Issues

Rukhshana Media: A female-led news website that reports on women’s lives under the Taliban

The London headquarters of Rukhshana Media is intentionally nondescript. From this secret location, the news website is informing readers about what life is like for Afghan women under Taliban rule. “I grew up in a country where, right now, being a woman is a crime,” founder Zahra Joya (pictured) tells Monocle. “And being an independent journalist? That is double the crime.” On a drizzly winter afternoon, the scene feels a long way from Kabul, where Joya went to university and began working as a journalist during the US occupation. Despite her family’s wishes that she become a lawyer, Joya founded Rukhshana Media (named after a teenager who was stoned to death having been accused of adultery) in 2020, just a year before the Taliban returned to power. Fearing for her life, Joya accepted an invitation from the British Embassy to settle in the UK.

In London, Joya directs a team of some 20 staffers, including 10 journalists, the majority of whom are female, reporting secretly from inside Afghanistan. The news website features stories about how badly women are treated in Afghanistan but also on the more positive ways in which they have organised to resist what Joya calls “a gender apartheid”. There are pieces about the teacher who broadcasts lessons to young girls via Youtube, a girl who helps her peers apply for scholarships abroad and a group of women who gather at unsociable hours to exercise outdoors (the religious police will often disperse women from public spaces).

Joya’s team operates under the threat of severe punishment and even death. In March 2023, three teenage Afghan girls were killed while working for a broadcaster in Jalalabad. Their struggle is part of a wider assault on press freedom. The number of journalists fleeing persecution has escalated worldwide: the Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded a 227 per cent increase in the number of exiled journalists over the past three years. This comes at a time when disinformation on social media, growing political polarisation and the rise of populism has led to widespread distrust in the media. The most obvious example is in the US, a country in which freedom of speech is constitutionally enshrined and where more than half of the population now believes that the national media is lying to them. Whether you lay the blame for this on failing news agencies or disillusioned consumers, Joya’s story is a reminder of the power of journalism and why the profession needs protecting.

Joya’s fearless crusade against gender discrimination began in 1996 at the age of five, when she dressed up as a boy and called herself Mohammed so that she could continue her schooling despite the Taliban ban on female education. “When I see so much injustice around me, [I think that] you have to do something, you must tell the story, you must criticise, you must take a picture,” she says. When asked about the state of journalism in the UK, she says that there is no comparison to the risks reporters face in Afghanistan. “You have no idea when you leave your house in the morning whether you will be coming back home at night,” she says. “You must say goodbye to your family, you must hug your mum and your dad and the person you love.” 

All good journalists, she believes, have one thing in common: the urge to tell the truth. This core principle can get lost in the noisy media landscape but journalists such as Joya continue to risk their lives in the service of it. “Journalism is not a job; it’s a responsibility,” she says as our conversation comes to an end. “We should all take it seriously.”

monocle.livement: It’s easy to become jaded by media that often treats news as entertainment. But a free press is a privilege. Support independent journalists in parts of the world where careers – and lives – are under threat.

The design agenda: The subtle art of London studio Jonathan Tuckey Design and the Sharjah Architecture Triennial

Secret space
Many people who pass the work of Jonathan Tuckey Design (JTD) may never guess as much. The London-based architecture and design studio’s projects are defined by subtle renovations and conversions. Case in point is Urban Barn, a home combining a garage, workshop and existing house into one residence. The project, on an unassuming terraced grove in west London, is part of JTD’s efforts to reimagine housing in the capital. Here the focus has been on creating privacy for the owners – and expressing something of their character through an intriguing sequence of rooms.

“We wanted each of the spaces to reveal something new about them,” says Jonathan Tuckey, founder of JTD. “We thought about it like one of those grand country homes that were built with an enormous number of rooms. As you get to know the owner better, you are led deeper and deeper into their home.” Appearing as three homes from the outside, the building is defined by exterior features including a porch and a cloister. Tuckey cites industrial spaces as inspiration, alongside garrets from the tops of castles and tiny chapels. “Throughout the project, there was a sense of the building being a collage of different spaces that had evolved over a long period of time.”

As much a place to entertain, Urban Barn is a space for residents to retreat. “There is a hideaway in the mini library,” says Tuckey. “But that space also offers a view down the long gallery that can take you from one end of the house to the other.” The end product is a maze of a home, hidden behind the façade of ordinary terraced housing – a prime example of how generous residences can be created without destroying the look and feel of a neighbourhood.
jonathantuckey.com

On design
Nic monisse on: Sharjah Architecture Triennale

The second edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, a platform for design in Asia and Africa, is in full swing. Curated by Lagos-based architect Tosin Oshinowo, it examines how a culture of reuse and reappropriation in the Global South can help to deliver more sustainable and resilient buildings across the world. The projects on show are impressive – and so is the setting of the event.

The triennial is spread across several repurposed buildings in Sharjah. Al Qasimiyah School was designed in the 1970s and decommissioned in the 2010s; it’s now the event’s headquarters and main exhibition space. The abandoned Al Jubail Fruit & Vegetable Market, from the same era, is hosting exhibitions in its shady arcade. In the Old Slaughterhouse nearby, you’ll find a showcase by Nairobi-based architecture firm Cave Bureau. All these structures were made using locally sourced materials and maintain a cool temperature. They were largely forgotten, unable to compete with the city’s shiny, newer buildings that rely on glass, steel and air-conditioning to function.

The decision to give them a new lease of life reinforces the aim of the event. “We want you to ask questions about how we design, build and reduce our carbon footprint,” says Oshinowo when she takes Monocle on a tour of Al Qasimiyah School. Looking back at simpler solutions from the past is sometimes the best way to build a better future. Visit the Sharjah Architecture Triennial before it wraps up in March 2024 and see for yourself.

For more design and architecture analysis, subscribe to the Monocle Minute On Design.

Architecture: USA
Culture swap

The American Midwest has strong links with the Nordics: about three million Scandinavians immigrated to the region between 1825 and 1925. It’s a heritage that is celebrated in the small town of Decorah, Iowa, at the campus of cultural institution Vesterheim, which Norwegian-American studio Snøhetta is gradually overhauling.

First opening as a museum dedicated to Norwegian-American history in 1877, the architects were tapped to develop a masterplan for Vesterheim (which means “western home” in Norwegian) in 2019. The first fruits of their labour appeared in late 2023 with the opening of a new building called The Commons. The large structure is a fresh entry point and community space for the campus, which contains a museum and folk-art school. In addition to providing a central gathering space for the cultural institution, it will also serve to visually link Vesterheim with the town’s main thoroughfare, thanks to its striking wooden-canopied conservatory. “The canopy projects out over the sidewalk, evoking some of the geometry and profiles of traditional Norwegian sailing vessels,” says Chad Carpenter, the project’s lead architect.

In addition to paying tribute to Nordic heritage, American-built traditions are also incorporated into the project, with the exterior masonry locally sourced from the Iowan town of Adel, the brickworks of which date to the 1880s. The outcome is a building that is, according to Carpenter, simple and robust, welcoming, warm and light-filled. “They’re all values that can be found in both American and Norwegian design,” he says. 
snohetta.com

Events: Global
Save the dates

The first few months of the calendar year are action-packed for creatives and design-enthusiasts, with a host of events, exhibitions, fairs and trade shows. Here’s Monocle’s pick of the bunch.

Stockholm Furniture Fair
Starting on 6 February, this is Scandinavia’s trade fair of choice. The region’s top brands will show their contract and residential furniture.

Design Doha
The first edition of Design Doha, which begins on 24 February, will include exhibitions on weaving and architecture, and a coaching programme for designers.

Milan Design Week
The world’s biggest design event takes place from 16 to 21 April. EuroCucina, a section of the trade fair dedicated to kitchens is slated for 2024.

NYC3Design
The icff, WantedDesign and Lightfair take place during the annual festival, from 16 to 23 May. Expect everything from large contract works to collectible pieces.

Orgatec Tokyo
Pick up tips on materials, lighting and fit-outs for offices at this event, which takes place from 29 to 31 May.

Design: Portugal
The right path

Escadinhas Footpaths is a colourful network of pedestrian walkways in Porto’s seaside municipality of Matosinhos, which links the neighbourhood of Monte Xisto to the banks of the River Leça. Designed by Portuguese architect Paulo Moreira, the project was, in late 2023, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award – a EU-backed prize for contemporary architecture that recognises works of conceptual, social and cultural excellence.

Moreira’s intervention involved the rehabilitation of existing stepped footpaths through repairing of handrails, the addition of new benches and a simple lick of paint. Repairs were made to the riverbank too and the Porto-based architect also opened up a new web of footpaths that carve their way through a ruin on the neighbourhood’s outskirts, transforming the dilapidated site into a vibrant yet calm spot for locals.

The project was made possible thanks to the Portuguese government’s Healthy Neighbourhood Programme which, in 2020, set aside €10m for community building initiatives. Moreira was able to request funds without prompting from private investors. “As an architect, I’m always looking for ways to contribute to improving invisible areas,” he says. “I am curious about the strangeness of these spaces and how they could become something more.” 
paulomoreira.net

The culture agenda: A conversation with Naomi Klein and a research project that’s sniffing out European heritage

Community: Morocco
Center of excellence

Hicham Bouzid spent two years searching for the perfect premises to house the new headquarters for Think Tanger. Having co-founded the non-profit cultural agency in 2016, he had since been running it from a former fish market in downtown Tangier, organising artist residencies within the space alongside a programme of talks and workshops for the community.

When the organisation and its ever-expanding programme of cultural activities began outgrowing the site, Bouzid made it his mission to find a new, larger centre of operations. He eventually stumbled on an empty café, which once housed the city’s first chess club, in Tangier’s Spanish quarter and set about renovating it: laying a new terrazzo floor and installing custom-made tiles, bookshelves and wooden furnishings.

The work took Bouzid and his team about a year and there were various pre-launch parties and events before it officially opened to the public in 2023. Known as Kiosk, it houses workspaces for the Think Tanger team as well as providing a meeting point for all their outreach work by hosting all manner of talks, workshops and screenings. “Now we have somewhere we can invite urban planners, artists, architects and researchers to give talks about cities to our community,” says Bouzid.  

Bouzid is currently putting together the 2024 programme, which he says will have an increased focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and urbanism. “We’ve invited various people from the tech world to discuss the dynamic between AI and cities, and how we can work with it.”

Think Tanger also produces small, risograph-printed publications in collaboration with visiting cultural practitioners, as well as its own annual magazine, Makan. All are on sale at the space’s bookshop. “Alongside our own publications, we stock books and magazines from small, independent publishers, mostly from within the mena [Middle East and North Africa] region,” says Bouzid. “The topics they cover are basically all an extension of what we do at Think Tanger, discussing subjects such as art, architecture, urbanism, decolonisation and graphic design.” Titles are available in a mix of Arabic, French and English; visitors are encouraged to use the space as a reading room as well as a shop.

What’s most important to Bouzid is that Kiosk remains accessible to people from a cross-section of generations and backgrounds. “One of the things I’m most proud of is how we’ve become a melting pot of so many different communities,” he says. “It’s a rare thing here. We’ve managed to achieve this because we’ve been working for several years with people in areas of the city that don’t generally have much access to arts and culture. So they’re already aware of us and what we’re doing.” 

With the launch of an on-site café later in the year, Bouzid hopes that Kiosk will be able to draw even more of the community. “We’re still a small team, so we’re moving in baby steps,” he says. “But we already have a beautiful counter ready to serve visitors. We’re excited to start putting it to good use.”

Books: Canada
Q&A
Naomi Klein
Author and activist

Award-winning Canadian author, activist and filmmaker Naomi Klein’s latest book, Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World, is out now, published by Penguin. It’s a thoughtful and funny exploration of duality that also tackles the rise of conspiracy theories and far-right views.

What is a doppelganger and who is yours?
It’s the idea that there is another “you” walking around somewhere. My experience of having a doppelganger relates to other people perennially mixing me up with [conspiracy theorist] Naomi Wolf.

So what made you think about confronting your own reflection?
It’s a funny thing when you have a doppelganger who’s nothing like you; to have this shadow that’s not in your control. She [Wolf] was writing about her orgasms and was, let’s say, “a little looser” with her sources. Then she was at the vanguard of coronavirus conspiracies. That’s when I lost all control. I was hurt, I felt, “What have I spent my life doing creating this sort of self that can just disappear through the actions of someone else?”

What did you do?
I wrote Doppelganger to take control of my own life and try to make some sense of it.

For the full interview, listen to episode 409 of ‘Meet the Writers’ on Monocle Radio. 

History: Amsterdam
Raising a stink

The Odeuropa research project has encouraged Europe’s art institutions to add an olfactory element to their displays. Julia Webster Ayuso picks up the scent.

“Does this capture ‘hell’ for you?” asks art historian Sofia Collette Ehrich, as she hands out finger-pump diffusers to participants in the Trippenhuis, home of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam. We tentatively raise the devices, which emit an unpleasant, smoky odour of indole and skatole (both faecal scents). The reaction among attendees – students, academics and museum curators – is almost unanimously of disgust. “That’s hell,” confirms one woman.

Between 2021 and 2023, Ehrich and an international team of researchers explored past and present scents as part of the €2.8m Odeuropa project. Researchers and academics used artificial intelligence to comb through thousands of images and texts from 1600 to 1920 in order to pick up references to smells and build a digital library of European odours, the Encyclopedia of Smell History and Heritage, which is publicly available online.

Once catalogued, some scents were preserved or recreated, encouraging curators to incorporate odours in museum exhibitions, making visits more immersive. The scent of hell – a “fantastical” representation of what the underworld was thought to have smelled like – was designed to accompany “Christ in Limbo”, a 1549 oil painting by Martin Schaffner at the Museum Ulm. “Fundamentally, what a lot of people want to know when they’re interested in history is what it was like to be there – what it was like to be in the past,” says William Tullett, a lecturer in early modern history at the University of York, who is at the forefront of the encyclopedia project. “Smell is a critical component of that.” He has studied the significance of fragrances such as tea, frankincense and tobacco in European history, and says that our entire approach to smell has changed over time.

Since the 19th century, says Tullett, the museum experience has become predominantly visual. Most exhibitions involve looking at objects in galleries or reading texts and we are told to speak quietly and not touch, let alone sniff, anything. But this hasn’t always been the case. “In the 17th century, in the first museums, which were largely private collections, people would pick stuff up and taste it,” he says. Though the fact that historical objects are now more protected is largely a good thing, reintroducing smell into museums could open up all kinds of possibilities, helping us to better understand the past and lure a different kind of visitor. “Scent is a great draw for an exhibition because you have to be physically there to experience it,” says scent designer and olfactory curator Tasha Marks, the founder of AVM Curiosities who has spent more than 10 years creating scents and promoting their unique role for cultural institutions such as the V&A. For a recent exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands, she recreated the smell of the East End’s commercial past, using interviews with dockworkers and research about the olfactory landscape of the Thames. “Scent allows a layer of interaction that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise,” she says. “It’s a great way to break down boundaries.”

In the hierarchy of the senses, smell has always been at the bottom of the list. Studies have shown that even our language reflects this: while we are used to describing images and sounds, when it comes to smell, our vocabulary is more limited. As a result, smells are not part of our cultural heritage, which is something that the Odeuropa project could help to change. In recent years, museums have opened up to experimenting with smells, and exhibitions including olfactory experiences have been hugely successful. In 2022, in an attempt to raise interest in part of its permanent collection, Madrid’s Prado Museum commissioned Spanish fashion and fragrance house Puig to create a series of scents to accompany “The Sense of Smell” by Jan Brueghel and Rubens, a painting that depicts more than 80 species of plants and flowers. The museum expected the exhibition to bring in about 100 people per day but after three months it was attracting more than 1,000. Whereas visitors who don’t know about the history of art might find it difficult to immerse themselves in a painting, smells are often more accessible because they are more dependent on personal experience. “With smell, there’s no wrong answer, so it’s quite liberating,” says Marks. “There’s no pressure to be correct; there’s only pressure to engage – and that’s very positive.”

