2000

DW-RADIO: the programs in Japanese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Czech and Hungarian are discontinued. The latest distribution figures show that more than 100 million Households worldwide can now tune into DW-TV. DW-RADIO launches an initial 15-minute Ukrainian Program. Dr. Elke Leonhard, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and the Media, ceremoniously presses the "red button". By autumn, the program has been extended to 30 minutes.

DW-TV: "European Journal" is now available in a Bosnian edition.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  DW-FORUM "Studying in Germany" In Berlin, the DW-FORUM "Studying in Germany" is held under the patronage of German President Johannes Rau. At the same time, it is also the beginning of a 28-part series and multi-media project by same name broadcast on DW-TV, DW-RADIO and also available on the online portal "gateway-to-germany.de".

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  New DW parliamentary studio in Berlin In November, the new DW parliamentary studio in Berlin is opened at the Federal Press Association on Schiffbauerdamm.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  DW-RADIO expands the Ukrainian Service 2001

DW-RADIO expands the Ukrainian Service by 30 minutes to one full hour a day. DW also expands its Macedonian Service by 30 minutes to two hours per day. The DW Albanian Sercice program, which is broadcast to the same region can be heard three and a half hours daily.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  New Director General Erik Bettermann with Reinhard Hartstein (l), Franz Schoser (r)The Broadcasting Board selects Erik Bettermann to be the new DW director-general, replacing Dieter Weirich. In Berlin, the German state premiers give the "green light" for GERMAN TV. The program for Germans and German-speakers abroad is first targeted as a pay-TV platform to North America.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  DW-RADIO Dari/Pashto (f.l.) Dr. Abdul Aziz Gardizi, Hassan Abaspur, Hafiza Majidi, Majed Malek, Shah Aqa MajidiDW-RADIO expands programming for Afghanistan in the two main national languages, Pashto and Dari, from 30 minutes to 110 minutes daily. A half hour is also added to the program for Pakistan in Urdu. Relaunch of the DW Internet website, which is now available in 31 languages boasting many interactive features.

2002

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  DW Director-General Erik Bettermann is handed the key to the new complex at a ceremony in the new broadcasting house in Bonn"Watch what Germany is watching today" - GERMAN TV begins broadcasting a 24-hour full program in the USA. In April, DW-TV celebrates its 10th anniversary. On 27 June, DW Director-General Erik Bettermann is handed the keys to the new complex at a ceremony in the new broadcasting house in Bonn.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  DW-TV begins broadcasting in Dari and Pashto Presenter Hossein AnoshDW-TV begins broadcasting in Dari and Pashto: the German international broadcasting service provides one hour of dubbed programming daily to Afghan television. DW-TV launchs a three-hour Arabic language program window on the Nilesat satellite: the news programme Journal and a DW-TV magazine with Arabic subtitles, along with documentaries and features dubbed into Arabic.

Since early September DW-RADIO sounds somewhat different: the German Programme has been given a new audio design and presents its broadcasts in a new musical outfit. All of the other 29 language services of DW-RADIO will also be given a fitting musical costume.

2003

The European Commission 300,000 Euro to the DW-TV initiative "Europe Opens Its Doors". A radio partnership for Europe: DW and Radio France Internationale (RFI) produce a joint CD to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the German-French Friendship Treaty.

Qantara.de is a new Internet portal that aims to create a bridge to the Islamic world - starting off in English, Arabic and German. As the Iraq conflict gathers momentum, DW-RADIO sets up a special action department consisting of staff from the German, English and Arabic services and the central editorial office.

The English Service of DW-RADIO enhances its topicality and undergoes a facelift in the areas of information and culture, business and regionalisation.

50 years of DW - Deutsche Welle celebrates its birthday. "We need Deutsche Welle. It is a necessary and important investment that we should not forego under any circumstances." These are the words of Federal President Johannes Rau on June 27 at the ceremony in Bonn marking the 50th anniversary of Germany's international broadcaster. Politicians and the director-general of the West German Broadcasting Organisation (WDR), Fritz Pleitgen (on behalf of the ARD), acknowledge the importance of Deutsche Welle in front of around 1,200 invited guests. After the ceremony in the former parliament chamber, the new broadcasting centre on Kurt Schumacher Strasse is officially opened by the Federal President.

On the occasion of the awarding of the German Film Prize in Berlin, DW-TV launches a new programme: KINO - The German Film Magazine is to help promote German film abroad.

Together with the aid organisation Cap Anamur, DW launches the international fundraising campaign "100 Classrooms for Afghanistan".

The new digital standard for the areas of long-wave, medium-wave and short-wave transmission, which provides a much better quality of transmission than analogue broadcasting, is launched during the "World Radio Conference" held by the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva.

DW-RADIO begins digital operations with twelve hours of broadcasts to Europe and the Middle East in German, English and Arabic.

2004

On January 1, 2004, Deutsche Welle founded the DW Academy. It unites all divisions of the broadcasting company that deal with journalism education and training. The DW Academy therefore functions as a mutual roof for the two Training Centres for Radio and Television (RTC and TTC) in Bonn and Berlin. The education of young journalists is also a task of the DW Academy. To expand its activities, a training programme is being developed for overseas employees of German businesses, organizations and institutions.

