What better way to start the new semester than to indulge in Nice’s flourishing art scene? Escape December blues with a range of new exhibitions from classical to modern art, spanning from Marc Chagall to Roman artifacts alongside modern sculptures. < Back Escape December Blues With a Range of New Exhibitions in Nice By Emilia Kohlmeyer December 29, 2021 What better way to start the new semester than to indulge in Nice’s flourishing art scene? Escape December blues with a range of new exhibitions from classical to modern art, spanning from Marc Chagall to Roman artifacts alongside modern sculptures. Marc Chagall, le passeur de lumière The intersection between colour and light Until when? January 10, 2022 Where? Musée National Marc Chagall What? On exhibit is one of the most notable aspects of Russian-French artist Marc Chagall’s work: stained glass. Considered one of the most important Jewish artists and a major influence on modernism with his synthesis of cubism, fauvism, and symbolism, Chagall’s work is now displayed in prominent places such as the United Nations headquarters with his stained-glass memorial “Peace.” His works are rich in iconography and his use of colors has been commended by artists such as Pablo Picasso, who said that after Matisse’s passing, Chagall would be the only artist left to comprehend colors. The exhibition highlights two important pieces: model of the rose as well as “The Creation of the World,” accompanied by professional lighting to highlight the intention of the works on the importance of spirituality and humanity’s “inner light,” in addition to musical renditions in the evenings. Voyage Musical A musical journey to Eastern Asia and Africa Until when? January 10, 2022 Where? Palais Lascaris What? Exhibited are 21 musical instruments from Eastern Asia and Africa from the collection of musician Zia Mirabdolbaghi. One can explore these artifacts ranging from Iran to Anatolia, all in playable condition following the collector’s aim to explore their cultural function, sound and evolution. After viewing this new addition, one can explore over 400 other instruments in the second largest instrument collection in France, kept at Palais Lascaris. Sosno Squatte L’Antique Connecting the present and the past Until when? January 23, 2022 Where? Museum of Archaeology of Nice/Cimiez What? The exhibition revolves around the art of renowned French artist Sacha Sosno. Native to the South, he is largely known for his sculptures and the application of the concept of obliteration, the dominant theme of his works. Along with artists such as Yves Klein, he was a part of the “Nouveau Réalisme” (New Realism) movement. The exhibition presents over 70 works set along Roman artifacts onsite the ancient city of Cemenelum. It invites the viewer to draw the relationship between the contemporary and the past. Les paysages de l'âme A contemporary love letter to landscapes Until when? February 2, 2022 Where? Musée Départemental des Arts Asiatiques What? Explored in this exhibition is the relationship between Chinese philosophy and aestheticism of 11 Chinese and Taiwanese artists. Themes which are under exploration include finding ‘The soul of nature‘, concepts of spiritualism and beauty, opposing the traditional Chinese approach to display of landscape, rather taking an abstract occidental approach. Artists represented in this exhibition include Li Chevalier, a practitioner of “experimental inkwork’” and Rao Fu, who utilizes an approach of double or triple perspective, immersing the viewer into his works. ‘Le routes du thé’ par Tuul et Bruno Morandi Tracing the significance of tea across Asian societies Until when? February 7, 2022 Where? Musée Départemental des Arts Asiatiques What? A photographic exploration of countries in which tea plays a significant role in terms of production and consumption, this exhibition takes the viewer on a journey to China, Japan, India and Sri Lanka over to Tibet, Mongolia and along the Silk roads to explore the medium of tea. From its philosophical conception to colonial trade, tea served as a means of socialization in tea houses, and the photographic couple explored the meaning of this celebrated beverage. Additionally, one can partake in a traditional tea serving ceremony on the 9 of January. Noël Dolla, visite d’atelier / Sniper, 2018-2021 Exploring the abstraction of violence Until when? March 31, 2022 Where? Musée Matisse Nice What? On display is a selection of the work of Niçois artist Noël Dolla, produced during the last four years in the context of his sniper series. The works are created by projecting paint from a compressed air gun, and they explore darker themes of war and death. The weapon represents an intercessor between artist and canvas. Considering himself a “baroque rationalist,” the artist explores concepts of abstraction in context of socio-political issues.

Dans un monde multiculturel, caractérisé par une diversité de croyances, comment peut-on vivre quand les différentes opinions se déchirent constamment ?  < Back Un cri pour la tolérance religieuse: la Abrahamic Family House By Calista Cellerier November 30, 2023 Lorsque l’on regarde les actualités aujourd’hui, il est clair que nous vivons dans une époque de profond changement, marquée par les guerres et les conflits entre sociétés et populations. Dans un monde multiculturel, caractérisé par une diversité de croyances, comment peut-on vivre quand les différentes opinions se déchirent constamment ? Bien que nombreux se posent cette question, certains essaient d’y répondre. C’est le cas des Emirats Arabes Unis (EAU) en ouvrant le 16 février 2023 la “Abrahamic Family House”, offrant au monde une nouvelle définition de la tolérance religieuse. Alors, qu’est-ce que la Abrahamic Family House ? Construite à Abu Dhabi, capitale des EAU, la Abrahamic Family House est un complexe de trois bâtiments au cœur de Saadiyat Island, le centre culturel de la ville. Il se compose d’une église, d’une mosquée et d’une synagogue. C’est un centre culturel et religieux promouvant la tolérance, la connaissance et surtout l'amitié entre êtres humains. L'accès y est gratuit, ouvert à tous et le centre propose aussi des activités et programmes à but éducatif. Par exemple, le programme religieux “ Tahfeeth Circles”, pour apprendre le Coran est dispensé par l’Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb ainsi que différents professeurs, ouverts aux hommes et aux femmes. Le centre offre aussi des activités en communauté, comme les ateliers d'aromathérapie et de peinture acrylique. Quant aux bâtiments, ils sont d’une singularité et originalité qui a surpris le monde. Chacun est construit de manière similaire, en forme de carrés de 30 mètres à l’architecture sobre et épurée et dotés de caractéristiques communément trouvées dans des églises, mosquées et synagogues du monde, soulignant la similarité et l’origine commune entre les trois religions d’Abraham. Pourtant, en regardant de plus près, chaque lieu de culte présente des différences, comme pour indiquer que chaque religion est unique et indépendante. Le premier bâtiment est l'église de Saint François d’Assise, moine catholique Italien du 13ème siècle, qui insistait sur l'humilité et la simplicité et consacrait sa vie à une pauvreté extrême. Ses colonnes sont orientées vers le soleil levant, visant à souligner l’importance de la lumière comme le symbole de la divinité. Les colonnes sont droites et symbolisent la verticalité des concepts d’incarnation et de résurrection. Le plafond est construit en forme d’arche, comme l’Arche de Noé. Ensuite, la mosquée est nommée après Ahmed Mohamed Al-Tayeb, grand Imam d’Al-Azhar et est orientée vers la Mecque. Elle regroupe nombreuses similitudes avec des mosquées du monde entier, comme les sept arches reflétant l’importance du nombre sept dans l’Islam. Le mashrabiya, un ornement folie permettant à la lumière d’entrer et présent dans beaucoup d’architecture musulmane, est grandement apprécié dans la mosquée car il permet aux croyants de voir l'extérieur tout en conservant un sentiment d’intimité. Enfin, la synagogue, nommée après le philosophe juif du 12ème siècle Moses Ben Maimon, est construite par des colonnes croisées représentant les palmiers utilisés dans les Sukkah, refuges pour les croyants durant Sukkot – le festival des Cabanes, l’une des trois fêtes de pèlerinages inscrites dans la Torah. Cette architecture permet de se protéger du soleil et d'observer les étoiles. Il s’agit d’une synagogue orientée vers Jérusalem. Les croyants du monde entier de chacune des religions d’Abraham peuvent ainsi se réunir à la Abrahamic Family House pour se recueillir et communiquer, en tant qu’amis et communauté. Cependant, quelle est la raison derrière cette initiative des Emirats? En effet, le 4 février 2019, le Pape François et le Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb se réunissent à Abu Dhabi pour signer le Document sur la fraternité humaine pour la paix dans le monde et la coexistence commune. Le document met l’accent sur la collaboration, le dialogue et la connaissance, dans la perspective de guider les futures générations vers le respect mutuel au sein de l'humanité. De ce fait, La Abrahamic Family House est construite suite à la signature de ce document et constitue un exemple de la volonté des EAU de promouvoir la coexistence entre toutes les religions et de lutter contre les conflits qui souvent divisent la société. Ce n’est pas la première fois que les EAU font preuve d’une ouverture d’esprit peu commune. De nombreuses mosquées et églises peuvent être trouvées dans les différents émirats, mais surtout à Dubaï et Abu Dhabi. Des temples Hindou sont aussi ouverts aux croyants, comme le Hindu Temple, célébrant principalement les dieux Shiva et Krishna. Il est important de noter que la synagogue Moses Ben Maimon n’est que le deuxième édifice construit pour la pratique de la religion Juive par un gouvernement du Moyen Orient, le premier se trouvant au Bahreïn. Un geste qui ne passe pas inaperçu. En effet, de nombreux religieux du monde entier s’expriment sur la Abrahamic Family House , comme le cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot ou le rabbin anglais Ephraim Mirvis. L’inauguration du complexe est décrite comme un moment mémorable dans l’histoire de la tolérance religieuse et de l’unification des Hommes. Aujourd’hui, de nombreux conflits et désaccords font rage et l’acceptation de la diversité religieuse devient une discussion cruciale pour la paix dans le monde. De nombreux pays ont tenté d’atteindre ce but, la plupart à travers la séparation de la religion et de l’Etat ou la neutralité religieuse comme la laïcité en France. Néanmoins les EAU semblent être plus proches que jamais d’achever cet objectif, sans pour autant se séparer de leur tradition religieuse, en appliquant une Sharia certes allégée, mais bien présente. Ainsi, nous constatons que La Abrahamic Family House représente un espoir pour l'humanité, et comme l’annonce l'évêque Paulo Martellini pendant une juridiction concernant Oman, les EAU et le Yémen: “L’inauguration de cette maison est un cri pour la paix qui s'élève vers Dieu et vers l'humanité toute entière, en particulier dans un monde marqué par les guerres et la haine.”

On March 10, Saudi Arabia and Iran stunned the international community by announcing that their diplomatic relations would be fully restored, following several days of secret talks in Beijing. < Back Saudi Arabia and Iran Restore Diplomatic Relations By Peyton Dashiell September 27, 2023 On March 10, Saudi Arabia and Iran stunned the international community by announcing that their diplomatic relations would be fully restored, following several days of secret talks in Beijing. Several days later, the Saudi government invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to soon visit the kingdom and meet with top diplomats for reconciliation efforts. With tumultuous ties dating back decades, the reconciliation between these two regional powers could signify a shifting dynamic in the Middle East and potentially end the proxy conflict between countries that has played out in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have gradually deteriorated since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and have experienced periods of complete suspension and hesitant reconciliation. Iran has accused Saudi Arabia on multiple occasions of championing American interests in the region rather than representing Islam. Both countries have competed for regional dominance while pursuing wildly different foreign policy strategies. From 1987 to 1990, diplomatic ties froze after the “Mecca incident,” during which Shia pilgrims in Mecca clashed with Saudi security forces, causing riots that killed over 400 people. After the tragedy, Saudi Arabia and Iran disputed who the responsible party was, and Iran took four Saudi citizens hostage from the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Diplomatic relations were suspended for almost four years, and Iranian citizens were prohibited from going on the Hajj pilgrimage until 1991. After two decades of stable ties, the Saudi-Iranian relationship experienced a turning point in 2011, with the advent of the Syrian Civil War and foiled Iranian assassination plot, in which the Iranian government allegedly planned to assassinate Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in the United States. After years of waning relations, Saudi Arabia and Iran once again cut off all diplomatic ties in 2016 after Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr was executed in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Embassy in Tehran was subsequently ransacked. In recent years, rapprochement between the two countries may have seemed like an unlikely prospect – Saudi Arabia has joined forces with Western powers to oppose Iran’s highly contested nuclear program and has strengthened unofficial ties with Israel, particularly regarding intelligence to counter Iran. At the same time, Iran has bolstered support for the Assad regime and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, both prominent Saudi enemies. These renewed ties could potentially shake up the regional power balance, especially regarding the Saudi-Iran proxy conflict, relations with Israel and China’s mediatory role. This normalization raises questions regarding the civil war in Yemen — since 2014, ongoing fighting between the Houthi rebels and the former government of Mansour Hadi has created a nearly ceaseless war and a severe humanitarian crisis with the involvement of several international proxies. Both groups claim to constitute the legitimate leadership of Yemen; the Houthis receive financial and military support from Iran, while the Hadi faction is backed by a Saudi-led coalition bolstered by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. A United Nations-backed ceasefire agreement in 2022 brought several months of relative calm and an improved humanitarian landscape to Yemen. Still, it ended in October 2022 after both parties disagreed on renewal terms. Shortly after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced their renewed ties, Saudi and Omani delegations began peace negotiations in Sana’a on April 10, sparking hope for de-escalation. Additionally, the dynamics of the Saudi-Iran relationship have played out in the Syrian Civil War since 2011. Tehran provides military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and many militants affiliated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are in the country. Saudi allies like the United States have backed Syrian rebel groups like the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish militias in northern Syria. Furthermore, news of this rapprochement caused alarm in Israel, which has experienced slightly thawed ties with Saudi Arabia recently as both nations collaborate to counter Iran’s regional power and nuclear ambitions. The United States and Israel have identified Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Abraham Accords as a strategic goal for the near future, an extraordinarily unlikely step if Saudi Arabia and Iran fully reconcile. Since the news of this rapprochement, the prospects of this appear increasingly improbable. In late April, Saudi Arabia is expected to receive a delegation of Hamas officials for the first time in nearly a decade. Hamas, a militant Israeli adversary group and governing party of the Gaza Strip, has long been a recipient of military and financial aid from Iran, although relations soured around 2015 due to Hamas’ support for rebels in the Syrian Civil War. Many have attributed Saudi Arabia and Iran’s tense relations to their sectarian division – Wahhabist Sunnis govern Saudi Arabia while Iran is majority Shia. While Sunnis and Shias commonly lived side by side throughout history, Shias have faced oppression by Sunni majorities, and Sunni leadership has often portrayed Shias as heretical. The effects of Saudi Arabia and Iran’s religious disunion are exemplified among the strategic alliances of the region – majority Sunni nations like Egypt and the UAE align with Saudi Arabia. At the same time, countries with large Shia populations like Iraq and parts of Lebanon and Syria lean toward Iran. But to what extent have religious doctrines fueled Saudi Arabia and Iran’s regional rivalry? According to analysts like Dr. Najat Al-Saied of the Middle East Institute, the real explanation for Saudi Arabia and Iran’s lasting feud is far more complicated. Al-Saied contrasts the Iranian regime's theocratic, revolutionary structure with Saudi Arabia’s hybrid monarchy, which aims to be a player in the international system, aligning with major powers like the United States, rather than to initiate a revolution. Additionally, Saudi Arabia aims to shed its sectarian image through its Saudi Vision 2030 framework, which outlines a plan to modernize the Saudi economy and improve the public sector. While Iran leans into the sectarian Shia identity to pursue its aims and reject Western influence, Saudi Arabia is prioritizing Saudi nationalism over specifically Sunni dominion. Iran’s criticism of Saudi Arabia’s guardianship of Mecca and Medina is not an example of Sunni-Shia tensions but rather a “revolutionary message” from Iran to inspire resistance against the House of Saud. Finally, this diplomacy represents a major step for China after several years of steadily increasing its political and economic role in the region. China has many strategic objectives in the Middle East, from securing energy resources to countering global US influence. China has become the largest economic investor in the Middle East since the 2011 Arab Spring. Numerous clean energy agreements have been signed between Beijing and Middle Eastern governments, and bilateral trade between China and the Middle East totals $245 billion. However, this development marks a consequential shift in China’s role from an economic powerhouse to a diplomatic broker – a role historically occupied by the United States. This rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran could be significant and far-reaching. China may take on a larger role as a Middle Eastern mediator, peace prospects may improve for long-standing conflicts and regional power dynamics may shift in the complicated proxy dynamic between the two countries. However, some observers remain skeptical that this relational shift is anything more than symbolic. Despite peace talks, Houthi forces in Yemen continue to launch offenses against the Saudi-led coalition in the Marib province. Additionally, Lebanon's political and economic crisis and the threat Israel faces from a nuclear Iran will require much more than revived Saudi-Iranian relations to overcome.

