At the COP23 in Bonn, DW raised awareness of the important role of media in informing the public about the complicated issues surrounding climate change. During the UN climate conference, DW Akademie held multiple workshops organized around the motto “climate action needs media freedom.”

During the conference dozens of journalists were invited to Bonn to connect with climate activists and other journalists from around the world to share ideas and expertise. Participants learned about how to report on climate change issues and increase coverage in affected regions.

DW Akademie emphasized how the media provides an essential platform for dialogue in finding sustainable solutions to social problems caused by climate change.

Ten journalists from pacific islands were trained by DW Akademie in advance of COP 23 to report on the conference for media outlets at home. Another multimedia training brought 13 journalists from the Fiji-Islands, Papa-New Guinea, Samoa and other pacific states to Bonn for an exchange of expertise on climate change reporting. Other workshops brought journalists from Somaliland, Myanmar Sudan, Namibia and Jordan.

DW also launched a multimedia project called Kids4climate, which is intended to raise awareness of climate issues among children. It works by providing examples of activities that kids have initiated such as planting trees or organizing a “ride your bike to school” day. The videos also feature activities that kids and families can do together.

And on the sidelines of COP23, DW brought together the mayors of Pretoria in South Africa and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the USA for a radio discussion broadcast on DW’s World in Progress. They spoke about similarities between their two cities in looking toward the future and shed light on how climate change is a problem that unites cities around the world.

The discussion provided an example of how the media can provide a platform for public officials to openly exchange ideas on how to make their communities more sustainable.

Africa 

Shababtalk, DW’s talk show for Arab youth, was in Mauritania for a special co-production of Shababtalk on the road. The episode produced in cooperation with local broadcaster Sahel TV, focused on challenges being faced by young Mauritanians like joblessness, migration and political radicalization. Shababtalk on the road brings the discussion to the audience and gives a platform to young people across the Arab world to talk about issues affecting their lives.

DW has more partners in the Gambia after a successful fifth edition of the live debate format, The Migration Dilemma, in the capital Banjul. DW’s expanded cooperation with its event partners, which include Gambia’s only TV broadcaster, GRTS and the largest radio broadcaster Paradise FM. New DW partners in the Gambia include the country’s most popular social media sites Eye Africa and Fatu Network.

Awards

DW’s radio and podcast format, Living Planet, won an Association of International Broadcasting (AIB) award for the production “Road to renewables.” The jury said the show was a “must-listen” radio provided “deep insights into the challenges presented by climate change and renewable energy. The prize was awarded in the category, Continuing News Coverage –  Audio.

At the 19th Eyes and Ears awards, the trailer campaign for the DW Breaking World News App took first prize for the “Best On-air programming campaign: News & Information.”

 

Europe

Covering the 2017 German Federal Election from September 20 to 26, DW worked with 36 partners from around the world in English, Arabic and Spanish. Televising a total of 116 segments in cooperation with broadcasting partners, DW was able to provide comprehensive reporting on the German election to audiences around the world.

Partners included NewsX, one of India’s largest news broadcasters, Joy News in Ghana, the Australian public broadcaster ABC and the pan-Latin American broadcaster based in Colombia, NTN24.

Asia

DW is available on Thailand’s largest mobile provider AIS (Advanced Info Service) on the IPTV service AIS-HomePlus. The new partnership brings DW’s English-language programming to a combined 1.7 million subscribers. DW also has a new partner in Lahore, Pakistan. The cable station Max-1 is broadcasting DW’s English-language TV to 18,000 households in Lahore’s business district and education centers.

DW’s English-language channel is now available on the popular South Korean OTT box Nosegay. Vietnamese partner HTS-TMS extended its partnership with DW and acquired DW in HD.

Africa

 DW has new partnerships in The Gambia with the state television and radio station Gambia Radio and Television service (GRTS). The DW programs included are Africa on the Move, Eco@Africa, In Good Shape und Kick off! Also in Gambia, DW is now radio partners with Paradise FM Radio, BIZ FM Radio and Capital FM, which will be broadcasting DW’s radio shows AfricaLink, Crime Fighters and Learning by Ear.

Asia

One of Indonesia’s leading video websites, vidio.com, is including DW’s Indonesian-language technology show Inovator along with selected programs from DW English with Indonesian subtitles.

DW and DW (Deutsch) are now available in Thailand on the TrueVisions Anywhere app for iOS and Android, developed by the country’s largest cable provider.

Digital

DW content is available on Google Home – Google’s new speech-assisted, interactive speaker system operating on Google Assistant software. The voice-activated system can answer questions, control smartphones and play music. Audio news reports from DW in English and German, as well as slowly spoken news reports in German for learners. DW content will also be rolled out in the future on Google Assistant software for Android

At the DLD Innovation Festival last week in Tel Aviv, big ideas were brought out of the workshop and the bustling Israeli tech scene was on full display. DW was at the event along with young entrepreneurs from over 400 startups gathering to share ideas and generate investment.

DW organized a startup competition at DLD to highlight people who are doing great work in tech innovation. The winner, the Keepers app, protects children from cyberbullying and alerts parents to suspicious messages and content on their child’s smartphone.

The contest titled #Startmeup, awarded Keepers with 2,000 Euros and gave the developers the chance to showcase their app in front of investors from around the world.

DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg presented the award and also participated in a panel discussion on the effect of digitization on international media. At the panel, Limbourg emphasized how the audience for international media is being changed by digitization and how a new generation of media consumers needs to be reached through innovative means.

Shift, DW’s science and technology program, was at DLD and broadcast the event around the world with innovative ideas from water quality testers that don’t need to get wet to pest control without poison. DW’S involvement in DLD is part of a strategy to promote and publicize digital innovation and creative thinkers from around the world.