The business agenda: A course correction for Berlin Brandenburg Airport and rethinking men’s skincare

Aviation: Germany
Better late than never

For years, the safest conversation starter in Germany’s capital has been to commiserate about Berlin Brandenburg Airport. There’s plenty to talk about: you can kick off by mentioning the hour-long security queues, ease into lamenting the shoddy public-transport connections and the illogical signage, and then spend the rest of the time marvelling at the epic quagmire that led the airport to start operating 9 years behind schedule. Aletta von Massenbach (pictured) took on one of the least enviable jobs in town when she stepped in as the airport’s CEO in 2021, a year after its opening. “If you didn’t have a clue how to make it better, it would have been overwhelming,” she says from a boxy conference room overlooking Terminal 1. “We had a plan.”

The efforts of Von Massenbach, who has experience managing many airports around the world (and is the first woman to lead a major one in Germany), are gradually becoming tangible to travellers. In an official ceremony in October, the federal police relinquished its responsibility for operating security control and the lanes are being redesigned and updated with state-of-the-art X-ray machines. While Berlin lags behind hubs such as Munich and Frankfurt, new flight routes are being added to the schedule at a fast clip.

Another urgent task has been to boost staff morale. “Normally, people are very proud to say they work in aviation,” says Von Massenbach. “Our employees didn’t even dare say where they were working.”

But no amount of management wizardry is likely to quench the criticism of Berliners. Many nostalgists are happy to wax on for hours about Tegel, the city’s decommissioned 1970s airport and view its replacement as an avatar for everything that is going wrong in the country. “It was for far too long a not very good example of Germany’s capability to manage big projects,” says Von Massenbach. “I don’t take it personally.” The CEO’s phlegmatic attitude appears to have paid off. After years of failure, things at Brandenburg seem to finally be looking up.

The Entrepreneurs
Laura Kramer on: Rethinking men’s skincare

New year brings with it personal-transformation resolutions, with renewed gym memberships and promises to cut down on apéro topping the list. But health doesn’t stop at losing kilos; the biggest organ of the body is often overlooked. Dutch founder Gregor Jaspers is on a mission to change that with The Grey, his luxury men’s skincare line that he launched in 2018.

The idea came on a work trip to Milan Fashion Week when Jaspers realised that there was a gap in the market for a compact men’s skincare line, which matched his need for efficient products that would fit into his small suitcase. “I was a buyer for a department store in the Netherlands and travelling extensively. I looked at my cluttered wash bag filled with women’s, unisex and men’s products, some packed in golden jars with massive lids and only 50ml of eye cream in them.” He realised that there wasn’t a tailored solution for men who wanted high-performance products without the frills. “I felt neglected and ignored as a male consumer.”

This sparked his desire to create a line blending the efficacy of luxury skincare with simplicity and convenience for a straightforward routine. “I asked the developers at the laboratory to make a single product containing all of the different moisturisers I’m using for the day, night and eyes. That became our three-in-one face cream and it’s an absolute best seller, a pillar of the brand.”

Today, The Grey offers products featuring botanical and active ingredients, with formulas that quickly absorb into the skin and don’t adhere to facial hair. “We get messages from clients who have skin issues so we developed the Comfort+ cream especially for them. And we get the most emotional emails from guys whose skin we fixed. So that’s why we do it.”

It’s since expanded offerings from men’s grooming products to an SPF cream that took three years to develop, supplements and teas that promise to nurture skin from the inside out. “Men should take care of themselves in every aspect of their life,” says Jaspers. “And I think telling that story all over the world is what makes me eager to go to the office every morning.” 
thegreymensskincare.com

To hear more from inspiring business folk, tune into our weekly radio show, ‘The Entrepreneurs’, at monocle.live/radio

Aviation: USA
Two of a kind

The largest passenger air carriers in two of the more remote corners of the US are planning to merge in a landmark deal announced in December. Alaska Airlines, which was founded in Anchorage in 1932 and is headquartered in Seattle, intends to buy Hawaiian Holdings, the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, for $1.9bn (€1.76bn).

The importance of each airline runs deep in their respective states, given that the regions have been more reliant on air travel than the rest of continental US – the only way to navigate the Hawaiian archipelago before the airline’s launch in 1929 was via steamship. The deal, therefore, feels like a good fit. 

Alaska Airlines is the fifth-largest carrier in the US and this is an opportunity for it to expand its reach beyond routes along the North American west coast, as well as across Alaska’s remoter regions. The combined carrier will grow Alaska Airlines’ fleet to 365 aircraft and will transform Honolulu into a major air hub, thanks to Hawaiian Airlines’ connections with both the US west coast and the Asia-Pacific region, including its longstanding routes to cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Auckland and Sydney.

If the deal is greenlit by US regulators, who are expected to rule on whether the deal aligns with US monopoly regulations in the first quarter of 2024, it will create a major new competitor in US aviation, which has recovered robustly from the turbulence caused by the pandemic.

Importantly, however, Alaska’s proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings will see each airline retain its individuality and branding, meaning that the two legacy airlines will continue to fly the flag for their respective regions, much like they have done for close to a century.

Hospitality: Global
Q&A
Mark Willis
CEO, Fairmont

Few international hotel brands can match the often castle-like properties of Fairmont, which first flung open its doors in San Francisco in 1907. CEO Mark Willis tells Monocle about Fairmont’s extensive expansion plans and explains why, shortly after taking up his post, he moved its global HQ from Paris to Dubai.

You moved Fairmont’s global HQ to Dubai. Why?
Globally, Dubai is a very central location. We have hotels all over the world; we have owners all over the world who we need to interact with in person. We have about 30 hotels opening in the next 36 months. It’s a great hub do that from. We’re also able to recruit great talent here. 

Where will Fairmont’s newer outposts open in the next three years? 
We’ve been careful with where and how we grow the brand. Among the portfolio that’s due to open are Geneva and Prague, which are full renovations, and an amazing new 500-room hotel in Bangkok. We have an opportunity to grow in new locations – Miami and Las Vegas in the US; Paris and Berlin in Europe; and Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and other destinations in the Middle East. 

What is one aspect of the hotel sector where you see opportunities for growth? 
We are actively looking at how to retain the best members of our teams and how people can work in different ways to make the roles stimulating and to offer opportunities to grow. It’s a wonderful industry. We need to encourage younger team members to come in and work within it.
fairmont.com

Architecture: Japan
History reimagined

Fed up with seeing old homes being demolished in Japan, Tomohiro Fujii, a Central Saint Martins graduate, decided to take action. Together with consultant Shori Fuji, he set up Kessaku (“masterpiece” in Japanese), a company that aims to protect historic houses by offering shared ownership.

Fujii’s idea is to offer people the chance to buy a stake in a property from as little as ¥1,000 (€6.40); depending on the amount they put in, co-owners would then be able to stay a certain number of days per year. The properties will be everything from a traditional Japanese house to an architect-designed home from the 1970s and Kessaku will take care of management and maintenance. “There are plenty of people like us who want to look after old buildings but don’t have the time or the resources to take one on by themselves,” he says.

The first property on offer is a wooden house in Nagano from the 1930s (pictured) that belonged to a lacquer craftsman. With nobody to inherit it, there was a danger of it falling into disrepair. “It’s a beautiful house,” says Fujii. “We want to restore it and make it comfortable.” Many owners find that registering a building as a historic property is more trouble than demolition. In Tokyo, where land is more highly valued than buildings, the problem is acute and old houses are disappearing fast. Fujii says that tourism is helping as visitors are keen to stay in historic homes. “There’s a change towards valuing older buildings and we would like Kessaku to be part of that transition.” 
kessaku.casa

The affairs agenda: India’s travel boom continues to reshape global tourism

Tourism: India
Holiday hot spot

India’s outbound and inbound tourism looks set to continue its upward trajectory this year. The country is projected to be the fastest-growing inbound market for many Southeast Asian countries in 2024. And, in return, Indian nationals will be able to travel smoothly in the other direction too: both Thailand and Malaysia dropped short-stay visa requirements late last year, while others, including Vietnam and Indonesia, are reportedly considering a similar waiver.

Also working in New Delhi’s favour is the drop-off in Chinese arrivals to the region. While there is still a way to go to match the numbers that arrived from China before the pandemic, Southeast Asian destinations are already beginning to introduce new direct flights to and from major Indian hubs, such as Bangalore and Mumbai. A McKinsey report, published last November, suggested that India’s outbound travel has the potential to grow to more than 80 million by 2040. These numbers are also strengthened by rising income levels nationwide and a strong economic outlook.