Until now, Kurdish voters have gritted their teeth and arguably voted against their best interest for the sake of democracy, and it seems that we must now imagine a world where they do not. < Back In The Lead-Up to Local Elections, Istanbul’s Kurdish Voters in Spotlight By Yasmin Abbasoy March 30, 2024 The 2019 elections were an undisputed success for a weary Turkish opposition. On a late-night political talk show of the sort that is omnipresent in a pre-election Turkey, then-leader of the main opposition Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received nothing but laughter from the moderator when stating his party’s goals for the campaign. Listing the names of coveted provinces including the capital, Ankara, and the city that is arguably the heart of Turkey, Istanbul, he went on to state that the opposition would “be taking all of these places.” Despite the laughter and the ridicule he later received online, he was proven right by a prodigious result in the elections; the opposition alliance emerged having wrested away from the governing Justice and Development Party, and its People’s Alliance, the metropolitan municipalities of five additional provinces, among which were Ankara and, crucially, Istanbul. In Ankara, main opposition Republican People’s Party candidate Mansur Yavaş prevailed over longtime member of the President’s inner circle and current minister Mehmet Özhaseki relatively uncontroversially. His past as a member of the ultranationalist alliance partner of the government, the Nationalist Movement Party, was much-discussed but seemed to have little bearing on final vote totals. In Istanbul, whose mayorship carries unparalleled pragmatic and symbolic value, the race was much more fraught. As the largest city in Turkey in terms of population and industry, Istanbul is valuable for its rent-generating properties. Its status as the cultural capital and beating heart of the country has however transformed it into the nucleus of Turkish politics. President Erdoğan started his political career as the mayor of Istanbul in 2001, and engraved this path into the collective public consciousness with his often quoted phrase: “Whoever takes Istanbul takes Turkey.” The opposition candidate, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was at the time the mayor of a small western district of Istanbul. He emerged as the underdog, supported solely by Kılıçdaroğlu over other candidates which were more prominent in the public eye. He emerged mostly unscathed despite a state-supported campaign which saw him accused of everything from being a “crypto-Greek',”a fifth columnist opposed to Turkish national interests, to a supporter of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. This was a true trial by fire for a candidate who constructed his persona on tolerance and pacifism as encapsulated by his slogan, “Everything will be alright.” Imamoğlu won the first round of the election with a margin of 14,000 votes, though the results were contested by the governing coalition and later annulled by the supposedly-impartial Supreme Election Council. This proved to be a strategic mistake on the part of President Erdoğan, as Imamoğlu increased his margin of victory to over 800,000 votes to lead the opposition to its most significant victory in decades. On the heels of this triumph, widely interpreted as the first blow to Erdoğan’s two-decade regime, the opposition coalition was optimistic heading into general elections in 2023. Hopes were dashed, however, when alliance parties were unable to decide on a unity candidate. The nationalist Good Party pushed for Imamoğlu, but was opposed by the main opposition, who cited a pending criminal case filed against him by the government, which would render him unelectable if he lost. Party chairman Kılıçdaroğlu was ultimately chosen as the candidate, upon which the Good Party announced a withdrawal from the alliance, setting off a cascade of meetings and backroom talks which saw crisis averted but the deep fractures in the alliance laid bare. A campaign that had already been launched on the back foot failed to sway nationalist and islamist voters and further failed to retain the Kurdish vote. A disappointing finish in the first round saw the alliance pivot sharply to the right and campaign on the lowest common denominator in Turkish politics: sending Syrian refugees back to Syria. There was a hasty attempt to establish ties with the far-right ultranationalist Victory Party, whose chairman Ümit Özdağ has been credited with mainstreaming the idea of sending refugees ‘home’ in buses involuntarily. Local media reported that Özdağ, who was courted by both the opposition and the government, had been offered a significant ministerial position from the opposition–a red line for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party — who was not officially a part of the alliance but had been promised support on key issues. Shockingly, after this large-scale compromise of principles, Özdağ elected to support the government party instead. In the aftermath, Erdoğan won the second round with a comfortable margin of around 2 million votes. In a way, it has always been Kurdish voters who have decided the fate of the opposition. In 2019, the People’s Democratic Party broke with tradition and did not field a candidate in Istanbul, despite not being party to a formal alliance. During the campaigning stage for the second round of elections, Abdullah Öcalan, the former leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party who has been jailed since 1999, released a letter urging Kurdish voters not to unite under the banner of the opposition alliance. The coverage this letter received on pro-government news channels and discussion panels was no coincidence. When Kurdish voters coalesced around Imamoğlu, it was what won him the election. In 2023, pro-Kurdish parties again chose not to field candidates and to support the opposition alliance for informal guarantees. In return, however, they found an opposition that was perfectly willing to take their votes for granted all while attempting to form alliances with violent racists. This was yet another datapoint in an ongoing pattern for an opposition which sees Kurds as ‘vote depositories,’ according to senior party officials. Most direfully, the main opposition has consistently displayed a chilling disregard for what was and continues to be potentially the most salient issue in the Kurdish political space: the appointment of ‘trustees’ in the place of elected officials to 48 People’s Democratic Party municipalities since 2019. This practice, which has been referred to as a ‘coup on local democracy’ by party officials and the Council of Europe, has failed to draw overt condemnation from the main opposition. The opposition alliance broke apart almost immediately after the general elections. The main opposition replaced its chairman for the young(er) and allegedly more charismatic Özgür Özel, who inherited a party that had alienated most of its allies. The People’s Democratic Party, on the other hand, faced pressure from their base to drop the quasi-alliance strategy, especially in the light of an ongoing criminal case over tenuous links to terrorist organizations that could lead to the closure of the party. Party leaders admitted their strategy had not worked, and expressed their intention to run candidates in all big cities in the 2024 elections. The 2024 local elections will see Imamoğlu defend his position against Murat Kurum, an unremarkable man most notable for his role in rebuilding efforts after the devastating earthquakes of 2023 as the Minister for Forestry, Urbanism, and Climate Change. For Imamoğlu, a victory is essential to establish himself as a viable future presidential candidate, an opportunity for which he has already been passed over once. The field of candidates is a wide one — almost every single political party has at least one candidate in the running. The People’s Democratic Party, for their part, have put forward their co-leaders under the banner of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, a joint venture with the left-leaning Green Left Party. Polling figures show that the overwhelming majority of People’s Democratic Party voters who voted for Imamoğlu in the previous election would vote for their own candidate in 2024. In this scenario, the margin of difference between Imamoğlu and Kurum would be a mere two percent. It is these dynamics which will determine the result that comes out of the Istanbul elections. Like so many other elections in Turkey, what really matters here is not promises or ideological notions. This election is being played out in the past, as a response to two decades of betrayal from the main opposition. Until now, Kurdish voters have gritted their teeth and arguably voted against their best interest for the sake of democracy, and it seems that we must now imagine a world where they do not.

We’ll find ourselves scrolling through 2.7 million posts ranging from references to the album, people talking about and embracing themselves using the brat aesthetic and lyrics from the album, photos of vice-president Kamala Haris, and tutorials on brat green hair and makeup. Nevertheless, there remains the question: How did being ‘brat’ come into the mainstream in an era dominated by the highest grossing tour in history, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour? < Back BECOMING BRAT Ema Nevrelova September 30, 2024 Contrary to many trends circulating on social media, the “brat summer” trend emerged from an album title. In the era of short videos and short extracts for songs, it sometimes seems impossible to appreciate more 'time-consuming' forms of art and music, but Charli XCX proved us wrong. Songwriter and artist Charli XCX released her sixth studio album, Brat, on June 7, 2024. It is worth mentioning that Charli has maintained her relevance for over 15 years, and has accomplished exactly what she had imagined for herself back in 2009 when she stated in an interview for the magazine Dazed Digital: “I want to prove to people that you don’t have to become this big, commercial pop writing machine to be successful, you can just do whatever you want, and it will be fine.” However, the recent resurgence of her popularity led some people to believe that she made an overhyped album with sloppy covers. Yet, her true fans know that coloured background and blurry title has been the aesthetics of her past four albums (including Brat). Fittingly, “you can just do whatever you want, and it will be fine” could also be a good basis to establish the definition of term brat, even though the commonly cited description of “brat essentials” by Charli XCX as having a “pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.” There definitely has been room for interpretation illustrated by the #brat on Instagram. We’ll find ourselves scrolling through 2.7 million posts ranging from references to the album, people talking about and embracing themselves using the brat aesthetic and lyrics from the album, photos of vice-president Kamala Haris, and tutorials on brat green hair and makeup. Nevertheless, there remains the question: How did being ‘brat’ come into the mainstream in an era dominated by the highest grossing tour in history, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour? As Charli XCX alluded to in her interview for podcast Sidetrack, there is a cultural shift and “ the niche is being rewarded.’’ Her statement might be confusing to most people as they probably connect Charli with her second and arguably most mainstream studio album Sucker (which included hits like Break The Rules or Boom Clap ) released in 2014. What is perhaps lesser known is that she has been active in the Underground scene since her teenage years—attending raves or DJing in clubs. Charli has also collaborated with a producer named SOPHIE who, I would argue, helped shape her work towards hyperpop , a microgenre of electronic and pop music originating in the UK (mostly spread through SoundCloud). There are other reasons apart from a higher appreciation for the niche that made this album relevant this summer. An important factor for the promotion of the album was that Charli is the embodiment of brat—from the way she dresses to her confident yet vulnerable presence. Eye-catching colour, her strong personality and Tik Tok opened the door for her album into the mainstream. Another good marketing strategy and demonstration of various meanings of brat was the reconciliation of Lorde and Charli over the song “ The girl, so confusing” – even though they never really had a falling out. The 3.9 million views on YouTube prove that communication, female solidarity and friendship are brat. When discussing friendship that should have happened sooner, let’s look at the song “ Guess” featuring Billie Eilish. The song “ Guess” doesn’t appear on the original album Brat, but on its extended version called “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not” released on June 10. This queer hit pushed the brat obsession even further, with some of us longing for “lower back tattoo”. Possibly, the biggest ‘brat move’ surrounding the song was Charli and Billie donating around 10 000 of undergarments, from the Guess videoclip, to the I Support The Girls nonprofit organization providing ‘‘distribution of undergarments and menstrual products to folx experiencing homelessness and to victims of domestic violence.’’ Charli doesn’t just address important topics in real life but also in her songs. “ I think about it all the time” touches on the thought process and expectations around having children. Lines that resonate are “Should I stop my birth control? ‘Cause my career feels so small in the existential scheme of it all.’’ A second song with heartbreaking potential (not in a romantic way) is Apple . Unveiling Charli’s complicated relationship with parents allows for a reflection on our own childhood traumas and for a realisation that “the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.’ ’ Notably, the most emotional and vulnerable song is “ So I” – tribute to Charli’s long time music mentor, DJ and producer SOPHIE, who passed away in 2021. Slower tempo and reference to SOPHIE’ song It’s okay to cry should make us all cry. Clearly, brat isn’t solely about being a shallow bad girl, rather, it deals with the intricacy of womanhood from a messy feminine perspective. That is not to say that there is not a party element to the album, as Charli XCX revealed in the Therapuss podcast: “It [the album] is very personal but there are songs about just like getting f*cked up.’’ The party songs include 360 , 365 , Rewind or Club classics and that is where Charli utilized her skills from DJing. The tempo is fast, almost to a point where you feel dizzy but in a soothing tipsy way, at the same time the lyrics serve as reassurance that we don’t have a perfect routine, body or personality. We can “just rewind’’ and “say something stupid.’’ The popularity of this trend got so widespread that it even found its way into U.S. politics. After vice-president of the U.S. Kamala Harris announced running for presidency; Charli XCX endorsed her by writing on X: “kamala IS brat.’’ Harris’s campaign adopted the brat aesthetic and produced memes, making many people quickly forget about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump—a success, from a marketing point of view. Despite Harris’s quick rise to internet fame, it wasn't coincidental. As many politicians before her she likely aimed at younger voters in hopes of securing their votes. It remains to be seen if this tactic will prove to be successful, as Democrat voters among Generation Z and Millennials tend to sympathize with Palestine and criticize President Joe Biden’s policy in the current Israeli-Palestinian war. Harris will likely follow in his footsteps if she becomes president. Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, it is safe to say that “kamala IS brat’’ will not be forgotten. To conclude, this summer we witnessed a cultural shift during which, paradoxically, niche became part of mainstream culture and politics. But has the Brat album made a societal impact? As with any trend or album we will probably forget brat summer ever happened. Nevertheless, it will be one more summer which 2.7 million of us spent being less self-conscious and less bothered by other people’s expectations. Charli XCX reminded us, in her blunt and unhinged way, that we can be confident and vulnerable and there is in fact nothing wrong with our imperfect, complicated personalities. After all, if the potential U.S. president can be brat, can’t we all?

