Sofia: Presentation of „ABC des Journalismus“ in Bulgarian and lecture with Alexander Andreev

Hendrik Sittig, Director of the KAS Media Programme, and Prof. Dr. Dessislava Boshnakova, Head of the Department of Media and Communication at the New Bulgarian University

The KAS Media Programme for South East Europe presented the German handbook "ABC des Journalismus", translated into Bulgarian, in two events in Sofia on 20 and 21 October 2022.

The presentation of the books in both universities was combined with a lecture by Alexander Andreev, the former head of the Bulgarian editorial office at Deutsche Welle in Bonn.

"We need exchanges between young people across Europe. Especially in journalism, we need to communicate with each other across borders and be aware of the deceptive clichés." said Andreev.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Tsankova and Dr. Iliya Valkov, lecturer at the Department of Media and Public Communication at the University of National and World Economy, with Hendrik Sittig and Alexander Andreev

Hendrik Sittig, Director of the KAS Media Programme, welcomed the students and professors at both events. He emphasised: "Journalism is first and foremost a craft that you have to learn". In this handbook, there is an overview of all the topics that future journalists should know in a compact and understandable form. For this reason, the Media Programme had the German textbook translated into several languages. Dr. Iliya Valkov, lecturer at the Department of Media and Public Communication at the University of National and World Economy, and Prof. Dr. Dessislava Boshnakova, Head of the Department of Media and Communication at the New Bulgarian University, also stressed the importance of quality journalism and thanked on behalf of their universities for the books.

The presentation of the handbook in Bulgarian was followed by a lecture on the topic "The Experience of a journalist between Germany and Bulgaria". Alexander Andreev, a wanderer between these two worlds, presented his views on journalism and intercultural communication. Before diving into the context, he emphasised the role of journalists in a democratic society. "Journalists are an essential factor in a world that is becoming more complex every day."

Andreev, who until recently was head of the Bulgarian editorial office of Deutsche Welle, shared his experiences. According to him, clichés and generalisations are part of everyday life in both Germany and Bulgaria. He also shared his opinion on the most common prejudices about both countries: "Bulgaria is poor and corrupt. Germany is peaceful but cold and platonic." These sweeping generalisations, he said, are true to a certain extent, but at the same time they are misleading.

"To combat these misunderstandings most effectively," Andreev said, "we need exchanges between young people across Europe. Especially in journalism, we need to communicate with each other across borders and be aware of the deceptive clichés."