Overcoming divisions: DW Global Media Forum 2023 to open in Bonn on June 19

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This year's Global Media Forum – themed "Overcoming Divisions" – will bring together communities of purpose, which integrate political leaders, media experts, international and civil society organizations, innovators and entrepreneurs at the former German Bundestag in Bonn.

Alongside 20 panel discussions with experts debating pressing media issues, the Forum will offer dynamic workshops that identify and develop solutions to global challenges facing journalists.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg: "In an increasingly divided society, global cooperation is more important than ever – also to overcome such divisions. Our goal at the Global Media Forum is to identify the issues facing journalists today and bring together global media experts and policymakers to develop and share solutions that impact journalism's long-term prospects."

Key speakers include German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst, and Minister for Federal, European, International Affairs and the Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Nathanael Liminski.

Opening the talk series of day one of the Global Media Forum are Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and women's rights activist Leymah Roberta Gbowee and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dmitry Muratov will open day two with a discussion on Russia and the state of independent media in times of crisis.

Renowned journalists such as Ron Haviv, Bülent Mumay and Sevgil Musaieva will discuss the current state of journalism, sharing their experiences and inspiring fellow journalists at the conference.

Check out the list of confirmed speakers here.

Cultural and political dimensions of global issues will be highlighted through panels, workshops, installations, and screenings. Global perspectives on the Global South, disability and diversity in the media, agenda cutting, and the threat of censorship will be integrated across sessions and in joint efforts with multiple partners, touching on a variety of disciplines including, among others, on-the-ground reporting, exile journalism, press freedom, climate action, and the impact of artificial intelligence in the newsroom.

View the full program here.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a wide range of hybrid sessions and onsite workshops. The Forum will present site-specific workshops hosted by DW’s Partners. Participating intermediary organizations – such as the Bonn Institute, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and Grimme Institute, among others – will hold onsite workshops as will international institutions, including UNESCO; The New Humanitarian; Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Teyit; The European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP); and Lie Detectors.

Óscar Martínez, Salvadoran investigative journalist and chief editor of the online platform El Faro, is the recipient of DW Freedom of Speech Award 2023. The winner will be honored at the Forum's award ceremony in Bonn, Germany, on the evening of Monday, June 19. The award celebrates the achievements of media figures who have shown outstanding promotion of freedom rights.

Read more about DW's Freedom of Speech Award.

About Global Media Forum

The DW Global Media Forum offers a unique interdisciplinary platform for media professionals as well as decision-makers from politics, civil society, culture, education, business, and science from all over the world to get together and to learn from each other as part of an intercultural exchange since 2008. The Global Media Forum is sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Stiftung Internationale Begegnung der Sparkasse in Bonn, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the City of Bonn, and Meedia.

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