DW-AKADEMIE | Global Media Forum 2010

How can the complex aspects of climate research be explained in simple terms? How should young media professionals deal with the individual interests and motives of scientists and PR officers? And should journalists take sides when reporting on climate change or try to remain as objective as possible?

To find answers to these questions, DW-AKADEMIE is holding two panel discussions during this year’s Global Media Forum. The first panel, “How the broader public, scientific community and media understand climate change”, takes place June 21 and starts at 2 p.m. The panelists include John Hay, (UN Climate Secretariat), scientists Hans-Peter Peters (Jüllich Research Center) and Jürgen Kropp (Potsdam Institute for Climate Research), journalist Ulrike Wolpers and media researcher Saskia-Valeska Bruckner. Patrick Leusch, head of DW-AKADEMIE’s project development, will moderate the discussion.

The students of DW-AKADEMIE’s new Master’s Degree in International Media Studies, offered together with the Bonn University and the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, will also present reports on the issue, compiled during their practical projects.

DW-AKADEMIE’s second panel discussion takes place June 23 and begins at 11:30 a.m.: “Climate Change – Another Hot Topic in Journalism Training?“. The panelists include journalists Markus Lehmkuhl, Steve Zwick and Jan Lublinski; Mike Shanahan, press spokesman for the International Institute for Environment and Development; and Helmut Osang, head of DW-AKADEMIE’s Asia Division. The event will be moderated by DW-AKADEMIE project manager Jochen Walter.

The Global Media Forum 2010 “The heat is on“ focuses especially on the role of the media in sharpening awareness of the complex topic of climate change. More than a 1,000 participants from all over the world will gather to debate the issue in more than 40 interdisciplinary workshops, plenary events and panel discussions.