Prothom Alo joins DW Global Media Forum in Germany

Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman attends the "DW Global Media Forum 2026," organised by the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), alongside leading media figures from around the world.

During the two-day conference, Matiur Rahman took part in several discussions and views-exchange meetings both at the primary venue, the former Parliament building and at the DW headquarters.

Thousands of journalists, editors and media professionals from more than 100 countries have gathered in Bonn, Germany to address the global challenges of reporting the truth.

This year’s Freedom of Speech Award was presented to Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai. His daughter, Claire Lai, accepted the award on his behalf.

Deutsche Welle organises the Global Media Forum in Bonn every year to strengthen independent journalism and create a platform for international dialogue on the role of media in addressing global challenges. This year’s conference held under the slogan ‘Fearless, Vocal Journalism’ began on Tuesday (23 June).

During the first meeting, Matiur Rahman highlighted Prothom Alo’s growing readership and its wide range of initiatives involving students, professionals, women and people from different sections of society beyond daily news coverage.

On the first day of the conference on Tuesday, Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman exchanged views with Maximilian Peikert and Daniel Vogelgesang of Deutsche Welle’s Marketing and Management Department; Debarati Guha, Programme Director of Deutsche Welle’s Asia Department; her assistant, Mikko Stübner-Lankuttis; and Sanjivs Burman, Head of Deutsche Welle’s Bengali Department.

The second meeting was held with members of Deutsche Welle Bengali. During the session, Deutsche Welle Bengali conducted an extensive interview with Matiur Rahman on Bangladesh’s recent developments.

On Wednesday (24 June) morning, the second and final day of the conference, Matiur Rahman met Petra Schneider, director of sales and distribution at Deutsche Welle.

During the meeting, he discussed the challenges facing media organisations globally and in Bangladesh.

Matiur Rahman also highlighted Prothom Alo’s longstanding work on issues relating to women, children, refugees and other marginalised groups. The two sides agreed to explore collaboration in these areas.

A partnership agreement was signed to jointly produce reports and video content on women’s issues, the Rohingya crisis and other humanitarian topics at both national and global levels. The two organisations also agreed to jointly organise discussion programmes and roundtable meetings on a range of issues.

At noon, Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman met with Deutsche Welle Director General Barbara Massing. The meeting discussed the global challenges facing the media, threats to newspapers and journalism, the recent arson attacks on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star in Bangladesh, and the country's post-election situation.

At the opening ceremony of the forum yesterday, Deutsche Welle Director General Barbara Massing highlighted the significance of this year's conference theme, saying that as the world becomes increasingly noisy, journalism must remain a strong and outspoken voice.

Referring to the continued relevance of journalism despite the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, she said that people still place their trust in established news organisations as sources of information. This, she noted, provides a strong foundation for the media.

Speaking at the opening session, Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal, European and International Affairs and Media of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, underscored the importance of building economically sustainable media organisations.

Since 2015, Deutsche Welle has presented the Freedom of Speech Award to recognise outstanding work by journalists and human rights defenders and to draw attention to restrictions on press freedom around the world.

This year’s award was presented to Jimmy Lai, a prominent voice in defence of free expression. The 78-year-old businessman and politician founded the newspaper Apple Daily in support of independent journalism. He has been imprisoned since 2020 and was sentenced to 20 years under Hong Kong’s national security law.

The award recognised his unwavering commitment to press freedom and democracy.

Accepting the award on her father’s behalf, Claire Lai said her father is a living reminder of the price people may have to pay for speaking truth to power.

She said the sacrifices he has made in defence of freedom of expression, press freedom and democratic values would continue to inspire journalists and human rights advocates around the world.

Previous recipients of the Freedom of Speech Award include Tamar Kintsurashvili (2025), Yulia Navalnaya and the Anti-Corruption Foundation (2024), Óscar Martínez of El Faro (2023), and Ukrainian war journalists Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov (2022). Maloletka and Chernov later won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for 20 Days in Mariupol.

The Freedom of Speech Award was presented on the first day of the conference.

Discussions of the second day are focusing on artificial intelligence, innovation in media, platform regulation, press freedom and the future of delivering reliable information in an increasingly complex media environment.