German-Polish Media Days
The German-Polish Media Days are an annual conference for journalists, media representatives and experts from Poland and Germany . The aim is to enable encounters and exchange of views between media professionals and thus to promote the German-Polish dialogue in this area. Every year around 250 people take part in the media days.
The media days are organized jointly by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation and the Robert Bosch Foundation . The media days are hosted annually by one of the border regions in Poland or Germany. In 2008 the media days took place in Potsdam for the first time, in 2009 in Stettin , 2010 in Dresden , 2011 in Zielona Góra (Grünberg), 2012 in Schwerin and 2013 in Wroclaw . The seventh conference took place in May 2014 in Potsdam.
In the context of the conference, current and fundamental questions of reporting in the context of German-Polish relations will be taken up in debates and discussed and reflected upon with top-class experts in an open atmosphere. The participants discuss the specific and responsible role of the media in shaping bilateral political, economic and cultural relations. In 2013, industry-specific workshops were included in the program of the media days for the first time. During these workshops, the guests discussed important journalistic issues in both countries in a smaller group. In 2014, an interactive fishbowl discussion was also introduced, in which viewers could get involved and ask questions to the editors-in-chief of Deutschlandradio Kultur and TVP1. The debate was supported by experts and politicians.
The festive highlight of the media days is the awarding of the German-Polish Tadeusz Mazowiecki Journalist Prize in the categories of press, radio and television for the best journalistic contributions of the previous year. The award is given to work that provides information in a particularly original, factual and well-founded manner about politics, economy, science, culture or history of the neighboring country and thereby contributes to an objective picture of Poland in Germany and Germany in Poland. The prize money in each category is 5,000 euros. The prize, founded in 1997, is sponsored by the three federal states of Brandenburg , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony as well as the three voivodships Dolnośląskie (Lower Silesia), Lubuskie (Lebus) and Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania). The Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation and the Robert Bosch Foundation have also been involved since 2008.
In 2014, the “Journalism in the Border Region” prize sponsored by the State of Brandenburg was awarded for the first time. The jury honored a documentary that exemplifies integration and change as well as newly emerging everyday problems in the border region. The tender was prepared by journalists from the six partner regions. This prize is also endowed with 5,000 euros.