DW Akademie Media Viability Ambassador program

Deutsche Welle (DW) is calling on eligible media professionals to apply for the DW Akademie Media Viability Ambassador program. The DW Akademie wants to bring together 8 media viability experts from the Global South and Eastern Europe – The Media Viability Ambassadors: Together for strong media.

Become a Media Viability Ambassador, join the (inter)national debates, and start a media viability movement!

As a Media Viability Ambassador, you will not only get the opportunity to learn from other media viability experts from countries around the world. You will also have the chance to polish your consultancy and advocacy skills and work with your peers on relevant media viability topics identified throughout the program. From August to December 2023, we will offer 9 online modules and one in-person meeting (October 2nd to 6th, 2023) at the Deutsche Welle (DW) headquarters in Bonn, Germany. DW Akademie’s vision is to keep this media viability community and network going well beyond 2023. If you are a media consultant, advocate, entrepreneur, manager, or researcher who has dealt with media viability challenges in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East and consider yourself an expert in this field, we would like to hear from you!

Who can apply

Candidates should have a good working knowledge of English and a proven track record of media industry-related experience (consultancy for media organizations, advocacy for media-related issues on the policy level, media management, media research, etc). You should be well-connected within the media sector and be familiar with different aspects of media viability. You should be open to (self-)reflection and motivated to share your expertise with the group of participants. Additionally, you are interested in being an active Media Viability Ambassador in the long run? Then you are the perfect candidate!

What you can expect
The Media Viability Ambassador program consists of 9 interactive online modules, which will take place on 2-3 half days each, every two weeks between August and December 2023. One module will be in-person over three full days (October 2nd to 4th , 2023) at the DW headquarters in Bonn, Germany. You will be invited to stay for two additional days (October 5th and 6th, 2023) for the FOME Symposium, the yearly international conference of the German Forum Media and Development, a network of institutions and individuals active in the field of media development cooperation.

Within the modules, you will reflect on your work, enrich it with new tools and approaches, deepen your understanding of media viability and know how to market yourself as a media viability expert. Together with fellow Ambassadors, you will develop a media viability consultancy toolbox as well as an advocacy strategy for media viability. Upon successful completion of the program, you will officially become a Media Viability Ambassador.

For more details, see the schedule below. Additionally, there will be preparatory work between modules from time to time (totalling approx. half day/month).

What you commit to
There is no charge for participating in the program; travel and accommodation costs for the in-person event in Germany will also be covered, but you need to commit to attending all online and offline events and to working on tasks between modules, where needed. The whole program will amount to approx. 4 days/month of your time between August – December 2023.

You will also be asked to give an input on your expertise in a particular area of media viability or in consultancy procedures during one of the modules.

How you can apply

Please send a letter of interest (max. one page), covering the following aspects of your
expertise profile:

• What is your motivation to become a Media Viability Ambassador? What is your motivation to be part of the group? What do you think you can contribute?
• What is your key expertise and how do you apply it in your work?
• Talk about one of your success stories: What media viability challenge did you overcome in a media organization (as consultant or manager)? What media viability aspect have you been advocating for
• What media viability topic have you intensely researched? And how?
• If you have cooperated with DW Akademie before (as a consultant, trainer,
  participant, …), please specify and name a person of contact within DW Akademie.

Please also share your CV or a link to a relevant website (LinkedIn or similar).

The deadline for applications is June 14, 2023.

Applications should be sent in digital form only (as a PDF document) to Rune Meissel (rune.meissel@dw.com) with Rose Kimani (rose.kimani@dw.com) in cc. The deadline for applications is June 14th, 2023. Short-listed applicants will be invited to an online interview, after which selected applicants will be notified by June 29th, 2023.

For more, visit the Program Page