Sporting goods manufacturer Head has commissioned Department to redesign its global corporate design, with the Zurich-based advertising agency winning a two-stage pitch against competitors from Berlin, London and Chicago. Department is developing and implementing a new brand image for the ski, tennis, snowboard and all license areas.

Events Radiopower.ch has secured the Swiss rights for the Cannes Lions Radio category from Cinecom for its planned Spot Award.Radiopower.ch, the name of the association of advertising time marketers and the major radio pools, has postponed the first edition of the event to May 26 in order to allow the winning entries in the industry competition to automatically participate in the Cannes Festival. "This positioning in the international environment will enable us to raise the profile of the Swiss Spot Award," Roland Baumgartner from Radiopower.ch is convinced.

Newspapers NZZ has pulled off a stroke of genius by acquiring a stake in Zürcher Oberländer, where Tamedia also has a holding. When NZZ and PubliGroupe announced the planned NZZ investment in Zürichsee-Zeitung and Zürcher Unterländer six months ago, Tamedia CEO Martin Kall is said to have become very angry. If this was indeed the case, then Kall must now be even more furious about the latest coup by NZZ subsidiary Freie Presse Holding (FPH). The fact that FPH is taking over 37 percent of Zürcher Oberland Medien (ZOM) is tantamount to a real humiliation of Tamedia. In two respects. In the mid-1980s, Tamedia (then still under its old name) took over a majority stake in Anzeiger von Uster (AvU), but never managed to get the title out of the red. Things became even more difficult when the Zürcher Oberländer (ZO), which had been in existence since 1852, became active in Uster from Wetzikon and gained more and more market share there.
The tide only turned when Tamedia placed its regional newspaper in other, more experienced hands in 1996 by bringing ZOM on board with its regional know-how. Since then, ZOM has held 76 percent of AvU and all publishing rights, integrated it into the ZO as the lead newspaper and also took over the management, while Tamedia withdrew to the second tier with a 10 percent share. The remaining shares are shared by around 40 small shareholders. Tamedia's influence was then reduced to one member of the Board of Directors "without signing authority", as stated in the commercial register. Since August 2003, this has been Martin Kall himself. The fact that the Tamedia CEO personally took a seat on the AvU Board of Directors shows the great importance he attached to the cooperation with this regional newspaper. Michel Favre, Kall's predecessor as Tamedia CEO, was still represented by Patrick Eberle.
The fact that the NZZ subsidiary FPH is now taking over almost 40 percent of the AvU parent company ZOM and therefore also has more say in AvU than Tamedia is a slap in the face for Kall. At least he will be spared an additional humiliation: he will not meet an NZZ representative on the AvU Board, because according to ZOM Managing Director Peter Edelmann, FPH will have a seat on the ZOM Board, but not on the AvU Board. But this is likely to be little consolation for Kall.
What's more, ZOM is by no means afraid of the threat of a Tagi split. "We pay respect to the potential competition and are arming ourselves by working on the product, planning a relaunch for the fall and expanding regional reporting," says Edelmann. At the same time, however, he confidently refers to the AvU story. "Tamedia has already been active in our region once without success," he says - the second slap in the face.
But why does ZOM prefer NZZ to its long-standing partner Tamedia? Edelmann: "We trust the NZZ's promises to leave the regional newspapers independent more." Although the AvU Board had come to know Kall as a "friend of the company", "the different political orientations of the ZO and Tagi editorial teams made it impossible to join forces", says the ZOM Managing Director.
Clapping - the third slap is also on target.
Tamedia did not succeed with the Anzeiger von Uster - today it is under Oberländer control.
Markus Knöpfli

