DW to hold forum on media’s global responsibility

More than 1,800 experts from around the world will attend a global media conference in Germany next week on “Culture. Education. Media – Shaping a sustainable world”.

The Global Media Forum in Bonn from 25-27 June is organised by the Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, whose Director General, Erik Bettermann, believes the media can be a powerful instrument in implementing the right to education.

“They have a key task here to raise awareness,” he says. “The media around the world bear the responsibility.”

Mr Bettermann quotes UNESCO figures of around 800 million illiterate people in the world, though he noted that the world has become a global information society “that constantly delivers us knowledge at the push of a button from anywhere.”

Though the circumstances for people in a globalized world are very different,  Bettermann says: “Upbringing, culture and education are a key for us all when it comes to living peacefully with one another as well as to development and intercultural dialogue. We must create lasting awareness of these issues because education and knowledge are fundamental in forming opinions.”

The 2012 Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum will focus on matters of education within the context of intercultural dialog and examine the role and responsibility of the media.

The forum’s patron is UNESCO and Roland Bernecker, the Secretary-General of the German Commission for UNESCO says: “Freedom of the press, quality of education and cultural diversity are key elements of strong and open civil societies. Around the world, the images and messages of independent media play an important role. They can contribute significantly to fostering UNESCO’s goals, such as the preservation of cultural diversity and improving educational work.”