But at the heart of India’s tourism boom is the simple factor of ease. “Decisions are based on visas, frequency of flights and seamless connectivity, plus the choice of hotels and price-point per night,” Paul Charles, CEO of luxury global travel consultancy the PC Agency, tells Monocle. And then there is another important factor: “Whether locals speak English.”

Essentially, the future looks bright. “India’s energetic, young population is definitely on the march,” adds Charles. “Destinations ignore them at their peril.”

The Foreign Desk
Andrew Miller on: Standing alone

“Strategic autonomy” was one of the vogueish buzzwords of 2023 and it needs to be one of the priorities of 2024. This is the idea that Europe – and this is very much Europe the continent, as well as the EU political bloc – should be ready, willing and able to defend itself without relying on the US. Strategic autonomy has become a pet cause of Emmanuel Macron and though his foreign policy has not lacked flights of vainglorious eccentricity, this is not one of them. Europe’s complacency regarding this matter has been, or at least should have been, jolted twice in recent years. First, in 2016, by the election of Donald Trump, a president contemptuous of America’s allies and indifferent to its obligations. Second, in 2022, by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It is far from impossible that by this time next year another Trumpian tantrum by American voters might result in Europe facing both of the above at once: effectively at war to its east and abandoned by its mighty ally to the west.

Europe has complacently allowed the US to pick up a hefty chunk of its defence tab for far too long. There is no reason why the continent should not become what Macron has pitched as a “third superpower”. Though experience suggests that time and energy spent on the idea of a unified EU military is probably time and energy wasted, more can be done to make Europe’s extant forces more self-sufficient and cohesive. Another idea that should become as important as strategic autonomy is interoperability. One cause of Europe’s dependence on American kit is the ease of buying off-the-shelf from the US compared to adapting purchases from the continent’s hotchpotch of competing national defence industries. It has been the great success of the EU that its members are vanishingly unlikely to fight each other again; everything should be geared towards the common threat to the east.

Strategic autonomy will be complicated – and expensive – but embracing it now will be good practice. Macron doubtless has a case when he hints that France is the natural default leader of a strategically autonomous Europe; since Brexit, France is the only country that’s a member of Nato, the EU and the UN Security Council’s permanent five. But it is just three years until voters elect Macron’s successor. There is no guarantee that it won’t be Marine Le Pen, or some other isolationist populist who might be friendlier to Russia and a less reliable ally to its more immediate neighbours. In 2024, Europe needs to start thinking about how to rely less on France as well. 

Andrew Mueller hosts ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. Listen live at monocle.live/radio every Saturday at midday London time or download as a podcast.

Health: Philippines
Plenty to chew over

“Here I am, yummy French fries! I’m so crispy and I smell great,” sing the cartoon chips (write Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy). The transfixed toddler stops wailing; his father is relieved. We’re in the Philippines, where the big story is a public-health emergency. Heart disease is the country’s biggest killer, followed by cancer and diabetes. Life expectancy here is 70, compared with 75 in Malaysia, 74 in Vietnam and 70 in Cambodia, which is twice as poor. The Philippines also has 655 McDonald’s branches (plus 1,186 of domestic rival Jollibee’s) while Vietnam has 20 and Cambodia has none. Many former colonies absorbed their occupier’s cuisine: in the Philippines, America’s legacy is junk food. Five of the world’s top 20 countries for diabetes prevalence are US territories or former colonies. In 2013, American Samoa had the world’s highest rate of diabetes and 93 per cent of the island was obese. 

The US (which, at 76, has a low life expectancy for a high-income country) can’t resist foisting its food on poorer nations. The government spends $2bn (€1.85bn) annually on food aid, including buying and donating excess American crops. But this can undercut local producers. During the Afghanistan War, it is likely that the reluctance to support wheat farmers increased reliance on opium. In Laos, where 60 per cent of land is used for rice, the last thing farmers need is competition. So why does the US send American rice to its Laotian school meals programme? 

As an NGO worker explained, despite an abundance of cheap, familiar, local ingredients, the programme was instructed to use American lentils, which the children, being children, refused to eat. American aid can achieve so much but pushing its cuisine on countries often leaves a bitter taste. 

Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy are journalists and security analysts based in Cambodia.

In the basket
Swelling the ranks

The new pride of the Marinha Portuguesa’s fleet will be the 108-metre-long D Joao II, named after the 15th-century king who oversaw a previous revival of the Iberian nation’s maritime enterprise. To be built by Dutch shipwrights Damen, it looks like an aircraft carrier but isn’t – its flat deck and ramp will launch helicopters and drones. Portugal is emphasising its possibilities for marine surveillance and research but it has more pugnacious capacities if needed. It is similar to, if smaller than, Turkey’s recently commissioned drone-carrier TCG Anadolu. Just as drones serve as budget alternatives to fighter jets, so do drone carriers to aircraft carriers – the most recent aircraft carrier commissioned by a European Nato country, the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales, cost €3.7bn.

In the basket: One drone carrier
Who’s buying: Portugal
Who’s selling: Netherlands
Price: €132m
Delivery date: 2026

Politics: Americas
Boiling over

The peaceful reputation of Latin America and the Caribbean was tested in December when Venezuelans voted to exert their claim on the oil-rich Essequibo territory that comprises two thirds of neighbouring Guyana. The sabre-rattling prompted Brazil to move troops closer to its shared border with the potential belligerents and for the US to hold joint military exercises with Guyana. The Venezuela-Guyana dispute, which dates to 1899, is pending at the International Court of Justice. But despite the region not seeing a major land war since the 19th century, three territorial disputes have been lodged with the court. 

Belize-Guatemala:
Settlers carved out the tropical enclave of British Honduras and harvested wood from the southern half of what is modern-day Belize, which Guatemala claims as its own. At stake? The world’s second largest coral reserve, a major tourism draw.

Colombia-Nicaragua:
The San Andrés archipelago is three times closer to Nicaragua than Colombia but the latter holds sway over the islands, much to the former’s consternation. One of the least visited corners of the Caribbean, the coral islands are a Unesco Biosphere Reserve.

Bolivia-Chile: 
Landlocked Bolivia claims that Chile owes millions of dollars for downstream use of the Silala River. La Paz is still sore that it lost its oceangoing port during the War of the Pacific, which ended in 1884. 

The Agenda: How the Olympics could jeopardise the French capital’s ‘bouquinistes’

Retail: Paris
Final pages

Julia Webster Ayuso on the Olympian threat looming over the iconic booksellers on the banks of the Seine.

“There’s the Louvre, the Passerelle des Arts, the Vert-Galant garden.” Jérôme Callais is pointing to the different monuments he can see from his workplace, a book stall on Paris’s Quai de Conti. “When I finish in the evening, I walk across the Pont Neuf and watch the sunset.” For the past 400 years, booksellers such as Callais have lined the banks of the Seine. They are as intrinsic to Paris as the Eiffel Tower or Notre-Dame but in recent years their existence has come under threat. First there were the gilet jaunes protests and transport strikes disrupting their trade, then came the coronavirus lockdowns that forced them to close. Now they face an existential challenge: citing security concerns, city hall announced in July that the booksellers’ iconic green boxes must be removed in time for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place on the river. The bouquinistes have never left their spot and are worried that they won’t survive the move.

“The authorities are supposed to promote the city and its monuments, and now they want to make one of the biggest symbols of Paris disappear,” says Callais, who is the president of the Cultural Association of Booksellers of Paris. “It makes no sense.” He explains that most of the wooden boxes were set up 50 years ago or more and risk falling apart if moved. The authorities have said that they will pay for the temporary relocation of 50 per cent of the booksellers to a “literary village” in Bastille and offered to replace any damaged boxes. But the bouquinistes don’t think that this is viable and it’s unclear when they will be allowed back – if at all. Callais, who makes no more than a few dozen euros a day from sales, says that depriving the bouquinistes of their place by the Seine could deal a final blow to those who are already struggling. “Nobody does this for the money,” he says. “I would make much more if I stayed at home and sold my books online. But this is a different ethos: you meet people, you share things, you watch the world go by. Sitting in front of a computer, that’s not life for me.” When Monocle visits on a sunny Monday afternoon, an elderly woman stops to reminisce about her youth, a student lingers for a chat about music (Callais had a previous career as a double-bass player) and a book dealer arrives to offer his selection of old editions. Most have heard the news and offer their support.

