close up 2018

For several years, natural signs of life have been observed once again in one of the world’s filthiest rivers. The nature conservation organisation has now been awarded a prize. A German journalist visits the Pasig River.

Filipino Broadway star Lea Salonga tweeted recently that she can't really take any TV hospital show seriously unless there's a cache of Filipino nurses on staff. This rings true, as so many healthcare facilities all over the world have Filipino nurses taking good care of the patients. Germany, with its aging population, is no exception.

In Germany, they’re unknowns, but in the Philippines they’re stars: The Ott brothers are shooting the national football team of the Southeast Asian country far ahead.

When you come to any home in the Philippines, the first question they will ask you is, “have you eaten?” That is the traditional way for Filipinos to welcome their guests. It is considered bad manners to not offer their guests a beverage and something to eat as soon as they settle down.

German “Potterheads” are in for a treat as they get another chance to visit the Harry Potter exhibit that is happening at Calligari Halle in Potsdam Germany starting October 13, 2018. Here, fans can get the chance to experience the magic that the bestselling book and the blockbuster movie can offer.

In Munich, it’s lederhosen and parades. In Manila, it’s t-shirts and rock concerts. Whatever the form of entertainment, however, what ties the two Oktoberfest events together is a love of beer.

In the Philippine setting, graffiti is still traditionally seen as vandalism, where public property is defaced by random scribbles written by juvenile delinquents or, by protesters writing their political slogans. There are already some instances where companies hire artists to create murals on their buildings’ walls and the walkways of Makati City feature different artistic styles, but graffiti as street art is still a small movement in the country.

The story of Hamburg's FC St. Pauli is unlike any other football club. The 2. Bundesliga club's ethos and logos extend beyond the German quarter; most influential within the global punk subculture. Close-Up Journalist Ali Johan wandered around the St. Pauli neighbourhood to chat with two lifelong fans of the club about its worldwide appeal, the shared ideals of the fans which also include a personal anecdote from a FCSP fan about Malaysia's punk establishment Rumah Api.

Night School presenter Ahmad Fuad Rahmat has a light chat this week with German journalist Cora Knoblauch on the ironies of globalisation. With so much of the world levelled to become 'similar' how do we envision 'difference' and 'uniqueness' that do not fall into the trappings of reactionary politics? What other models of modernity are there other than the European one?

George Town on the Malaysian island of Penang is a tourist magnet. Thanks to Instagram, the 3-D street art in the city by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic is famous. But not all artists are happy about it.

Radioeins reporter Cora Knoblauch is spending the month of October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What’s she doing there? For the Goethe-Institut’s Close-Up journalists’ exchange programme, she is the guest of the Malaysian radio station BFM 89.9, which will be sending radioeins a colleague in November in return.

BFM presenter Kam Raslan invites two guests each week to talk about the wonders of world culture. Each guest presents a self-chosen topic. This week at BFM: a special guest from Berlin, Germany; journalist Cora Knoblauch who is in town as part of the Goethe Institut's "Close-Up" journalist exchange.

Yangon’s tiny Jewish community recently hosted a special group of foreign visitors hoping to learn more about their family histories.

Hans-Bernd Zöllner, one of the leading researchers on Myanmar, warns that a lack of knowledge stands in the way of real progress in the Rohingya crisis.