping route that everyone in the region wants access to. But it is China that is muscling in to the South China Sea by insisting that it is Chinese territorial waters.

Power Play in the South China Sea

It is a vital shipping route that everyone in the region wants access to. But it is China that is aggressively imposing itself in the South China Sea by insisting that it is Chinese territorial waters.

The Balkans continue to be torn between West and East in politics, culture and religion. Mapping the World focuses on one of Europe’s most diverse regions.

The Balkans - Between East and West

Chile is a unique country with its atypical geography, its wealth of natural resources and its severe inequalities. Mapping the World focuses on the nation of Allende and Pinochet, which has recently moved to the left.

Chile: Hope for Change

Mapping the World focuses on the country of Allende and Pinochet, which has recently moved to the left. 

In the wake of the Ukraine war, Central Asia is more than ever a strategically important region. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have long since rediscovered their identity and historical roots since the end of the Soviet Union. What are the differences and similarities between these Central Asian countries, little known to the West?

Central Asia, a Global Crossroads

In the wake of the Ukraine war, Central Asia is more than ever a strategically important region.

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has led to many European countries wanting to stop importing Russian oil and gas. Mapping the World looks at the complex world of oil and gas exports and how they feed into the energy mix of Europe and the world.

Gas, Petrol and the War in Ukraine

Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has led to many European countries wanting to stop importing Russian oil and gas.

Three days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 27 February 2022, Vladimir Putin announced that the nuclear deterrent would be put on ‘special combat alert’. Was this a threat of nuclear attack from the Russian president? Mapping the World takes a look at the geopolitics of  nuclear weapons from 1945 to the present day.

Ukraine: The Nuclear Option

Then complex world of geopolitics explained succintly using maps.

The Western Balkans Youth Orchestra is 31 young musicians from six Western Balkan countries. The brainchild of Desar Sulejmani, their aim is to bring peace and cooperation to the region through musical collaboration. We join them on their international summer tour…

The Balkan Orchestra

The Western Balkans Youth Orchestra aims is to bring peace and cooperation to the region through musical collaboration. We join them on their international summer tour…

Re: Playing for Peace

Annabel Thomas is the first woman to run a whisky distillery in Scotland. What's more, it is the only distillery that strives to be fully organic and climate neutral with a zero waste policy.

Re: First Lady of Whisky

A New Path for Scotch

With the increase in the cost of living, food banks are increasingly in demand in Germany. But the massive influx of people in need poses a major challenge to charities, which sometimes have to refuse new applicants.

With the increase in the cost of living, food banks are increasingly in demand in Germany.

Re: The Newly Poor in Germany

Sven Philipp and Martin Rheinländer run workshops called  “Strengthening Masculinity” to teach men about women, flirting and sex. But critics like Christoph May and Susanne Kaiser warn against these types of workshops, which they say promote toxic male values and old-fashioned ideas. Christoph became so bored and annoyed by his male-dominated environment that he now avoids all-male groups as much as possible. As a researcher, he often gives public lectures, urging men to rethink critically their role in society.

Being a Man in the Modern World

The pick-up artist industrial complex has come to Germany.

Re: Male Identity Crisis

Karlovy Vary, the beautiful Czech spa resort previously known as Karlsbad, is a popular tourism destination for wealthy Russian, many of which have bought property in the Bohemian town. But with the war in Ukraine in sanctions the Russians have gone and Karlovy Vary is suffering from their absence.

The Czech spa resort is very popular with Russian tourists, but with no Russians in sight, the town is worried for the future.

Re: Karlovy Vary without Russians

A fervent supporter of Scottish independence, musician Neil Mackay is organising large-scale demonstrations for an exit from the United Kingdom. With high inflation, Scotland, like the rest of the United Kingdom Is going through a hard winter. But will a second independence referendum be the solution? The question divides Scottish society.

Leaving the UK?

With high inflation, Scotland, like the rest of the United Kingdom Is going through a hard winter. But will a second independence referendum be the solution? The question divides Scottish society.

Re: Scotland in Crisis

Spanish chef Maria José Martinez is on a mission to save bees from extinction. She has made honey the star of her restaurant and want to make her customers aware how important bees are for our ecosystem. 

Re: Valencia's Honey Queen

Every day, at least one woman in Turkey is killed at the hands of her partner. Feminist organisations are taking to the streets in a bid to mobilise the nation's women, but in Ankara, their protests have fallen on deaf ears. Turkey's government has withdrawn from a European agreement aimed at preventing violence against women.