The bouquinistes have survived previous attempts to ban their practice, including by Baron Haussmann, the architect of modern Paris. Today the 233 sellers don’t pay rent but are assigned a space by local authorities where they can set up five boxes, which they must open at least four days a week (if weather allows). The majority of what they sell must be made up of secondhand books, prints or magazines, though they’re also allowed to sell some souvenirs. Every bouquiniste is a bibliophile and some are specialists. All are a human lifeline in the age of Amazon. 

On the other side of the bridge, Véronique sells mostly comics, and a few steps upstream from her, Gilles Morineaux focuses on rare books. Though most bouquinistes are retirees, young people also see the profession’s appeal. Among them is 19-year-old history student Fanfan Derai, who works as an assistant on Morineaux’s stall, a role known as an ouvre boîtes (“box opener”). “It’s a fantastic profession,” she says. “You meet all kinds of people.” Could she see herself here in the future? “I would like to have a different career first, and then return to the quais,” she says. Hopefully the bouquinistes will still be here.

Julia Webster Ayuso is a journalist and Monocle contributor based in Paris.

Setting the stage: The team behind the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet

Only the top of the iceberg that is the Oslo Opera House can be captured in a photograph: much of it is subterranean. Designed by architecture firm Snøhetta and completed in 2008, this is the workplace of more than 600 permanent staff members, who keep busy rehearsing Petipa pas de deux, belting out Verdi arias, stitching silk-and-sequin dresses and ensuring that the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet’s 300 or so yearly shows run smoothly. The people milling about the building’s public roof terrace, sun-tanning, taking photos and even (when conditions allow) downhill skiing are also important pieces of the puzzle.

“To an extreme degree, it has helped us to build pride,” says Ingrid Lorentzen, former ballerina and one of the artistic directors who lead the institution’s programme. “We’re a young nation when it comes to culture.” The Norwegian Opera was founded in 1959 and was long housed in a modest theatre in the city centre. But everything changed when Snøhetta was commissioned to design a new building and shipped 36,000 pieces of white marble from Carrara to Oslo’s industrial harbour. Since moving in 16 years ago, the company has grown into a world-class institution renowned for a daring repertoire and inclusive attitude.

By welcoming everyone into the building (and on top of it), Oslo Opera House flipped the idea of what such a stereotypically elitist institution can be. That said, even more thought was put into the interior: the oak-panelled main stage has some of the world’s most advanced acoustics and scenography. “All of the artists we get here think big,” says Lorentzen, noting that their workshops build sets that few theatres can match. “We have huge productions that can’t go anywhere else.”

Asked how it feels to stage shows inside one of Norway’s top tourist attractions, Lorentzen recounts a conversation with Kjetil Taedal Thorsen, co-founder of Snøhetta. “He said that the building is nothing without its content,” she says. “Without the theatre, it would be a monument. Monuments are dead. This is a living house.” 

The institution’s three leaders
The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet is led by a trio who oversee its opera, ballet and orchestral departments. Former prima ballerina Ingrid Lorentzen and mezzo soprano Randi Stene will be joined in August by Edward Gardner, a conductor extraordinaire from London who is currently serving as musical advisor. With creative remit over their respective fields of expertise, they work with a 600-strong team to put a show onstage nearly every night of the week.

From the back row to the front, left to right:

1. 
Stella Johanna Rømcke
Front-of-house manager
The marble foyer is Stella’s domain. Her high heels make her easy to spot.

2. 
Magnus Staveland
Soloist, Norwegian National Opera
The tenor grew a moustache for ‘La Traviata’. He’s thinking about keeping it. 

3. 
Edle Stray-Pedersen
Conductor, Children’s Chorus
Her secret to making a choir of five- year-olds sing in tune? “Never give up.”

4. 
Edward Gardner
Musical director
The conductor whisks between the London Philharmonic and the Operaen.

5. 
Knut Breder
Manager, Ballet School
Decides which talented toddler should go to the country’s best ballet school.

6. 
Ingrid Lorentzen
Artistic director, Norwegian National Ballet
Started out at the Operaen as a dancer.

7. 
Helle Sørbye Larsen
Chief producer, Norwegian National Ballet
The ballet teacher-turned-economist has  productions for 2029 now on her desk.

8. 
Meliha Beglerovic
Head of workshops
Trained as an engineer, her job is to find a way to realise directors’ wildest visions.

9. 
Lars Kolstad
Stage manager, producer
Has three decades’ experience giving performers the cue to take their places.

10. 
Kari Ulfsnes Kleiven
Chorist, Norwegian National Opera Chorus
Don’t stand too close when the soprano warms up her higher octaves.

11. 
Catharina Chen
First concertmaster, Opera Orchestra
Catharina plays a Vuillaume and a Stradivarius.

12. 
Yolanda Correa
Principal dancer, Norwegian National Ballet
The Cuban prima ballerina pirouetted her way from Havana to Oslo.

13. 
Jahn Magnus Johansen
Leader of the Norwegian National Ballet 2
Just got back from a tour of Norway scouting for ballet talent.

14. 
Randi Stene
Opera director
Sometimes still takes the stage herself.

15. 
Jane-Eve Straughton
Administrative leader, the Norwegian National Opera
The organisational whizz cut her teeth at the English National Opera.

16. 
Kristina Bell
Head of sewing workshops
The Operaen’s petites mains makes fairy tales come to life.

Iceland’s first lady Eliza Jean Reid continues to champion gender equality

As guests nibbled on Icelandic lamb and sipped Icelandic vodka at a trendy Seattle cocktail bar, an Icelandic DJ spun Nordic tunes. The occasion: a VIP reception for Taste of Iceland, a travelling roadshow that immerses key markets in the country’s food, culture and design. Among the ambassadors? First lady Eliza Jean Reid.

That Canadian-born Reid, who has been married to Icelandic president Guðni Th Jóhannesson since 2004, would become one of Iceland’s soft-power envoys was as unexpected as a Viking ambush. When she met her future husband while they were students at the University Oxford, her knowledge of his homeland was limited. But as their courtship progressed, and with Jóhannesson’s daughter living in his native country, there was a decision to be made. “If we wanted to be together, we had to go to Iceland,” says Reid. When she made the jump across the North Atlantic, she was determined to do so on her own terms. That meant finding a job, making friends and integrating into the community. “I moved to Iceland for him,” she says. “I wanted to stay there for me.”

Learning the Icelandic language was key to Reid’s assimilation. She studied at the University of Iceland in the evenings while working in marketing for a software start-up. After two years of study and years of language immersion drawn from raising a family in Iceland, Reid can now comfortably give television and radio interviews in the language.

She needed those skills in 2016, when in a mere seven weeks her husband went from academic political pundit to president – a ceremonial head-of-state position – thrusting her into the national spotlight. As a foreign-born Icelander, she has raised the immigrant population’s profile in a country stereotyped for its ethnic homogeneity. 

There is no formal role for the first spouse in the Icelandic constitution. But Reid insisted that she would not be “arm candy for my husband”. She only accompanies him to formal occasions, such as the September golden jubilee for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, if there is a dedicated role. “I wanted to confound expectations about female spouses in politics,” she says.

This is why much of her busy travel schedule is for her own agenda. In addition to her tourism promotion with Business Iceland, which runs Taste of Iceland, she is a UN special ambassador for tourism and the sustainable development goals. In 2014 she co-founded the Iceland Writers Retreat, drawn in part from Reykjavík’s status as a Unesco City of Literature. Eight years later, Reid published a book: Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World.

Last year those various hats led her to touch down in Chicago, New York and Berlin in one month alone. “These are ways I can work to enhance Iceland’s presence on the world stage,” she says.

As the subject of her book suggests, Reid is passionate about Iceland’s hard-earned reputation for gender equality. She was pleasantly surprised that no one batted an eyelid when her first employer’s board president breast-fed while chairing a meeting. Women hold leadership roles across society, from the bishop of Iceland to the national police commissioner.

That said, those gains didn’t stop her joining the Women’s Strike in October to ensure that the world’s most gender-equal country doesn’t backslide. She will continue to investigate these themes in her second book, a mystery novel. It will be set in Iceland, of course. And, true to form, it will have a strong female lead. 

