Learning by Ear: Deutsche Welle’s Director General Presents New Educational Program in West Africa

May 23, 2008 - PRLog -- On a trip to Nigeria and Senegal at the end of this month, Deutsche Welle’s Director General Erik Bettermann will be presenting a new bi-medial, educational program for young people in Sub-Saharan Africa. “Learning by Ear“, which was developed primarily with the participation of African journalists and authors of audio books, will be transmitted via radio and the Internet.

“Learning should be fun. Our program will encourage young people to actively participate in the shaping of their surroundings,” said Betterman at the beginning of his trip. The content for “Learning by Ear” covers far more than just school education. ”Deutsche Welle’s successful radio programs in Sub-Saharan Africa can help spread educational content,” added the Director General. More than 10 series were produced in cooperation with Deutsche Welle’s broadcasting partners and young actors in Africa. Starting in June, “Learning by Ear” will be broadcast on DW-RADIO in Kiswahili, Hausa and Amharic as well as English, French and Portuguese. In addition, all content will be accessible on the Internet. According to Bettermann, broadcasting in these languages will mean that Deutsche Welle will reach more than 30 million listeners in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Entertaining and informative at the same time: Programs on civil society and globalization should be just as interesting to young people as current radio dramas. A good example is the story of 16-year-old Angela who becomes unintentionally pregnant and infected with HIV – a story based on real events. Further “Learning by Ear” programs will provide practical advice on education and careers, on socio-political challenges for girls and young women as well as possibilities for political participation. Listeners in Africa can participate in the programs by sending suggestions and questions via SMS, e-mail and telephone.

The initiative from Germany’s international broadcaster is being financed by funds from “Action Africa”, a project from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, which has been set up to promote culture and education in order to strengthen Africa’s economic performance.

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Deutsche Welle is Germany’s international broadcaster. It carries out its legally defined mission while remaining journalistically independent. DW is Germany’s media calling card throughout the world – with DW-TV, DW-RADIO, DW-WORLD.DE and the DW-AKADEMIE.

Website: www.dw-world.de/learning-by-ear