On the occasion of the one-year countdown to the start of the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar, the Berlin Forum for German-Gulf Dialogue e.V. organized a panel discussion at the Federal Press Conference building in Berlin on November 16, 2021.
The focus of the panel discussion was on questions regarding the reporting on Qatar, as according to the Association of German Sports Journalists, over 90 percent of German journalists have little to no information about this Gulf state. Human and labor rights were also discussed.
In the past, many critical media reports have emerged concerning the event, the host location, the timing, and the preparations. A year before the start, we raise various questions: What impact have these reports had? How are reporters preparing? How do media influence the debate? How is the country positioning itself politically and athletically as a host? How does the population of the host country perceive the event? And is the anticipation of football fans politically correct? Furthermore, the discussion addressed the progress Qatar has made regarding this international sporting event, as well as the legal reforms in favor of workers and their safety that the Gulf state has recently undertaken. The discussion also expressed the interactive exchange that connects the Middle East and the Arab world, including Qatar, with the rest of the world.
Participants in the panel included a representative from the Association of German Sports Journalists, Qatar experts, journalists, and a human rights expert from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Guests:
- Erich Laaser, radio host and sports reporter, President of the Association of German Sports Journalists
- Sylvia Schenk, judge and head of the sports working group at Transparency International
- Benjamin Best, journalist, Sportschau ARD
- Thomas Nehls, journalist WDR, chairman of the German Initiative for the Middle East (DINO).
A recording of the event, moderated by Ewald König, can be found here:
