DW Akademie in Europe and Central Asia

Although it has been three decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain, political and financial pressures on the media still remain in regions of Europe and Central Asia. Increasing restraints on the media in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, for example, contrast with a few bright spots such as Georgia and Moldova.

DW Akademie is responding with customized projects. In Southeast Europe we encourage closer ties with the European Union, for example, through a center of excellence in the Western Balkans.

Our focus in Central Asia is on strengthening community journalism so that people have access to information. In the South Caucasus region we concentrate on the social participation of rural groups and the financial sustainability of local media.