2005

The new Deutsche Welle Act comes into effect on January 1, 2005. The key to the amendment is expanded and upgraded programming. In addition, the use of telecommunications – especially the Internet – verifies that DW-WORLD.DE will become the third media pillar.

On March 1, 2005 DW-TV launches its new Arabic service via NileSat. For the official launch on February 28 in Kuwait City, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the Kuwaiti Minister of Information Faisal Al-Hajj and Director General Erik Bettermann push the symbolic red button together. On October 1, DW-RADIO goes on-air with a new plan for German programming: even more up-to-date information that is compact and in-tune with the listeners. On October 26, the relay station in Kigali/Rwanda celebrates 40 years of service. Erik Bettermann visits the celebration while on a tour through Ethiopia and Kenya.

2006

DW-RADIO and DW-WORLD.DE begin a 10-part series about desertification. Deutsche Welle is also the first broadcaster in Germany to offer Internet streams of its TV programming via peer-to-peer (P2P). Deutsche Welle reacts to the new media laws in India by founding its own company and is the first international broadcaster to offer programming in the Indian TV market.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Killed in Afghanistan: DW reporter Karen Fischer. Director General Erik Bettermann hands over DW’s operation plans for 2007-2010. For the 2006 World Cup, DW provides the most comprehensive informational offer for mobile Internet. Deutsche Welle opens multimedia info-terminals in the Goeth-Insitituts in Tel Aviv and Gaza. DW presents the “International Video Journalism Award” and announces the international Weblog award “The BOBs – Best of the Blogs” – both for the third time. The winner of the The BOBs is the “Sunlight Foundation” from the USA.

Deutsche Welle presents a six-part music documentary on DW-TV in cooperation with the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin (DSO) and Kent Nagano. DW expands programming in Belarus by 45 minutes daily and increases its presence in Turkey with new partners. euromaxx, the lifestyle magazine on DW-TV, is made available on VR China and Chinese programming on DW-RADIO is on-air for 160 minutes – 35 minutes more than before.
 

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Christian Struwe, shown here with a colleague from RTA in Kabul. Two Deutsche Welle employees are killed in Afghanistan: journalist Karen Fischer (30) and technician Christian Struwe (39).

Minister of State Bernd Neumann, Representative of the Federal Government for Culture and Media visits DW’s headquarters in Bonn and emphasizes the importance of Deutsche Welle as “the only worldwide voice that Germany has”. DW is irreplaceable and must “have a high standing in foreign policy and cultural policy”. He further said that he would “contribute to keeping and securing this standing.”
 
Director General Erik Bettermann (62) is unanimously voted to another six years by the Broadcasting Board in November. The new term begins on October 1, 2007. Russian and Asian programming on DW-RADIO can now be heard on the Internet, just like German and English.
 

2007

Plans are made to expand the DW-AKADEMIE’s training activities. Director General Erik Bettermann and the Prime Minster of North Rhine-Westphalia Jürgen Rüttgers present the project to the press on February 1: A bilingual Master’s program entitled “International Media Studies” will be offered starting in 2009.

In Berlin, Deutsche Welle presents another project: Germany’s international broadcaster will offer journalists from Southeast Asia the opportunity to work in the Southeast Asia editorial department at DW-RADIO in Bonn for a period of six months.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Erik Bettermann with UN-General Secretary Ban Ki-moon in New York.The United Nations and Deutsche Welle agree on a large-scale cooperation. A corresponding agreement was signed by UN Under-Secretary General Secretary Sashi Tharoor and Director General Erik Bettermann on March 5 in New York. It outlines the cooperation in television, radio and Internet. For television the focus is on the development and joint broadcast of a weekly show about globalization. For radio, they look to intensify the exchange of programming with a focus on Africa.

On March 25 Deutsche Welle and TVP Polonia start broadcasting the television magazine “Zwischen Rhein und Oder” weekly instead of monthly.

Deutsche Welle also starts working closer together with the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA) by contributing to events associated with the IFA program “Media-im-Pakt”, as well as providing training for journalists with the DW-AKADEMIE in Eastern, South Eastern and Central Europe.

Starting in April, the DW-TV news program JOURNAL is shown in English and German in the departures area of the Berlin-Tegel airport.

Deutsche Welle begins a new Internet website for Iran: Farsi becomes a focus language for DW-WORLD.DE in April.

In April, regionalized, expanded programming from DW-TV goes on air in North America and Latin America. The new offer includes well-known programs from ARD and ZDF – talk shows, magazines and children’s programming. The basis for this expansion is an agreement between Deutsche Welle and the ARD Broadcasting Company as well as ZDF. Also knew to the line-up is the travel magazine Discover Germany.

Starting in July, Germany’s international broadcaster becomes available on many mobile handsets. This new offer meets the expectations of a growing target audience for Deutsche Welle – one that wants to be able to access TV content on their mobile phones or PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant).

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Award-winner Xenia Awimova.The Weblog “Photo-Mania” from Belarus is the winner of the “Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards – The BOBs 2007”. The Weblog “Jotman” from Thailand wa awarded with the “Reporters Without Borders Award”. The best German-language Weblog went to “Behindertenparkplatz” from the UK.