DW Africa on tour: Strong interest in the coverage of Bundestag election campaign in Deutsche Welle's African target regions

In six languages – Amharic, English, French, Haussa, Kiswahili and Portuguese – eight journalists will report on the atmosphere in the country ahead of the German elections. Two social media managers will post in German and English and coordinate live broadcasts on Facebook. The tour will make stopovers in Berlin, Potsdam, Hamburg, Halle/Saale and Aachen.

Radio specials, online articles and social media posts will be made available to numerous of the DW's more than 500 partners in sub-Saharan Africa, including TV Zimbo in Angola, STV Notícias in Mozambique, Golfe TV in Benin and RDV in Senegal, as well as the Cape Talk radio station in South Africa.

"In Africa, too, we are seeing strong interest in the Bundestag election, particularly in Angela Merkel's succession. With its multilingual team, Deutsche Welle can deliver carefully-targeted regional perspectives on Germany," says Editor-in-Chief Manuela Kasper-Claridge.

The focus of the reporting varies depending on the target region. In Ethiopia, for instance, people are particularly interested in federalism. On this topic, the Amharic editorial team is planning a special broadcast in cooperation with one of the country's most popular radio stations, Sheger FM. In another special, the Haussa editorial team will explain Germany's democratic system to its audience in Nigeria and Niger.

Stäcker Claus, Director of Programs for Africa

"The goal is to make it easier for our audience in Africa to understand the current situation in Germany and the role of the Federal Republic in the world," says Claus Stäcker, Director of Programs for Africa and initiator of the tour. "During their tour, our journalists will also seek out specific African points of reference, such as the African Quarter in Berlin, the philosophy of Anton Wilhelm Amo, the first black philosopher in Germany in the 18th century, encounters with students and teachers, and with political actors such as Karamba Diaby, a member of the German Bundestag."

German MP Karamba Diaby

Sub-Saharan Africa is a focus region for the DW. The German foreign broadcaster has a weekly reach of 78 million people within the region, in six languages, across all media. The Kiswahili and Haussa radio programs alone have a weekly listenership of 37 million. (As of 2020)