Among lawyers, graphic designers, and writers, could imams be the next professionals fearing artificial intelligence taking their jobs? < Back Tech vs. Tradition: Could AI Oust Islamic Leaders? By Colette Yamashita Holcomb December 30, 2023 Among lawyers, graphic designers, and writers, could imams be the next professionals fearing artificial intelligence taking their jobs? On Sept. 8, the Egyptian cabinet’s media center denied rumors that the government planned to use artificial intelligence to prepare Friday sermons, replacing the imams who write them. These rumors were spurred by comments made by Muhammad Mukhtar, the Minister of Religious Endowments, who declared that he had experimented with using artificial intelligence to write a Friday Khotba and rated the output an “8 out of 10,” but acknowledged that the output included religious mistakes. While the rumors in Egypt may have been disproven, the nation isn’t the only one exploring using artificial intelligence in religious practice. Across the Islamic world, government and religious leaders have grappled with the question of whether technology has a role in religion. While Iranian religious leaders have emphasized that artificial intelligence efforts are simply to add to “the toolkit of Islamic leaders,” in the United Arab Emirates, the government discontinued the Virtual Ifta program within two years, electing to focus on applying artificial intelligence in business. Iran has faced increasing pressure to modernize on the heels of the mass protest movement that began last year, evolving to a broader call to replace the Islamic republic with a modernized, secular state. The nation’s religious establishment views technology as a potential avenue of development, all while strengthening Islamic national identity and values. The head of Qom Seminary, located in the Iranian holy city of Qom, has warmed up to artificial intelligence, primarily focusing on how it could accelerate the Islamic studies of senior clergy and communication with the public. The seminary has partnered with the city’s leading AI research center. “The seminary must get involved in using modern, progressive technology and artificial intelligence…we have to enter into this field to promote Islamic civilization,” the head of Iran’s seminary, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, said this summer. Most clerics follow the traditional approach to religious study and adapt Islamic rulings to modern life, analyzing lengthy documents that can take weeks to prepare. The top-ranking clerics, the majority aged 80 to 100, aren’t expected to divert from this traditional style. However, younger clerics may be more open to utilizing technological advances. Yet, some doubt whether a quicker process would benefit Islam. Many figures caution against the use of artificial intelligence for interpreting religious texts because interpretations of religious teachings require a deep historical, sociological, and theological understanding beyond simple linguistic knowledge; some have advocated concerns that artificial intelligence may oversimplify or misinterpret nuanced religious teachings. Artificial intelligence would also challenge the principles of the Islamic educational system, such as strong teacher-student relationships. The Journal of Islamic Studies highlighted that supplementing, let alone replacing, these relationships with artificial intelligence platforms could erode the essential human element in religious teachings since it cannot provide the same emotional and spiritual guidance. Moreover, if students lack personal connections to the text, often found through these teacher-student relationships, it could weaken both their understanding and relationship to the text and their faith. For non-clergy Muslims, artificial intelligence has more apparent benefits. Artificial intelligence could strengthen an individual’s understanding of Islam and the Quran because programs can explain concepts and passages differently based on individual learning styles and a personalized 24/7 learning experience that is impossible to find in a traditional setting. Additionally, the increased global reach appeals to those who want to spread Islam worldwide; artificial intelligence platforms can make Islamic teachings accessible to a global audience through in-depth explanations and real-time translation. Yet, like with clergy members, the impersonal nature of artificial intelligence could create a disconnect with faith. The risk of bias and misinformation is still prevalent, which could harm the understanding of Islam through misinformation. For some, the integration of artificial intelligence by imams is not a departure from tradition but an evolution that aligns with the needs of modern society. Meanwhile, others view artificial intelligence as a pressing risk to Islamic values and traditions, representing a decline in society's faith and moral fabric. In some countries, such as Egypt, this exploration has exacerbated tensions between state overreach into clerical roles and the question of how Islamic states may be redefined and reimagined in the coming years. While the jobs of imams may not be up for grabs quite yet, it is clear that artificial intelligence is no longer a hypothetical future; it is the reality in every area of our lives.

The vicious attacks of Jamat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen and Islamic State West Africa have not only caused hundreds of deaths and injuries, but as a result, the poverty level has worsened, mass displacement continues, education levels deteriorate, human right violations occur frequently, the law loses its meaning even to government officials, and the overall political future of Burkina Faso is unstable. < Back How Jihadists Are Ravaging Burkina Faso By Isabella Hehl Dalla Zuanna February 28, 2023 When discussing the targets of violent jihadists, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are often the focal points. Yet, one of the countries most ravaged by terrorism today is Burkina Faso. Ranked fourth in countries most impacted by terrorism by the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, it suffered 732 deaths, 231 injured and 216 overall attacks last year. In the past, the jihadists in Burkina Faso — mostly Jamat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen and Islamic State West Africa — targeted pro-government forces such as the military and state officials. However, in the last several years, the targets have mostly become civilians, volunteer defense forces and sometimes even tourists, who are confronted by improvised explosive devices (IED), small-arms attacks, assassinations and kidnappings by jihadists aiming to expand their territorial control. As a result, there are now more than one million internally displaced Burkinabe, most of whom were forced to leave their homes as a direct result of the extremist violence. For the last three consecutive years, civilians have been the most targeted group by terrorists. On June 5, 2021, jihadists murdered over 160 people in Solhan in the Yagha province and injured more than 40. Considered the most vicious and deadly attack in Burkina Faso in the last several years, the terrorists — of which the group is unknown — began their attack by assassinating a volunteer defense force militia and then proceeding to strike the village, killing the civilians inside and burning down their houses and a market. Tragically, of the 160 people, 20 were children. As one of the poorest countries in the world, more than half of its population lives on 1.90 U.S. dollars a day, and its terrorist crisis only worsens the situation. Factors such as recent climate shocks, the growing population and food insecurity stagnate poverty levels, especially impacting urban areas, where the unemployment rate is 50 percent. This poverty, inefficient governance and geographical inequality in state security have allowed for the country’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. The country’s military weakness and inequality have given credibility and opportunity to non-state armed groups. Regions where the community feels unprotected and excluded by its government, especially by the youth — in part due to corruption and inequality of wealth, resources and security — will show less of a tendency to resist the territorial expansion of the armed groups. The terrorist crisis also impacts elections in Burkina Faso. With a history of coup d’états, the rise in terrorism further impairs fair election processes, as mass displacement challenges voter turnout. Due to insufficient troop availability, the Burkinabe government has increasingly recruited civilian auxiliaries, which are rapidly trained and sent to various at-risk regions. Unfortunately, these new recruits have increasingly become the main target of extremist groups, suggesting that volunteers have now replaced the military on the front lines. However, these volunteer defense forces have been accused of numerous human rights violations by Burkinabe civilians and international organizations, such as illegal killings and the targeting of native Peuhl, an indigenous people mostly concentrated in northern Burkina Faso in geographically isolated, economically marginalized and dry areas. The government has also committed many human rights violations, including torture, unlawful executions of suspected criminals and Islamists and arbitrary detentions. Prison overcrowding is a severe problem in Burkina Faso, and most prisoners are not informed of or guaranteed their legal rights. Access to education has severely decreased in recent years due to insecurity. The Burkinabe government closed 10 percent of schools in May 2021, resulting in more than 300,000 children being out of school. The vicious attacks of Jamat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen and Islamic State West Africa have not only caused hundreds of deaths and injuries. As a result, the poverty level has worsened, mass displacement continues, education levels deteriorate, human rights violations occur frequently, the law loses its meaning even to government officials, and the overall political future of Burkina Faso is unstable. The crisis is not just a terrorist one; it is humanitarian and deserves swift, effective and international action.

For the past 15 years, viewers have been led to associate Bella Swan's life as the primal example of success, consequently becoming a victim of the myth of the American Dream. < Back How Twilight Reshaped the American Dream By Pedro Meerbaum January 31, 2024 On July 4, 1776, the values of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" were declared as the basis for the newly independent United States of America. The Declaration of Independence assured that all men, despite their origins, would have a fair shot at attaining their goals in the "land of the free." And thus, the American Dream was born. While originally designed to attract immigrants and formulate a sense of a nation disconnected from its European origins, the myth has taken on new roles; it became a beacon of hope for development post-WWI, seen in the uncurbed festivities of the roaring twenties. It had a crucial role in maintaining American nationalism during World War II; it worked as a cultural weapon during the Cold War. The American Dream has undeniably been the ethos for the development of capitalism and consumerism throughout history until the arrival of the 21st century. The years following the turn of the millennium were marked by events that shook the core on which American culture stood: 9/11 put to question the "untouchability" and security of American life; The disastrous invasion of Iraq bolstered political distrust; and the 2008 financial crisis challenged the very idea that one could, under the present financial system, achieve prosperity. Yet, the American Dream still prevails and has adapted itself to the needs of the modern American citizen. The survival of this myth is highly dependent on cultural aspects; it needs to find popular means to both be exposed and be ingrained in the imagination of the Americans. So, what saved the American dream from falling apart during the 2000s? While some analysis might point to the rise of the internet and the first expressions of social media, I find a more intense emphasis on the popularization of one piece of media — a single release that had both a national and international impact, setting standards for an entire generation of literature, cinema, and popular culture, becoming a modern American classic: The 2008 film adaptation of Stephenie Mayer's Twilight. The five-movie saga follows Bella Swan, a high schooler who, according to the IMDb description, "has always been a bit different." She moves to Forks, a small, gloomy town in Washington state, to live with her dad. While trying to adapt to the new city and school, she meets Edward Cullen, a 17-year-old who looks and acts exceptionally older and bears an uncanny amount of wealth. While Robert Pattison's mature appearance might add to Edward's distinction amongst students, it is also connected to the fact that he is, actually, a vampire. Bella falls for him while also dealing with her passion for Jacob, her childhood friend who happens to be a werewolf (the vampire's nemesis). Her uncommon high school experience is also marked by the fact that she has a gift, she is not affected by the uncommon powers of the vampires, and she is immune, raising the attention of the vampirical gran-coven of the Volturis. While in conflict with the ancient Volturis and her personal affairs, Bella decides to marry Edward and eventually transformes into a vampire. The saga ends with her achieving immortality, looking forever like she is 18, owning a big house, and raising a successful family. In other words, Twilight is about a girl gaining the life that every American wants. One particular trope that characterizes Bella's progression throughout Twilight is that of the "Chosen One." She carries different assets that other humans do not possess: she is immune to the vampirical powers and is bound by predestination. As she puts it in the final movie, "I was born to be a vampire." This trope is not the driving force that changes Bella's life, as it receives little significant screen-time discussion, but is rather something she capitalizes on. The audience understands Bella's predestination as not simply a supernatural advantage but also the reason why she is deserving to marry a hysterically handsome man, move up social classes by entering an extremely bourgeois family, and be able to own a luxurious cottage without having to work a single day in her life. Likewise, America has been founded upon the Weberian understanding of predestination: the rich and their advantageous lives on Earth, are God's chosen ones to go to heaven. As a result, the American dream is structured around one's wishes to become the chosen one. Twilight's impact on the American Dream becomes evident compared to other popular pieces of media that utilize the trope of the Chosen One. Take Harry Potter and Star Wars, for instance. The two sagas had a similar impact to Twilight, if not stronger worldwide, becoming pop-culture phenomena, and are both shaped around a main character that was the "chosen one." What differentiates Twilight from its counterparts is how Bella is raised. Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker begin their journey pitifully; Harry is abused by his uncle and aunt in the suburbs of England and then is sent to an Oxbridge-like institution, while Luke lives on a desert planet and experiences the death of his family by extraterrestrial forces. These two premises lack expressions of American life; they become entertaining but deeply unrelatable. Bella, however, is a simple high schooler moving into a classical American small town to begin her American studies and attempting to engage with her American friends. Even when faced with abnormality, the vampires, it is revealed to her that they experienced different periods of American history. Bella is, then, an extremely relatable character with an experience that is pitiful but not too far-fetched. She could easily be your chemistry partner or your best friend from junior year. Truly, she could be any of us. As she achieves different levels of success in life, the audience is led to think that they, too, are able to achieve those. It isn't atypical, then, that following the release of Twilight, a wave of young Americans desired to find a partner who "looked just like Robert Pattison." Nor is it unsettling that American culture became obsessed with procedures to look young, seeing as the new standard of beauty was deeply connected with a desire to look 20 forever. Additionally, within a housing crisis, viewers found comfort in the idea that Bella could simply receive a cottage as a "marriage gift." The final expression of Twilight's impact on culture lies in its impact on the media. Every Young Adult novel published after it, every romantic comedy, and piece of popular media targeted towards young people was, in a way, impacted by the format of Twilight. For the past 15 years, viewers have been led to associate Bella Swan's life as the primal example of success, consequently becoming a victim of the myth of the American Dream.

