Partnership focused on building capacity and expertise
July 16, 2015A memorandum of understanding has been signed on July 14, 2015, by DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg and the President, Aga Khan University, Firoz Rasul, signaling the start of a partnership to develop world-class professional development programmes for media and communication professionals in East Africa.
The partnership brings together two leading institutions focused on building capacity and expertise in media and communications. DW Akademie, the international media development and training division of DW, will leverage over 50 years experience training aspiring journalists and media professionals across multi-media platforms and will work closely with Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications (AKU-GSMC) to facilitate and deliver world-class training at AKU-GSMC’s campus located in Westland’s, Nairobi, Kenya.
“We are very pleased to join efforts with AKU-GSMC. Strengthening human rights through media development is at the core of the undertaking. We look forward to bringing this project to fruition”, says Peter Limbourg.
AKU-GSMC has been established in 2011 to address the need for globally competitive media and communications training in Eastern Africa. Its focus is on supporting a robust, independent and professional media and communications sector by offering professional development, executive leadership and graduate programmes to journalism and media professionals.
“This is a terrific example of how two very different media organizations — one an innovative academic institution, the other a premier global media leader — can work together to deliver the highest-standard media education and training across East Africa,” says Dean Michael Meyer, a former Newsweek editor and director of communications for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The partnership has been made possible thanks to the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Development Bank (KfW) and the East African Community (EAC).
About AKU-GSMC
Our mission is to foster a diverse, independent, innovative, ethical and economically thriving media and communications sector that contributes to the creation of successful and sustainable societies in an era of technological and social change.
About DW Akademie
DW Akademie is Germany's leading organization for international media development. We support the development of independent, transparent media systems, quality journalism and media expertise. We help rebuild media in post-crisis and post-conflict environments and contribute internationally to the professional training of media workers.