Check out the conference program at dw.com/gmf.
We live in an increasingly fragmented world. The global clash of systems and ideologies, conflicting strategies in response to the climate crisis, and the mounting frustration in the fight for minority rights are just three examples of the many polarizing debates of our day.
At the Global Media Forum, DW brings together media professionals from around the globe
In addition, there's also a growing overload of digitally available information, where more and more voices are trying to dominate each one of these issues.
In this context, diversity and plurality could serve as our greatest strengths and guiding principles in search for solutions. But it has become increasingly difficult to unite people with differing views and opinions. At the same time, there is a growing need for more social cohesion and solidarity.
Making connections – both in spite of and because of differing opinions
What role does the media play against this backdrop? How can journalism help us overcome societal divisions? Can news do more than just document social grievances that push us apart?
Or does the fundamental duty of media organizations extend to advocating values and to actively fostering civil societies? Furthermore, how do we prevent overreporting from fueling conflicts – even though it might lead to bigger reach?
These are some of the many issues which the 16th edition of the DW Global Media Forum hopes to explore on June 19 and 20, 2023. The conference will take place both at our well-known historic location, the former German parliament building and today's World Conference Center in Bonn, and online.
Register now and take part in the conference.
In light of current developments in media, politics, and science, "Overcoming divisions" will direct its emphases on the following issues:
-
Should media companies be involved in strengthening civil societies?
-
How can unbiased information improve its goals of reaching majority audiences around the globe?
-
Where does the current fragmentation of societies around the globe originate from? Have we ignored too many voices for too long? Which voices do we tend to focus on – and why?
-
How do we better reflect the diversity of our world in our newsrooms?
-
How can media outlets find a (profitable) balance in producing news content for various (micro-)target audiences while also supporting solutions that bring differing views together?
Lively discussions across borders: Ukrainian journalist Angelina Kariakina attended the forum in 2022
-
Which instruments do we need in order to become truly inclusive and to counter discrimination and exclusion on account of gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, or religion?
-
Does the media put enough effort into covering existential topics such as poverty, food distribution and hunger?
-
With more and more people being forced to leave their homes around the globe and migration levels reaching new highs, should media outlets broaden their respective focuses concerning their language(s) and topics?
-
How can we best address the issue of improving media literacy around the world now that (deep) fakes are so widespread and sophisticated, especially in digital or social media-only news?
-
How do wars and their coverage affect the work of journalists in the long run – in conflict regions as well as in newsrooms worldwide?
-
How do we go about prioritizing what crises we need to shift our attention to, i.e. what measures do we have to take to reliably report on ad-hoc global news events while making sure to cover constant threats like climate change as well?
-
Does journalism employ the right instruments to counter populism?
Register now and take a look at our conferencr program here. Stay tuned for updates on panels, speakers, pre-conference impulses, and more! You can also sign up for the DW Global Media Forum newsletter or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
We look forward to welcoming you on June 19 and 20, 2023.
A platform to seek solutions — together
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.
Learn more about the conference, its past editions, and highlights on our YouTube channel.
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Sometimes news, sometimes information is more important for human survival than even food. That thought allowed us to keep working."
Mstyslav Chernov, Ukrainian journalist and DW Freedom of Speech Award laureate (2022)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"If you don't have facts you don't have truth; if you don't have truth, you don't have trust."
Maria Ressa - Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2021, co-founder and CEO of the news website Rappler, Philippines (2022)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"I firmly believe that free and democratic societies need free media to inform citizens and hold those in power accountable.”
Annalena Baerbock - German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (2022)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"The word 'disruption' has to be recycled. The idea of a local newspaper is disruptive. The idea to have iPhones and be on the internet is reactive."
Timothy Snyder - Historian, Yale University, USA (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"It's a pity that when our demonstrations, because of violence and torture, disappeared from the streets, journalists lost a bit of interest."
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - Belarusian opposition leader (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Independent fact-based journalism has never been as important as it is today."
Armin Laschet - Minister-President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"We live in a microwave generation. Everyone wants everything too fast, but we have to put in the work."
Leymah Gbowee - Activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liberia (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"In democratic societies where we are open to new developments, we have to keep thinking carefully about what freedom really means to us."
Angela Merkel - Federal Chancellor of Germany (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"What we want in journalism is not optimism and not cynicism, but accuracy."
Steven Pinker - Cognitive psychologist, Harvard University, USA (2021)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"They kicked me out of Iran, but I am there every day through social media."
Masih Alinejad - Journalist and women's rights activist, Iran/USA (2020)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"It's difficult to form a relationship with a politician who's acting like a tyrant. What questions can you ask when this person can put you in jail?"
Can Dündar - Former editor-in-chief of "Cumhuriyet", Turkey (2019)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"We need ombudsmen for algorithms. We need some insight into them if we are to maintain our democratic political system."
Anne Applebaum - Pulitzer Prize winner, USA (2020)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Algorithms pick up on negative feelings such as fear and accentuate them. This has led to the creation of fear-based politics all over the world."
Jaron Lanier - Computer scientist and author, USA (2019)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Do governments truly have the capacity to understand emerging technologies? Communication regulations from the 1970s are not going to work for 2019."
Juliana Rotich - Tech entrepreneur, Kenya (2019)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"We need to address the daunting challenges to development by engaging with multiple centers seeking balance rather than overreliance on one country."
Hamid Karzai - Former President of Afghanistan (2018)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"I believe that in the digital age, public broadcasters have a more important role to play than ever before."
Tom Buhrow - Director General of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Germany (2018)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"We should all be protected by the same press freedom."
Sarah Harrison - British journalist and WikiLeaks section editor, UK (2014)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"The freedom of the press is facing pressure on a global scale, not just abroad. I want to encourage journalists: Democracy needs you all urgently."
Frank-Walter Steinmeier - Federal President of Germany (2014)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Power must be in the hands of the wealth of the nation."
Noam Chomsky - Linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic and political activist, USA (2013)
-
DW Global Media Forum: 15 years of top speakers
"Journalists must see themselves as members of a big family and stick together."
Shirin Ebadi - Lawyer, former judge and human rights activists, founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Iran (2008)