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DW Akademie in Europe and Central Asia

It has been three decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain but political and financial pressures on the media are still common in regions in Europe and Central Asia. Increasing restraints on the media in Azerbaijan, Belarus or Tajikistan, for example, contrast with a few bright spots such as Georgia, Moldova or Kyrgyzstan.

DW Akademie is responding with tailor-made projects. In Southeast Europe we are encouraging closer ties with the European Union, for example through a center of excellence in the Western Balkans.

Our focus in Central Asia is on strengthening community journalism to give people access to information. In the South Caucasus we are focusing on the social participation of rural groups and the financial sustainability of local media.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    The Brave New Media Forum 2019 was held November 15-16 in Belgrade. Young media makers met with international media experts, members of civil society, social media activists and young target groups.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Conference moderators

    Kristina Nikolić and Filip Cukovic were two of the moderators facilitating the lively two-day conference.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Forum opening November 15, 2019

    “Media development is an important component of democratic development and we need to discuss this together," said Michael Karhausen (center), Head of DW Akademie’s Asia and Europe Department, adressing the audience. He opened the Forum along with DW’s Adelheid Feilcke (right) and Klaus Dahmann (left), DW Akademie’s Country Manager for Serbia.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Spotlight on new study

    Stefan Janjić from KOMS (National Youth Council of Serbia) presented results from the study, "Youngsters in the Mirror of Media".

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Building children's confidence with "Bibi"

    Marjan Aleksovsski (right) described Bibi, a fictional character aimed at building children's confidence and at teaching them tolerance. Bibi is part of a Serbian multimedia project that is also to be introduced to other countries.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Podium discussion: "How do we present serious topics for children's news programs?"

    Markus Mörchen (second from left) from the German ZDF children’s program, "logo!" discussed the challenges of reporting for children, together with Tina Antončič, Infodrom (RTV Slovenia), Jan-Willem Bult (Wadada News) and Sanja Homa, Dečji dnevnik (RTV Vojvodina). "You can talk to children about all kinds of topics but you need to explain them in a way that children can understand," said Mörchen.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: On the record

    "Free media are fundamental to democracy, not just for monitoring the government's work but for providing the public with reliable information," said Thomas Schieb, German Ambassador to Serbia (left), in conversation with OSCE Ambassador Andrea Orizio (right).

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Photo exhibition

    A photo exhibition by Marija Erdelji was on display in the lobby. Erdelji took the photos at last year's Brave New Media Forum.

  • Serbien Belgrad Brave New Media Forum der DW Akademie (DW/M.Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 1: Speed dating

    "Speed dating" gave young media workers a chance to speak with media professionals, ask tips and talk about their experiences.

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Opening of the second day

    Carsten von Nahmen, Head of DW Akademie, opened the second day of the Forum together with Adelheid Feilcke, Head of DW's European Department. "Yesterday was intense and I learned a lot,” she said. “I think we've seen in all the formats that it's important to talk to young people at eye level, get them involved and let them tell the stories themselves."

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Media selfie "Youthvibes"

    The young members of the teenage portal "Youthvibes" described their approach. "We had an idea to start a portal for youth because there weren't any. We wanted a different style of writing and thought, 'we've got some experience, we're young, and we want to do this.' It’s been two years since then."

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: How to teach MIL

    Tijana Femic on media and information Literacy (MIL): "MIL is often taken as something that belongs to the media. But we have to understand that we're living it and that all the subjects at school relate to the media. We’re trying to make people understand that it's nothing new."

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Violence among youth

    Tijana Milosevic on online violence among young people: "We have found that parents are often not involved in their children's online activities. Governments need to provide parents with more information on how they can accompany their children. It's very hard to be parents in the digital age."

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Media Selfie: The Social (BBC)

    BBC's Paul McFadyen (left) talking to DW's Jakov Leon (right) about the BBC project "The Social". "The ideas all come from the editors themselves. We basically help them with the different steps but we want to build up young people to create their own content. Then they can 'fly away' to do their own thing."

  • Brave New Media Forum DW Akademie in Belgrad (DW/M. Erdelji)

    Brave New Media Forum 2019

    Day 2: Clickbait and drama on YouTube

    The YouTube group "Klikbejt" at the Forum's closing panel: "A big problem with the YouTube scene is that parents aren't involved enough. So if a child takes a picture with us and the parents say they don't know us, I'm surprised: 'You don't know me, but your kid watches me all the time?'"


  • More than 70 young people from all regions of Kyrgyzstan travelled to Issyk-Kul Lake for the Media Democracy Camp 2019. DW Akademie, the Kyrgyz Media Support Center Foundation, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the USAID Mission in Kyrgyzstan organized the camp together.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Group picture at the lake

    More than 70 young people from all regions of Kyrgyzstan travelled to Issyk-Kul Lake for the Media Democracy Camp 2019. DW Akademie, the Kyrgyz Media Support Center Foundation, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the USAID Mission in Kyrgyzstan organized the camp together.

