DW Akademie: 50 years of media development

Dear Readers,

The recent attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and the murder of several journalists there was an attack on freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Both are human rights that DW Akademie has long supported.

Our thoughts go out to the families of those who died in this heinous act. The journalists who were killed were all passionate advocates of free speech. We will honor their memory by continuing our work for free and independent media all over the world.

The motto for DW Akademie's 50th anniversary this year is "Supporting media. Strengthening human rights." We think it clearly illustrates the work we do and the goals we have set.

Founded in 1965, DW Akademie initially focused on training African journalists and technicians. DW Akademie has continued to grow and evolve and today is a strategic partner of the German government's media development policy.

An important step in this evolution took place in 2013 when we at DW Akademie, in close cooperation with Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), readjusted our focus. We now concentrate on 25 countries and specific strategic areas that are central to our efforts towards developing free and independent media landscapes.

DW Akademie staff

We see media development as a way to strengthen the human right of freedom of expression and the right of everyone to freely access information. In real terms, this means we support people around the globe who are demanding - and exercising - these rights. While we once focused primarily on journalism training, today we are also looking at the larger picture - at helping improve the political and legal frameworks for media in our focus countries, securing their media sectors' economic viability, creating opportunities for high-quality training with a practical orientation, and providing tools to help the public think critically about and discuss the issues of the day.

DW Akademie, for example, is teaching young people in Burundi how to use media more effectively; showing community radio producers in Ghana how to create their own networks; encouraging women in Burkina Faso to use radio to raise their voices; training editors in Ukraine on distinguishing fact from opinion; showing Tunisian villagers how to access information they need; coaching journalism students in Mongolia and Colombia as they prepare to enter the profession; giving school children in the Palestinian Territories a platform to express their opinions; supporting the creation and production of a TV show for Syrian refugee children; and advising Myanmar's first independent press council on developing laws to ensure an independent press.

DW Akademie also focuses on other media-related areas. We offer an international Master's program in Bonn - and since 2014 in Istanbul - for aspiring journalists and media managers. And for decades we have offered a journalism traineeship aimed at up-and-coming Deutsche Welle journalists - a training program that continues to develop and meet international standards. Starting this May, our cross-media traineeship will be bilingual and aimed at both international as well as young German journalists.

We also publish academic studies on the media sector and offer expertise in formulating new global development goals. We train public institutions and NGOs both in Germany and abroad on how to work with the media, and as a way to raise awareness about the role of a free, independent media. Our online programs offer people all over the world a chance to learn German and to learn about Germany's free and pluralistic society.

All of our projects have as their foundation the journalistic principles of fairness, authenticity and diversity.

We were therefore very pleased when the German parliament approved Deutsche Welle's planning strategy at the end of 2014, and thereby expressed its support of DW Akademie's goals.

As a strategic partner of our main sponsor, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, we will now - in this anniversary year - for the first time be able to carry out projects within a guaranteed, three-year financial framework. While this reassures our partners and those on location, it is also a signal of our long-term commitment.

I thank you for your support and continued interest in our work, and extend my best wishes to you for a happy and healthy 2015.

Sincerely,

Christian Gramsch
Director, DW Akademie