Deutsche Welle expands cooperation with Cairo University

Deutsche Welle is expanding its cooperation with Cairo University, enabling all students to take part in joint events with DW for the first time. On September 19, 2010, the Director General of Germany’s international broadcaster, Erik Bettermann, signed an agreement to this effect in the Egyptian capital. At the end of 2007, DW and the faculty of “Mass and Media Communication” agreed on a memorandum of understanding. On this basis, DW has since carried out numerous academy seminars and discussion sessions with renowned media partners from the region. Due to the high demand, the programs are now open to students of all faculties.

With 155,000 students, Cairo University is the largest university on the African continent and the “Mass and Media Communication” faculty is the largest and most important of its kind in the Arab-speaking world. Eighty-five percent of students enrolled in the faculty are female. DW hopes to contribute to the training of qualified media specialists by means of this expanded cooperation.

Within the scope of the cooperation with Cairo University, Deutsche Welle has already been able to acquire key local partners. The partnership with the private cultural institution Sawy, for example, enables DW to host intercultural events at Cairo’s most famous cultural center every six to eight weeks. These events are held in collaboration with German institutions such as the Goethe Institute, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Meetings with regional media partners

Alongside Cairo University, the private German University in Cairo (GUC) has also been one of Deutsche Welle’s most important partners in Egypt for several years now.

During his stay in Cairo, DW Director General Bettermann will continue the theme of cooperation in discussions with the head of the university, Professor Ashraf Mansour. Bettmann will discuss the “role of social media on development” with GUC students.
In 2007, Bettermann inaugurated the joint project “Campus Radio” at the GUC. The trendsetting digital Campus Radio and TV relies on the cooperation between GUC, Fraunhofer IIS Erlangen and DW. It enables students to transmit and receive broadcasts via Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), Digital Video Broadcast-H as well as the Internet.

Together with other high-ranking media representatives, Bettermann is also taking part in a media policy discussion hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The discussion “Rebel rousers or mediator? The role of the media in inter-cultural dialogue” follows on from past discussion sessions with German political foundations in Egypt, which have addressed the impact of the media on the inter-cultural exchange of information and thus initiated long-standing debates directly on location.

In addition, Bettermann will meet with Anas El Fiki, Minister of Information, Hani Helal, Minister of Higher Education and Research and Osama al Sheikh, Director of the Egyptian Radio and TV Union (ERTU). Deutsche Welle and ERTU have enjoyed a close partnership for many years now. In June 2008, they launched a jointly produced show entitled “Youth Across Borders”. The monthly talk show, which is produced alternately in Berlin and Cairo, grapples with subjects affecting young people across cultural borders. Both institutions also collaborate in radio broadcasts and further education.

(Press Release)