Column Protecting whistleblowers is one of the most sacred duties of journalists, as is muckraking. It wasn't so long ago that almost every decent journalist's biography included jail time. At least a few days in custody were a must. But not because of silver spoon clauses, but because conflicts with the state were, and probably still are, inevitable when practicing the profession. So is it any of our business if two journalists in the USA, Judith Miller from the New York Times and Matthew Cooper from Time news magazine, have to face 18 months in prison? Neither of them has even published anything illegal, they just don't want to reveal a whistleblower that the judicial authorities are interested in. The answer is a firm and worried "yes", because the very substance of press freedom is under threat here - and this in the most powerful democracy in the world.
In contrast to the spelling reform or the paparazzi ruling by the European Court of Justice, where many journalists up and down the country have been using the media wind machine on their own behalf, the protection of whistleblowers is a real issue. If the US courts send Miller and Cooper to prison, this will affect the core area of journalistic activities that are necessary and must be possible in every democracy. Because if courts send reporters to prison because they do not reveal their sources, no one will be able to help uncover scandals in future. And journalists very rarely succeed in shedding light on the darker sides of politics and business life on their own, i.e. without informants.
I have great doubts as to whether what is at stake can be regulated by law beyond the freedom of the press guaranteed in the constitutions. It would be important for both sides to be more aware of the consequences: Where the judicial authorities do not see themselves as the supreme guardians of freedom of expression, this fundamental right is not in good shape. If, on the other hand, journalists ignore the fact that even the protection of whistleblowers can reach its limits, there is a danger that journalists will abuse their most precious right and thus gamble it away.
The protection of whistleblowers is a key prerequisite for journalists to be able to play their role in checks and balances. If the system of checks and balances is to function, the media - as a non-governmental "fourth estate" - must of course also be subject to control, although this must not go so far as to intimidate and punish them. That is why I would like to see as little control of journalism by the judiciary as possible, but all the more self-control of journalism by (media) journalists.
But since the world is not as it should be, clever whistleblowers know that there is no absolute protection for sources. And there certainly won't be, as the current discussions about torture as a "last resort" for obtaining information from the state show. So it's best to do as the anonymous person who pilloried CDU politician Hermann-Josef Arentz by informing the media about his lucrative side income did. The timing was just as perfect as the way the evidence was removed: Five days before the CDU party conference, the informant dropped off four letters at the post office addressed to editorial offices of important media outlets. He left no return address and no other traces. And according to Hans Leyendecker from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, even the post office chosen was "so large that no conclusions could be drawn about the sender".
> Stephan Russ-Mohl is a professor of journalism at the University of Lugano.

Anniversaries Twelve years ago, thanks to liberalization and the private marketer IP Multimedia, some German private broadcasters opened their advertising windows to Switzerland, ushering in a new era. The new era in TV advertising is now honored by an advertisement that Euro RSCG Zurich realized on behalf of the nine stations now marketed by IP Multimedia. The ad on the subject of "40 years of TV advertising" literally translates the expression "Swiss advertising window".

Dice race The Art Directors Club Switzerland was cautious this year when handing out the coveted dice: 5 gold, 8 silver, 40 bronze. "Italianità" was the motto for the ADC's creative dice evening in the ABB event hall in Zurich. However, the theme was not chosen because "Italian conditions" prevailed during the judging, said Mike Müller. It would have been better to use German football as the theme. The comedian hosted the ceremony with an ironically serious face. "Please bring the winners and Ruf Lanz on stage," joked Müller, for example, when the winners of the evening were asked to hand over the dice once again. Or he tried to do the award ceremony "in less time than it takes to launch the ADC website". If you have patience: The complete list of all award winners can be viewed at www.adc.ch. In total, the Swiss Art Directors Club awarded 5 gold, 8 silver and 40 bronze awards from the 871 entries submitted last year. 122 works had to make do with a shortlist place. The competition was dominated by the three agencies that also top the Werbewoche creative ranking: Ruf Lanz (1 gold, 1 silver, 11 bronze, 27 shortlisted), Jung von Matt/Limmat (1/1/7/8) and Publicis (1/1/4/19). There was also gold for Contexta. Otherwise, however, the large Bernese agency only achieved one shortlist place.
The judging was based on the tougher system introduced last year. ADC honorary member Michael Conrad's 10-point system served as a yardstick. Out of 123 voting members, 87 took part in the judging process. "We were unanimous in all the decisions for gold and silver, and the bronze cube winners were chosen almost unanimously," explained Andreas Prokesch, ADC Chairman of the Board.
The cubes in the mirrorThe 5 Gold Cube winners of 2005 are: "Lebensstationen" by Jung von Matt for SBB in the Ads category, "Schnelle medizinische Hilfe" for Médecins sans Frontières by Publicis in Outdoor Advertising, "Beck & Bondi" by Contexta for Swisscom Fixnet in Film, the radio spots "Bekloppte Songtexte" for NZZ Folio by Ruf Lanz and, in the Design category, issue 26 of Soda magazine with the title "Surface". It was noticeable that no Gold Cube was awarded in the overall campaign category this year.
A silver ADC cube was awarded to: The "Etui" ad for McKinsey by Ruf Lanz. The ads and the poster series "Flat Switzerland" for the VW 4Motion by Lowe. The three adjacent posters for Candida Dental Tape from Migros by Advico Young & Rubicam. The "Customer Ideas" film series for Migros by Publicis. The radio spot series "Taxi Turk" for Swiss by Jung von Matt/ Limmat. In the sales promotion category, the snow cars for the early season opening of the Alpenarena by Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett and the T-shirt and
the signature campaign "Weniger Dräck" with Chris von Rohr for Greenpeace by Advico Young & Rubicam.
For the first time this year, the ADC awarded a press prize in the advertising category. One editor-in-chief and four editors-in-chief wanted to award this cube to Jung von Matt/Limmat for the SBB ad "Ping Pong". The ADC Press Prize jury consisted of Andreas Durisch (SonntagsZeitung), Werner De Schepper (Blick), Peter Rothenbühler (Le Temps) and Lisa Feldmann (Annabelle) as well as Stefan Barmettler from Facts. This magazine produced this year's ADC festival magazine Fakes. "Boom industry advertising. The golden age is back" is the auspicious cover story of the special issue.
All award-winning works will be published in the ADC yearbook at the end of May. "A dirty work that you had to be ashamed of, but of which all copies were sold anyway," Andreas Prokesch retrospectively countered a few reviews of last year's book, which was also honored with a bronze cube. The new yearbook is now to be printed again by Werd Verlag with a print run increased by around a third. It will also be distributed in Germany in exchange for the ADC book there.
"We can always do better. But we can be satisfied. I'm particularly pleased that we won the top prize and the press prize for clients who are actually perceived in the market. This shows me how important consulting and integrated thinking are in addition to creation. "Alexander Jaggy, CD Jung von Matt/Limmat

