As international funding for development cooperation and to combat hunger is slashed (while hugely stepping up defence spending at the same time), it is paramount to engage in intensive public discussion about these developments – from both humanitarian and geopolitical perspectives. Media could provide a platform for such broad social debate, possibly leading to far-reaching political decisions. This makes it all the more vital for the media to judge events not solely on the basis of their geographic location but also according to human and geopolitically relevant dimensions.
Sociopolitical interest and empathy should not stop at national borders. However, comprehensive and above all consistent reporting is necessary to generate interest in a particular topic. After all, people will only be interested in an issue if they have engaged with it in some form or another beforehand.
The countries of the Global South are characterised by far-reaching developments with great transformative potential and will play an even more important role in the world in future – not only in demographic but also in political and economic terms. The people of the Global North cannot afford to remain ignorant of the events and developments taking place in countries that are home to 85 % of the world’s population.
Against this backdrop, 1369 individuals and 163 organisations have signed the author’s appeal for more media attention to be devoted to the Global South. D+C is also among the signatories. Click here to see the position paper and complete lists of supporters. It is still possible to sign the appeal.
Ladislaus Ludescher is a postdoctoral researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. His research focuses on German-American cultural relations, the Global South and, in particular, domestic and foreign media analysis.
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