Strong voices, diverse perspectives: International board advises DW Akademie

The members from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa region met for the first time last week in Bonn and began their advisory work. 

Their mandate is to offer an outside perspective and contribute their own topics and recommendations, while sharing their wide range of experience and expertise. DW Akademie's aim is to take various regional perspectives into even greater consideration when making strategic decisions. In doing so, it aims to further strengthen the relevance and impact of its work with partners worldwide.  

Michelle Nogales from Muy Waso in Bolivia is part of DW Akademie's "Global Reference Group"

DW Akademie currently operates in around 70 countries, working with local partner organizations to promote media freedom, freedom of expression and unhindered access to information.  

"Representation and participation are extremely important in our work: we always develop projects together with local partners. In view of the enormous challenges facing media systems worldwide, we will now not only be doing this at the level of individual projects, but also in regard to the big overarching issues in media development," explained DW Akademie’s Managing Director Carsten von Nahmen. 

"Being part of the Global Reference Group is an exceptional opportunity that allows us to pool our skills and resources to tackle global challenges. My commitment to the group is driven by the belief that, together, we can generate innovative and sustainable solutions," said Hamouda Soubhi, Co-founder and President of the Forum des Alternatives Maroc (FMAS) in Morocco.

Members of DW Akademie's "Global Reference Group" in Bonn: (left to right) Hamouda Soubhi, Htaike Htaike Aung, Soumaya Berjeb, Faruq Faisel, Blandine Angbako

Going forward, the Global Reference Group will meet at least three times a year. Many of its members have worked with DW Akademie in the past. All of them are internationally renowned media experts: 

• Blandine Angbako, Centre d’Education pour une Société Durable (Centre ESD), Côte d'Ivoire  

• Htaike Htaike Aung, Myanmar Internet Project, Myanmar (currently in exile in Thailand)  

• Soumaya Berjeb, Institut de Presse et des Sciences de l’Information (IPSI), Tunisia  

• Faruq Faisel, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh  

• Erick Huerta Velázquez, Redes por la Diversidad, Equidad y Sustentabilidad A.C. (REDES A.C.), Mexico  

• Natalia Kurkiukova, Kharkiv Media Hub, Ukraine  

• Odanga Madung, Odipo Dev, Kenya 

• Mira Milosevic, Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), Serbia (currently in the United Kingdom)  

• Nadim Nashif, 7amleh, Palestinian citizen of Israel 

• Zenzele Ndebele, Centre for Innovation and Technology Zimbabwe (CITEZW), Zimbabwe 

• Michelle Nogales, Muy Waso, Bolivia  

• Hamouda Soubhi, Forum des Alternatives Maroc (FMAS), Morocco 

About DW Akademie  

DW Akademie is Deutsche Welle's center for international media development, journalism training and knowledge transfer. Its projects strengthen the human right to freedom of expression and unhindered access to information. DW Akademie empowers people worldwide to make independent decisions based on reliable facts and constructive dialogue. DW Akademie is a strategic partner of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. We also receive funding from the Federal Foreign Office and the European Union and are active in around 70 developing countries and emerging economies. 

Photos available for download here.

Press contact: 

DW (Deutsche Welle)

Carla Hagemann, Corporate Communications / carla.hagemann@dw.com / +49.30.4646.8197