"If we are proud of anything, it is that we have won most of our awards for relevant clients such as Suva, VBZ, NZZ Folio or McKinsey & Company. And not for the cannabis shop around the corner. In general, you can see that the proportion of 'fun work' for gold, silver and bronze has decreased. Instead, there were suddenly concise campaigns for brands such as Dar-Vida, Maggi Quicklunch or the good old WC duck. As an advertiser and consumer, which you always are, you want more of that." Markus Ruf, CD Ruf Lanz
"I am very satisfied. It has been judged extremely strictly. What used to win bronze is now at most on the shortlist. The quality level has shifted. But compared internationally, it makes sense and is justified because it gives a more objective cross-section. Real works have been honored and not just award shows. That's a good development. "Daniel Comte,
CD Advico Young & Rubicam
"Perhaps the result was a little sobering. The jury only considered a few of the large number of works worthy of a cube. On the other hand, there may be a reason why there hasn't been so much stunning work on the table in the last twelve months. Little money also diminishes courage." Jean Etienne Aebi,
Brand Creative Director, Publicis
"The assessment was 'good' in the sense of 'stricter' than in previous years. In terms of the result, we can be satisfied. We certainly didn't have an exhilarating vintage to assess. But we knew that. Nevertheless, there were some really beautiful and successful works." Martin Spillmann, CD Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett
The criteriaThis year's judging was also based on the criteria scale of Michael Conrad, the former global creative director of Leo Burnett and Cannes president. These criteria are being used by more and more agencies and clients worldwide to assess advertising.
Levels 1 to 4 eliminate what you want to avoid: clichés, no competitive message, destructive advertising.
Levels 5 to 7 assess the path to the goal: an innovative strategy, a fresh idea or even excellent execution.
Level 8 to 10 would be the goal, namely to set a new standard so that the brand can stand out from the competition.
Design: Issue 26 with the title "Surface" of the magazine Soda.
Advertisement: "Life stations" by Jung von Matt/Limmat for SBB.
Outdoor advertising: "Rapid medical aid" by Publicis for Médecins sans Frontières.
Film: "Beck & Bondi" for Swisscom Fixnet by Contexta.
Sales promotion: T-shirt and signature campaign with Chris von Rohr for Greenpeace by Advico Young & Rubicam.
Advertisements: SBB's "Ping Pong" by Jung von Matt/Limmat won the press prize, which was awarded for the first time this year.
Film series: "Customer ideas" for Migros by Publicis.
Advertisement: "Etui" for McKinsey by the highly acclaimed agency Ruf Lanz.
Posters: Candida Dental Tape from Migros by Advico Young & Rubicam.
Advertisement and poster series: "Flat Switzerland" by Lowe for VW 4Motion.
Sales promotion: snow cars for the season opening of the Alpenarena by Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett.
Andreas Panzeri

