DW’s new English news channel was created for people all over the world who are looking for news and information that supports and inspires them to shape their communities. During the past few months, DW has searched for these local heroes, and at every point we have found and celebrated people who are doing remarkable things and making a difference.

Most recently in Ghana, DW and local broadcaster Joy News organized a “Heromobile”, which is travelling around the capital city Accra with local musicians and went looking for people who stand out, make a difference or work hard for change. DW and Joy News collected and shared their stories taking pictures of the participants and created an atmosphere of celebration.

Earlier this summer in Kenya, DW organized The Local Heroes Journalism Competition, which encouraged young journalists to create a journalism project profiling local heroes making a difference in their communities. The competition drew a lot of interest and promoted quality journalism while giving Kenyan local heroes the recognition they deserve.

In Pakistan last month, speaking engagements in cooperation with local broadcasting partners honored local heroes and let them tell their story. Highlights from Pakistan included Samar Minallah Khan, documentary filmmaker and women’s rights activist who helped make the practice of forced marriage in Pakistan illegal. In Bangladesh, DW has honored Infoladies, who bike hundreds of miles to bring advice and medicine to thousands in remote, impoverished villages. There are currently around 70 Infoladies working mainly with women and girls as well as with disabled and elderly people, connecting them to the rest of the community.

In an online call to action over the summer,  DW asked people from anywhere in the world to submit the story of their local hero. Facebook posts on both DW News and 12 websites from DW’s various Asia and Africa departments combined to help draw attention to the new channel and encouraged people to share interesting stories of their local heroes with DW. The campaign was received with a lot of enthusiasm by online users. The various local hero stories complied by the participating DW editorial departments generated over 1 million reactions. The language groups that showed the most interaction with online posts were Dari, English and Bengali.

DW has shown that local heroes come from everywhere and anyone who has a vision and passion can make a difference in their communities – and there are always more stories to tell.

In 1965, Transtel started out as an innovator in German media, being one of the first providers of German television productions for markets outside of Europe. And now, 50 years later, and with the cultural and journalistic expertise of DW as a backbone, that success has grown and DW Transtel has turned into one of Europe’s largest documentary providers.

When DW acquired Transtel as a partner in 1998, it was a perfect match that expanded and extended Transtel’s portfolio and added to DW’s image of an already strong brand in German international media. DW Transtel could provide both entertainment and information to audiences around the world under the global banner of quality – “Made in Germany”.

Over the years, the number of documentaries available has increased and today 150 are offered every year. They are available in at least three languages, which means DW Transtel can provide content for every taste, in every part of the world. Originally produced DW documentaries and globally-popular and recognizable programs like the European lifestyle journal Euromaxx complement the best of German programming and help make DW Transtel’s  catalogue of documentaries and programs  truly international.

DW Transtel is celebrating its 50th birthday throughout the year at events like MIPCOM in Cannes and other international media conferences, where DW Transtel has built a strong reputation over the years as a reliable content partner. From the 1970’s when soccer specials topped the list , to the intricately-produced variety of popular documentaries available today, DW Transtel continues to bring the best of German entertainment to audiences worldwide

 

If more people are made aware of critical issues, they are more likely to participate in creating change. The role of media to inform and educate is critical and DW has recently played an active part in helping millions of people become more aware of an important initiative from the United Nations (UN).

In September, the UN announced a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are 17 policy objectives to be reached by 2030 that encompass important issues like stopping climate change, ending extreme poverty and fighting for equal rights and justice.

The Project Everyone initiative sets out with the gargantuan task of helping everyone on earth understand exactly what the UN’s sustainability goals want to achieve. To reach seven billion people in seven days, Project Everyone has enlisted hundreds of media and NGOs across the world to spread “short, dynamic and snappy” explanations of global goals across every potential medium.

As a trusted international broadcaster in developing nations, DW can directly convey the message behind the SDGs and encourage activism, awareness and community in solving important global issues where people need it the most. DW is taking part with special broadcasts on television, radio, online and with social media. DW’s major contribution is that 40 million people in Africa can be reached by DW and partner broadcasters.

Along with participating in Project Everyone, DW has produced My 2030, a website that asks what you want your world to look like in 2030 and encourages people from all over the world to share their problems, hopes and visions for the future. Young people born in the year 2000 also have the chance to enter the millennium teens competition for a chance to appear on DW’s Global 3000.

 

An important part of understanding modern Germany is understanding reunification – the pivotal sequence of events that brought together the east and west after decades of separation. As Germany’s international broadcaster, DW has an important role in explaining the significance of these events to people around the world. For the 25th anniversary of reunification, DW is producing several insightful features that go beyond the history with a unique personal perspective.

One of these features is a production from DW’s Documentaries and Reports portraying German unification through the eyes of immigrants. The Scent of Home reveals that the transformation brought a range of reactions from the protagonists. The end of communism meant freedom and self-determination, but that was coupled with the fear of being marginalized, instability and even the loss of social status they had previously enjoyed as the transformation of unification also affected the cultural perception of immigrants. The film demonstrates, however, that unification helps converge  diversity creating a healthier more dynamic society for both Germans and immigrants.

On the other side of history are young people who were born after unification and have only experienced a divided Germany in history books. In general, this cohort has different perceptions and values than previous generations. DW takes a personal look at young people born during the transition time between 1989 and 1990 in the multimedia feature Generation 25 – Children of German Unification. Young people from east and west, the city and the country share their dreams, thoughts and perceptions of society in a clear and intimate fashion. What emerges is a patchwork of personalities and pathways that represents a generation born into choice and looking toward the future.

 

Former pro athletes bring an unmatched perspective to sports news. With a combination of expertise and a trademark sense of humor, former World Cup champion Thomas Berthold has joined DW’s KickOff! and will host a weekly column, Berthold’s Bundesliga. As a new German Bundesliga season kicks off, Berthold will also break down the latest from the world of soccer every Monday on DW News.

Whether it is issues off the field like the Premier League buying up German players or Bundesliga team prospects for this season, DW’s new soccer expert brings a veteran’s perspective to the debate. Berthold played on the German national team when they won the World Cup in 1990. During his career he played central back for Eintracht Frankfurt, Hellas Verona, AS Rom, Bayern München and VfB Stuttgart. Berthold has played in a total of 332 Bundesliga games.

Berthold’s column is published online Mondays and is broadcast Thursdays on KickOff! Countdown.