The opener: Kyrgyzstan’s flag row, Australia’s seal problem and Italy’s generation strain

The list: Tips for 2024
Word to the wise

Tyler Brûlé on six things that should be on your radar this year.

Just in case this jam-packed issue doesn’t sate your appetite for inspiration, here are a few more things to see, do or buy. 

1. 
If you’re planning to stop off in Lisbon this spring or summer, I recommend an upper-floor suite at the Hotel das Amoreiras. Owner Pedro Oliveira has done a fine job, not only with the lighting but also with the comfy banquettes, which have the perfect backrest angle.

2. 
There’s a good chance that we’ll see you during Salone del Mobile in April. If you’re hesitating because of the hotel prices, why not stay in Lugano and take the train into Milano Centrale? Hotel Gabbani is near the station and affordable. Sign up to our newsletters to keep on top of our events during the fair.

3.
Air France is expected to unveil its new First Class concept soonish. Early sketches suggest that it wants to outdo Lufthansa and Swiss with an evolution of its much-loved four-seat cabin.

4.
Wardrobe looking a bit thin? Try Heschung for footwear, Ripa Ripa for lido essentials, Yindigo AM for boxy cashmere cuts, Tembea for canvas holdalls and Howlin’ for hits of colour.

5. 
If you want a runabout, the Suzuki Ignis is quickly becoming the vastly improved answer to the Fiat Panda.

6. 
French TV’s morning-news wars have resumed. TF1 has launched a crowded, overlit programme to take on France 2’s Télématin and BFMTV’s flagship morning show. If you’re not familiar with France’s take on morning TV, it’s worth a peek. Good Morning America it most certainly isn’t.

Chequered flag

One look at Kyrgyzstan’s rankings in the UN’s Human Development Index or Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index will lead the reader to conclude that the country has bigger issues than the curvature of the rays of the sun depicted on its flag.

Some Kyrgyz lawmakers believe otherwise. They’ve become concerned that the sun, which has adorned their national banner since 1992, looks more like a sunflower. In the Kyrgyz vernacular, “sunflower” is also an insult, which seems like something someone should have noticed at the time.

Kyrgyzstan’s president, Sadyr Japarov, has declared that the wobbly rays are “one of the reasons why this country cannot get off its knees”. It could be argued that Japarov’s own corruption, oppression, nepotism and populist tub-thumping might be more culpable – and that picking a row over the flag is some sort of diversion.

The plan, then, is to straighten the rays, though this might not solve the problem. A subsidiary argument rages about the yurt shown cradled within the sun, which some believe is depicted with insufficient slats in its roof. 

Let sleeping seals lie

Australians grow accustomed to bizarre interactions with unusual wildlife, cohabiting as they do with a menagerie of fauna that’s belligerent and eccentric. Australia is possibly the only country on Earth where a boss will be inclined to believe the employee who claims to be delayed by an enormous seal blocking their driveway.

Exactly this obstacle was recently faced by a citizen of the state of Tasmania, whose vehicle was hemmed in by a 600kg southern elephant seal that had chosen her front yard for a snooze. The seal, christened Neil by poetic locals, has previously accrued his fair share of online fame by sunning himself on beachfront roads.

Another thing that Australians grow accustomed to, if they wish to survive to an appreciable age, is leaving the native creatures alone. Neil’s host would have been doing entirely the right thing if she had taken his arrival as the cue for a day off – or possibly a sign from the universe to go back to bed herself and call it a duvet day.

Reporting from…

Monocle has a network of correspondents in cities around the world. Our brief updates here include news on London’s rising skyline, a pioneering opening in LA and a Japanese airline’s new pet project.

London
Tower surge 

The City of London’s skyline is continuing to sprout glassy new towers. The financial district expects 11 of them to be built by 2030 with interest in office space from technology firms as well as banks. For all the talk of hybrid working, the City is still bucking trends. 

Los Angeles
Open for viewings

A mile-long open-air art museum is due to open this month, with Sankofa Park, designed by Perkins & Will, as its centrepiece. A welcome investment in South Central LA, the project, Destination Crenshaw, is billed as the world’s largest collection of public art by black US artists. 

Tokyo
Air of the dog

Some good news for the Tokyo bureau’s canine contingent: Japanese airline Star Flyer now allows small dogs (and cats) on all domestic flights. Pet tickets cost ¥50,000 (€316) and owners are allowed to sit next to their pooches in the back row.

Slippery slope

If there is one thing everyone knows about Switzerland, it is that everything in the country is superbly maintained and fastidiously clean to the extent that any second-class train carriage could be instantly repurposed as an operating theatre. Startling, then, to learn that some Swiss ski lifts have descended into dishevelment.

Dwindling snow has forced the abandonment of at least 65 such installations. Some have been vandalised, appropriated by squatters or turned into party venues. It seems an affront to Swiss stereotype. Here are three other portents of national decline which the cantons concerned would do well to watch.

1
German cars
It would grievously damage Germany’s image if the production lines of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi began rolling out unsightly backfiring jalopies.

2
Italian food
Widespread rethinking of brand Italy would ensue should travellers start noticing that every meal suddenly wasn’t the best thing they had ever eaten.

3
French abruptness
Visitors who descend on France for the Paris Olympics this summer will all leave disappointed if at least one waiter doesn’t roll their eyes at their pronunciation of “bourguignon”.

Know your stuff

Norwegian technology start-up Add + Space aims to be the new Airbnb – but for stuff. Users log their excess items on an app and the firm will send someone to scoot them all away. The service’s quirky orange bicycles can already be seen in New York.

In addition to traditional storage units being used to house these items, private individuals can let any extra square footage as somewhere to store your paraphernalia. You can then keep track of your things through a “virtual closet” on the app. And at the press of a few buttons, your items will rematerialise on your doorstep.

It sounds like a winning formula: Airbnb-style renting combined with seamless delivery reminiscent of a takeaway service and an AI-powered gimmick. However, though turning your closet into everyone else’s might be a brilliant business plan, ultimately this makes cities more hospitable for commodities than for people. While being ostensibly new, this innovation feels like more of the same.

Strained relations

Italy has a reputation for being family-oriented, with many generations happily living together under one roof. But a 75-year-old mother from Pavia recently went before a judge to kick her children out of the nest. The woman took her sons, aged 42 and 40, to court to force them to move out, after they declined to leave. The judge ruled in her favour, issuing an eviction order.

The bamboccione (big baby) who refuses to become independent is a part of Italy’s perception of young people. In reality, a tough economy and an unsteady job market are keeping young Italians in their family home longer than they would like. A 2022 Eurostat study found that Italians move out on average at age 30, compared with 23 in France and 21 in Sweden.

Correspondent’s view: Washington Wheel of fortune

On a street outside the campus of the US National Institutes of Health, a centre of scientific and medical excellence on the outskirts of Washington, an advertising sign swaying in the wind offers tarot readings. Not far away, a thrift shop that has gone out of business has been replaced by a hastily put-together shop promising psychic consultations.

By my count, it’s the fourth such offering in a few blocks in my Washington neighbourhood. The renewed fascination for paranormal assistance is part of a wider trend that has been sweeping across the US of late. According to data from research group Ibis World, the psychic-services industry in the country was on course to reach record revenues of more than $2.3bn (€2.1bn) in 2023 – a significant increase from $1.9bn (€1.75bn) just a decade ago. Ibis World speculates that this is related to a shift away from organised religion towards New Age spirituality in some sections of US society (more than 25 per cent of adults in the country now claim to see themselves as spiritual, rather than religious in the traditional sense), as well as aggressive online marketing on social media.

Fears for the future also evidently loom large, particularly among younger generations. A recent study found that one in four millennials in the US turn to fortune tellers for financial advice, while economic and political uncertainty are pushing people towards unorthodox sources of solace. According to polling by Yougov, more than 20 per cent of Americans have consulted a medium, psychic or fortune-teller at some point in their lives.

Perhaps it’s unsurprising that so many are seeking guidance wherever they can. With political chaos, deep polarisation ahead of this year’s presidential elections and the potential return of Donald Trump, everybody wants to know what’s around the corner.

“It’s not at all clear what will happen,” says Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine. “When there’s uncertainty and anxiety, and society is a little unstable, belief in conspiracy theories and the paranormal goes up.” Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before US politics-watchers swap their pollsters for palm readers. 

