Costa Rica: DW Director General Meets President Chinchilla

"It is with great excitement and pleasure that we welcome Deutsche Welle's increased presence in Latin America and of course here in Costa Rica," said Chinchilla in reference to DW's Latin America strategy and the expansion of Spanish-language television content. "I consider this to be the best way of strengthening and deepening the German-Latin American relationship in various segments of society and especially in the cultural sphere."

Since February 2012, DW has offered its audiences in Latin America two TV channels: DW (Latinoamérica) with 20 hours of Spanish programs per day, and DW (Amerika) with 20 hours of German programs.

Extended cooperation with SINART

Chinchilla also expressed her support for the increased rebroadcasting of DW television programs via Costa Rica's national broadcaster SINART - an arrangement agreed on by SINART and Bettermann, who also assured the broadcaster of DW's support in introducing a multi-platform strategy.While in Costa Rica, the DW Director General took part in the talk show “Claves” and discussed with local journalists about the future of television, ethics in journalism and the role of new media. This weekly co-production was hosted by DW moderator Gonzalo Caceres and filmed on the premises of DW's partner broadcaster Teletica.

In response to an invitation by German ambassador Ernst Martens, Bettermann also met with representatives of Costa Rica-based German institutions, including the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He explained DW's Latin America strategy and presented the new Spanish and German television programs.

Bettermann is also visiting Guatemala, El Salvador and Cuba, with various meetings focussing on politics and media politics. On the schedule are also visits to partner broadcasters and media institutions.