Face to Face in Germany
	What is Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung

As its latest Face to Face Campaign project, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)has created a nationwide population and sustainable development cinema campaign in cooperation with CinemaxX AG, the largest cinema chain in Germany. The campaign consists of a slide show, a documentary, informational print materials and a special opening event at each participating theater.

The slide show is entitled, 3 of 6 Billion. It presents the worlds of three babies born in three different countries: Francis in Kenya; Ha Le in Vietnam; and Paulina in Germany. The show explores the basic needs of these children, including the things they have in common as well as the cultural differences among them.

The documentary, entitled Hope for Bhujung, depicts a project in Nepal supported by DSW and the registered charity "GEO protects the rain forest (GEO sch?tzt den Regenwald e.V.)." In the Annapurna Conservation Area of the village of Bhujung, income-generating activities, family planning and environmental protection are integrated in a single development project. The documentary shows this development project as a successful way of implementing the recommendations of the 1994 Cairo Conference. Population growth, environmental protection and economic development are brought into balance in Bhujung, a village that has been threatened by its population growth.

A press conference was held on October 7, 1999 in Hamburg to draw attention to the Day of Six Billion and the launch of the cinema campaign. Rolf Seelmann-Eggebert, a German TV presenter and the founder of the "One World Group of Broadcasters" along with Peter- Mathias Gaede, editor of the report magazine GEO presided. Journalists from throughout Germany participated in the press conference and generated more than 30 articles in newspapers and magazines.

DSW has generated its own publicity with posters announcing the cinema campaign, corresponding flyers, and postcards.

Written descriptions of the slide show, the documentary and background information on population and development issues are handed out as an information package to all who attend the films.

DSW organizes an opening event in each of the participating CinemaxX film theaters to which DSW, GEO, and CinemaxX AG invite local politicians, VIPs and school teachers. After a showing of the slides and documentary, there is a discussion about the films, the rights of women, and the relationship between population growth and sustainable development.

So far, approximately 50,000 students and teachers have seen the film package. Twelve CinemaxX cinemas have completed the four-week matinee series and thirteen other cinemas are currently presenting the film package or will early in this year.

The reactions to DSW's cinema campaign have all been positive. The films are the first in Germany to present population and development issues in a positive light. The two themes that audiences remember most are the importance of the empowerment of women and improvements in reproductive healthcare.

Numerous schools and other institutions have shown interest in running the film package. To facilitate these inquiries, DSW is making arrangements with German educational film hire services.

DSW has been invited to participate in the "World Media Festival" in Hamburg in May 2000. The festival's organizer, Cora Chinbuah, is very enthusiastic about the slide show and the documentary in this important and impressive Face to Face media program.

Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) or the German Foundation for World Population was founded in 1991 by Erhard Schreiber, a German industrialist deeply interested in ecological and population issues. DSW is currently the sole organization in Germany specifically concerned with world population growth and implementing the recommendations of the ICPD.

According to Dr. Hans Fleisch, Managing Director, DSW's goals are to contribute to the empowerment of women and youth and to realize worldwide the human right to reproductive health and family planning. In order to achieve its goals, DSW follows a two-pronged strategy of organizing activities that build awareness and resources in Germany and providing technical and financial assistance to NGOs in developing countries.

Over the years, DSW has created over 30 projects in 10 countries in the developing world. Located mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the projects address issues related to the empowerment of women and reproductive healthcare. DSW has an experienced management staff that cooperates with internationally renowned consultants. In addition to developing, financing, monitoring and evaluating programs, DSW supports local NGOs in management skills training, capacity building, and international networking.

In Kenya, DSW has established a community-based family planning service within the framework of a broader primary health care service. In Nicaragua, DSW introduced reproductive health education programs for teachers in secondary schools. In Ethiopia, DSW supports a country-wide Adolescent Reproductive Health Initiative including a network of youth clubs that disseminate reproductive health information and offer counseling.

In face to face meetings with politicians and corporate decision- makers, DSW uses every opportunity to discuss world population growth, the empowerment of women and youth, sexual and reproductive health care, as well as concrete actions that can be taken to resolve problems in these areas in the developing world. DSW co- sponsors conferences on many population and development issues and actively participates in international and European forums. It disseminates its own publications to the media, the public and German politicians. Staff members participate in radio and television programming about population and development issues.