DW Akademie in Bolivia

In Bolivia, the polarization of society, and especially the political landscape, is reflected in the country's media system. Broadcasters, newspapers, radios and online media are often used for pursuing economic or political interests. There is almost no independent, fair or balanced reporting on which people can form their own opinions. Added to this is that the media rarely focus on the interests of the public.   

Our activities 

We work with local project partners to make journalism in Bolivia more participatory, diverse and innovative.  Fundación para el Periodismo (FPP), a journalism foundation in La Paz, addresses one of the main problems of Bolivia's media system: journalism training here is based mainly on theory. To make training more practice-oriented, the FPP continues to develop its successful dual-journalism training program and has founded a training institute that also focuses on practice. Innovative formats and new business models are as much a part of the institute's curriculum as are technical developments in the media sector. For this, the FPP organizes MediaLabs and media forums throughout the country where media executives and media professionals discuss with their audience the current challenges facing Bolivia's media sector and experiment with new journalistic formats.

The Centro de Producción Radiofónica (Centre for Radio Production, CEPRA) in Cochabamba focuses more on populations living in rural areas and the outskirts of urban centers. CEPRA's digital learning platform offers training for local journalists, such as journalism basics or participating in journalism's technical developments.

In collaborative innovation labs ("Co-Laboratorios"), CEPRA is advancing local journalism together with media professionals and members of the public. For example, they discuss how community media can better reach their target groups and how the public can be involved in designing the content. Based on the discussions, they can then try out new ideas and concepts together in the Co-Laboratorios and share them with local journalists throughout the region. 

Funding: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Program Director: Benedikt Borchers

Locations: La Paz, Cochabamba

Local Partners:Fundación para el Periodismo (FPP), Centro de Producción Radiofónica (CEPRA)

Focus: Civic participation, media literacy, participation of disadvantaged groups, participatory media formats, dual journalism training, professionalism and economic sustainability of the media sector, qualification, media innovation