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In our special Retail Survey in the new October edition of Monocle, we meet the players who are reinventing retail, find out who’s spending, and learn why bricks and mortar stores are here to stay.

From Mali to Martinique, every four years the best athletes from the French-speaking world gather for the Francophone Games. Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield reports from Nice on the event, which to France is about more than simply sport.

Who needs paper in a world dominated by technology? Kenji Hall finds out as he visits Kakimori, a small stationery shop nestled in Tokyo's Kuramae neighbourhood.

Smart new architecture and public transport infrastructure have turned Medellín into a success story. Monocle's video journalist Gabriel Leigh meets the people charting its course.

With a population of just 2,400 Fogo Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, is an inspiring example of how rural communities can be brought back to life. In the first film of our two-part series we profile Zita Cobb and her Shorefast entrepreneurial vision for the island.

It’s been a year in the making but now our first book is arriving at the best bookstores around the world. *The Monocle Guide to Better Living* is produced by Germany’s premier publisher Gestalten and our new film tells the story of how we teamed up and also why we think the time is right for this modest manifesto about improving everything from cities to the food on our tables. *Available to buy online now at [The Monocle Shop](https://monocle.com/shop/books/books/the-monocle-guide-to-better-living/).*

Monocle joins Norway's peace and reconciliation unit as they bring the Colombian government and FARC rebels to the negotiating table.

Locarno is the romantic heart of the film festival circuit. Monocle put a rose in its buttonhole and sat in its own director's chair on the shores of Lake Maggiore to assess the aesthetic and commercial importance of the festival on it's 66th birthday.

It’s business time: our September issue features five firms making their cities come alive, three MBA programmes staying relevant in an ever-changing world and one packed Entrepreneurs Guide bursting with inspiration and advice.

Sicily is a stunning Mediterranean destination – and not least for its food. Monocle goes on a culinary tour of the island and drops in on a cooking school that promotes traditional food producers and seasonal recipes.