This year was a fraught time to lead a German cultural institution, as Israeli bombing of Palestine converged with the long shadow of German twentieth-century history. During his leadership at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, which commenced in January 2023, Ndikung has had to accommodate the institution’s commitment to artists of the Global South, where support for Palestine is high, while being alert to the pro-Israel stance of much of the local audience and media. In November last year, pro-Palestine protesters hung a banner at the entrance to the institution, and in April they interrupted a conference titled ‘Remembering Colonialism’. In the exhibition halls, the Euro 2024 football tournament provided a structure for the museum to reflect on migration, gender and racism in sport. The announcement then that Ndikung will curate the 2025 Bienal de São Paulo under the title Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice offered a welcome relief, with a series of precursor research conferences already underway in Morocco and Guadeloupe.