Nine reasons to attend the GMF 2016

1. The brave fight for press freedom in Turkey: Sedat Ergin, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily newspaper Hürriyet will be honored by Deutsche Welle with the Freedom of Speech Award. The prize will be awarded with a laudation by the publisher of Germany's Bild newspaper, Kai Diekmann. Monday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m.

2. Targeted disinformation and propaganda or factual information and explanation? Discussing selective truth and authenticity in the information jungle will be, among others, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, vice president of the European Parliament, Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, and Alexey Nikolov, editor-in-chief of the Russian broadcaster RT. Monday, June 13 at 11:15 a.m.

3. The consequences of inequality on a community and the values of a quality media is the subject of a keynote speech by Andrea Nahles, the German federal minister for labour and social affairs, which is sure to create room for debate on the second day of the conference. Tuesday, June 14 at 9 a.m. in the Plenary Hall.

4. Democratic values as a universal panacea? That's the point of focus in a roundtable of heavy hitters, including the vice president of the German parliament, Claudia Roth. Tuesday, June 14 at 10 a.m. In another conversation, Roth will meet Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef.

5. The DW conference goes to bat for freedom of art and culture: Egyptian street Artist Ammar Abo Bakr and Palestinian-Syrian pianist Aeham Ahmad take to the podium to share how art and culture can open up a dialogue that can lead to policy changes. Iraqi satirist Ahmed al-Basheer – whose show has recently been added to Deutsche Welle's Arabic television programming – and German rapper Samy Deluxe join their discussion. Wednesday, June 15 at 10:30 a.m.

6. Abo Bakr will be bringing the subject of refugees to his street art as he livens up the WCCB convention center; pianist Aeham Ahmad will play an intermezzo. And the Ethiopian soul singer FETSUM will provide musical accompaniment to the award ceremony for Deutsche Welle's The Bobs – Best of Online Activism. Tuesday, June 14 at 6:15 p.m.

7. DW will be producing its own tv formats at the media conference: you can be there live as moderator Jaafar Abdul Karim speaks with guests at his popular television show, Shababtalk. Or see how Cuban journalist Yoani Sánchez discusses human rights with Latin-American activists. Beyond that, documentary films will be screened; you can be part of a dialogue with the filmmakers behind #MyEscape, Eco@Africa and #WhatAmerica. Bonn will also be home to the European premiere of the IDEA film “Power in our Pockets,” which takes up the role of social media in policing election campaign financing.

8. Deutsche Welle is once again expecting 2,000 guests from over 100 countries. Media professionals, politicians, researchers and experts, creative artists and activists. Meet Kasha Jaqueline Nabagesera of Uganda and recipient of the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” Belgium's former prime minister Yves Leterme, British historian and author Martin Walker, President of the Humboldt-Viadrina Governance Platform, Gesine Schwan, and Germany's Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Bärbel Kofler.

9. The Global Media Forum is, last but not least, an invitation to network, something which is well-supported via the conference's app: gmf2016 which is free for participants in the App Store.

These are just nine highlights from Deutsche Welle's international media conference, selected from more than 40 events on a broad range of topics with many prominent faces and strong partners.