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).

At Deutsche Welle headquarters on Tuesday, Matiur Rahman attended two meetings with Maximilian Peikert, Miko Stubner-Lankutis and Daniel Vogelgesang from Deutsche Welle’s marketing and management division, as well as Debarati Guha, programme director for the Asian division, and Sanjib Barman, head of the Bangla department.

During the first meeting, he 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.

The second meeting was held with members of Deutsche Welle Bangla. During the session, Deutsche Welle Bangla 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. He also referred to recent arson attacks on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.

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.

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.