Potsdam, 21.01.2016. Lord Weidenfeld, who co-founded the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium in 2004 and has served as co-chairman of the board since, passed away Wednesday at the age of 96. Last year, he attended the colloquium a few days after his 96th birthday, and gave the evening’s dinner speech (find the address here).
With his family and his friends, we mourn the loss of a great European and world citizen. His death leaves behind a gap that cannot be closed.

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16.11.2015. After the terror attacks in Paris, the acceptance speech of Gérard Biard, editor-in-chief of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, held on September 17, 2015 at the M100 Media Award 2015 in Potsdam, is more actual than ever. Due to this reason we are publishing the video of the speech (which is hold in French) in full-lenght here.

Please find the english translation in text form here:

The 11. edition of the M100 Sanssouci Colloquiums has offered again exciting inputs, intensive discussions, and a stimulating atmosphere in an exceptionally beautiful location. Against the background of the 70th anniversary of the Potsdam Agreement, more than 50 international representatives from the media, policy, and academic communities discussed in three sessions prospects for a free, democratic Europe in an increasingly chaotic world order (please find the summary of the confernce here). The presentation of the M100 Media Award to Charlie Hebdo, which took place under highest security measures, was touching, passionate and shone with high noticed speeches of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the writer and defense laywer Ferdinand von Schirach, and Gérard Biard, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo (please find all speeches of the M100 Colloquium and the M100 Media Award Ceremony here).

The German media have reported more than 1.000 times this year about the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium (incl. the M100 Young European Journalists Workshop): 642 x print, 257 x online, 69 x news agencies, 46 x radio, and 12 x tv. Additionally the event was covered by media in Austria, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Brasilia, amongst others.

A galery of the best photos of the day, the evening and the night you can find here:

We thank our supporters, sponsors and partners and look forward to the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium 2016!

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The conference in the Orangery of Sanssouci.

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Lord Mayor of Potsdam Jann Jakobs, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Gérard Biard.

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Jann Jakobs, Gérard Biard, Ferdinand von Schirach.

 

Kurt Westergaard Erik Guldager

The danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who received the ‪M100 Media Award‬ in 2010 in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Joachim Gauck, sent greetings to the guests of the ‪M100 Sanssouci Colloquium‬ and to his colleagues from ‪‎Charlie Hebdo‬ by distributing 200 copies of his drawing "Freedom of Speech". He has supported Charlie Hebdo with the selling of the drawing right after the terror attack and collected more than 15.000 Euro. On Thursday, his galerist Erik Guldager together with his wife Vibeke came on Westergaards behalf to Potsdam. Gérard Biard signed the original illustration.

 

Against the background of the 70th anniversary of the Potsdam Agreement, more than 50 top-class participants in this year’s M100 Sanssouci Colloquium on September 17 will discuss the current situation in Europe in three sessions.
The goal of the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium is to create a constructive, intersectoral dialogue between representatives of politics, the media, journalism, relevant organisations and Internet companies on the heritage of the Potsdam Agreement and the prospects for a liberal democratic Europe in an increasingly blurred world order.
Former German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Hans-Dietrich Genscher will open the conference.
Session I addresses the geopolitical and security challenges. It will be introduced by Dr. Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO.
Session II examines the question of how our democracies have changed in the 25 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain and German reunification. The input will be given by Dr. Ulrike Guérot, Founder and CEO of the „European Democracy Lab“ in Berlin.
In Session III the participants will discuss the role and responsibility of media, the influence of and dealing with governmental propaganda and the much cited loss of trust in established media. The input will be given by Nenad Pejic, Editor-in-chief at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague.  
The sessions will be moderated by the Berlin based tv host and journalist Ali Aslan and by Christopher Walker, Executive Director, International Forum for Democratic Studies - National Endowment for Democracy, Washington.
At the conclusion of the event, Prof. Dr. Andreas Rödder, an award-winning historian and professor of contemporary history at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz will sum up the conference and provide a look into the future. His new book “21.0. Eine kurze Geschichte der Gegenwart”, which will be published on September 18, is a “historical crash course through the basic problems of the present”.