  • The aim of the summer camp was to teach young people critical thinking and to show them the importance of robust civic mindedness.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Learning through play

    The aim of the summer camp was to teach young people critical thinking and to show them the importance of robust civic mindedness.

  • This was not a break; it was actually an exercise in focused learning. Many learning through play sessions were held in an open-air setting.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Building something big together

    This was not a break; it was actually an exercise in focused learning. Many learning through play sessions were held in an open-air setting.

  • Some of the students saw Lake Issyk-Kul for the first time in their lives.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    A special journey

    Some of the students saw Lake Issyk-Kul for the first time in their lives.

  • The young people took part in intensive media training, which included practice in reporting. The students had the opportunity to produce their own videos in the multimedia studio of the Media Democracy Camp.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    What role do media play in democracy?

    The young people took part in intensive media training, which included practice in reporting. The students had the opportunity to produce their own videos in the multimedia studio of the Media Democracy Camp.

  • Myrzash Shabdanbekova, one of the trainers, talked about awareness when processing media content. Media and information literacy (MIL) was a key part of the camp's program.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Media literacy is important for responsible citizens

    Myrzash Shabdanbekova, one of the trainers, talked about awareness when processing media content. Media and information literacy (MIL) was a key part of the camp's program.

  • A typical task was to describe one’s own media consumption. DW Akademie has been carrying out projects to foster media and information literacy (MIL) among young people in Kyrgyzstan for years. Together with the Kyrgyz Media Support Center, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education and Science, and the Academy for Education, they have helped integrate MIL in the school curriculum of selected schools.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    What kind of media user am I?

    A typical task was to describe one’s own media consumption. DW Akademie has been carrying out projects to foster media and information literacy (MIL) among young people in Kyrgyzstan for years. Together with the Kyrgyz Media Support Center, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education and Science, and the Academy for Education, they have helped integrate MIL in the school curriculum of selected schools.

  • One of the unique activities at Media Democracy Camp for the students was finding a creative way of presenting what they had learned. Their response was to put on a play about MIL.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Cue for media literacy

    One of the unique activities at Media Democracy Camp for the students was finding a creative way of presenting what they had learned. Their response was to put on a play about MIL.

  • Every evening, the young participants summarized the most important and exciting happenings of the day on stage.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Presenting to the group

    Every evening, the young participants summarized the most important and exciting happenings of the day on stage.

  • Another important part of the program was the election of the camp president. The young people prepared for this in training sessions and also did research on various electoral systems.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    This way to the ballot box

    Another important part of the program was the election of the camp president. The young people prepared for this in training sessions and also did research on various electoral systems.

  • The young people tried out new roles on election day – from election observer to presidential candidate.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    A simulated election

    The young people tried out new roles on election day – from election observer to presidential candidate.

  • At the Media Democracy Camp, the young participants developed their own ideas and projects to tackle current problems in their regions, e.g., a concept for a green city or a citizen initiative for rural areas.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Becoming active citizens

    At the Media Democracy Camp, the young participants developed their own ideas and projects to tackle current problems in their regions, e.g., a concept for a green city or a citizen initiative for rural areas.

  • The young people celebrated togehter on the last day of the Media Demoracy Camp. They will be able to stay in touch through an alumni network that connects young people across the country.

    Kyrgyzstan: Practicing democracy in summer camp

    Closing ceremony

    The young people celebrated togehter on the last day of the Media Demoracy Camp. They will be able to stay in touch through an alumni network that connects young people across the country.


DW - Asien und Europa Medienentwicklung - Michael Karhausen

Michael Karhausen

Head of Department Asia and Europe

T: +49.30.228.429-3538
E: dw-akademie@dw.com

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#mediadev

Insights, analysis, and global exchange of ideas on freedom of expression, digital technology, and the media. Join the conversation. Use the #mediadev hashtag.  

  • DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe (DW/P. Böll)

    DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe

    ... at a glance

  • Michael Karhausen, Head of Department Asia and Europe, DW Akademie

    DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe

    Michael Karhausen

    Head of Department Asia and Europe

  • Lydia Rahnert, Head of Unit Central Asia and Caucasus (photo: DW/M. Müller).

    DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe

    Lydia Rahnert

    Head of Unit Central Asia and Caucasus

  • Kyryl Savin, Program Director Ukraine, DW Akademie

    DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe

    Kyryl Savin

    Program Director Ukraine

  • Sopiko Sitchinawa (DW)

    DW Akademie's Department Asia and Europe

    Sopiko Sitchinawa

    Program Director Georgia