Globally, more than 100 million people live outside the country of their birth, a number that is still growing. At the same time, Europe is building a wall around itself and internal tensions are increasing.
It is against this background that, over the past year, the Prince Claus Fund has been highlighting the positive aspects of migration and asylum. This special issue builds on this, containing as it does comments by Anil Ramdas, Shahidul Alam and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor on the meeting of cultures and on being a migrant, as well as a number of articles that focus on the relationship between art and migration. Shahidul Alam photographed Bangladeshi migrants in their new homes all over the world.

The Pursuit of Happiness; on being a migrant With apologies to migration theorists, when I visualize an immigrant I see an ungulate, a wildebeast or gnu furioushly dashing across the Mara river... Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor about migrants. >>> Awaiting the New Saviour Shahidul Alam awaits a new saviour and looks among migrants. >>> The nomads of our time: the Roma People How do Roma youngsters feel about their identify? What is their outlook on life? What are their concerns and their ambitions? During a video workshop held in Romania last September they were given the opportunity to express themselves. Roma youngsters from various Eastern European countries made 60-second videos about themselves.. >>> Filmmakers shocked by murder of Van Gogh On Tuesday morning 2 November 2004, Dutch director Theo van Gogh paid for his continual strong criticism of Islam with his life. He was ‘ritually’ murdered by a Muslim fundamentalist. Ever since, the film world both inside and outside the Netherlands has been in a state of confusion, wondering: where do we go from here? >>>

Give them back the zero A call against a distinction between civilisations Maths lessons by Anil Ramdas. >>> Freedom Means Having to Compromise Visual artist Inti Hernandez (Cuba) came to the Netherlands one year ago. What is his perspective on the Netherlands and how does his situation, in between different cultures, influence his works of art? >>> 'Cultural diversity is actually something positive’ What are the benefits of a multicultural society? In this time of political polarisation, is it still possible to say something positive about this sensitive topic? The Prince Claus Fund believes that it is possible, which is why it organised a forum on 2 December 2004, whose audience was enthusiastic, united and international. That evening, the key word was ‘respect’. >>> The Bidesia Folk Tradition Starting this January, the initial phase of the research project Bidesia on Hindustani migration history and culture focuses on migration memory and stories of Hindustani people in Northern India, Surinam and the Netherlands. >>>