In the evening, German Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier will deliver the political keynote speech at the conclusion of this year's M100 Sanssouci Colloquium in Potsdam. Following the keynote speech, the M100 Media Award will be presented to the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The award will be accepted from the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Gérard Biard. The writer and defence lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach will deliver the laudatory speech. A detailed agenda can be found here.

Potsdam, September 9, 2015. On September 17, Potsdam will once again be a centre for high-quality discourse between the media, academic, and policy worlds. For the 11th time, this year against the background of the 70th anniversary of the Potsdam Agreement, the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium will bring together international representatives from the media, policy, and academic communities in Potsdam to discuss prospects for a free, democratic Europe in an increasingly chaotic world order.
 Steinmeier FW Web
In a statement ahead of the conference, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, one of the event’s main speakers, emphasised Germany’s responsibility in maintaining and further developing the international order.
 
“Seventy years ago, the victorious powers made decisions here in Potsdam that were of sweeping consequence for the new order in Germany and Europe after the Second World War. Today in Europe we face an organisational task of no less importance. Whether in Ukraine or the refugee crisis – under very different circumstances than in 1945, we too must today bring order to a world out of joint. One thing has fundamentally changed in this respect: At the Potsdam Conference. Germany was the subject of the crisis democracy. Today, we Germans, together with our partners, have taken responsibility.”

Jann Jakobs web

Jann Jakobs, Lord Mayor, City of Potsdam: “The terror attack in Paris was an assault on the heart of our society, on our freedom. The defence of freedom of expression and all democratic values, which are important to us, is imperative to us all. In this respect, the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo more than deserves the M100 Media Award.“

Ferdinand von Schirach will deliver the laudatory speech marking the presentation of the M100 Media Award to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Ferdinand von Schirach webOn September 17, following the international M100 Sanssouci Colloquium media conference, the M100 Media Award will be presented in the Sanssouci Orangery in Potsdam. Gérard Biard, editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, will receive the award on behalf of the entire editorial team.
The award honours contributions to the protection of the freedom of expression and the deepening of democracy, as well as special services in the cause of inter-European understanding and communication. In stating its grounds for this year’s choice, the M100 board said the free world must show solidarity with the victims in every way possible. Freedom of the press and the freedom of expression are constitutive elements of every democracy, and must be protected at all costs, the board said.
The award ceremony will be introduced by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will give the evening’s political keynote speech. The Lord Mayor of Potsdam, Jann Jakobs, will offer a welcome to the roughly 200 invited guests.

In a terrorist attack on the Paris editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015, 12 men were killed, including eight employees of Charlie Hebdo – among them publisher Stéphane Charbonnier by two Islamist-motivated perpetrators. Since that time, the remaining editors and staff have lived under personal protection. Some cartoonists have given up their jobs and left the editorial team for fear of future attacks.
 
“If we lose freedom, we lose everything.” (Ferdinand von Schirach)
 

Potsdam, 27 August, 2015: Three weeks from now, more than 50 exciting representatives from media, politics, science and relevant organizations from all over Europe will discuss at one table at the Orangery Sanssouci. Topic: The current situation in Europe against the background of the 70th anniversary of the Potsdam Agreement. In the evening: presentation of the M100 Media Award to Charlie Hebdo.
Why this is so important, is explained by editor-in-chief of BILD and M100 board member Kai Diekmann:

KD web

"The only way we can respond to the abhorrent terrorists is to fearlessly continue to live the way we live. To write what we want to write. To draw, paint, write poems and speak about whatever we feel like. In a world of terror, we might have to pay with our lives. But if we aren’t prepared to pay that price, then we aren’t free. Our colleagues in Paris paid the highest price for their freedom. We bow to them in thanks with the M100 Media Award!”

Elmar Giglinger Medienboard web

Elmar Giglinger, CEO, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg: "Whether written, spoken, filmed or drawn – freedom of expression is the hard core of a free society and a functioning democracy. Therefore, the Medienboard gladly supports the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium and this year‘s winner of the M100 Media Award, Charlie Hebdo."

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video m100 2016

A visual summary of the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium 2016 "WAR OR PEACE, The return of geopolitics, disintegration and the radicalisation of society in Europe" and the M100 Media Award to the italian author Roberto Saviano. Political keynote: Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, laudation: Giovanni di Lorenzo (die Zeit)