RIAS Berlin Commission
| RIAS Berlin Commission | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Institute of public right |
| founding | 1992 |
| Seat | Berlin |
| management |
Honorary Chairman :
Administration director: Rainer Hasters 1992–2016 Administration director: Erik Kirschbaum October 2016 |
| Website |
RIASBerlin.org Funkhaus at Hans-Rosenthal-Platz 10825 Berlin |
The RIAS Berlin Commission is an intergovernmental organization promoting German-American understanding in broadcasting .
history
The RIAS Berlin Commission emerged from the signing of the agreement on the promotion of German-American international understanding and the implementation of exchange programs for radio professionals. This agreement was signed by the then American Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt and the former Interior Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, Rudolf Seiters , on May 19, 1992. The name of the commission is derived from the former West Berlin broadcaster RIAS . The RIAS was founded by the US military administration after the Second World War and broadcast two radio programs from 1946 to 1993 .
Constitution
After it was founded in May 1992, the commission met for the first time on December 7, 1992 in Schöneberg Town Hall . Cynthia Miller was elected as the first chairman of the RIAS Berlin Commission, who succeeded Hildegard Boucsein a year later. The agreement provides that the German Federal Minister of the Interior and the head of the diplomatic mission of the United States are honorary chairmen of the commission.
On August 1, 1993, the commission opened its offices in the RIAS radio house on Hans-Rosenthal-Platz in the Schöneberg district of Berlin , and at the same time Rainer Hasters was appointed administrative director. The first annual program of the RIAS Berlin Commission was drawn up through several committee meetings on March 2, 1993 and September 20, 1993 in Berlin. On October 24, 1993, the first exchange program began, so that eight young journalists from Leipzig , Halle , Dresden and Berlin were able to fly to the United States as part of the international program. One speaks here of the beginning of the transatlantic bridge in broadcasting, which the Commission thus initiated.
Area of responsibility
The RIAS Berlin Commission performs its tasks within the meaning of the concluded agreement in the context of the exchange of people and information in the field of broadcast journalism between the two countries. This includes the commission's two- to four-week information programs for German broadcast journalists in the United States several times a year. The transatlantic exchange programs are carried out with a total of up to 50 program slots. In addition, the participants are able to hold seminars , conferences and fellowship meetings , for example with former participants. The purpose of these productions is to honor the promotion of radio and television productions that contribute to mutual understanding between the peoples of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States.
In addition to these events, there is also an annual award of prizes for German and American radio and television productions and these supplementary Internet contributions, which made a particular contribution to international understanding between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States. Contributions already funded by the Commission will not be honored again here.
The task of the RIAS Berlin Commission also includes the publication of business reports and other information materials.
Agreement extract
- “The government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the government of the United States of America
- In recognition of the achievements of RIAS Berlin over the past 45 years as a transatlantic bridge committed to truth and democracy and its symbolic content as an outstanding example of German-American cooperation,
- Guided by the desire to preserve the journalistic legacy and the transatlantic tradition of this respected and successful institution and to pass it on to new generations of journalists,
- In the expectation of promoting and deepening international understanding between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America through an expanded exchange of radio journalists and radio experts as well as through the promotion and awards of radio productions and other journalistic achievements, they have agreed to set up a commission named RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION, which has its seat in Berlin. The Commission is recognized by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the government of the United States of America as an intergovernmental organization.
- In particular, the Commission performs the following tasks:
- Promoting the exchange of people and information in the field of broadcast journalism between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America;
- the promotion of radio and television productions that contribute to mutual understanding between the peoples of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America;
- the granting of grants for the occasional transatlantic transmission of radio productions that promote this mutual understanding in an outstanding manner, as far as this is possible within the framework of the statutory provisions;
- the annual award of an award for one radio and one television production that have made a particular contribution to international understanding between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America and that have not already been funded by the Commission.
- In carrying out these purposes, the Commission pays particular attention to those productions and measures which, in the tradition of the RIAS, take into account the special conditions and requirements of the countries that formerly formed the German Democratic Republic . "
organization
The commission consists of ten members, five of whom are citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany and five are American citizens. In addition, the Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Head of the US Diplomatic Mission are Honorary Chairmen of the Commission.