Potsdam, 10 September, 2016. The participants of this year's M100YEJ are blogging live from the workshop! At first day Daniel Drepper, Co-founder of the investigative network Correct!v, gave an exciting introduction to investigative journalism with special focus on dentifying and selecting
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Potsdam, 19 July, 2017. „Democracy or Despotism? The Renaissance of Dark Powers“ is the topic of this year’s  M100 Sanssouci Colloquium. And Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the Turkish-German news platform “Özgürüz” and former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper “Cumhuriyet“, is particularly familiar with this year’s topic.  
As a result of his reporting on secret Turkish arms deliveries to extremists in Syria, Dündar and his colleague Erdem Gül were sentenced to a lengthy prison term by a Turkish court of first instance. Hence, he lived in exile for more than one year. While Dündar could escape abroad, his wife’s passport was taken away and Dilek is not allowed to leave the country anymore. Beforehand, Dündar stated at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2016 that Turkey was the only modern, secular country with a Muslim majority. But in the meantime, it slowly developed to an Islamic dictatorship. “We are losing this country”, Dündar emphasized. Following the attempted coup in Turkey, Dündar announced that he would not return to Turkey as long as the state of emergency was still in place. A condition of “lawlessness” prevailed since the coup attempt, he said, and he no longer had any trust in the Turkish justice system.

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“At the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium you can meet foreign colleagues that you usually would not meet. This gives us a different impression about the situation in Europe – about countries such as Ukraine or Romania, for instance, where German journalists usually do not travel.”

Gabor Steingart, Publisher "Handelsblatt", Dusseldorf

"In times of a crumbling Europe and increasing censorship on the one hand as well as Fake News and hate speech on the other hand, it is particularly important that we take a stand for freedom of press and opinion. We have to take care that new audiovisual platforms will not be misused as instruments for demagogues. The Medienboard supports the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium in order to promote a journalistic exchange on the European level and to discuss modern conditions for a democratic, tolerant and cosmopolitan society.”

Helge Jürgens, Managing Director of Media Development, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Prof. Dr. Andreas Rödder, one of Germany's leading contemporary historians, opens Session I of this year's M100SC: "The Dawning of a new Age":
"Europe should learn by experience. Morally overstraining the idea of an „ever closer union“ has pushed up the idea of the European Union too far to an ideology. In this way it has lost the ability for self-criticism and correction – and thereby it endangers its unique historical achievements. Europe needs a smart mix of realism and ideas – a flexible union relying on different member states, since they are (and most likely remain to be) the guardians of democracy."

Potsdam, 12 July 2017. During this year’s M100 Young European Journalists Workshop (M100YEJ) in Potsdam (7 to 15 September, 2016), young journalists from Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia will be introduced to various financing options and opportunities for independent journalistic projects.

About 60 highly qualified young journalists from all Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) as well as from Russia have applied for this year’s M100YEJ, titled “How to finance independent journalism – education, platforms, and business models”.

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Potsdam, 12 July, 2017.
Victor Erofeev, one of Russia's leading writers, gives an input on  democracy at this year's #M100SC:

"Western democracy now looks poor. It is like a tree without roots and with falling leaves. Post-Soviet nations such as Ukraine and Georgia or pro-european opposition movements in Russia aim to follow Europe sharing the same values. But the Western democracy has become a simulacrum, and to run after it is the same as to run after a ghost."

Potsdam, July 10, 2017. Jason Brennan, US Professor for Economy, Ethics and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., holds a speech at this year's #M100SC on 14 September, 2017 in Potsdam. Brennan, author of the book with the provocative title "Against Democracy" will introduce Session II about "Failed Democracy?" with an controversial input. Watch his statement here! (with German subtitles)

The M100 Sanssouci Colloquium cooperates with the young European grassroots thinktank Polis 180. The thinktank aims at integrating ideas, analyses and solutions of the young generation through innovative, participative and inclusive Aapproaches in the political discourse, developing alternatives for a constructive European and foreign policy through new and creative formats and translating scientificfindings for political decision-makers. At the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium members of the thinktanks take part in the Sessions and enrich debates with results of studies and surveys.

Potsdam, July 10, 2017. About 60 highly qualified young journalists from all the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) as well as from Russia have applied for this year’s #M100YEJ, titled “How to finance independent journalism”. The selection was challenging, because we could only choose 15 out of all the creative, experienced and promising applicants. Thanks to all applicants for their amazing and impressing applications. We want to encourage you to continue pursuing your projects and ideas. To all the selected, we hope to provide you  valuable advice and contacts for the realisation of your own projects. You can find the list of this year’s participants of the M100YEJ 2017 here: