From 9 to 11 October 2024, the German-Arab Media Dialogue took place at the Divan – Das Arabische Kulturhaus in Berlin. Organised by the Divan Centre in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Media Institute, the event offered journalists and media professionals from both regions a platform to exchange views on current challenges in the media world. The opening speech was given by Abdullah Al Hamar, Ambassador of the State of Qatar and Chairman of the Divan Advisory Board.
The first discussion panel, moderated by Sami Zeidan (presenter Al Jazeera English), included a controversial exchange between the journalist and podcaster Tilo Jung (Jung & Naiv), Daniel-Dylan Böhmer (Die Welt), Yaman Shawaf (Alghad TV) and the freelance journalist Nasser Jubara about German reporting on the Middle East: To what extent is it still characterised by stereotypes? What changes are possible or necessary when reporting on the Arab world?
In another panel, Susanne Koelbl (Der Spiegel), Rainer Hermann (former Middle East correspondent for the FAZ), Loay Mudhoon (freelance journalist) and Ahmed Abida (Deutsche Welle) discussed developments in German foreign reporting in the Arab world. Questions regarding the orientation of German and Arab media organisations, the practical work of journalists on the ground and new forms of digital journalism played an important role. As with the first panel, the questions and comments from the audience contributed to an inspiring discussion.
In addition, the diverse workshops expanded the range of content covered by the media dialogue: aspiring journalists were particularly interested in Tilo Jung’s unique, crowdfunding-based journalism model, which he presented in detail in the first workshop. Under the direction of Montaser Marai (Manager of Media Initiatives), three workshops were held on the topics of AI in journalism, fake news and data journalism. These were led by Arwa Kooli (Professor of Data Journalism) and Muhammad Khamaiseh (Editor at the Al Jazeera Media Institute).
The participation of top-class international experts gave the media dialogue a high level and provided numerous new impulses for future cooperation between German and Arab media professionals. Together, they highlighted the relevance of both regions for each other, discussed redefinitions of journalism in both cultural areas and the role of the media in building and dismantling prejudices. Due to the extremely positive response, the German-Arab media dialogue is already firmly planned for next year and will then take place in Doha.
