The work of the first day of the XVII German-Russian Media Forum began with the acquaintance of participants with the organizers, speakers and presenters of master classes.
Saratov University was represented at the opening ceremony of the forum "Crisis Media Management and Digital Reality" by a delegation headed by Rector A.N. Chumachenko, which included Vice-Rector for International Affairs D.N. Konakov, Head of priority projects and programs E.G. Elina, Director of the Institute of Philology and Journalism L.S. Borisova.
After a short acquaintance of the participants, conducted by Dr. Ulrike Butmalu, Martin Hoffman, Executive Director and member of the Board of the German-Russian Forum, addressed the audience with a welcoming speech. In his speech, he noted that the digital format is used for the first time in the media forum, wished everyone successful meetings, new acquaintances and interesting work. Martin Hoffman thanked Saratov National Research State University and personally Rector A.N. Chumachenko for the fact that in such difficult conditions, the university co-organized the forum and supported the holding of a major professional event for young journalists from Germany, Russia, Eastern Europe and CIS countries.
In his welcoming speech, Rector A.N. Chumachenko recalled that the forum was originally planned to be held in full-time format, the university was looking forward to the arrival of distinguished guests, representatives of the German Embassy, leading journalists from Russia and Germany, media trainers and other participants with joy and impatience. The Rector stressed that the cooperation of SSU with German universities in the field of scientific and educational activities is implemented within the framework of both humanities and natural sciences.
The main areas of joint scientific activity of SSU scientists with partners from German universities are research in the field of radiophysics and nonlinear dynamics (University of Potsdam, Humboldt University of Berlin), nanostructures and biosystems (Max Planck Institute, Potsdam-Holm, Charite Clinic of Humboldt University of Berlin), optics and photonic technologies (Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Alain-Institute of Applied Research, Grosshadern Clinic of the University of Munich), Chemistry (Technical University of Munich, Berlin Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing).
In the field of humanities, priority areas are joint research and activities in the field of German language and intercultural communication, German philology, German studies, methods of teaching German (the German Language Society in Wiesbaden, the Goethe Cultural Center, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD).
The international project "Days of Germany at SSU" is being implemented at the university by the staff of the International Service and representatives of structural divisions. Since November 2017, a German cultural and educational festival has been held, the main task of which is to develop the creative abilities of students, project skills, popularization of the German language and culture of Germany.
Alexey Nikolaevich noted that Saratov University is certainly interested in further development of scientific, educational and intercultural interaction between Russian and German university communities, in expanding cooperation with partners from Germany, and expressed hope for a future meeting with colleagues in an offline format.
Then the head of the Press and Public Relations Department of the German Embassy in Moscow, Jens Baykufner, addressed the audience. In his greeting, he stressed that important topics for discussion within the media forum will be the problem of media management and the issue of mutual influence of media and politics in modern conditions.
Then the vice-president of the publishing house "Kommersant" V.G. Loshak made a report. He introduced the audience to the situation in the Russian media market today, told about the strategy of survival during the crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Following him, the contours of the German media landscape were outlined by Professor of the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, TV journalist, professor, Dr. Hector Haarketter. He elaborated on the specifics of the work of journalists in a lockdown situation and reflected on the possible prospects for the development of the industry.
At the end of the lecturers' speech, a discussion was held: the participants of the forum, which also included students and teachers of the IFIZH SSU, were interested in the problems of the future functioning of the media industry in digital format, the problems of the relationship between the government and the media and other issues. V.G. Loshak and H. Haarketter compared the working conditions of mass media in Russia and Germany, drawing attention to similar and specific trends.
During the forum, the participants together with Dr. Ulrike Butmalu discussed the issues of uncertainty and its resources. And under the guidance of the head of the Department of Digital Media Communications of St. Petersburg State University, editor of the journal "Journalist" K.R. Nigmatullina, a project master class was held. At the end of the first day of work, the participants and organizers summed up the interim results of the forum.
Today, on November 27, the work of the XVII German-Russian Media Forum will continue: the lecture "Radical changes in the world after the crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic and the US presidential elections: the future of Germany, Europe and the role of Russia" will be delivered by political scientist, political adviser, Professor Alexander Glebovich Rahr. Next, online visits are planned to the SSU Media Center, to the editorial office of the youth TV project "I like it", IA "SarBC", the magazine "World Club". At the end of the meetings, there will be a report by the host of Sputniknews, Benjamin Gollum, on the topic "Virus: the triumph of new media?".
The working languages of the forum are German and Russian, the organizers provide simultaneous translation of all events. To participate, you need to register in ZOOM via the link. The full program can be found here.
Important: all events planned within the framework of the program begin at Central European time (in Saratov +3 hours from the time stated in the program). For the simultaneous translation function to work correctly, you need to install the latest version of ZOOM.