TV formats Ringier-TV, Ringier's television division, which produces TV programs and develops formats for SF 1, Presse-TV and Sat 1 Schweiz, has joined the international Sparks network together with the Bern-based production company FaroTV. Sparks brings together producers from most European countries. FaroTV and Ringier-TV now exclusively represent Switzerland. The aim of Sparks is the exchange, distribution, development and international marketing of formats. The current Sparks catalog contains around 250 formats that can be offered by the individual network partners to broadcasters in their own countries. In December, Ringier-TV entered into a partnership with the German company Grundy Light Entertainment and founded Grundy Schweiz AG. Grundy Light Entertainment is a subsidiary of British Fremantle Media, the world's largest format multinational alongside Endemol.
(mk)

In the middle of the month, Filippo Leutenegger and René Hildbrand hosted a christening aperitif to mark the relaunch of TR7 under the new title TV-Star, which was attended by around fifty hand-picked guests from the top echelons of media agencies. In addition to Patrick Frei's performance, the highlight was the fine catering by Gianni Segantini. The fireplace in the elegant loft was particularly warm, and the APG event had fond memories of it. The fact that the motto "Outside at APG" did not refer to the location in the Giesshübel district soon became clear to those who arrived. The party took place outdoors and at extremely low temperatures. Nevertheless, the icy climate did not affect the mood barometer. The catering was perfect, with a marroni stand, soup kitchen, risotto pot, and mulled wine on tap. The APG bosses lent a hand themselves. They could be seen stirring and ladling at the grill and pans - which elegantly earned them a rare place at the heat.
The guests also found the party in the coldest night so far a cool thing. Most of them will certainly be seen again at the next APG winter party - but wrapped up in ski jackets and with moon boots on their feet (more pictures can be found on the APG homepage).
Certainly the vernissage guests of our shortlist photographer Mara Truog were kept warmer. The graduate of the School of Art and Design with a diploma in visual communication showed her latest photo series in the Artrepco gallery under the title "Femmage" - an exhibition worth seeing with a counterpoint to the images of women and clichés prevalent in advertising.
The highlight of the week and the crowning finale was the awarding of the ADC dice. It's true that the Kreativclub has already had a more opulent table, and the dice were also awarded more in the past.
But that has to do with the current mode of judging: quality before quantity. And that also applied to the food this year. It was not the usual ten-course meal à la Peter- or Mosimann - but it still tasted excellent.
Beat Fritschwith partner Mara Truog, court photographer of the advertising cake, at the ADC festival. Under the motto "Italianità", with Vespa and antipasta, the creatives celebrated their annual dicing. The relaunch of TV-Star (formerly TR7), which a few hand-picked guests experienced in the fireplace-heated loft of Jean Frey CEO Filippo Leutenegger, took place some time ago. It was then bitterly cold at APG, which celebrated a wintry courtyard party. And because our photographer Mara Truog doesn't just take pictures of advertisers, we would like to mention her exhibition at Artrepco/Ankerstrasse.
Fast ADC runners: Helen Müller, Mauro Michele Mulignaio and Andreas Prokesch.
In an almost pastoral manner, Filippo Leutenegger presented the newborn in his loft: TR7 is now called TV Star.
Otto Meier had a lively chat with Petra Kreussler about the new look of the traditional TV magazine.

In a quiet corner, Cornelia Kristoffy studied with interest the new appearance of the program guide from the Jean Frey publishing house.

Editor-in-Chief René Hildbrand (l.) and Filippo Leutenegger with guest speaker Patrick Frey (r.) proudly looked around the audience.

Andy Lehmann, Daniel Strobel and Beat Ruch (from left) were also critical of the new name and layout of TV-Star.

Claudia Mühlebach, Sandro Prezzi (l.) and Roger Knabenhans engaged in cultivated small talk.

APG host Beat Holenstein with event organizer Marlise Schneider (r.) and ZKB advertising manager Bernadette Grossenbacher.

Well wrapped up: Hugo Mauchle from Hallenstadion with Elisabeth Andres, Rent-a-Show, and Marcel Baumann from APG (from left).

