German broadcaster offers extra media seminar up to Play the Game 2011

For those who mourn that the 7th edition of Play the Game has cut the programme from five to four days, there is now full consolation thanks to the national German radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

In a generous move, Deutschlandfunk has offered to set up a one-day seminar on sport politics and journalistic development on Sunday the 2nd October from 10-18.30 at its headquarters in Cologne, the day before Play the Game opens at the German Sport University Cologne.

The seminar offers free registration for all international Play the Game participants, while German delegates can expect to pay a modest fee for their participation. All participants are offered lunch, evening buffet and coffee breaks.

In return, as a way to honour both the cooperation with the national radio and to acknowledge the big support from public institutions in Germany to Play the Game 2011, German participants at the Deutschlandfunk seminar will get a substantial reduction in the Play the Game conference fee.

German participants who pay the fee and attend  the Deutschlandfunk seminar will see their early bird rate to Play the Game reduced from 480 Euros for the full 4-day package to 300 Euros, and the one-day package accordingly reduced from 160 to 100 Euros.

Astrid Rawohl, head of sport at Deutschlandfunk, finds it necessary to support all efforts to strengthen the basic ethical values of sport:

“We are pleased to welcome a sports conference as important as Play the Game for the first time and to be able to offer a media partnership. We expect a lot from the networking opportunities and information exchange that our cooperation will bring,” Rawohl says.

International director Jens Sejer Andersen expresses his appreciation of the Deutschlandfunk offer as a very welcomed gift to all Play the Game participants:

“We are delighted to see the commitment from Deutschlandfunk to use Play the Game as an opportunity to inspire sports journalism,” he says.

The Deutschlandfunk seminar will focus on German sports politics, journalistic development and international networking. The seminar will largely be in German but English translation will be offered.

“As Germany is Europe’s biggest country with over 80 million inhabitants and tremendous international influence also in sport, we are sure that the seminar will be of interest beyond the national borders. At little or no extra cost participants can add value to their stay at Play the Game by spending one more day in Cologne,” Jens Sejer Andersen says.

Details about how to sign up for the Deutschlandfunk one-day seminar will be announced shortly as will a programme for the seminar.