Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open the international media conference together with DW Director General Peter Limbourg. Steinmeier will address the international guests via livestream in conversation with Limbourg.

“Anticipation is high. Together with many international media representatives, supporters and partners, we will set the tone and generate a lot of attention, in Germany and abroad. In the form of a constructive conversation, we want to raise awareness of the fundamental shifts in power in the media, society and politics within the context of the advancing digitalization,” says Peter Limbourg. 

Who has the power in the media landscape? The two-day conference will kick off with a debate between Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, Aroon Purie, the influential co-founder of the India Today Group, and Jesper Doub from Facebook. 

American computer scientist, artist, author and entrepreneur Jaron Lanier will show how social media change our communication. His thesis: Silicon Valley has everything under control.

Among others, Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, and Georg Mascolo, head of the NDR, WDR, and SZ investigative research network, will discuss developments – and above all distortions – in the relationship between media and politics. 

As Artificial intelligence (AI) is making rapid inroads into the media sector, at the GMF, Joachim Köhler from the Fraunhofer Institute (IAIS), the Finnish scientist Atte Jääskelainen and the lawyer and activist Nanjira Sambuli from the Web Foundation in Kenya will discuss the effects of algorithms, translation software, drones and other aspects of AI’s use in media in a round-table discussion.

Numerous workshops run by partner organizations on topics like hate speech and social bots deal, for example, with shifts in power towards the younger generation and their involvement, particularly in social media. Speakers include UN representative Rita Izsak-Ndiaye, a human rights expert from Hungary.

Another global issue is the future of local journalism. Anna Minj, Director Community Empowerment BRAC, Michael Bröcker, editor-in-chief of the German daily Rheinische Post, Sa'a Ibrahim, head of Abubakar Rimi Television (ARTV) in Nigeria, and Chani Guyot of the Argentine news start-up RED/ACCION will discuss local journalism’s importance in various regions of the world.

DW Freedom of Speech Award 2019

The DW Freedom of Speech Award will be presented to Mexican journalist and author Anabel Hernández on May 27. The journalist will receive the award for her courageous fight against corruption, cover-ups and impunity in Mexico. he laudation will be given by Misha Glenny, author of "McMafia," speaker on politics, history, org crime, hi-tech crime and security. 

DW Akademie and Media Viability

DW Akademie promotes media development and media competence. A panel discussion on media viability will focus on how quality journalism can be established in different regions of the world while at the same time maintaining a sustainable financial basis. Carsten von Nahmen, head of DW Akademie, will moderate a discussion with Ann Hollifield, Professor of Media Management and Economics at the University of Georgia, USA, Marina Vschakmadze of Ajaara TV Georgia and Michael Muwangunzi of Smart FM Uganda, among others. 

Shababtalk and other TV productions 

As part of the GMF, DW is once again producing an edition of Shababtalk with popular DW presenter Jaafar Abdul Karim. Those interested can follow the talk show popular with the young Arabic-speaking public on location or via livestream (also in English). The Spanish talk show Cuadriga will also be recorded on site with guest Thelma Aldana, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize and candidate for the 2019 presidential elections in Guatemala.

Arts.21 will be filming a panel on “Artificial Intelligence – Utopia or Nightmare?” and the Spanish talk format Aqui estoy with Pia Castro will also be produced at the GMF. Finally, conference attendees can attend the recording of the political insider podcast Stammtisch with BBC correspondent Damien McGuinness and DW’s Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner.

The other image of Africa

Ethiopian photographer Maheder Haileselassie and Austin Merrill, co-founder of the Everyday Africa project, will present a selection of images by a collective of international photographers that opens up perspectives beyond stereotypes in African representation. In addition, a photo exhibition will mark the two-year anniversary of the InfoMigrants project for refugees.

Bootcamp with media start-ups

As a prelude to the Global Media Forum, national and international start-ups from the media industry will have the opportunity to present their respective projects to a jury of experts after a two-day workshop that begins May 24. Winners will receive, among other things, an exclusive two-day media training by DW Akademie. The application for the Bootcamp is under way.

More than 30 partner organizations

This year, more than 30 partner organizations will be contributing their topics to the Deutsche Welle media conference – including the World Health Summit, the Egyptian think tank Tahrir Institute and the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI) will be back this year, too. Partners also include Facebook, Google, and Instagram, the media authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM NRW) and the Filmforum NRW. The editors of the popular German kids’ program “Sendung mit der Maus” will offer a workshop on how to address complex topics in a child-friendly way. 

Co-organizers and sponsors 

Main partners of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum are the Federal Foreign Office and the Medien-Digital-Land NRW. Co-organizer is the Stiftung Internationale Begegnung by Sparkasse in Bonn. The conference is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the City of Bonn. The BMW Group is the premium sponsor.