This article revisits and highlights the political, cultural, educational and diplomatic contributions of Timorese women from the 1975 generation, particularly those involved with Casa dos Timores and actively engaged in the political processes of the time. Drawing on the concept of Maubere pedagogy (Da Silva, 2011), this article, based on interviews and historical documentary research, demonstrates the significant role of women in shaping Timor-Leste’s political, diplomatic, cultural and educational landscapes from 1975 onwards. In light of feminist and decolonial pedagogies, the article explores the enduring legacy of these women’s activism in advancing the rights of Timorese women. It further proposes the concept of Buibere pedagogy, an approach rooted in the perspectives of Timorese women that integrates the struggle for independence with the pursuit of gender equality.

Loneliness is a public health issue. This study examines loneliness among older South Asian and Chinese adults, focussing on cultural barriers and shared risk factors. It explores perceptions of these population who face distinctive challenges exacerbated by health inequalities. The intervention incorporated social activities delivered by a third sector organisation to mitigate loneliness among these distinct groups with different religions, migration histories and cultural practices. Methods: A qualitative design, featured semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 28 participants from Northeast England. Activities included exercise, bingo, educational initiatives, and local trips. Data collected over 2023-2024 thematically analysed. Aims and objectives: To understand older South Asian and Chinese people’s perceptions of culturally, religiously and linguistically tailored social activities designed to reduce loneliness. Results: Using a socio-ecological framework, four themes emerged: coping with loneliness; cultural relevance and belonging; health and practical barriers shaping engagement, health benefits of social activities; and ageing, frailty and independence concerns. Participants reported that culturally tailored interventions reduced loneliness by improving emotional, physical and educational wellbeing. Data highlighted how culture, religion and language intersect with ageing, health and social participation. Discussion and conclusion: Culturally tailored activities effectively mitigated loneliness and supported positive health outcomes among older South Asian and Chinese participants. Bilingual staff significantly facilitated engagement. Findings suggest inclusive ageing policies may reduce frailty and dependency risks in these under-researched ethnic minority groups. Future research should explore specific community needs and transfer lessons to other minority ethnic ageing populations.

Drawing on practice-led research and the production of the 2025 documentary film The Spirits of Tasi Tolu , this article analyses the tensions surrounding Tasi Tolu, a wetland area in Timor-Leste that was used as a site of extrajudicial executions and secret burials during the Indonesian occupation (1975–99). It examines multiple, overlapping conceptions of the landscape: as a forensic terrain where investigators search for physical evidence; as a spiritual landscape inhabited by the dead; as a Catholic commemorative site; and as an area targeted for commercial development and state-led economic transformation. The research demonstrates how customary, traditional/Catholic and modern/secular ontological frameworks coexist in shaping the remembrance of victims of the occupation. In the case of Tasi Tolu, the local community has reinscribed meaning onto a landscape threatened with erasure, transforming it from a ‘haunted’ place into a living site of memory and cultural practice. Ultimately, the article argues that acknowledging the role of the dead is essential to understanding contemporary social life in Timor-Leste and to recognising the challenges that neoliberal state-building projects encounter in landscapes marked by political violence.

Despite growing recognition of drug and alcohol (D&A) use as a public health concern, carers from South Asian and Muslim (SAM) communities in the UK remain largely invisible. This article explores how stigma, emotional pressures and faith-based prohibitions shape SAM carers’ experiences of supporting individuals with problematic D&A use, with a culturally informed approach. A qualitative study recruited eight carers, two practitioners and two community ambassadors in two UK regions during July 2023–January 2024. Carers supported individuals whose substance use they identified as problematic, describing patterns consistent with the classification of mental and behavioural disorders in the tenth version of the International Classification of Diseases, though formal verification was not obtained, as this would have excluded ‘hidden carers’. Recognising that SAM frameworks define any use as problematic (lower thresholds than clinical criteria), we used reflexive, community-led sampling. Semi-structured interviews with participatory research group members identified three themes: faith, stigma and silence; social and psychological impacts on SAM families; and religious and cultural barriers to addressing D&A use. Most carers rely on informal networks for support due to a lack of awareness of mainstream services and religious institutions not equipped to address their needs relating to problematic D&A use. Definitional mismatches between cultural (any use is problematic) and clinical frameworks (specific diagnostic criteria) obscure recognition of escalating D&A problems, leaving carers distressed and services inaccessible. This study, led by a SAM community member, gives voice to hidden carers’ experiences and identifies their unique challenges through methodological innovation. Our findings advocate for co-produced, culturally sensitive services that bridge definitional gaps and position SAM carer support within a social justice agenda addressing cultural responsiveness and structural inequities.

Bangladeshi communities experience poor health outcomes and have higher risk factors for vascular dementia. This article explores the perceptions of people living with dementia, as well as the perceptions of their family members and caregivers, and gathers their views on current dementia support services in order to make recommendations to improve the provision of dementia support services in a UK Bangladeshi community. A total of 25 semi-structured face-to-face and virtual interviews were conducted with individuals with dementia, their family caregivers and dementia service providers from a UK Bangladeshi community. The interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. NVivo was used for thematic analysis. Family members and caregivers of people living with dementia demonstrated a strong sense of obligation and interpersonal motives for providing care at home. Despite their dedication, care partners struggled to provide adequate care due to work commitments and a lack of dementia knowledge. Cultural and language barriers were identified when accessing health and social care services. This article provides a further look into a UK-based Bangladeshi community’s experience with people living with dementia. Their views can contribute to a better understanding of the perceived challenges that the Bangladeshi community faces in accessing dementia health and social care services and support, thereby enabling better decision making by service providers and policy makers. These findings will also inform the development, delivery and adoption of dementia policy support, as well as the integration of diversity into dementia policy to shape future approaches to care provision.

This editorial article examines the centrality of narratives and values in shaping human understanding, social realities, and political life. Humans naturally think and communicate through stories, which structure events into coherent sequences, assign meaning, and influence collective memory, identity, and power relations. Narratives function as both cognitive and discursive tools, enabling shared understanding while redistributing interpretive authority between storytellers and audiences. They do more than represent reality: they actively shape opinions, social organization, and political dynamics. Values are inseparable from narratives, as stories translate abstract ideals into tangible political action. Both narratives and values are inherently unstable, socially constructed, and politically contested, with their meaning continually negotiated and mobilized by competing actors. By foregrounding the constitutive and transformative power of narratives and the contested nature of values, this article underscores their significance for interpreting political phenomena and analyzing the dynamics of international relations.

This article suggests an alternative approach to understanding political socialisation in Türkiye, focusing on cultural conflicts and the values they create instead of using the main ideas and theories of political science. According to this perspective, beginning from the Cold War period, Turkish politics has been stagnant, with political actors from the most dynamic period of Turkish modernisation being reconstructed and imbued with new meanings. Figures like Atatürk, Sultan Abdulhamid II and, in contemporary times, the leaders of the Unionists are widely used in the conflicts between different ideologies. Rival political parties that adopt these different ideologies prefer to mobilise voters to their side by bringing these historical figures into confrontation rather than politically addressing current challenges.