Since the beginning of the year, 2026 has been dubbed “the new 2016” across various social media platforms. Young people online seem to be yearning for a resurgence of how life was ten years ago. The rose-tinted social media filter has been revived and 2016 pop music is having its moment, with Zara Larsson’s hit “Lush Life” reentering the Billboard’s Top 100 for the first time in years. < Back The Reinvention of Coachella Rose Harrill June 10, 2026 Since the beginning of the year, 2026 has been dubbed “the new 2016” across various social media platforms. Young people online seem to be yearning for a resurgence of how life was ten years ago. The rose-tinted social media filter has been revived and 2016 pop music is having its moment, with Zara Larsson’s hit “Lush Life” reentering the Billboard’s Top 100 for the first time in years. Social media users have also taken to likening this year’s Coachella music festival with the year 2016. The 2026 festival’s lineup featured many acts who dominated the charts a decade ago, including Swae Lee, Disclosure, Young Thug and Major Lazer, with Justin Bieber headlining. This year’s Coachella also echoed 2016 aesthetics, with the “boho-chic” style that was the dominant festival wear ten years ago making a comeback. 2026 Coachella attendees donned flower crowns, crocheted tops and fringe boots – typically items that have been considered “out of trend” for the last few years. But while Coachella 2026 may have looked like Coachella 2016, it was fundamentally very different. The first Coachella festival was held in 1999 across the span of two days. It was founded by concert promoters Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen and organized by Tollett's company Goldenvoice. At its core it was a response to overcrowded and overpriced festivals. It was initially described as the “anti-Woodstock,” with tickets costing only $50 per day for headliners Beck and Rage Against the Machine. From the beginning, the goal of Coachella was to celebrate musical diversity, bringing dozens of different genres together in one space and platforming many up and coming artists. In 1999, Coachella was alternative, affordable and seemingly anti-establishment. The first Coachella was monetarily unsuccessful, credited to the lack of corporate sponsors. Tollett revealed much later that the festival’s first year was an economic loss for Goldenvoice, costing them $750,000. Coachella returned in 2001, this time headlined by Iggy Pop, another alternative artist, with tickets now costing $65. The festival continued to avoid corporate sponsorships and once again lost money. This time, however, it was only in the low six figures, as the second attempt had drawn slightly more fans than it did in 1999. It was in 2001 that Goldenvoice partnered with Concerts West, an event promoter. And it was the third year of Coachella, which took place in 2002, where the festival finally broke even. Tickets remained at $65 per day, this time with more “mainstream” acts Oasis and Bj ö rk headlining. Tollett credits the partnership with Concerts West with “saving Coachella”. Since 2002, Coachella has grown bigger than the creators ever imagined. The festival has expanded to three days instead of two and in 2010 eliminated its single-day tickets – it is now only possible to purchase passes for the whole weekend. In 2012 the festival added a second weekend. And in 2017, the festival had to get city approval to increase its capacity to 125,000 to accommodate for high demand. Naturally, this expansion has coincided with a surge in prices. This year, general admission passes for the first weekend reached an all time high, originally retailing for $649, with VIP tickets costing double. But this is just the price to get into the festival. Additional costs can include on-site camping or nearby rental and hotel accommodation, as well as a shuttle pass to and from the festival grounds and food and drinks throughout the day. On-site camping passes can range from $150-400, while the average Indio Airbnb charged $1200 a night during Weekend 2 this year. Brands have also become a major part of the Coachella experience. Although Coachella initially refused sponsorships, they now have dozens of corporate partners. Beginning in 2011, festival executives began to incorporate brands more and more into the event, by creating and supporting pop-ups and sponsored parties. Corporations and their brands have now become an integral part of the festival. Social media now also has a dominant presence at Coachella. Brands pay to bring large numbers of social media content creators to Coachella, in exchange for these “influencers” posting branded content for them. Throughout the weekend, social media is flooded with tens of thousands of branded posts about outfits and makeup for the festival. It may seem as if the content creators are benefitting the most from this relationship, since they often receive thousands of dollars in compensation for their branded content. But the real money-makers are the brands themselves. As the festival grows bigger each year, the engagement rates on Coachella-related content only increase . Given the high media traffic, one post from an influencer at the festival can draw more attention for a brand than a dedicated marketing campaign. This emphasis on brands and content creation has effectively turned Coachella from an event meant to provide an affordable option for appreciating musical diversity to one centered around money-making through spectacle and social media. The festival has become a business itself, attempting to generate as much profit as it can each year. So while the internet may have branded this Coachella as “so 2016”, it is quite clear that it is rooted in surface level nostalgia. The 2026 festival may have featured popular 2010s music acts and fashion inspired from that era, but Coachella has fundamentally changed at its core. The emphasis on highly curated influencer fashion and branded social media posts clearly separate it from the organic festival style and culture of the past. Exclusivity is at an all time high as ticket prices have skyrocketed and brands have seemingly taken over the festival. Now Coachella appears to be much more about documenting the experience online to produce as much money as possible than about appreciating music. Coachella’s previous identity of being an affordable and accessible music event is long gone. It now serves as a symbol of corporate consumer culture. In 2026, Coachella mirrors the same commercialized and branded experiences its creation was meant to oppose. Photo Source : Jason Persse, Wikimedia Commons

When I think back to our day in Korçë, for example, I struggle to rationalize it. I feel like it exceeded the temporal lines. It was a magical cocktail of memories and sensations. < Back Albania: An Emerging Nation Full of Surprises By Greta Murgia and Federica Ballardini January 30, 2022 Albania is a little-explored destination for the holidays and remains a mystery to most. When one thinks about vacation destinations in the Balkans, the first place that comes to mind is Greece and its numerous islands, followed by Croatia for those looking for a more alternative destination and wilder environment. Albania, with its variegated nature, delicious food, and low prices, is rarely within the top ten places to visit. I expected to travel to one of Europe's more cosmopolitan locations, like Budapest or Prague, for my November break. But, my friends had opted for a more obscure choice: Albania. Upon hearing of this change of plans, I was shocked. But after this initial reaction I thought to myself: Albania? Why not? It was a destination I had never considered, but the plan seemed interesting and I decided to give it a chance. When I told people I was going to Albania, I would always get the same confused look, followed by the question: “Albania? What’s there to do in Albania? Why aren’t you going to a normal place like Amsterdam or Berlin?” And my answer was, over and over: “I don’t know, I’ll find out.” And I did. Theth: nature, hot chocolate, soaking-wet hike, tortuous roads, dogs, and grapes I, along with seven friends, arrived in Tirana by plane. Having spent the first night in the metropolitan capital, we decided to go north to spend some time in nature. Getting to Theth – a small town almost at the border with Montenegro, known for its National Park and beautiful nature – was already a challenge. We first had to take a three hour bus to Shkodër, the biggest city of the northern region, followed by another three hour drive in a private minivan on endless tortuous curves. To get to Theth, we passed by the national prison and numerous majestic white villas, constructed in the middle of nowhere. When we asked why there were such big houses in deserted places, we were told that the Albanians have the belief that the best way to keep and invest their money is through construction. Therefore, they build huge villas in remote areas, which ends up being disastrous as an investment. Once we arrived in Theth, we understood just by looking around why it had been so hard to get there, and we asked ourselves how it was possible that other people, apart from us, had been able to reach it. In fact, we were the only tourists (and girls) in the apparently empty town. We were guests at a beautiful family-owned cabin, with grapes hanging throughout the whole garden, an ice-cold fountain with potable water, a chimney in the common room and a beautiful view of the valley from our bedroom windows. The town was home to several unfriendly dogs that barked at us as we passed by, a beautiful church connected to a cemetery, sheeps, closed cabins, one shop, and one restaurant. Because we were in low-season, we got the “true” Theth experience. We were asked several times by locals why we had decided to go there for our vacation. We found an answer to the question the following day, when we went for our long-awaited hike. Water, water, and more water When we woke up the next morning though, it was pouring rain and the beautiful view from our window had disappeared. We could not even see the garden beneath us due to the fog that surrounded us. As we had to go back to Tirana the following day to meet two other friends that were arriving to join us on the trip, our only chance to go on the hike was that day. So we asked the owner of the cabin for some garbage bags, we opened holes for the head and the arms, and we started what can only be defined as an adventure. After the first five minutes of the hike, we had barely any dry skin left, and when we got to the top, we could not see much further than our noses. At that moment, we had to imagine the beautiful view we had been told we would see. However, as we went down, the sun came out for long enough to clear the sky, and it allowed us to see the mountains, the valley, and the horizon. The rain had been worth enduring, and the view was stunning. Once back to the cabin, dry and warm, we enjoyed home-made fresh and delicious food and a hot chocolate that resembled more a pudding than common hot chocolates. That became our passion throughout the whole trip. At any café, restaurant or bar we would visit, we would always order hot chocolate. But none of them beat the one in Theth. The filling breakfast we received from the cabin every morning, which included fried eggs, cheese, butter, jam, bread, pancakes, juice, coffee, and tea, was also voted as one of the best parts of the whole trip. Tirana We moved to the center of the town. The streets were pebbled and framed by low buildings that housed cafés. We wandered around and I came across a traditional bakery. On a large wooden table lay a batch of bread loaves waiting to be baked in a huge stove. I peeked inside; a small queue of people were buying their daily bread. The man inside saw me and inquired whether I was a tourist. Most of the people in the line spoke fantastic Italian. The baker gave me a freshly baked loaf of bread; I thanked him and reached for my wallet. He did not want me to pay; it is a gift, he says. It was not the only time that we got gifts from complete strangers. A man in a store offered to pay for my water, since I still struggled with the Albanian currency. People were generally exceptionally kind and generous. Everyone was up for a chat, everyone had a smile in their pocket, ready to be exchanged with strangers. Korçë Our time in Korçë began in the late afternoon. A shaky bus drove us for four hours through the most unimaginable landscapes. Rolling hills lay all around the winding road; forests exploded with fall colors at each turn, and we stumbled upon rural architecture. We stopped half way through for some of the typical rice – flavorful Basmati rice, cooked with lemon and eaten with meat or vegetables. We arrived in Korçë as the sun was setting through the glassless window panes of an abandoned building. We walked to our hotel. We were astonished by its grandeur. It was a modern structure on the outside, rustic and cozy on the inside. We walked up to our room to find a suite with a bathtub, lounge area and a beautiful view of the Orthodox church. Dinner was outstanding. The traditional cuisine (beans, grilled vegetables, hummus, feta cheese) met just the right amount of hipster, new age foods (avocado, sweet potatoes …). It was the perfect marriage. We sipped on Spritz and ate chocolate dessert. Is this what happiness feels like? Midterms had been the week before, so we had forgotten what that meant. We slept tight after delighting each other with a night of Disney karaoke. We woke up ready to take on Korçë. After breakfast (delicious, needless to say), we begin the day by visiting the Orthodox church. It was astonishing. Saints with decapitated heads in their hands populated the golden walls. We argued about how old the church might be. Turns out it is not that old, but we still really like it; it’s vintage. Tirana Tirana is not a beautiful city where it's easy to romanticize life or remain stunned in front of grandiose buildings. Instead, it is a big city where moving through public buses is hard, many neighborhoods are poor, and life is not led to please the tourists. It is also a place where the small pleasures that make life unique are hidden. Take the bakery under the apartment we were staying at, for instance. The delicious sweets we had in the morning. The central market, where old people gathered to sell garlic, beans, and their old jewelry, where everyone was happy to help and have a chat. The small burek shops, where talking with your hands was the only, powerful way to make a connection despite the lack of a common language. Ah, the language! Hearing Albanian all around, such a unique language; it tastes like almonds to me; it sounds like a hug; it looks like affection. Tirana is also a stage for history. We spent a few hours in a bunker, which is now a museum covering colonial times to communist regime history. Sure, history often fails to acknowledge the experiences of real people– those who live it, those who make it everyday. Despite that historiographical paradigm, Tirana’s buildings and people told the story. The coexistence of mosques, Orthodox and Catholic churches, people’s attitudes, the typical food, the general vibe of the city. It all assumes even more value as one uncovers the past about what has made this place so distinctive. We wanted to visit the other history museum, to gain a deeper understanding of what existed before. Sadly, it was closed, but by then we were intrigued. We knew we wanted to come back and see more of this country. It was evening, and we had to hurry back to the apartment to pack and tidy up the place. We were leaving the following day at three in the morning. As I looked out of the taxi window, I had my main character moment. I find it funny, I thought to myself, how I’ve ended up in a place I would have never imagined to visit, that I had not prepared myself for, for which I had had no expectations. I did not give in to cheesy clichés. I believe that I went home with different perspectives, new insights, and new friendships. Because I had the chance to visit a place where our modern perspective has not yet managed to take over, I was pleasantly surprised by what I didn't know existed. Reflections: old and new, Italian and Burek This trip has helped me reflect on the impact of history not only on a country's political system and economy, but also on the deep and lasting change it creates in society. Albania opened up to commerce and tourism only in 1992, after over 40 years of isolation under Hoxha’s communist regime. It is fascinating to notice how, despite being on the border with rather developed nations such as Greece and Croatia, Albania is ontologically different from what one would expect. In fact, with its service-based economy, most goods are imported, and the majority of the population speaks better Italian than English. Albania even became part of the Kingdom of Italy during the fascist rule in the 1930s and 40s, so Islam coexists with Christianity. The new capitalist economy is bringing money into the nation, incomes from Albanians abroad are being sent home, and all of this investment is enabling the destruction and reconstruction of vast areas of Albania, especially the capital, Tirana. Brand new sky-scrapers are seen rising above rural and simple constructions, Christian and Orthodox churches can be seen not far from mosques, and in bars and cafes the great majority are men. On the streets, handcarts selling fruits and vegetables give the impression of an exotic land on the other side of the world, but the espressos served in the cafés (which could compete with the ones made in Italy) remind the tourists where they are. Albania is a nation that has been on the waiting list to become part of the European Union since 2014, and it aspires to the wealth and well-being it sees in its neighboring states. These are some of the reflections that came to me during this trip, at once both eye-opening and enriching. Conclusion The delicious food and overall welcoming and warm population, the beautiful views of nature, the crystalline sea that borders Greece and Croatia, as well as the controversial and incredibly rich history, render Albania an interesting destination to visit. The emerging nature of the country’s economy and the cheap prices make it accessible. But, Albania will not be the same in ten years. Modernity and tourism will have changed its roots. It is wiser to go sooner rather than later. Albania is a place that is changing right in front of our eyes. It is happening right now. There is a strong wave of modernization being fostered. However, tradition and culture still manage to elbow their way through modern buildings, restaurants and cafès. Most of all, the spirit of the country and its people really shine through, and that is what I will most remember from this trip. When you travel to a very touristic destination, you almost expect a detached kindness from the side of the staff. What we found in Albania, however, was completely novel: a sincere, genuine warmth and open-heartedness from everyone we encountered on our journey. These are my takeaways from this trip: Don't limit yourself to usual destinations, there is much more to discover that was not already on some famous person's Instagram feed. Take the time to look for curious, unusual things both in your travels and in your hometown. When you can, engage in exchanges with strangers. Talk to people and learn about the world — this is a fantastic means for finding inspiration and magic everywhere you go. When I think back to our day in Korçë, for example, I struggle to rationalize it. I feel like it exceeded the temporal lines. It was a magical cocktail of memories and sensations. There are moments in life when you feel like you are truly living. Not existing, not being alive, but living. It's when you make music and talk to strangers and explore streets and rediscover the magic of humankind. You cannot create those moments artificially. You cannot look for them. You can just welcome them when they come and try to make the most of them. We can assure you that we definitely did. To you, our readers, we can only recommend to open your hearts to exploration and to visit Albania! To many more adventures to come!