Advertiser Victor Rosser of Wacker and Rosser (l.) and Martin Zollinger of VBZ with one of the charming catering employees.

Brigitte Bantli (l.) and Patricia Tschumi from Mediacom happily posed in front of a poster of their client Lucky Strike.

Robert Seitz (l.) from Jaguar Land Rover Switzerland and Pascal Thorens from Nordea Bank over a glass of hot mulled wine.

Quickly putting their hands in their warm pockets: Hélène Sonderegger from Aegis Media Group and Florian Walz from e-advertising.

Art and photography fans: director Bela Batthyany (r.) with brother Sacha Batthyany, journalist, and actress Sibilla Semadeni.

Vernissage guests: Matthias Städeli, Marketing Manager at UBS, with freelance advertising consultant Katja Ehrensperger.

Roy Grosser (l.) and Angela Bollag work as graphic designers and came with Yves Bollag to Mara Truog's "Femmage" exhibition.

Publicis big boss Fredy Collioud with Uli Rubner and Patrick Lienert (from left) at the Italian aperitif before the ADC bash.

Three ladies from JWT+H+F: AD Sabine Ries, apprentice Martina Maurer and consulting assistant Kathy Bickel (from left).

Braced against the initial cold: Creative Consultant Cem Capanoglu with Christina van der Schaar and Markus Gyhr (from left).

Delegation from Werdstrasse: Sandro Rüegger (l.), Tamedia, with Kathrin and Andreas Durisch, SonntagsZeitung.

Beat Mühlemann, Advertiser of the Year 2005 and guest of honor, with his partner Vera Lüchinger from La Prairie.

Met at the aperitif bar with prosecco and crodino: advertiser Matthew Katumba with super nanny Regula Dudler.

Philipp Skrabal (l.), with Thomas Kurmann, rolled the dice for both former employer Matter and new breadwinner Publicis.

Swap Sunrise for Städerli (r.) - probably the most unusual castling in the industry was from Wirz to Advico to Wirz, said Markus Gut.

Definitely not a fake: Petra Weber-Gut-Spillmann-Bodin-Bottignole (l.) with Pierre Rebetez and Nadine Geissbühler.

Smoking heads at Advico-CD Daniel Comte with Advico newcomer Christian Bobst and Co-CD Urs Schrepfer (from left).

Lowe's CEO Kurt Schmid was proud of his creative young stars Sebastian Hugelshofer (l.) and Daniel Roznovjak (r.).

Directly from the WEF approach lane Küsnacht: From TBWA Norbert Brunner (l.) and Alex Fürer (r.) with Freelance Benny Goldstein.

When Ivan Schultheiss parleyed with Andrea Walzer from Facts, the fakes were already being distributed.

As always, the guests rushed to the ADC publication and immediately took a first look, according to IPM CEO Michi Frank.

Sonja Hürlimann and Jürg Aemmer from Euro RSCG also got right behind the Facts Fakes special issue.

And KSSJ co-owner Dani Krieg and companion Isabelle Truttmann were also royally amused by the latest ADC litter.

Engrossed in various table discussions: Art Buyer Lilo Killer and advertising doyen Gebi Schregenberger.

Could be found late after dinner at the well-stocked ADC bar: Katja Puccio and Peter Schilde.

Visual communication specialists: Danielle Stutz of DS Photographer and Roger Schneider, photographer.

Real estate advertisements in newspapers and on online platforms could become noticeably more expensive, as Urs Gribi, President of the Association of the Swiss Real Estate Industry (Svit), expressed his fears at the Real Estate Forum in Lenk. He is following Tamedia's entry into the real estate portal Homegate.ch with great skepticism, said Gribi. If publishers also became active in the Internet classifieds sector and entered into cooperations, the risk of monopolization and thus higher prices would increase.

