These days, media professionals face a radically changing media landscape and market. They have to cope with political pressure and other limitations to the freedom of the press. They are confronted with growing polarization and disinformation that threaten social cohesion and international understanding. Media innovators worldwide react to these challenges by developing a new approach: They engage communities to thrive.

From mobile newsrooms and community events to crowdsourcing and empowerment tools – in this interactive session, we want to focus on methods and strategies for community engagement in journalism. We invited “engagement pioneers” from Africa, America, Asia and Europe to discuss opportunities and challenges, to identify common goals and jointly create new ways for public participation in media and society.

Speakers:

Paul Steiger - Founding Editor-in-Chief and Current Executive Chairman, ProPublica, USA

Natalia Antelava - Co-Founder and CEO, Coda Story, Georgia

Pavel Andreev - Co-Founder and CEO, 7x7, Russia

Sam Gummah - Executive Director, Uganda Radio Network, Uganda

Chiranuch Premchaiporn - Director, Prachatai Newspaper, Thailand

Facilitators:

Cornelia Reichel - Senior Project Manager, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Germany

Erik Albrecht - Trainer and Researcher, DW Akademie, Germany