Iowa emerges as America’s overlooked economic powerhouse with thriving tech and manufacturing sectors

Des Moines
Capital connections

Iowan connections will be on the up thanks to Des Moines International Airport’s new passenger terminal, for which work is set to begin in 2024.

Pella
Economic variance

Advanced manufacturing, technology, insurance and financial services are developing across the state and in towns such as Pella, where the likes of tractor manufacturer Vermeer is based.

Mason City
Fine food

With 85 per cent of Iowa’s landscape dedicated to food production, produce always lands fresh on your plate in markets and restaurants. In Mason City, you can grab a bite at The Draftsman in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Historic Park Inn.

Glenwood
Four seasons

There’s always a seasonal showcase in Iowa. In Glenwood, there is an average high of 30C in July and a low of minus 1C in January.

Iowa City
Collegial atmosphere

Iowa’s big universities are closely linked to their communities. A record-breaking 55,646 people recently attended a University of Iowa women’s basketball game. The Division I sporting rivalry between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State University Cyclones has been dividing the state since 1894.

Welcome to Iowa

“Iowa nice” might be a local stereotype but, as states and nations battle to win talent, the state is leveraging its personable image to expand on established sectors in manufacturing, biotech, finance and more. This survey will explore case studies in downtown renewal and entrepreneurial smarts across Iowa, and look at the long history of private patronage that has built exceptional public art collections and feats of contemporary design. Being the very middle of the Midwest means that this bucolic state is often wrongfully overlooked but “flyover country” this is not.

Q&A
Debi Durham

As director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), Durham is the first point of contact for any ambitious business wanting to make headway here.

There’s a perception that Iowa is rural and conservative. Is it correct?
This is a very rural state, no doubt about it. But if people come here, they will recognise how sophisticated Iowa is. We have a long history of embracing different cultures. Look at the caucuses: political candidates come to Iowa and want to be vetted by us because we keep it real. We do a great service to the nation because we can still have tough conversations.

Where are the opportunities in Iowa?
There’s a lot of entrepreneurial thinking, particularly in terms of research and development. In manufacturing, it’s about automation and digitalisation; in biosciences, it is firms pushing the envelope to what’s next, and in finance and insurance, which are mature markets here, firms are seeing innovation and acceleration as the way to grow.

What business incentives are there?
The governor has been very bullish about making us more competitive. We have a strategy that, by 2026, we’ll get down to a flat 5.5 per cent corporate income tax rate on sales within the state. For corporations that make all their sales outside Iowa, they will pay zero corporate income tax.

Transforming fortunes
Downtown revivals

Across Iowa, a broad reassessment is underway of how its urban centres reflect the kind of quality of life that has been long-enjoyed by residents in its famed rural and agricultural landscapes. From reviving riverbanks to launching cultural venues, here is how three of Iowa’s downtowns are reviving themselves.

Capitol Theatre, Davenport

Davenport’s beloved Capitol Theatre reopened this summer. Built in 1920 but left derelict more than a decade ago, it is reviving the city’s cherished pedigree as a live music hub. It will have a cinematic companion in late 2023 with the opening of The Last Picture House, a cinema and bar. The new venue is co-owned by Hollywood writer-producers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods; the latter was born in Davenport and both were raised nearby.

EMC Downtown Park, Des Moines

Iowa’s ties to the Olympics run deep as 20 Olympians hail from the state. But a site next to the Principal Riverwalk in downtown Des Moines is now a qualifying ground for one Olympic sport in particular: skateboarding. Opened in 2021, Lauridsen Skatepark is the largest in the US; it’s currently being certified to allow the staging of national events. For those without Olympic ambitions, head to EMC Downtown Park: the city’s first pocket park. Built on the site of a former department store that burned down a decade ago, it opened in 2023 to cater to downtown’s growing population.

Millwork District, Dubuque

Dubuque’s former industrial hub has, since 2009, been undergoing a transformation. Plans were drawn up to preserve its heritage and create a mixed-use neighbourhood that would support the city’s growing economy. The revitalisation efforts included infrastructure investments that turned the old warehouses into lively spaces that attract shops, restaurants and offices. One local highlight is Brazen Open Kitchen, where founder and head chef Kevin Scharpf has forged relationships with farmers across the state.

Full of beans
Blk & Bold

Pernell Cezar speaks with the passion and the pace of an entrepreneur whose brand is going places – but that might also be all the coffee he drinks. He founded roastery Blk & Bold in 2018 with his business partner, Rod Johnson. Friends since childhood, the pair met in the hardscrabble suburbs of Gary, Indiana, and reconvened in Iowa to fulfil their vision of a premium roasted coffee brand aimed at a mainstream market.

“We want to do artisanal but at scale,” says Cezar, who explains that, while the likes of Starbucks have cornered the mainstream retail market, smaller third-wave coffee shops produce only in small batches and at a high price. “I wanted an option that you could buy at Target and actually enjoy the experience.” Blk & Bold is sold in 11,000 locations across the US, from grocers to university cafés, with their largest market being Los Angeles. This is reflected in the fact that the roastery has been named the fastest growing company in Iowa for the past three years. “We give five per cent of our proceeds to 14 organisations that we support, which teach urban farming, refurbishing technology and appreciation for the outdoors,” says Johnson.

The pair have settled in Iowa thanks to the lifestyle and ease of doing business but they’ve not forgotten where they came from. Cezar hints at opening Blk & Bold cafés, including one in Gary. “Coffee shops done well can be the heartbeat of a community,” he says.
blkandbold.com

Expansive state
Engineering in Iowa

There are more than 3,000 workers at Vermeer’s 1.6km-long stretch of factories and offices in Pella and the family-owned business is as Iowan as it gets. Starting out as a tractor repair shop, its signature yellow agriculture machinery has kept the state’s corn farmers moving since 1948. Vermeer is a global operation, with a presence on six continents, yet in Pella it remains a very labour-intensive operation as skilled engineers turn raw steel into machinery.

Vermeer’s third-generation CEO, Jason Andringa, is bullish about the future of making in Iowa. “Our best days are in front of us,” he says. “Although the origins of the business are on my grandparents’ farm, more than 80 per cent of our business today is in infrastructure.” Vermeer is increasingly building machines that incorporate automation and AI, even if many factory processes remain hands-on.

In Des Moines, a lean operation is making similar leaps in additive manufacturing, a form of 3D printing; Collins Aerospace, a global subsidiary of defence giant RTX, has completed a $14m (€13.1m) expansion of its facility. Its growing team is turning out complex engine parts for civilian and military aircraft. “For Collins, it can offer a major reduction in lead time,” says site lead Renee Begley. “If we want a part, we can just print it.”
vermeer.com
collinsaerospace.com

Home on the farm
Grand View Beef

It’s not uncommon for small towns to lose young talent to huge metropolises. But a reverse of this traditional journey has taken place in Clarion, Iowa (population: 2,700). Here, Washington-native Amanda Severson runs Grand View Beef with her husband, Knute.

The couple met in Seattle, where they were both working for the city’s NFL football team, the Seahawks. Love and business pulled them back to Knute’s hometown of Clarion, where, despite no agricultural experience, Amanda has helped grow the brand into one of the Midwest’s finest suppliers of 100 per cent grass-fed beef.

Using Horned Hereford cattle stock purchased from Knute’s family farm, the duo has grown their business with the support of local banks, USDA programmes and NRCS conservational incentives. “One of the reasons I love running our business here is the relationship that we have with our banker and other local businesspeople,” says Amanda. “I feel like the local community, and the state as a whole, really wants to see other Iowans succeed.”
grandviewbeef.com

Driving ambition
Winnebago

Few vehicles are as synonymous with road trips as the Winnebago – and these road-ready RVs have emerged from a factory in Forest City since 1958. A prototype all-electric RV was revealed in 2023, which comes in the wake of a skew towards younger buyers getting behind the wheel.
winnebago.com

Cereal numbers
Quaker Oats

The Quaker Oats Company began in 1901, after four oat mills formed a brand with national reach. That merger included a cereal mill in Cedar Rapids; now known as the Quaker Oats plant, it has become the Iowan city’s most recognisable landmark. Sitting on a bank of the Cedar River, it is the world’s largest cereal mill – its alabaster silos are a source of local pride and a symbol of industrial heritage. The facility processes more than 900,000kg of oats daily in Iowa’s second-most populous city, producing an array of oatmeal, grits, snacks and cold cereals. It’s also equipped with an industry-leading proprietary process for making gluten-free options of the grain.

