‘Youth Across Borders’: German-Egyptian Talk Show on Multimedia and Conflict Prevention

Facebook and other Web 2.0 platforms are booming in Egypt and are valued and being used more and more – especially by the younger generation. At the same time, people are looking for competent and objective information, quality and reliability. Just one reason that the German-Egyptian television talk show “Youth Across Borders” has seen such success since its premiere in May 2008. Within the last year, it has made a breakthrough on the Egyptian television market, with a market share of up to 12 percent. In that time, it has also become established that guests and viewers have been discussing the show on Facebook.

The co-production from Deutsche Welle and the Egyptian broadcaster ERTU is produced alternately in Berlin and Cairo. It will be recorded in Bonn for the first time in coordination with the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. On Thursday, June 4 at 5:00 p.m. at Deutsche Welle’s Broadcasting Center, eight young people from Berlin and eight from Cairo will engage in a discussion in front of a live audience. Anyone interested in being part of the audience should come to Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 3 early. Admission is free.

Topic: The role of traditional and new media and their contribution to conflict prevention. How does television influence the young people in both countries? Which formats are in demand? And how can the media contribute to conflict prevention and to creating solutions for crises and conflicts?

For the host of the show and popular Egyptian journalist, Sahar Nagui, the cooperation is an “exemplary project that doesn’t exclude sensitive issues. It’s a place where curious, young people meet, discover similarities and experience how the exchange across borders can foster respect and tolerance.”

The success of the cooperation is even more striking when considering the development of the media market in North Africa. Arabic television broadcasters like ERTU in Egypt have felt the increasing competition from the Internet. According to Reporters Without Borders, online media in North Africa have become an influential medium for political expression and decision making. The current report states that in addition, the activities of the “lively blogging scene is how people voice themselves in areas of political repression and governmental dictation.”

“Instead of the politically prominent and educational experts, young people are the ones who have a voice,” says Deutsche Welle Director of Television Christoph Lanz about the concept. “The relations between Europe and North America are becoming more and more important. That’s why the exchange between young people from different cultures is a great chance for a credible dialogue.” The project is scheduled to run until the end of 2009, but ERTU has already expressed an interest in extending the cooperation.

The one-hour recording will be broadcast on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 on DW-TV in the Arabic-language region between Morocco and Saudi Arabia as well as on Channel 1 from ERTU in primetime.

The second Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum will focus on “Conflict Prevention in the Multimedia Age”. Along with the 50 individual events, 900 participants from around the world are expected. Co-host of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum is the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn. The convention is also supported by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Bonn, DHL, The Economist, Intermedia, KD Deutsche Rheinschifffahrt AG and the dpa group companies news aktuell and picture alliance.