DW’s Ingo Mannteufel recently took part at this year’s Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavi, Russia. The head of DW’s Russian Service spoke about the role of the Internet in conflict situations and also moderated a panel about “Global Security in Local Conflicts”. The Forum took place from September 7-8 and focused on “The Modern State in the Age of Social Diversity”. Politicians and experts from around the world participated in the conference, which welcomed Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and the President of Turkey Abdullah Gül as keynote speakers.

Mannteufel spoke about “Global Media 2.0 – Role of the Internet for Global Security and Local Conflicts”, especially addressing the challenges facing the global media in the Internet era.

The editors from our environmental series Global Ideas recently conducted a quiz. The winners have been selected and the prizes are being shipped. Congratulations goes out to:

Joaquín Gutiérrez, Mexico
Rishita Islam, Bangladesh
Noel Kuppan, Malaysia

 

What is a computer programmer from Moscow doing at Deutsche Welle’s headquarters in Bonn? Well, Ksenia Koteleva helped decide which topic would be featured in the last episode of the future now series and picked up the grand prize: a trip for two to Germany. She and her sister Elizaveta came to DW this week and also took a tour of the CAESAR research center down the street.

Ksenia studied mathematics and spends at least some of her free-time online. She “finds lots of interesting stuff” at www.dw-world.de and DW’s future now multimedia project was something that really caught her eye. It highlights researchers looking for answers to some of our generation’s most burning issues in the areas of health, communication, mobility and the environment.

To get more people involved in the series, DW developed a contest that would let people from around the world vote for a project that was yet to be made. From the three alternatives, Ksenia (like the majority of DW users) voted for “Computers of the future” and thereby won the grand prize.

Ksenia has already spent some time in Germany. She attended school for six months here and also vacationed here with her brother. But she had never been to Bonn. “But I like Bonn. It’s not a big city, but it’s pretty and the people here are very nice.”

In the latest issue of Content Asia, editors spoke to seven of the world’s leading clips and archive companies about challenges in Asia, Asia-related content, demand, trends and the adjustments they’ve had to make for a new connected environment. Among these experts, was DW’s Stefan Bliemsrieder.

What does he see as the biggest challenge in selling archive/news clips into Asia?

“Two challenges: presentation and content. Asian consumers like to watch online clips that are relevant to them and in their language. DW has started providing local language versions (e.g. Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia) to address this audience need in selected territories. The key challenge remains in the cost of localizing our content.”

Check out the full “Short & Sweet” interview.

Deutsche Welle (DW) and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday, June 1 in Berlin, outlining intensified cooperation in the future on Chinese, Indonesian and Arabic radio programming. Director General Erik Bettermann signed for Germany’s international broadcaster alongside Director General Jan Hoek from The Netherlands.

Bettermann said that this agreement symbolizes a “historical moment”. Bettermann added that it is important to both broadcasters – especially with regards to the historical experiences in both countries – to work in the heart of Europe to solidify their shared values such as freedom of the press, human rights and democracy around the world.

Hoek pointed out that free access to information is an especially important good.  DW and RNW will be focusing their cooperation on Chinese, Indonesian and Arabic programming. The two will exchange links to each other’s websites and use cross promotion in their programming. New forms of cooperation should also be developed in the future. The cooperation should also be expanded to distribution. The goal is to reach each of the target audiences better.