Deutsche Welle joins hands with Pakistan Relief

..... given rights to reprint the DW Urdu and DW Asia Compact’s contents in its news-magazine “ZEEST”. After the GMF- Global Media Forum at Bonn, Germany, in June this year, president of Pakistan Relief Mujtaba Haider Imran was invited to attend a meeting with Mr. Grahame Lucas, Head of Deutsche Welle’s South Asia Service. During the meeting Mr. Lucas and Imran discussed different matters of mutual interest. Mr. Lucas admired the efforts of Pakistan Relief and assured of his cooperation for the enhancement of its humanitarian efforts in future. He informed that “we have a daily programme called "Asia Compact", a 15 minute look at current affairs across Asia. He further said that “we also have a development programme and an environment programme which may interest Pakistan Relief and Wilderness Pakistan. Our Urdu programme has several daily news and current affairs programmes which contain a different background magazine every day on topics like culture, civil society, Germany and Europe, women, Dialogue between East and West, Youth and Science, technology and environment”. Mr. Lucas had invited Pakistan Relief to submit a concept paper regarding the prospects of cooperation, in 2008.

After the meeting Mr. Mujtaba visited Urdu section and met with entire team. In the evening Mr. Lucas again invited all the members of Urdu section at his office for a film show about Pakistan Relief.

Meanwhile Mr.Tobias Grote-Beverborg DW marketing department and Ms. Angelika Newel, Head, Distribution Asia/Australia have also expressed their gratification and best wishes for such a wonderful cooperation between Pakistan Relief and DW. Ms. Angelika mentioned “I am quite confident that our good relations will continue to grow”.

Mr. Mujtaba explained during the meeting that there is an immense need of a Radio Station that may fulfill certain needs of educating the audience in a way of learning with fun and to provide them with real infotainment. He added that “It will be a Non-profit and non political platform to set the new trends and explore new horizons of educating people through Radio transmissions. The proposed Radio station is going to be the first ever dedicated Humanitarian Radio Station of Pakistan. With the passage of time and gradually, we will expand the radius of transmission because we feel like addressing the inhabitants of remote areas of Pakistan, too”. He concluded that “As an integrated part of the entire endeavor of laying down the solid foundations of the Disaster Prevention/Preparedness and Early Warning Mechanism the role of Radio can not be ignored”.

Since many of Pakistan Relief members are radio amateurs, we have been focusing upon Emergency Radio Communication training at PRIDEA- Pakistan Relief Int. Disaster Education Academy as well. We are the only organization that is focusing upon this important field, indeed.

We envisage that this cooperation will certainly help strengthening the bond of friendship between both the nations of Pakistan and Germany. The DW’s marvelous support for a humanitarian cause is being appreciated.