Alan Yadegariayan is an Iranian-Dutch artist and theatre director. Recently, he's also been busy writing. He does not want to be seen as a political activist on the stage, but he likes political performances. "What's important to me is to engage the public with social issues and share some understandings." His life changed completely after the Islamic revolution in 1979 in Iran. This is his story.

Greece's economy is set to shrink in 2012, for the fourth year in a row, and analysts predict the country's debt burden could rise to 190 percent of its GDP by next year. Although the Greek government has implemented stringent austerity measures, cut pensions and salaries and raised taxes, European leaders have had to acknowledge that their efforts so far have not been sufficient. Athens announced that it would lay off 50,000 public sector workers and reduce salaries and pensions further. For ex Ponto magazine Narcis Zohrehnassab talked to Greek citizens about the impact of the economic crisis on their lives.

Acclaimed Sierra Leonean musical band, Refugee All Stars with their golden voices, and virtuoso performance on flutes, traditional drums and percussion have thrilled thousands of music lovers at the 24th edition of the Mundial Festival in The Netherlands. This year's event, hold in Tilburg on June 18th and 19th, featured sixteen muscial groups from around the world, solidifying the universality of music.

Since 9/11, the word ‘jihad’ has become an integral part of mainstream global vocabulary. However, what does the general public really know about people who commit jihad? Not the main players like Osama bin Laden, but their foot soldiers? Indonesian sociologist Muhammad Najib Azca dug deeper and got a glimpse of how ordinary people transform into jihadists.

 “You can take a person out of the village, but you cannot take the village out of a person.” This is a saying that best describes the activities of the Ugandan community in the Netherlands. It is a community of which I have been privileged to be chairman for the last 7 years.

“I want my students to find their own language. I want them to look for untold stories,” says Abir Abdullah. He is international photographer and vice-principle of Pathshala Media Academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He won the prestigious Mother Jones grant for photography and several other international awards. In 2011 he will be on the World Press Photo jury.