“Bab el Hadid” captures the commotion and emotion of the Cairo train station as a hub: a place where people reunite after years apart; where people say goodbye to their loved ones; where people are always in a rush to get to the next destination. < Back Reflecting on Egypt’s Youssef Chahine: Film Review of “Bab el Hadid” By Celeste Abourjeili November 29, 2021 The movie “Bab el Hadid” brings back memories of the notorious Grand Central station in New York City, where I grew up. It captures the commotion and emotion of the train station as a hub: a place where people reunite after years apart; where people say goodbye to their loved ones; where people are always in a rush to get to the next destination. The Cairo station, like all train stations, is inherently not a destination but simply a part of the journey. However, in “Bab el Hadid,” which focuses on the station’s daily functioning, the place is redefined as a destination of its own with a community of its own. This raw vision of the train station provides a nuanced commentary on class struggles because it exposes the station for what it is: a place for homeless people to take shelter, for the crazy to roam around, and for the lower class to make a spare buck by selling newspapers and fresh drinks. Throw in a street performer and lost tourists, and you have Grand Central. But this was not Grand Central — this was the 1958 Cairo station at the brink of an era of underclass mobilization and women’s emancipation. In its realism, the movie unravelled the themes of women’s rights activism, sexualization of women in the workplace, and unionization of laborers. The film’s honest and brutal commentary on these themes made it by far and away more real and relevant than many other Arab movies of that era. While it maintained the theme of a tragic love story that could never come to be due to class differences (i.e. Kenawi’s love for Hanuma), the context surrounding this plot is so much more nuanced that one could hardly call it a love story. Moreover, the extravagant decor of Egyptian films in the early 1900s was long forgotten in the production of this film, where the most commonly featured house decor was lewd magazine clippings of women pasted on the walls. The portrayal of Kenawi’s fixation on women provided insight into the truth of sexualization of women: in many cases, it is incredibly creepy. By featuring an insane man in this role, the film was more sympathetic to women in instances of catcalling and stalking. It exposed the ugly truth that women are frequently physically threatened simply for the act of rejecting a man. After the idealized films from the earlier era, the honesty in this film was welcome, familiar, and, in a way, homey to me. The portrayal of a woman like Hanuma, who was sexy and desirable, in a tough and rude connotation was also a welcome reality and break from the “femme fatale” prototype in previous films, at least in the beginning of the film. However, her attitude and disregard for Abu Serih’s instructions along with his violent reaction brought back the power imbalance between men and women. Hanuma’s seductive response was even worse and regressed her character back to the “femme fatale” prototype, disappointing the earlier characterization of Hanuma as a new kind of woman. The theme of insanity with Kenawi matched his disconnect with the hub of the train station. He talked about moving to his village, away from the noise and the people and the confusion, when he proposed to Hanuma. He was an outsider from the get go, not belonging in the train station community nor in the train station itself. Despite his violence and creepy behavior towards women, I could not help but feel for Kenawi in the moment when Madbouli talks to him at the end of the film because we saw that his desires were quite simple, like anybody else’s, after all. This film succeeded at making unlikely characters relatable and telling the stories of those whom society would never have considered or accepted before.

With 2As increasingly melancholic about their imminent departures, a spirit of contemplation takes hold of the students of the Menton campus. < Back Klimt’s Death and Life: a Perspective on Beginnings and Endings By Lara Harmankaya April 30, 2024 Another academic year nears its end. The approach of the end is marked by the longer hours of daytime and the re-emergence of a softness in the air. With 2As increasingly melancholic about their imminent departures, a spirit of contemplation takes hold of the students of the Menton campus. The fleeting nature of our time here suddenly becomes conspicuous to us; we arrive, build friendships and connections, and leave after two very short years. We leave our mark but ultimately get swept up in the thousands of mosaics that mold the rich history of this institution. The eagerly-anticipated arrival of spring thus becomes a bittersweet reminder of the need to move on and undergo a process of detachment yet again. Quite literally, as this reveals to us, the trajectory of the students of Sciences Po follows a seasonal progression of time – each season symbolic of a beginning and a conclusion. In such a time of reflection, the pertinence of Gustav Klimt’s artwork and the unique outlook it has on ephemerality becomes evident yet again. In his 1911 oil on canvas painting, Death and Life , Klimt reminds us that life continues, even in the face of ‘death.’ In the Sciences Po context I described above, Death can be interpreted as endings in general. It expresses transience and the constraints imposed on us by the cruelty of time. Displayed in the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the almost six-foot-tall Death and Life is a melange of meaning, stages and colors. It appears fluid to the eye, quite like the transitional phases of life it represents through its curvaceous nude figures. The baby, the surrounding young and old women, and the pair of lovers beneath symbolize the many age groups of the human race and are all cocooned in a blanket composed of bright colors. Patchwork designs, floral patterns, circles and geometric shapes all blend together and create images that melt into one another. This contrasts vividly with the solitary, navy figure of Death. He is reminiscent of the night; his robe is embellished with bright crosses erected on a graveyard and star-like speckles of white that illuminate the cool darkness of what appears to allude to the night sky. On the other hand, the embracing figures he is eagerly observing discernibly illustrate the warmness of day, summer and spring. This is a painting with a title as uncomplicated and clear as its metaphors. Its sharp juxtapositions – between soft and hard, nature and abstraction, dark and light, and somber and vibrant – connote an idea that is easily understood by all those who have grasped the concept of mortality. However, looking at it yet again, it evokes an additional element internal to the human condition that no simple life-death distinction can convey with true accuracy. To understand this, we must dive deeper into the historical era in which it was produced. In the early 20th century, a growing fascination with the subconscious permeated the Viennese intellectual sphere following the rising popularity of Freud’s ‘The Interpretation of Dreams.’ The figures, with the exception of one, all strikingly have their eyes closed. The way they clutch one another, therefore, evokes not only intimacy but also a dream-like state that denotes the subconscious. Against the backdrop of World War I and the increasingly prominent academic interest in looking inward, this painting can be analyzed as a reflection of a collective unconscious that wished to escape material reality. Moreover, it was also part and parcel of the broader Secession Movement in Vienna, which marked a radical shift in producing and appreciating art. With an uncertain sociopolitical environment and under the guiding creativity of Klimt, Austrian artists began challenging conventionally accepted approaches to art and incorporated more innovative techniques – among which, of course, were Klimt’s bold colors, sensual imagery and irregular mosaic designs. Observing this painting without understanding the context that spurred its genesis can thereby lead to losing out on the very nuance that makes it exceptional. As with all art, Death and Life was not brought into existence in a vacuum but was very much the product of an age of progress and rising modernity. Yet, the principal meaning of it is tied to the fact that life and death are continuous, cyclical and ceaseless. The painting itself is thus a juxtaposition, signifying the age-old intrinsic dilemma of human nature amidst a time of irrevocable change. Thus, it can be suggested that what Klimt may have desired with this painting was to denote the transcendence of the human experience. Even as many attempted to break with the conventions of the past, one thing remained eternal – the universality of beginnings and endings. Awarded the first prize in the 1911 International Art Exhibition in Rome, Death and Life is said to have been described by Klimt as his “most important figurative work.” Examining the significance of the skeleton personifying Death could help us see why. According to art historians, it is reminiscent of the motif of the ‘dance of death’ / ‘danse macabre,’ which first appeared in the Middle Ages. Serving as an emblem that death comes to all regardless of rank and social status, the historic relevance of the subtly smirking skeleton in the painting itself is a reminder of the sense of succession found in human nature and art history. Examining the history of Klimt’s artwork can also be insightful in discerning the figurative importance of his stylistic choices in this painting. Known for the abundant use of gold in many of his pieces, including in Judith and the Head of Holofernes , this painting – having encountered multiple amendments that removed its traces of gold – can be seen as the outcome of a more mature Klimt who died three years after its conclusion. In 1915, the background was painted over with hues of gray, green and blue, almost as if to mimic a sea of consciousness. This grants the painting a sentiment of reality; rather than washing out the amorphous blocks with gold and lavish, they are given center-stage. Life itself is not glitteringly golden but is grounded in the earth and ambiguous. The overall tone of the painting, despite being conscious of the inevitability of Death and conclusion, is not a grim one. It is hopeful – the entangled figures on the right are able to ignore the disturbing gaze of Death and continue their streaming slumber in peace. They are part of the larger cycle of life, and knowing that life will continue even after their time does not disturb their tranquility. Perhaps that should be the lesson to extract from this painting. There exists the looming threat of termination just a few steps away, but for the time being, we can enjoy the moments we have and keep holding onto each other. Image - Flickr, Frans Vandewalle, Creative Commons

