Read all posts for ‘Central and Eastern Europe’

More than 20 years after the fall of the communist regime, much of Hungarian society is highly disillusioned with capitalism which once held out such a glowing promise of prosperity for all. The transition from a planned economy to Western style globalised free markets has brought some winners but they […]

Although Germany is one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world, the financial and economic situation of women in Germany is not the best when compared to that of women in other Western countries. This disparity is especially striking when you consider Germany’s political leadership, headed as […]

This article was written in collaboration with my fellow FutureChallenges author Anikó Mészáros who was of great help in finding the interviewees for this piece. As mobility has increased in Europe, women from poor social backgrounds in Central Europe have hit the road to find the work in Western Europe  […]

  Valentyna is in her 70s. She sells used books on the street right under an old rusty fence. I come closer and pick up an extremely old copy of Boccaccio’s “Decameron”. She doesn’t mind a bit of a chat with me and says that she has been in this […]

There is one very striking difference between traveling through villages in Hungary and Bavaria, Germany. In Bavaria, almost all the rooftops are covered by solar panels; in Hungarian villages none are. At first glance it would seem that Germany has found its way to clean, sustainable energy. However, this view […]