Re: Violence Against Women in Turkey

Every day, at least one woman in Turkey is killed at the hands of her partner

ARTE Regards

Thousands of small farmers grow tea on the steep slopes of the coastal mountains in Turkey. Because the sacks of harvested tea leaves are large and heavy, the tea pickers use cobbled-together cable cars to carry the harvest up or down the hill to the road. 16 people have died in cable car accidents over the past decade, but hundreds more have lost limbs. One engineer is calling for standardised, safe infrastructure to be set up - but politicians don't seem interested.

16 people have died in cable car accidents over the past decade in Turkey's tea-growing region. 

Re: The Dangerous Job of Growing Tea

Irish Travelers live on the fringes of society and their living conditions are on a downward spiral. A recent EU study revealed shocking figures: 11% of Irish travellers die by suicide and most die before the age of 65. No other minority in Europe faces such dire statistics.

A Minority in Danger

11% of Irish travellers die by suicide and most die before the age of 65.

Re: Irish Travellers

There are only six facilities in all of Europe where students can learn circus arts. Ika has decided to sign on for a further two years. She can already do handstands and a variety of graceful shapes with her body, but wants to become a certified "artist".

Ika wants to become a certified circus artist

Re: The Apprentice Acrobats

Patrik Mürner is convinced that mushrooms are a key to creating the circular economy and is determined to prove it with a new project: he's developing a fungi that will suck zinc out of the soil of a contaminated, disused industrial site. He's also climate-proofing vineyards with a liquid mycelium mixture, and also wants to develop compostable packaging out of mushrooms. There are a host of other start-ups inspired by the potential of mushroom, but there's a big problem holding back the sector: a far-reaching, vague patent that is difficult not to infringe. 

The Fungi of the Future

Mushrooms could be an ideal sustainable alternative to plastic, but entrepreneurs say they're being held back by a wide-reaching patent...

Re: Mushroom Materials

The beauty of the Tara River Canyon in Montenegro is threatened by the construction of a motorway, a mammoth project carried out by a Chinese state company for a cost of more than a billion euros.

A Highway Threatens The Environment

Re: The Montenegro-China Deal

In 2022, Algeria has celebrated 60 years of independence. In 1962, nearly a million Algerian-born French people known as the "pied-noir" were evacuated from the country. They had supported France in a brutal war that had killed and abused millions of Algerians, and they feared reprisals from the local community. Though French, some had lived in the former colony for generations and had never even been to France. They still feel the shock of that forced departure to this day.

Eternal Algerian Exiles

In 1962, nearly a million Algerian-born French people were evacuated, after supporting France in a brutal war

Re: Pieds Noirs

A popular destination for holidaymakers, the Canaries are far from a paradise for locals, who had been struggling long before the Covid-19 pandemic. After decades of mass tourism, questions around equality and sustainable development are urgent.

A popular destination for holidaymakers, the Canaries are far from a paradise for locals

Re: Tourism Monoculture on the Canary Islands

All her life, Loredana Rossi from Naples has only ever wanted one thing: to be recognised as a woman. She has fought so hard against transphobia because her experiences as a transgender person in Italy has been marked by stigmatisation, intolerance and ostracism.

Re: Loredana's Fight Against Transphobia

At the age of 12, Enrique Pérez Guerra was sexually abused by a priest. Paralysed by shame, he thought of committing suicide. Today he is one of only a few victims in Spain who are willing to speak out about their abuse as the Catholic church in Spain still refuses to fully cooperate with investigations.

At the age of 12, Enrique Pérez Guerra was sexually abused by a priest. Paralysed by shame, he thought of committing suicide. 

Re: Sexual Abuse in the Church

Draught horses used pull timber in managed forests all over Germany, but have been replaced in recent years by efficient modern machinery. These beasts of burden could be returning to work as they cause much less damage to the fragile soil than heavy machinery.

Re: Beasts of Burden

Draught horses could be a regular sight in German forest as they cause much less damage to the fragile soils than heavy machinery.
 

Managing Forests with Horses

In Ittoqqortoormiit, a remote settlement on Greenland’s east coast, polar bears are a common sight. But with climate change it is harder for the bears to hunt seals, their favoured prey, so they come into town more often to look for food. Defending the town, and the wild bears, is the polar bear patrol.

In Ittoqqortoormiit, a remote settlement in Greenland, the polar bear patrol protects local people and the wild bears as well.

Re: Greenland's Polar Bear Patrol

At the end of the 20th century, the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea faced many challenges: a population exodus, rising unemployment and a lack of prospects for islanders. But everything changed in 2007 as Bornholm worked to become a model green island.

A Danish Island Goes Green

Re: Bornholm: Eco Paradise

Discover contemporary Europe in all its diversity.

RE: European Stories

Historians reveal the fascinating history of objects: everything has a tale to tell.