In Palestine, memory has always been a form of resistance. Today, it lives not only in embroidery and heritage, but on digital screens across the world. Across Gaza, the West Bank, and the Palestinian towns inside Israel, a new generation is documenting life, loss, and love in "real- time" — transforming social media into a living archive of survival. < Back Digital Resistance: How Young Palestinians Use Social Media to Preserve Memory Mariam Mahamid November 6, 2025 In Palestine, memory has always been a form of resistance. Today, it lives not only in embroidery and heritage, but on digital screens across the world. Across Gaza, the West Bank, and the Palestinian towns inside Israel, a new generation is documenting life, loss, and love in "real- time" — transforming social media into a living archive of survival. When mainstream media misrepresents or erases Palestinians voices, young creators step in to fill the silence. Through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, they reclaim the narrative — one post at a time. From Bisan Owda 's heartfelt stories and Plestia Alaqad 's field reports in Gaza", to Muna El-Kurd documenting displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, and artists like Tamer Nafar and Nadeen Khoury using performance to challenge silence — each of them adds a fragment to Palestine’s digital memory. Even creators such as Marwan Halabi keep the Palestinian dialect and humor alive online, showing that even humor can be a form of resistance. Together, these voices form a patchwork of truth — connected by hashtags instead of threads (traditional Palestinian embroidery). For many in Gaza, sharing the truth is an act of immense risk. Saleh Al-Ja’frawi , a young content creator, used to post brief videos capturing daily life between airstrikes — snippets of hope amid chaos. His camera became his way of coping and communicating with the world. When he was killed while filming, his final posts turned into memorials: fragments of a story that will not fade. Even after his death , his account remains — a reminder that in Palestine, to document is to resist. According to Access Now’s 2024 report "Gaza, Genocide & Big Tech ", major social media companies have repeatedly removed Palestinian content, shadow-banned accounts, and labeled eyewitness reports as "sensitive"or "misinformation." The stated reason for many of these removals is that the posts contain explicit or graphic imagery — footage of bombings, the wounded, or scenes of destruction. Yet these images are often the only proof of what is happening on the ground. As a result, Palestinians documenting the war face a constant dilemma: how to show the reality without violating platform policies. Many creators blur images, crop videos, or use symbols and coded language to avoid deletion. In doing so, they expose the paradox of the digital age — that the same platforms built for visibility can also enforce invisibility. This digital erasure mirrors the physical destruction on the ground: while bombs silence cities, algorithms silence witnesses. Yet, Palestinians continue to post, rebuild, and remember — proving that resistance survives in every upload. Palestinian heritage has always depended on acts of remembrance. Where previous generations preserved identity through tatreez , such as traditional Palestinian embroidery, today’s youth are doing so through images, captions, and live streams. Today’s youth are doing so through images, captions, and live streams. The method has changed, but the purpose remains the same. According to "Digital Activism in Perspective: Palestinian Resistance via Social Media ", social platforms have become “virtual spaces of protest” where storytelling and collective memory merge. Projects like "Visualizing Palestine " and the "Palestinian Museum Digital Archive " extend this tradition into cyberspace, transforming data and memory into visual testaments of truth. Palestine’s digital activism carries the same spirit of remembrance that once lived in thread and fabric. In colonized societies, memory itself often becomes a way to survive — a quiet act of resistance passed from one generation to the next. As historian Pierre Nora wrote in 1989, these "sites of memory" are spaces where people preserve identity when physical places or traditions are lost. For Palestinians, the internet itself has become one of these sites — a shared space where loss and belonging coexist in every post. Each photo, voice note, or caption becomes a modern heirloom passed from one timeline to another. Yet telling these stories online comes with its own battles. Palestinian content is often restricted or deleted by platforms that claim neutrality. Reports from Amnesty International and the Meta Oversight Board reveal how algorithms systematically suppress Palestinian voices, echoing what researchers call "systematic digital repression." As scholar Miriyam Aouragh wrote in 2008, this represents a new kind of "everyday resistance on the internet," where activism becomes embedded in daily digital life. Yet the community finds ways around it — mirroring posts, translating captions, saving content before it disappears. Every repost becomes an act of defiance, every share a heartbeat of persistence. As noted in "Social Media’s Key Role in Palestinian Activism for Gaza ", the online sphere now serves as both a newsroom and a memorial wall. This convergence between memory and technology mirrors the old forms of preservation — when tatreez carried stories across generations, and now when data carries voices across screens. Digital resistance doesn’t end when the Wi-Fi is cut off. It lives in conversations, in art, and in the quiet insistence to remember. These young Palestinians aren’t just documenting conflict — they’re preserving humanity. Their feeds may scroll endlessly, but their stories root deeply. Beyond the posts and the algorithms lies something more enduring: a collective determination to exist. Each act of sharing, archiving, or even mourning online becomes a declaration of identity. For Palestinians, visibility itself is survival — an assertion that their stories cannot be deleted, even when their accounts can. This persistence transforms technology into testimony, and testimony into truth. Just as every stitch of a tatreez once carried a story, every pixel now carries a memory — a thread of continuity between past and present. Through both fabric and fiber optics, Palestinians continue to prove that resistance is not only about struggle, but about the refusal to be forgotten. Photo Source: Raw Pixel, Creative Commons

When faced with a situation this severe, it is imperative to remain cognizant of our chosen course of study. Our specialization in the Middle East entails a collective duty — we must band together to support this region in which we are all so invested. < Back Prices Soar as the Egyptian Economy Enters a Recession By Catarina Vita February 28, 2023 Egypt, which has been in an economic recession since before its manifestations of political discontent in 2011, accumulates 85.6 percent of its economy in debt. As Egyptians demanded “bread, freedom and social equality” during the Arab Spring, their nation was plagued with precarious living standards and an unstable economy. Protests petitioning better administration of the economy brought global awareness to the Egyptian situation. Unemployment raged due to serious issues in infrastructure — such as the precarious maintenance of roads and unhelpful urban planning — besides the grave mismanagement of national economic investments. From 2013 to 2014, 6 percent of the Egyptian Gross Domestic Product was directed to fuel subsidies, which neglected the healthcare and infrastructure sectors. The towering unemployment rate of 13.4 percent in 2013 is largely due to infrastructure itself; the lack of road maintenance makes the working commute harder, similarly to the urban planning that could be better. As a result, Egypt enters a vicious cycle — or downward spiral — of dangerously low economic growth. The Egyptian Arab Spring activists in 2011 watched the economic recession rise from 9.8 percent to 13.5 percent in 2013 — and this percentage only grows. Besides the overinvestment in the fuel industry, the funding of long-term projects, such as building a new metropolis and the artificial “Green River,” a chain of lakes below the desert, also bog down the Egyptian economy. These two projects specifically exacerbate Egypt’s emergency climate crisis. When Nadeen Ebrahim from the CNN asked Professor Nabeel Elhady at Cairo University about his input on Egyptian artificial states, he responded that carrying water to an artificial metropolis is far from sustainable — environmentally and financially. Egypt continued to suffer economically in 2022. The impacts of the war in Ukraine reached the Middle East as fuel prices — the main source of investment in the Egyptian economy — climbed. Investors in Egypt swiftly retracted, causing the Egyptian pound to depreciate 14 percent against the U.S. dollar. Grain prices flew as Russian blockades made accessible trade impossible. Egypt, with Russia and Ukraine as two of its biggest importers of grain, no longer offered accessible bread prices, leading to widespread food insecurity. From 2021 to January 2023, the prices for chicken, a standard item for the Egyptian diet, went from 30 Egyptian pounds to 70. Chicken swiftly turned into a luxury item in Egyptian kitchens, and the National Institute of Nutrition responded to criticism with the suggestion of eating chicken feet, which is not commonly eaten in Egypt, according to CNN. Using a photoshopped picture of the world-famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo and the proposed meal idea, starving Egyptians resorted to this advice, and the price of chicken feet doubled. The National Institute of Nutrition swiftly deleted the post after Egyptian influencers and news organizations noticed the falsehood of the image. Home to over 100 million people, Egypt undergoes a downward spiral of economic insufficiency. The issues of food shortage and insecurity, lack of governmental credibility and raging unemployment simultaneously join hands during this crisis. For over ten years now, Egyptians have demanded “bread, freedom and social equality.” Hopefully, with global cooperation and more efficient economic investments, the Egyptian people will receive what they have for so long been asking for.

The victory of the current regime, which was unsurprising for everyone, holds several messages. However, its validity and democratic facade must be taken with a pinch of salt. < Back Iranian Elections: What Messages Can Be Understood? By Jad Toufic Toutinji March 30, 2024 On March 1, Iranian voters went to polling stations as elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly (ICA) and the Assembly of Experts (AoE) were due. In reality, with a record-low turnout rate of 41 percent, it can safely be said that barely any voters took part in the election because of several years of economic instability and violent anti-regime protests, such as the 2022 nation-wide protests following Mahsa Amini’s tragic murder. Indeed, boycotting the elections was, for many, especially in the diaspora, the only realistic form of resistance. The victory of the current regime, which was unsurprising for everyone, holds several messages. However, its validity and democratic facade must be taken with a pinch of salt. Results In both the ICA and the Assembly of Experts, the elections consolidated the regime’s grip of power in a typical political scenery which has remained unchanged since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. It came without a surprise when taking into consideration the electorate’s apathy and the high number of disqualifications by the Guardian Council of opposition candidates based on a perceived threat to the regime and the nation. In the ICA, the regime won 138 seats while 48 independents and 25 reformists only won on the opposing side. Moreover, only 11 women managed to get a seat in the ICA. As for the 88 members of the AoE, 53 of those elected were already incumbents, reflecting the little change that took place. Even for the new elected members, a majority of them are young members who also align with the regime and Khamenei. Indeed, the regime’s power remains unchallenged within the assemblies. “The Iranian people know well these elections are unrepresentative, whatever the outcome. And we do too, ” expressed U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley on X after seeing the results. Many critics of the regime refused to recognize the elections’ results and believe that the supposed Iranian democracy is a means through which the Iranian regime legitimizes itself. Moreover, the criticism began even before the elections took place. With the record-low turnout rate, the Iranian regime had to call its people several times to cast their votes. Not only so, but even the participation rate of some provinces, like Tehran, have yet to be declared (at the current time of writing). This low turnout reflects the electorate’s apathy, the collective boycott, and the lack of alternative options. The opposition voters and the anti-regime protesters feel hopeless of any change coming as a result of an election orchestrated by the regime apparatus. Many who did not go, despite being in economic instability and critical of the ruling clerics, perceive that the time to vote can be traded off for providing living sustenance, especially that voting will not change anything in the embedded totalitarian power. Meanwhile the economic trade-off was rational for the impoverished, hopeless Iranian citizens, it was also logical for them to boycott the orchestrated elections in order to delegitimize the results which were inevitably not going to sway in their favour. Choosing not to vote was and has always been the Iranian citizen’s political statement of opposition to an oppressive theocratic rule. In addition, many oppositions and reformists called to boycott the election, or at least displayed their refusal to participate, some of whom were part of the regime such as former regime president Mohamad Khatami. Khatami’s refusal to cast a vote in the name of standing with the discontented Iranian people has sparked major debates in the country. Loyalist clerics have inevitably criticized his move, while other opposition members see that it is a maneuver to position himself as a leader for the unrepresented people as well as the reformist, to whom he belongs. The opposition criticizes him for remaining a reformist, having not declared the end of his allegiance to the Islamist ideology and religious democracy of the system. Furthermore, even the opposing and reformist voters who still believe in the potentiality of change through elections did not have candidates to vote for. In the AoE, after the Guardian Council had disqualified 366 out of 510 candidates, only 144 candidates were competing for 88 seats. In other words, some seats did not have two competing candidates, thus limiting the voters to either the regime’s candidate or a blank vote, the latter which the regime disregards as trivial. What After? Despite the unchallenged victory of the regime, the low turnout sent a clear message: a strong majority of the people, given the chance to, will unequivocally express their resistance and dissatisfaction to the ruling regime. Thus, in the upcoming years, the Islamic Republic will have to work on further consolidating their power internally to avoid any repercussions that would threaten its regional influence and internal grip. At the age of 84-years-old, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is set to be succeeded should he die or fall incapable of maintaining his duties. Accordingly, the recently elected AoE, which is responsible to elect the supreme leader’s successor, might have to deal with this challenge in the upcoming eight years. In this context, the massive number of candidate disqualifications that took place should be seen as only an attempt by the regime to suppress opposition to the rule. It should also be perceived as Khamenei’s attempt to secure his own choice of his successor, which looks likely to be his son Mojtaba Khamenei even if no public designation has been made in fear of the successor’s assassination. Former president Hassan Rouhani, as well as other notable ministers like Ali Fallahian and Mohamad Alavi appeared on the list of disqualified candidates. Hassan Rouhani, having not been a strong hardliner to the regime and having been elected by the people, was seen as a potential candidate should a shift in power take place between hardliners and reformists. As to the ministers, both of whom served as intelligence ministers, it was a tactful move to avoid an internal revolt by the intelligence and the military after Khamenei’s death. Indeed, little by little, Khamenei is assuring that his son, or the candidate of his choice like current president Ebrahim Raisi, will succeed him as smoothly as possible. In spite of all inter-regime politics, the regime still has the task to mitigate the public outrage if it wishes to lengthen its survival, especially post-Khamenei. If Mojtaba, or any other candidate, reaches power with a strong public dissent to the regime, then it is likely that further economic collapse, as well as the weakening of aid to allied militant groups, like the Houthis and Hezbollah, will be seen. Moreso, in this context of impoverished legitimacy of the cleric and an undecided successor, is it possible that military and intelligence leaders seize power in the case of Khameini’s death to ensure the survival of the regime? Could the Iranian Supreme Leader become only a symbolic face to a military-intelligence hegemony?

