Deutsche Welle (DW) will be expanding its Spanish television service for Latin America from two to 20 hours daily, starting February 6, 2012. The new lineup for viewers between Mexico and Tierra del Fuego is part of a comprehensive reform process designed to reposition DW in the international media landscape. The expansion of the program for Latin America will significantly increase DW’s presence there.

DW officially announced the changes at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 26. Mexican President Felipe Calderón said: “It is great to have a partner like Deutsche Welle broadcasting for 20 hours in Spanish. It opens up new opportunities in Latin America. The program will be a bridge to Europe, and Germany in particular. DW has seen success in the competitive television market in Latin America from day one. Around 850 partners throughout the region have included DW programming in their lineups so far – and negotiations with other partners are currently under way.

The new Spanish program required a lot of hard work and restructuring. A big change is in store for Gonzalo Cáceres, who has been a host for Journal and Cuadriga for years. His new job will be to manage and host Claves with partners on location. including ARTV in Chile, SJRTV in Mexico and RTVC in Colombia. The new show will focus on the latest issues in Latin America.

DW will also be welcoming several new faces – among them, Silvia Cabrera. She will be hosting Berlin poltico and Journal. According to Cabrera, DW has a lot to gain in Latin America by setting itself apart as a reliable, objective source of information.

Another addition is Paco Furio. Not only will he be the new producer and host for sports on Journal, but he will also help manage the magazines Reporteros en el mundo, PopXtra and Europa semanal.

“German punctuality and reliability is something that you can count on,” says Carolina Chimoy. The daughter of a Peruvian diplomat will be hosting Journal as well as Reporteros el mundo dazu.

The new Spanish program for Latin America will also receive support from a completely redesigned website for Spanish-speaking users. In the future, the editorial team will be made up of more than 130 employees.

Deutsche Welle (DW) will look different on February 6, 2012. We have set a new course for the future by announcing comprehensive changes to our programming structure, design and online services. At a press conference in Berlin on January 31, Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann referred to the set of changes as “a milestone for representing Germany better around the world.”

New changes to television include an expanded program for Latin America with 20 hours of Spanish programming daily. There will also be a new channel with 24 hours of English programming, broadcast in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. DW will also offer additional channels in several regions: In North and Latin America and Asia, the second channel will be made up of 20 hours of programming in German and four hours in English.

In the Arab world, there will be a channel featuring 10 hours of Arabic programming and 14 hours of English; and in Europe, DW will broadcast 18 hours of English and six hours of German during primetime.

Along with the new television program and the completely redesigned website, DW will be creating a unified brand identity with a new corporate design.

DW Akademie, Deutsche Welle’s international center for media development, media consulting and journalism training, is organizing in cooperation with UNESCO, a “Train-the-Trainer Course” for 12 young lecturers from eight African journalism education institutions. The course is taking place now in East London, South Africa and will run until January 27, and is being hosted by Walter Sisulu University.

Journalism Educators from Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe will share their experiences of teaching journalism with a focus on community media. The aim is for training methods to become more interactive, participative and practice-oriented, thus allowing students to apply newly acquired skills and knowledge directly. The group will also concentrate on community media, which can play an important role in development in Africa.

This training is the first of three courses due to take place in Africa within the framework of a UNESCO/DW Akademie joint initiative to strengthen 20 selected African universities´ capacities to offer high quality journalism education programs for aspiring and working journalists. DW Akademie has put a focus on Africa for 2012.

DW Akademie has been conducting a variety of media development projects to reinforce free and independent media, particularly in developing and transition countries since 1965. Their team of experts advise broadcasting executives, train young, up-and-coming journalists and provide professional coaching to media engineers. Every year around 3,000 individuals take part in DW Akadmie’s training and workshop programs.

DW’s daily European lifestyle magazine Euromaxx will be repackaged by CNCDP China for the Chinese market and other Mandarin-speaking audiences. According to a new coproduction agreement, CNCDP China will incorporate a local host and Mandarin voice-over to create a Mandarin version, with 78 hours of programming.

Euromaxx is one of DW’s most popular shows in Asia and showcases the glitz and glamour of European fashion, design, food, culture, arts, architecture and music.

CNCDP will have broadcast rights for all their channels as well as distribution rights to other broadcasters in China. This is not the first time that Euromaxx has been repackaged into another language in Asia. Last year, 26 episodes were coproduced with Xinya Media in Singapore for broadcast on their regional channel.

DW has a new show looking at the changes taking place in the Arab world: The New Arab Debates – With Tim Sebastian. It offers a spotlight on the Arab revolutions – inviting a new generation to get involved in politics and help shape history. Tim Sebastian asks the vital questions and insists on the answers.