Promoting media freedom across the globe

65 years ago, Deutsche Welle (DW) was founded to offer multilingual news to foreign audiences abroad and to promote democratic values and the exchange of ideas among different cultures and peoples.

“These ideals are the foundations of our daily work,” said DW director general Peter Limbourg. “It is the right of journalists to do their job. Like it is the right of artists to express themselves. As it should be the right of everybody on this planet to speak their minds freely, without fear of harassment or arrest.”

Highlighting free speech

DW Freedom is an online and social media platform which highlights the topics of free speech and media freedom around the world. On the website dw.com/freedom, on Twitter @dw_freedom, and Facebook at DW Freedom, users will find reports by and interviews with activists, academics, artists, cartoonists, hackers, and authors from all corners of the world.

Digital privacy, secure communication and data protection, critical topics for journalists and free speech advocates, will also be discussed. Users can engage in dialogue on social media and contact the DW editors directly.

Publishing and explaining content from all DW editorial teams and DW Akademie projects, DW Freedom strives to heighten DW’s coverage of complex issues surrounding free speech and media freedom. It sheds a light on – sometimes forgotten – crises, victims of human rights violations and initiatives striving to improve the current situation and fosters a greater debate on these issues.

DW editor-in-chief, Ines Pohl, said: “Our journalists report on human rights in 30 languages. We believe that freedom is the ultimate human right, whether it concerns freedom of speech, of the media, of assembly or freedom of religion. So all of us at DW are supporting this important project whole-heartedly.”

In addition to providing news and information, Deutsche Welle also supports freedom of expression and media freedom through DW Akademie’s activities in 50 countries around the world.

DW Freedom of Speech Award

In 2015, Germany’s international broadcaster launched the DW Freedom of Speech Award to honoUr those engaged in a daily fight for free expression. The first winner was – still imprisoned – Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. In 2016 Sedat Ergin, former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, received the award, and last year, DW recognised the US-American White House Correspondents' Association.

From now on, DW Freedom will help promote the stories behind these free speech heroes.