In a small apartment on the outskirts of Marrakech, the close relatives of a wrongfully imprisoned man have gathered to share their story with a Swedish university student. The relatives are desperate to disseminate the circumstances of his imprisonment and hope their story will one day reach the public. < Back The Life of Mustapha Eddarja: A Wrongfully Imprisoned Man Fighting for the Independence of Western Sahara By Vanja Lerch Eriksson October 31, 2023 Mustapha Eddarja, a father of six and a strong believer in West Saharan independence, was arrested in a coffeehouse in central Marrakech late at night on January 10, 2017. He was brought to a secret location in Salé City and kept there for days, without being notified of the grounds for his arrest. During his time in Salé City, Eddarja was subjected to systematic physical torture with the purpose of forcing him to sign the police records which contained wrongful claims about his arrest. For a number of days, Eddarja refused to sign, but he had to give in after several days of electrical shocks, forced sleep deprivation and continuous beatings. After the torture, Eddarja was brought to Tangier Hospital to recover and the interrogation was therefore postponed. Instead of being brought back to Marrakech, Eddarja was kept in a prison in Tangier for months, unable to be visited by his family. The arrest warrant for Mustapha Eddarja was based on him allegedly being part of a drug smuggling operation. Eddarja has denied any connection to the drug trafficking group and his relatives support this claim. In court, Eddarja’s family complained about the lack of evidence of his connection to the crime. However, this was ignored by the judge. Evidently, Eddarja has been subject to a fabrication of accusations. Eddarja’s family and the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA) interpret the arrest of Mustapha Eddarja as a retaliation to his support for the Gdeim Izik camp events in 2010. The Gdeim Izik protest started off peacefully but later developed into a violent confrontation when Moroccan security forces entered the camp. The camp was originally erected to protest human rights violations, discrimination and poverty inflicted by the Moroccan government on West Saharians. However, later, a part of the protesting group also claimed to be protesting against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and demanded independence for the occupied territories. After the Gdeim Izik protests, Eddarja was subjected to continuous harassment by government agencies, both through physical encounters and through the constant surveillance of his movements. In addition, Eddarja’s name started to pop up in similar judicial cases to the one he was later accused and convicted of. Having his name reoccur in similar investigations provided the Moroccan Judiciary with sufficient reason to see his actions as premeditated, thereby making him eligible for a harsher punishment. This suggests that the Moroccan Judicial Police had made preparations for his arrest for several years before following through on his arrest. Eddarja was known for his support of the non-violent fight for the freedom of Western Sahara. He supported peaceful activists and protests financially as well as through moral and health support. He was deeply appreciated by his community and was regarded as a figure of high morale. According to CODESA, The Moroccan government has committed similar operations to stop supporters of this cause on numerous occasions. However, these discriminatory conditions prevailed when the persecuted individual received their sentence. After being sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, Eddarija was transferred numerous times between different prison facilities in northern Morocco but has now been transferred to what is seemingly his last location – the Oudaya prison in Marrakech. During their short visits, family members have learned that Eddarja is kept in a solitary cell and has been for the last two years. In Oudaya prison, Eddarja is held in the high-security wing, which is the most well-guarded one. According to his family, he suffers from the inhumane prison conditions. He is often handcuffed for no apparent reason; he is deprived of walks and outside activities and has been prohibited from seeing his family on several occasions, who have traveled 900 kilometers to visit him. A family member who was able to meet him said that he had gastro-intestinal pains, diseases connected to malnutrition and was in a poor mental state. The inhumane conditions have contributed to Eddarja’s health worsening, pushing him towards more radical means. Eddarja did, for weeks, go on a hunger strike in prison; however, this was met with indifference from the prison staff, and his health worsened even more. In 2021, Eddarja’s wife, child, and Eddaich Eddaf, a former political prisoner who has become a human rights defender for CODESA, and his partner attempted to visit Eddarja in jail. The group provided all the required documents to visit him, but only his daughter was allowed. She met him and could testify that his health had worsened even more. Unfortunately, the others were not allowed entry and made the 900-kilometer-long journey in vain. None of these circumstances align with international humanitarian law – they oppose the most basic human rights. Suppose one were to observe the framework of the 70/175. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) , one can distinguish that the treatment of Mustapha Eddarja does not comply with its requirements. Neither does it comply with the vital conditions proposed in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment , which the Kingdom of Morocco ratified in 1993. The 2nd and 11th Articles of this convention specify that torture should be non-existent in the countries that have ratified it, suggesting that the Kingdom of Morocco does not fulfil these obligations. Article 15 states that any statements made during torture shall not be invoked as evidence. This is, however, evidently not complied with in the case of Mustapha Eddarja and is thereby not fulfilled. Eddarja’s family demands that his human rights should be respected and thus also states that Eddarja deserves a new trial based upon a new independent and impartial investigation. They urge international actors to intervene to bring justice to Mustapha Eddarja and force the Moroccan government to stop using fabricated accusations. Mustafa Eddarja’s family is looking forward to his release in a couple of years but still hopes that the visibility from sharing their story might give them the opportunity to meet him sooner.

Plus grand que le Royaume-Uni mais n’abritant qu’un peu plus d’un demi-million d’habitants, le Sahara occidental est un territoire peu peuplé qui a provoqué de nombreux conflits au cours du dernier demi-siècle. < Back Une Ligne Dans Le Sable: Le Nouveau Consulat Au Sahara Occidental By Colin Lim September 30, 2022 La simple mention du Sahara occidental suffit souvent à provoquer des débats historiques passionnés et des débats sur l’autodétermination et la décolonisation. Désigné par l'Organisation des Nations Unies comme un territoire non autonome, le Sahara occidental est un territoire contesté du nord-ouest de l’Afrique entouré par l’Atlantique, la Mauritanie, l’Algérie et le Maroc, ce dernier administrant la majorité du territoire. Plus grand que le Royaume-Uni mais n’abritant qu’un peu plus d’un demi-million d’habitants, c’est un territoire peu peuplé qui a provoqué de nombreux conflits au cours du dernier demi-siècle. Habité à l’origine par le peuple sahraoui, le Sahara occidental a été occupé par l’Espagne de 1884 à 1975, d’abord en tant que protectorat puis en tant que province. Dans le cadre de sa mission de décolonisation d’après-guerre, l’ONU a adopté des résolutions faisant pression sur l’Espagne franquiste, entre autres régimes coloniaux, pour qu’elle renonce à ses revendications sur les territoires coloniaux. L’Espagne a accédé à cette pression et la Marche verte, une procession soutenue par le gouvernement Marocain de 350,000 Marocains dans le territoire occupé par l’Espagne, a établi la présence du Maroc et son intention de s’affirmer dans ce domaine. La Mauritanie a renoncé à ses revendications sur le territoire peu de temps après, reconnaissant à la place la souveraineté du Front Polisario — la République Arabe Sahraouie Démocratique (RASD) autoproclamée — sur le territoire. À ce moment-là, le Maroc contrôlait déjà une partie importante du territoire et une guerre d’usure de 16 ans s’ensuivit. Le Maroc contrôle actuellement 80 % du Sahara occidental, y compris la grande majorité du littoral, et la RASD maintient son siège à Tindouf, en Algérie, en conséquence. Lorsque la République du Tchad a annoncé le 7 Septembre 2022 qu’elle prévoyait d’ouvrir un consulat à Dakhla, une ville située à 500 kilomètres au sud de la frontière marocaine reconnue par l’ONU, elle a rejoint la liste croissante des États qui reconnaissent le terrain comme territoire Marocain. Vingt pays ont actuellement des missions diplomatiques à Laâyoune et Dakhla, dont la Jordanie, Bahreïn, les Émirats Arabes Unis et la Côte d’Ivoire. Plus particulièrement—et peut-être le plus controversé — les États-Unis ont reconnu la souveraineté du Maroc sur le territoire fin 2020 en échange de la normalisation des relations du royaume avec Israël dans les accords d’Abraham. La décision du gouvernement tchadien pourrait être perçue comme une réponse à la décision du gouvernement tunisien d’accueillir Brahim Ghali, le chef de la RASD, qui a entraîné la rupture diplomatique maroco-tunisienne une semaine auparavant. Étant donné que le Tchad entretient déjà des relations diplomatiques avec le Maroc par le biais de son ambassade à Rabat, l’action essentiellement symbolique mais toujours conséquente de consacrer des ressources à un consulat dans une ville périphérique et plutôt isolée est une autre étape vers la reconnaissance internationale de la situation actuelle. La question persistante sans réponse de savoir si le peuple sahraoui recevra un jour l’autonomie au sein de l’état Marocain ou l’indépendance pure et simple, ou si le Maroc continuera à revendiquer fortement le Sahara occidental, est un autre rappel de l’impact du colonialisme des siècles passés sur le monde d’aujourd’hui.

Since the app’s launch in 2016, TikTok has changed the way people discover, interact with and share music. Thanks to catchy songs, viral challenges and influencer-driven content TikTok has helped upcoming artists gain popularity by changing the way music is promoted and has created new ways for songs to go viral. The algorithm of the app is designed to push content to users based on their interactions, making it possible for even the most niche tracks to achieve widespread attention. < Back Is TikTok changing the way we listen to music? Nil Celik February 28, 2025 TikTok has promptly become one of the most influential social media platforms in developing trends throughout various industries. TikTok’s impact has particularly stood out in shaping the music industry. Since the app’s launch in 2016 , TikTok has changed the way people discover, interact with and share music. Thanks to catchy songs, viral challenges and influencer-driven content TikTok has helped upcoming artists gain popularity by changing the way music is promoted and has created new ways for songs to go viral. TikTok now plays a key role in discovering music as well as being an essential tool for artists to build their careers and fan bases. One of the reasons TikTok’s impact on the music industry is so great is due to its ability to make songs go viral, often in unexpected ways. The algorithm of the app is designed to push content to users based on their interactions, making it possible for even the most niche tracks to achieve widespread attention. This has led to a new era where the Billboard charts are no longer solely determined by radio airplay or streaming numbers but are also heavily influenced by TikTok trends. In fact, many songs that gain popularity on TikTok end up topping the Billboard Hot 100, and some even become cultural phenomena. For example, the success of songs like Old Town Road by Lil Nas X exemplifies TikTok’s power in launching songs to success, demonstrating how TikTok is a platform for listening to music and an influential means for creating viral moments that can make or break a song. His 2019 hit, which initially gained attention as a viral meme on TikTok, quickly climbed the charts and dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 19 weeks. Additionally, Lil Nas X won two Grammy Awards for Old Town Road (Remix) featuring Billy Ray Cyrus at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. What started as a joke turned into a chart-topping anthem, with millions of TikTok users participating in the song’s dance challenges. Doja Cat is another artist who got her breakthrough and success through TikTok. Her song Say So went viral thanks to a dance challenge that took over the platform created by the user Haley Sharpe. The challenge led to an overwhelming amount of TikTok content featuring her song, which in turn increased its streaming numbers on platforms like Spotify. As the song continued to gain attention, it helped create Doja Cat’s position as a mainstream artist. Her increasing popularity led to the song being nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards. It’s clearly no longer enough for an artist to release a song and hope for radio play or gradual growth. Today, TikTok has become an essential tool as a promotional strategy for an artist. The rise of independent artists on TikTok is another noteworthy development in the music industry. Before the rise of TikTok, breaking into the music scene oftentimes required signing with a major record label or gaining attention through radio and television shows. However, TikTok has reshaped the music industry, giving unsigned and independent artists the chance to be discovered by a global audience and granting them an unprecedented level of accessibility by fans and other artists. For example, Sabrina Carpenter’s song Nonsense became a viral hit after being used in various TikTok videos. Carpenter, who had been working as an actress and singer for years, saw an increase in popularity when her song went viral on the platform, allowingCarpenter to directly engage with her audience and build a new fanbase from TikTok trends.Similarly, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso also gained significant attention on TikTok, further showcasing how TikTok continues to integrate artists into the mainstream. The track inspired numerous dance challenges, which led to an increase in streaming numbers and visibility. Carpenter's ability to connect with her audience via the platform helped her achieve massive recognition and resulted in her winning the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance for Espresso . Furthermore, her album Short n' Sweet took home the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, becoming a turning point in her career. Chappell Roan, an artist relatively unknown before her viral rise, is another example of how TikTok has transformed the careers of independent musicians. Her song Pink Pony Club became viral and this newfound popularity expanded her fan base. TikTok’s focus on self-expression and individuality resonated with users, hence its popularity. Her rise to fame through TikTok has shown that the platform is not just for mainstream pop music but has opened doors for artists from various genres. TikTok provided her with a space where she could showcase her unique style and musical identity, which might have been harder to achieve in a more traditional music industry setting. The success of TikTok led to her receiving a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2025 , which she won. Additionally, her 2024 album Good Luck Babe also gained recognition, with some critics praising her ability to combine emotional vulnerability and catchy pop melodies. The track Good Luck Babe inspired many TikTok users to create content, resulting in a boost in streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Her song Hot to Go was another outstanding track that gained attention on TikTok through the creation of dance challenges. Another way TikTok has influenced the music industry is through the resurgence of older songs. In recent years, TikTok has brought back songs from previous decades, allowing them to reach new audiences. For example, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac became viral on TikTok in 2020 when user Nathan Apodaca posted a video of himself skateboarding while drinking cranberry juice and lip-syncing to the song. The video went viral, and suddenly Dreams was back on the charts after 40 years since its original release. This phenomenon known as the “TikTok effect,” shows how TikTok has become a powerful means of making older music popular again and introducing it to a new generation of listeners. As TikTok continues to evolve, its influence on the music industry will only become more profound. Whether it’s through the rise of new artists, the promotion of diverse genres or the revival of old hits, TikTok has forever changed the music industry. The app is constantly transforming through the introduction of new features, trends and challenges that keep users engaged and involved. It’s clear that TikTok will play a crucial role in shaping the music world by changing the way we listen to music, discover new artists and engage with our favorite songs in the digital age. Photo credits: Anthony Quintano on Flickr