As Managing Director of the m&m media agency in Zurich, Rolf Suter wants to ensure a generational change. It would have gone on well. Both at the m&m media agency in Glattbrugg and for Rolf Suter at the Goldbach Media subsidiary in Vienna. But sometimes change beckons. Wolfgang Mecklenburg, a veteran of the media scene, wants to retire in Switzerland. The founder and long-standing general manager of the two agencies m&m and mm&b in Switzerland wants to concentrate primarily on the European business of m&m media holding ag in future. He has appointed Rolf Suter, who is in his late thirties, as his successor. This is intended to be a generational change. "I'm half his age," says Suter. Suter, who has grown up with online advertising, TV, radio and screen marketing, would therefore also like to implement ideas that are newer. "Do something about the lethargy," he says. Claudia Mühlebach, whose tasks and area of responsibility at mm&b media agency in Glattbrugg will remain unchanged, will be pulling in the same direction as the new Managing Director.
Rolf Suter made a name for himself with the success of his Goldbach subsidiary in Vienna. He was actually only supposed to spend three months there to bring a floundering company back into the profit zone. In the end, this turned into three years and a prospering "Swiss Miniature" of Goldbach Media.
When Suter came to Vienna, his "problem case" only worked as an online marketer. Goldbach now also markets a television station in Vienna, MTV. "We used the momentum of this brand and also entered the radio sector," says Suter, explaining how the scene combination with two city radios came about. Finally, Telecom Austria also entrusted him with the marketing of almost 1500 new multimedia cells. So he had everything: TV, radio, online and screen market. "The same as Goldbach in Switzerland," he says proudly.
Suter liked it in Vienna. "A very young media landscape. The dusty image isn't true at all. It was also fun to be invited to all the trendy parties as an MTV marketer."
However, Suter was less happy that he could only see his two children as a commuting father. "My wife didn't like the idea of moving to Vienna and I wanted a real family life again." These circumstances also came to Mecklenburg's attention one day, whereupon things took their course.
At m&m, Suter found "very well-trained employees". What he lacked was new business. "We now want to send a sign of life to the market." Doing something for the image is necessary, because "anyone can place an advertisement". The secretary used to book a few ads, then the media departments developed, became independent and are now earning money. "Today, much more media money comes in than is spent on implementation in the creative department," Suter calculates. And where the placement of a campaign is around ten times more expensive than the production, the question inevitably arises: Is the person who plans the media still just the executor, or is he also allowed to contribute his own ideas? For Suter, one thing is clear: media agencies are thinking more and more strategically and in future will offer the vessels and channels that need to be filled by the creatives.
He has no problems with his switch from marketer to buyer. "It really appeals to me. I know what buyers want." He will also continue to sell, namely "the services of our company".
Rolf Suter got his start in advertising as a pen at the former Mosse Annoncen. There he learned the print trade from scratch. He later spent four years selling cinema advertising at Central Film. He got to know the TV business at Eden TV. During the start-up phase of Swiss private television, Suter made funny little films together with the Eden trio. He did not pursue this potential career as a comedian. But: "If you sell, you don't put on a show, but you have to appear in front of people in a similarly profitable way in order to present something."
After the integration of Eden TV into Star TV, Suter organized the competitions and promotional shows for Paul Grau in the background. He also oversaw the launch of ProSieben for Klaus Kappeler's IP for four years and "contributed a lot to the fact that people started to think about TV advertising in terms of more than just boxes". That was the time when television power was increasingly bundled with the advent of advertising windows.
Another important experience for Suter was his time as managing director of Suchtreffer. This search engine marketing company was later merged with the online division at IP Multimedia. Suter managed the new business unit before accepting the challenge in Vienna.
Always something new, says the new Managing Director at m&m media, even in his free time. He has recently started training in swimming, running and cycling. Suter also wants to test his performance in a triathlon.
Rolf Suter, Managing Director of m&m media agency, always needs something new.
Andreas Panzeri

