Local news platform for new immigrants and long-time residents in Germany
Amal, Frankfurt!
Unfamiliar surroundings, unfamiliar language – people who are new to Germany find it difficult to find their feet. Local media offerings in their own language help them to settle in more quickly. The news platform “Amal” was founded for this purpose. It provides new immigrants and long-time residents in Germany with local news in Arabic, Persian, Ukrainian, and German.
For whom?
Refugees who speak Arabic, Dari/Farsi or Ukrainian as a native language
Aim
Expediting the process of adjusting to life in Germany and becoming integrated in society
Location
Frankfurt, Rhine-Main region
Refugees write for refugees
Amal has already been active in Berlin and Hamburg for several years now, and in late 2022 the Crespo Foundation brought Amal to Frankfurt, too. The mobile news platform is run by exiled journalists from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine as a local daily newspaper accessed via smartphone.
Since January 2023, Amal, Frankfurt! has been providing information from Monday through to Friday in Arabic, Ukrainian and Dari/Farsi about what’s going on in Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region. Every day, the editorial staff read local Frankfurt newspapers and online media and select the most relevant reports, which are then translated and edited. The key news items of the day are supplemented by the reporters’ own articles, interviews and commentary.
The six-strong editorial staff of Amal, Frankfurt! Are based in the premises of GEP gGmbH, the non-profit publishing arm of the Protestant Church in Germany. ‘Amal’ is the Arabic word for ‘hope’.
AMAL, FRANKFURT! IN NUMBERS
7
journalists in exile
3
languages
3
cities
German press reports about Amal, Frankfurt!
‘Die Stimme der Communities’ (The voice of the communities), ‘Frankfurter Rundschau’, 10 Jan. 2023- ‘Journalisten als Brückenbauer’ (Journalists building bridges), ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, 11 Jan. 2023
- ‘Lokaljournalismus für migrantische Communities’ (Local journalism for migrant communities), ‘Hessenschau’, 22 Jan. 2023
- ‘Hoffnung pflanzen’ (Planting hope), ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, 4 Feb. 23
‘Amal’s role is to be the voice of the people.’
‘Amal’s role is to be the voice of the people.’
‘We want to provide a point of view that German media doesn’t really cover.’
PARTNERS
Amal is funded by the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), and by a broad alliance of regional churches, foundations and Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg. The main sponsor of Amal, Frankfurt! is the Crespo Foundation. The initial phase was enabled by funding from the Frankfurter PresseClub.