With the coming of age comes individualization and a desire to break away from conformity. As rationality develops, it becomes more comprehensible that there is no need to be ashamed of or cringe at things either you or someone around you partakes in. This, in turn, eliminates the desire to conform to societal norms. < Back Is the Mean Girl Living Inside of Us Dead? The Possible Fall of Cringing Melissa Çevikel January 31, 2025 Musical.ly archives, “6 years ago today” Snapchat memories and recollections of my adolescence by family members at reunions…looking back at times when I wasn't fully self-aware and conscious causes a sharp pain in my chest. This is also largely because I am not able to fully remember what I did and didn’t do, leaving me with the burden of having to fill the gaps with my now much more developed frontal lobe and creativity. This creativity inherently leads to the phenomenon of cringing, which, in its most literal sense, means to “shrink in fear or servility” or “to draw in or contract one's muscles involuntarily (as from cold or pain).” There exists a third definition, however, which combines both the physical jerk element and the emotional aspect of the phenomenon: “so embarrassing, awkward, etc. as to cause one to cringe”. Though there clearly is a universal understanding of what cringing means, the phenomenon is not manifested in the same way for everyone. Not only do the things that trigger this sensation change based on our interpretations of events—and, more broadly, the world— but our reactions to it may also differ, ranging from slight discomfort to mental breakdowns. As I was thinking about the concept of cringing in general, I came to realize that I had stopped cringing, or at least having such a strong reaction to things that seemed embarrassing for me or any party involved. After asking around, most people who I talked to—though it must be noted that all of them were my peers—related to my realization and similarly noted that they had embraced most “cringe-worthy” things they or those around them engaged in. I wondered: had this change occurred simultaneously with our shift in interpretations of the world around us? Our interpretations of the world, for the sake of this article at least, can be identified based on age and the environments we socialize in, including social media. Age being a defining factor in this was the first thing that came to mind. With age comes maturity, with which comes acceptance. “And it makes no difference whether they (young people) are young in years or immature in character. The defect is not a question of time. It is because their life and its various aims are guided by feeling, for to such persons their knowledge is of no use any more than it is to persons of defective self-restraint” is a quote from Aristotle's “The Nicomachean Ethics.” The key idea here is that when you are young and lack maturity, your actions are guided by feelings. Though this is not a scientifically backed argument, the fact that many things are taken much closer to the heart than they should have been when younger can’t be denied. As we grow older, we gather different experiences and meet different people, which presents us with different pathways we can take and may even potentially inspire us. This builds confidence, mainly to pursue the things we enjoy regardless of whether we get judged for it or not. Without these experiences, it's difficult for us to accept criticism, since we’re not sure whether they are or aren’t worthy of being taken into consideration. As a result, most judgments received when younger are taken literally and hurt our self-esteem. Source: Melissa Çevikel, 2025. With the coming of age comes individualization and a desire to break away from conformity. As rationality develops, it becomes more comprehensible that there is no need to be ashamed of or cringe at things either you or someone around you partakes in. This, in turn, eliminates the desire to conform to societal norms. I asked some people (who wished to remain anonymous) about their interests which they thought were cringy and were ashamed of partaking in before coming to terms with them, focusing on what changed their minds. Interviewee No.1, a long-time K-pop stan, said that even though initially people made fun of it when they found out she enjoyed the music, the pleasure and enjoyment it brought her was greater than any of the criticism she had endured. Interviewee No.2, who enjoyed watching anime and reading fan fiction—both of which she was teased for—told me that she simply gradually realized the value of storytelling they held. She said that they even pushed her to study animation at university. Others told me about how they felt insecure about certain clothing and make-up items they owned since the brands they owned had come to be labeled as cringy. They told me that they did not let this stop them from using them because, after all, they had paid for them and someone’s opinion was not a valid reason to waste their money. The people I interviewed were around the age of 20 and were all university students. When I was at the end of my senior year of high school, I had doubts about whether I would be able to find a group of friends with whom my interests aligned. Almost every university student I talked to comforted me saying that university was a very diverse environment where it was impossible not to meet people who think alike. While this turned out to be true, there was a huge difference compared to high school. As they mature, people not only start being more accepting towards themselves and those around them but also create spaces where they can share and enjoy these. These create environments where these ideas are socialized and inherently accepted by a wider community who don’t necessarily partake in these interests. In contrast, high school students don’t feel as free to share their interests mostly since these kinds of spaces aren’t available. To compare the number of things people in earlier years of high school found to be cringeworthy to people in their early 20s, I interviewed a high school junior about the things she thought to be cringy. She presented me with a long list of things that included Victoria’s Secret pajama sets, cussing, fake smiling, smiling too much, young boys and girls, people filming TikTok vlogs, people who think of themselves as nice, old people acting young, etc. This was overwhelmingly long compared to what I had heard from older interviewees. It wouldn’t be right to say that maturity is what causes university students to be more accepting than high school students and vice versa because one summer isn’t that long of a period to allow students to undergo such great change. However, being surrounded by new people and tasks does leave much less space for judgment since new worries take up that space. This might be why people eventually reduce the strength of emotions they associate with second-hand embarrassment and cringing. Source: Melissa Çevikel, 2025. Another factor, however, in why today's young adults cringe less compared to high school students can be tied to the pandemic. The quarantine was a time when social media flourished—not necessarily for the best—and everyone was suddenly very involved with sharing their interests online and trying new things. As people began to share their interests, the already existing, yet not crowded, online communities began to grow, with people who would’ve been too ashamed to partake in these interests in real life joining them. This created safe spaces—similar to those I mentioned that occurred in universities—hence why this generation of young adults was able to experience such acceptance much earlier. Lastly, it's important to think about where the line between judgment and cringing is drawn. While cringing at something is a very human response, what it triggers in turn must be reconsidered. There lies a very thin line between borderline bullying and expressing how you find something cringe, and that negativity is quite unnecessary in our day-to-day lives. As we transition into newer phases and slowly mature, we gradually come to realize that nothing truly is that deep, and that this passage prepares us for adulthood. Unfortunately, adulthood is full of tasks and errands, leaving us with little to no time to critically analyze others’ actions enough to cringe at them. Maybe in 50 years me and cringing will meet again at sunset as I watch my grandchildren film music videos for random rap songs…but for now we have parted our ways as I’ve grown up.

You can love them; you can hate them; you can claim that you’re above them and so much better than others for not enjoying them. But, in reality, we all have things to learn from Reality TV. The way we choose to portray our “realities” to the world, and more specifically to the West, tells a lot about the extent to which countries stand with our values. < Back The Real Eastern Question: Reality TV and Soap Operas Melissa Çevikel November 30, 2024 As a reality show fan, I often find myself questioning why I, and many others, who seemingly had nothing to do with these, were so invested in white Americans searching for love on low-production online television platforms. But, after my recent discovery of “Love is Blind Habibi,” I was able to look at reality television from a completely new perspective. “Love is Blind Habibi” is a self-proclaimed “social experiment” reality show where a total of twenty participants (ten men and ten women) communicate with each other inside “pods”—rooms with walls separating the two participants from each other—until they eventually decide to take the next step and get married. The participants have ten days in the pods to choose the person they wish to marry, and around three weeks until their marriage ceremony to split between a “honeymoon retreat” and their actual lives. Up to this point, there is nothing differentiating Love is Blind Habibi from any of its other adaptations around the world,such as Sweden, UK, Brazil and Japan. However, beyond the technical aspects of the work, there are things as simple as the mannerisms of the participants and the hosts that make the viewer feel captivated. The show presents participants—or actors—from all around the Arab world that live seemingly similar lives but each possess very different characteristics. For example, there is the character of Simo, who is a retail business owner, and can only marry a Moroccan woman, later dumps his match because he believes she can’t handle him. There is also Chafic, an entrepreneur who proudly stated in an interview, “I've been single because I was too focused on looks, but looks fade and personality stays ” yet realized that his second option from the pods was an Instagram model he once hit up. He then introduced the viewer to a stereotypical model of Middle Eastern men that is funny yet familiar to ordinary people in their day-to-day lives. While Love is Blind Habibi possesses the element of relatability that no other Love is Blind had arguably captured before, with mothers and aunties giving advice being a key point in the show progression, it also made me wonder (as someone who grew up at the prime of Turkish reality shows) if all Middle Eastern show adaptations were as successful at getting the same feeling across, or if most just felt forced and phony? One of the first very unsuccessful—and henceforth generally unknown—attempts of adaptations that came to mind was Turkey’s recent take this summer on “Love Island,” named (and directly translated to) “Aşk Adası.” At first glance, Aşk Adası may seem like just a very low-budget reality show filmed at a villa which is being framed as a luxury island gateway retreat. But upon closer inspection, the viewers can come to realize that the show is much more than that. If one can get past how bad the production truly is, the first thing any experienced Middle Eastern reality media enjoyer will notice is how oddly everyone is dressed in comparison to the location where the show is filmed, where the actors are dressed in clothes that would not be found in a piece of Turkish media especially under the censorship of RTÜK, which will be discussed later. Compared to Aşk Adası, Love is Blind Habibi has nothing to prove to the world. It lays out before the viewers eyes the naked reality of toxic masculinity, conservatism and family ties in the Middle East. Aşk Adası, on the other hand, seems like a very forced portrayal of Turks as— surely in the eyes of the producer—modern and European. Every ten minutes or so, the viewer is faced with a very forced “sexual tension” scene, which is most likely as difficult to watch for the viewer as it is to act, as the actors look very uncomfortable throughout the entire show. However, forceful over-sexualization and objectification of women in the show are not new to Western media, and the Turkish media has not shied away from this either. While these aspects are also the main catchpoints of popular U.S shows such as “Too Hot to Handle” and “Perfect Match,” the fact that they’re higher production and that they’re owning up to this reality distracts viewers from its flaws. Though Turkey’s attempt to move away from its conservative connotation is noticeable, doing this through oversexualization of women disregards the long history of women’s rights movements in the country, especially when looked in the context of the country's recent struggles on the topic. Not to mention these attempts will not prove to be successful as long as there remains a very strict inspecting body for Turkish media (RTÜK). An example of a good Turkish reality show, however, would be “Kısmetse Olur” (2015) which translates to “If it’s Fate, it will Happen.” While I’m not sure if it was because of itsmid-2010s production or the randomness of its cast selection—which ranged from American men posing as machos to women claiming to be “ivent” (a new translation of the word “event” that emerged during the peak of the profession) organizers— there was something that made this show feel excessively Turkish. It was the only reality show which, in my opinion, is qualified to label itself as a “social experiment.” It revealed to the viewers the worlds of early 2010s bachelors and bachelorettes, how they spent their days, and how relatable their simple lives were. In 2022, the show made a comeback with a modern-day adaptation titled “If it’s Fate, it will Happen: The Power of Love” (Kısmetse Olur: Aşkın Gücü), with a first season that didn’t disappoint either. The 2015 version was a reign of personal trainers and event organizers as well as aspiring fashion designers, while the 2022 version showed a range of influencers, singers and entrepreneurs (unemployed). It perfectly portrayed the new generation of bachelor Turks we saw around ourselves and maybe even personally knew, despite being painfully obviously scripted. 2017 marked a very saddening legal decision for reality show enjoyers when marriage programmes were banned in Turkey. This was a rare moment when media censorship, in fact, breeded innovation, and the world got introduced to a very colorful selection of newly produced soap operas. If the West had reality shows and nudity, the East now had one thousand-episode-long plotlines and adaptations where no LGBTQ+ got to see the light of day. Erkenci Kuş, Sen Çal Kapımı and Aşk-ı Memnu are just a few of original soap operas produced around this time. And though cliches were one of the strongest points of these works, there were also many adaptations from Western media such as Grey’s Anatomy (Doktorlar), the O.C (Medcezir), Gossip Girl (Küçük Sırlar) and Desperate Housewives (Umutsuz Ev Kadınları). These received more international attention than they did locally, but were still enjoyed by the Turkish viewers. More recently, screen adaptations of prominent Turkish literature themes from the late 19th and early 20th century novels, such as Westernization versus traditionalism, became a big hit for screenwriters. One of the most viewed Turkish TV series currently, titled “Kızılcık Şerbeti” follows the life of a young woman, Doğa, from a “modern and Western” family who, after becoming pregnant, has to get married to the father of the child, Fatih, coming from a religious and conservative background. The series follows funny and unfortunate events Doğa has to face living in a new environment and her culture shock. Despite how simple and uneventful it sounds, this is arguably the most progressive piece of media recently created in Turkey and it still seems unbelievable that it is able to air despite its scandalous and caricature-like portrayal of such topics in the country. Though these might be helpful in encouraging everyone to take a step back and realize how silly such differences are, many pieces of media aiming to achieve what Kızılcık Şerbeti has done were criticized for promoting abuse culture. Unfortunately, abuse and violence are staple plotlines in soap operas, and despite popular belief that they aid in raising awareness, they counterproductively normalize cycles of marital abuse often lived out in Turkish households. You can love them; you can hate them; you can claim that you’re above them and so much better than others for not enjoying them. But, in reality, we all have things to learn from Reality TV. The way we choose to portray our “realities” to the world, and more specifically to the West, tells a lot about the extent to which countries stand with our values. Love is Blind Habibi showed that one does not have to appeal to Eurocentric values to be enjoyed by viewers outside of Arab states. Turkish adaptations of Western soap operas, on the other hand, showed where they chose to draw the line with Westernization.