Deputy Director General of Deutsche Welle, Reinhard Hartstein officially opened the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum today. His message: “Upbringing, culture and education for all are key to peaceful interaction, to sustainable development and to intercultural dialogue.”  More than 1,800 participants from around the world are now in Bonn to discuss “Culture. Education. Media – Shaping a Sustainable World.” If you aren’t attending, a great way to keep track of the latest developments and issues taking the forefront is the Twitter tracker. The Global Media Forum team is showcasing all of the live tweets from panel discussions and workshops and you can check in to see what is going on.

From June 25-27, the Deutsche Welle Global Media Foru will once again bring attention to the issues that are relevant in today’s global society. This year’s focus will be on “Culture. Education. Media – Shaping a sustainable world”. DW anticipates that about 1,800 participants from 100 nations will attend the conference at the World Conference Center in Bonn. In more than 50 panel discussions and workshops they will discuss subjects such as the right to education, cultural diversity, political culture, global ethics and intercultural dialog, sustainability and new methods of learning.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is taking part in the fifth edition of the three-day conference. On Tuesday, June 26, he will stalk about “Shaping globalization together: Deepening dialogues and building partnerships.” The former Indonesian president Jusuf Habibie and the Director of News and Current Affairs of Al Arabiya Nakhle El Hage will also take the panel discussion. Some of the other illustrious guest speakers confirmed for this year include author and South African anti-apartheid activist Denis Goldberg, Franz Josef Radermacher, a professor of informatics at the University of Ulm and a member of the Club of Rome, as well as the human rights activist Theary C. Seng from Cambodia.

On Monday afternoon, DW will put a focus on the Russian television market with a panel looking at Education in Modern Commercial TV-Markets. The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum has always been a fantastic platform for media representatives to meet with their colleagues and discuss the most current issues that are shaping the industry. The DW distribution team always takes part in panels and helps develop side events.

We will keep you updated with news from the event – so keep an eye out for developments. You can also check out a full list of speakers and events here.

 

Our Facebook fan page for learning German is on course for 100,000 fans and we are looking for you to contribute. You can win some fabulous prizes by taking part – and you just need to post a comment. Become of fan of “Learn German with Deutsche Welle” and then comment on when you think we will break the 100,000 mark. You will find more information about the contest on our Facebook fan page – basic German is required.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Rio+20 one of the most important global sustainability meetings of our time. How can society be structured so future generations inherit a planet they can live on?

Today, DW launched its new online special covering Rio+20: Today’s voices with tomorrow’s ideas. This DW special looks at the questions – and answers – of sustainability in the economy, society and technology.

We are also looking for different opinions on the subject from around the world. Send your thoughts to mydw@dw.de. We’re especially looking for photo or video submissions, but articles are always welcome, too. We’re going to compile all of the submissions and publish them on dw.de.

 

The votes have been counted and the finalists decided. More than 10,000 users from around the world have chosen their favorite photos in the Klick photo competition. These 10 photos will be shown at this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum from June 25-27 in Bonn, Germany, where the expected 1,500 conference participants will select the top three winners of the 2012 “KLICK!” photo competition.

You can see all of the finalists in a gallery at www.dw.com/klick

And if you haven’t read it yet, see what DW’s Director General Eric Bettermann had to say about education – the theme of this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum.