Tuesday, June 14, 2016

DW Global Media Forum 2016: For My Sins. Day 2

Left the party boat at 10:00 pm last night and still couldn't quite make it out of bed until none-of-your-business o'clock this morning. I had forgotten that journalists + open bar + live music = SuperDanceParty!!!! It was magnificent fun, just indescribable. Germans of all ages like to dance and they have kept disco alive. God bless them. 

Today's highlight was the African panel on the digital revolution. I've been around this block a few times so I was hoping that the panelists would say things I have never heard before. They were not in the least bit disappointing. Individually, each panelist is impressive. Collectively, they made me ridiculously happy. It was lovely that most of the panel was made up of women, made it easier somehow to appreciate the male panelists' excellent contributions. Don't ask me why, it just was.  

Kenya was represented because talking about digital innovation in Africa without including our northern neighbors is pointless. I appreciated getting a taste of the situation in Zambia, in South Africa and in Senegal from the respective speakers. They were instructive, dynamic and optimistic. Okay, I'm going to stop now. But, you know, if you put an Africanist in front of a really good African panel, fawning might ensue. 

In the PM I attended the session on piracy in Asia. Intellectual property rights* intrigues me, and also this was an opportunity to learn something about Asia. I am still digesting the information since this was a new area for me and I kept getting distracted by information such as how populous Indonesia is and Game of Thrones. To be frank, I am frustrated with myself for being so ignorant about Asia in general and this topic in particular. Happily, this will give me impetus to raid the internet and more about Asia, and maybe even travel someday soonish.

The wurst update: I have so far not managed to eat any german sausage. At this rate, the airport in Dusseldorf better have some decent restaurants or this mission is a failure. 

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