AJMI - Berlin

Al Jazeera Media Institute in the German capital, Berlin, concluded activities of German-Arab media dialogue, organized by the Arab Cultural House "Diwan", in cooperation with the Institute between 10-11 October.

The theme of the dialogue centered on importance of Germany to Arab media and vice versa and shed light on the German media coverage for Arab World as well as Arab media coverage for German affairs, especially the problem of false stereotypes that prevail in media coverage. 

Arab and German journalists participated in dialogue, discussed the problem of German media coverage for Arab world and ways to overcome stereotypes and prejudice connected with the region, as well as the problem of external coverage budgets reduction in both German and Arab media institutions which greatly affected numbers of external correspondents which leads to absence of a local content in news of both directions and spread of misleading coverage.

Participants highlighted the role of media in shaping public perceptions of the region and ongoing issues taking place there, and the joint responsibility entrusted to German and Arab journalists and media institutions to provide accurate and objective coverage to the public, and to move away from current patterns that contribute to reinforcing false stereotypes and contribute to misleading audience about the real issues.  

On the second day, the Institute organized several training workshops for Arab and German journalists on news verification, data journalism and mobile journalism.

It’s worth mentioning, that the Institute participated in this dialogue in response to the invitation of Arab Cultural House "Diwan", due to the vision of the Institute and its role in developing journalistic practices around the world.