Development aid In Bangladesh, information centers make up-to-date knowledge accessible to the poor. Bangladesh's major newspapers can all be read on the Internet, which at first glance seems astonishing in one of the poorest countries in the world. The Asian country is almost four times the size of Switzerland, but has a population of 135 million. Despite the low average income, Bangladesh surprises with an astonishing variety of newspapers and magazines and a remarkable freedom of the press for this region, which is, of course, repeatedly saved by self-censorship on the part of journalists. However, papers such as the English The Daily Star (www.thedailystar.net) and The Independent (www.independent-bangladesh.com) or newspapers in the national language Bengali such as Bhorer Kagoj or Akjer Kagoj can only be read by a more affluent minority. Tens of millions of people can neither afford newspapers nor do they have access to a computer. This is where CDL (Community Development Library) steps in.
Founded in 1980, nine years after the country's independence from Pakistan, the organization set itself the goal of making information in books and newspapers available to all sections of the population. It all began with a library in the heart of the city of Dhaka, the nucleus of this pioneering idea. The aid organization of the Protestant churches (Heks) supported the project from the very beginning, but left the planning to the people of Bangladesh, who know the country's needs best.
Since then, 27 CDL centers have been set up throughout the country, where children from slums, workers from all walks of life, students, teachers and business people can read books and newspapers and find out where this luxury is available by watching videos or on the Internet.
Current documentaries In the CDL center in Dhaka, staff member Oleda Sultana, a self-confident, cheerful woman, shows us the sparse, practically furnished rooms. In the reading room, dozens of visitors are engrossed in well-worn newspapers; in the library, a group of young women are reading books in Bengali. "Our library has 26,000 books," says the manager, "as books are very expensive compared to the average income, we only lend them to members." The CDL center in Dhaka has 2,000 members who pay an annual fee of 200 taka to borrow books. That is the equivalent of just under four francs. In a country where the gross national product per inhabitant is as much as 360 dollars, the contribution is only affordable for a minority. Everyone else reads the books on the spot.
At a long table, young women in saris cut out reports from piles of daily newspapers and magazines and integrate them into dossiers on a wide range of topics such as women's issues, nutrition, hygiene, environmental problems and AIDS. These documentaries are copied and are in great demand as they provide in-depth information on current topics.
In Bangladesh, the government only has very limited resources at its disposal to ensure the education of the growing population. Countless private aid and self-help organizations, often supported from abroad, are stepping in here, running village schools, enabling the publication of specific print media or - like the completely private organization CDL - making information accessible to the general public. The center in Dhaka continuously records the organization's entire inventory electronically and has recently been supplementing the documentation with the help of the Internet.
The appropriately equipped CDL outstations have electronic access to the data material from the control center. However, the hardware required for this is often prohibitively expensive, not only for individuals but also for institutions. "We need computers and photocopiers," explains one employee, "but we don't have the money for them. We are also very grateful for used equipment." Heks is still one of the most important donors today, providing CHF 80,000 a year; other donors include the German organization Miserior and Unicef.
Hotspots of social life The CDL center in the megacity of Faridpur, a few hours' drive west of Dhaka, is bursting at the seams on the day of our visit. In the largest room, flanked by high bookshelves, a youth group listens to a lecture and then sings. Later, a women's group occupies the meeting room and discusses the topic of birth planning, repeatedly interrupted by refreshing laughter.
"This center is extremely important for us," explains Kamul Hasan Jewel, Field Coordinator at the CDL center in Faridpur. In
Young people sit engrossed in newspapers and books in the reading room. Momi, almost twenty, wants to become a doctor, Taher, 18, comes here in his spare time; his career goal is to become an engineer. "Who says the youth of Bangladesh are disoriented and have no opportunities?" asks Asma Akter Mukta rhetorically. She is the rebellious director of Racine, another organization associated with CDL. In fact, the
The Community Development Library movement has created focal points throughout the country that offer young people many opportunities for further training and contacts.
The CDL centers have developed into focal points of social life through networking in all directions. For example, the Urban Information Resource Center attached to the Dhaka center has opened a school for slum children. Pieder Casura, responsible for Bangladesh at the Swiss Protestant Church Aid Organization: "In a country where the vast majority of citizens have a purchasing power a hundred times smaller than that of the Swiss, a few tens of thousands of francs a year can go a long way."
New perspectivesFaridpur, located one hundred kilometers west of Dhaka, is a poor provincial town with more than one million inhabitants. Economically, Faridpur is the center of the declining jute industry. Tourists and Western business people rarely stray here.
With its library and newspapers, the CDL Center is an important source of information and brings hope to many intelligent young people who have few career prospects. The center is also a focal point of social life for countless people, as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), women's groups, political activists and artists meet here. Muslims, Hindus and Christians mix casually in all CDL centers in Bangladesh.
In the CDL centers, documentation on current topics is produced from current newspapers.
Hundreds of thousands of people read newspapers and books in the 26 CDL centers in Bangladesh.
Slum school in Dhaka, another activity of the CDL organization.
The management proudly stands in front of the gate to their CDL center.
Werner Catrina

Game console Sony Computer Entertainment Switzerland has entrusted Zurich-based advertising agency Department with various accompanying measures in the areas of product communication and sponsorship/events, citing Department's affinity with young and sports-oriented target groups in a press release. Initial orders include the development of key visuals and POS implementations to communicate the "PlayStation in the Snow" and official GT4 Swiss Championship commitments.