The Quaker plant serves as a cornerstone of the local community, aligning itself with the city’s identity – and its economic vitality, as one of the area’s big employers, with more than 1,000 workers. It’s a reputation that PepsiCo tapped into when it acquired the company in 2001.

The facility plays a key role in sustaining Cedar Rapids’ key contribution to North America’s food production, thanks also to the fact that more than 40 per cent of the continent’s bread is produced with yeast from the city.
quakeroats.com

Significant authors
Writers’ Workshop

As the oldest creative writing degree programme in the US, the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa is so synonymous with the history of great American literature that people often forget that it is not a national institution. John Cheever and Philip Roth were among its past faculty, while alumni regularly bag Pulitzers or become poet laureates. “On this year’s longlist for the National Book Award, there were 10 books and five of them were by Iowa alums,” says Lan Samantha Chang, director of the programme and author of multiple prize-winning books, including a short story collection, Hunger, which she wrote in part while studying at the Writers’ Workshop. “When I first came here, I felt immediately as if I were in a part of the country where there were fewer distractions and a very strong literary culture. Iowa City is a city of readers and writers.”

Indeed, the university has just added a new campus building dedicated to nonfiction writing and is trying to elevate other forms to the prestige enjoyed by Writers’ Workshop. The programme has remained relevant and highly regarded because it is primarily about honing the craft. “Our programme values the act of writing and tries to make that central to the experience,” says Chang.
writersworkshop.uiowa.edu

Free sheets to the wind
‘Little Village’

A short walk from Iowa City’s downtown is the office of Little Village. The free print monthly has covered music, culture, news and politics in Iowa since 2001, garnering a loyal readership. “Our emphasis on speaking to, and trying to engage with, the whole community has really paid off,” says president Matthew Steele. The newspaper’s broad base of readers and advertisers, he adds, has buffered Little Village from the flux experienced by print publications elsewhere. “Although we’re a free newspaper, our readers are willing to chip in, through paid subscriptions, so that we don’t require a paywall.”

Higher purpose
University of Iowa

The University of Iowa’s leafy, picturesque campus, which seeps into Iowa City’s bustling downtown, is not only one of the state’s most storied seats of learning but renowned as an architectural hub too. Its department buildings include Max Abramovitz’s original Stanley Museum of Art, built in 1969 after his work on New York’s Avery Fisher Hall and United Nations complex. There’s also Frank Gehry’s laboratories for the advanced technologies department, built in 1992. Newer highlights include Hancher Auditorium by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Steven Holl’s striking Visual Arts Building and Art Building West, and the Voxman Music Building by LMN Architects.

The university has erected buildings that are meant to mirror and invoke the loftier aspirations of the students who use them. “The university felt the need to express its deep level of creativity in the architecture,” says university architect and senior vice-president of finance and operations, Rod Lehnertz. He has continued the shift from the beaux-arts designs, inspired by the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, that defined Iowa’s original campus buildings. “They encouraged us to bring internationally renowned architects to do internationally recognised architecture here,” he adds.

Class on glass
Grant Wood

The Veterans Memorial Building, which opened in 1927, remains one of the most recognisable landmarks in Cedar Rapids. Unusually it is a working building rather than a static monument. Its beaux-arts design serves both military veterans and the city: a vast coliseum sits below a ballroom flanked by a city hall and chamber of commerce. The most impressive component is artist Grant Wood’s stained-glass Memorial Window, the creation of which is said to have inspired his most famous painting, “American Gothic”.
cedar-rapids.org

Shopper’s paradise
Eden

The success of the Des Moines-based beauty and lifestyle shop Eden points to a largely untapped local purchasing power. Owner Hannah Krause has found a loyal customer base for her East Village shop. “The store is a place where people come to feel taken care of,” says Krause, a former journalist who took over the business from its late founder in 2020. “You get to the heart of a culture of a city by owning a small business. People here will jump through hoops to buy from us.”
edeniowa.com

Shop around
Three retailers we like

An unexpected retail renaissance is unfolding in Iowa as a growing number of high-end boutiques and speciality shops establish a firm foothold in the state’s vibrant towns and cities. From fine furniture to artisanal foods, merchants are catering to a discerning clientele who appreciate quality and craftsmanship.

Des Moines Mercantile

Mallory Richardson’s general store opened in 2020 in the up-and-coming Highland Park neighbourhood as a tribute to the tiny but artful homeware and gourmet food brands scattered across Iowa. “About 80 per cent of our products are made in the state,” says Richardson. These include the famed wool blankets of the Amana Colonies and balms made by the Locust Grove Farm Co.
desmoinesmercantile.com

Prairie Lights

Giving an in-person reading at Prairie Lights has been a rite of passage for US and international authors almost since Iowa’s best-known independent bookshop first opened in 1978. Barack Obama, John Irving and Alice Munro have all crossed its storied threshold over the years and literary events still take place almost every day of the week.
prairielights.com

The Cheese Shop

Located in the leafy Roosevelt district, The Cheese Shop is one of Des Moines’ top independent food retailers. “We’re a shop built on relationships,” says long-serving manager Darren Vanden Berge. Founded in 2011, the shop stocks alcohol and cured meats alongside more than 100 cheeses, including the tasty Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Prairie Breeze – Iowa’s favourite cheddar.
thecheeseshopdsm.com

Eat on the go
Quick refuel guide

From artisan bakeries preparing mouth-watering pastries to cosy cafés serving up locally roasted coffee, Iowa’s culinary reputation is firmly on the rise.

Horizon Line Coffee

Founded in 2017 by friends Brad Penna and Nam Ho, Horizon Line Coffee was one of the first independent cafés and roasters to elevate Des Moines’ coffee sector. “The culture here has grown quite a bit,” says Penna. The café is a short stroll from Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
horizonlinecoffee.com

The Local Crumb

Aaron Hall launched his award-winning bakery in the reconfigured space of a former school classroom in Mount Vernon in 2016. Two years later, he was nominated for a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award, as his sourdough loaves became sought-after across Iowa. Far from a typical baker, Hall has eschewed a traditional shopfront and instead sells bread at farmers markets, direct to restaurants or out of the “trunk of his car” in Iowa City car parks on Friday mornings. It’s an unusual business model but one that has rightly earned him national recognition.
thelocalcrumb.com

Hamburg Inn No 2

For Iowa-bound presidential hopefuls, there is one unmissable pitstop in Iowa City: the storied dining room of the Hamburg Inn No 2. Established in 1948 and famed for its “pie shakes” (a milkshake blended with a slice of pie), the cheerful diner was thoughtfully restored in 2023, its walls lined with placards, posters and photographs of its famous patrons over the years.
hamburginn2.com

Places to be
Five essential stops

Whether you are heading to Des Moines on business or settling in Iowa City for a better quality of life, these are the pit stops that we recommend as you wind your way across the Hawkeye State.

1.
The Redstone Building, Davenport

The roots of the Von Maur department store chain began in this beautiful redbrick location. Today the building includes the Bix Beiderbecke Museum, a tribute to the jazz legend.
bixmuseum.org

2.
Iowa 80 Truckstop, Walcott

Off exit 284 of Interstate 80 sits the world’s largest truck stop. Pay a visit to the Trucking Museum next door, where you’ll find vintage trucks and other memorabilia, as well as multimedia exhibitions.
iowa80truckstop.com

3.
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids

The impressive building has 16 galleries, home to rotating exhibitions and one of Iowa’s finest art collections, which includes works by the likes of Grant Wood and Jun Kaneko.
crma.org

4.
Arnolds Park, Lake Okoboji

The Okoboji Lakes are popular with sun-seekers. Pull off the highway at Arnolds Park, where West and East Okoboji Lakes meet, to find an amusement park, beach and picnic spots.
vacationokoboji.com

5.
Covered bridges, Madison County

Iowa has a surprising number of Hollywood hotspots, including the covered crossing in Clint Eastwood’s 1995 film, The Bridges of Madison County. It is one of a number of structures that offer a lovely setting for a quiet walk.
madisoncounty.com