Aurora - intention
Targets of the initiative - activities - establishment assertion - contact
In the autumn 1997 in Cologne the " GermanRussian medium
initiative " is created. Members are journalists, medium-creative and
entrepreneurs, who are occupied vocationally with Russia.
The Russia picture changed itself several
times in Germany: Still from times of war with the country pictures
of the threat are connected, encouraged later by the
atomic arms race. With Gorbachev then the interest
and the sympathy flashed in Russia again, struck however thereafter
also fast again in negatives.
While at the moment at the political report over Russia
little is to be suspended, a distortion is the clearer in other forms:
Feuilleton, TV news magazines, TV maintenance and boulevard press -
Russia is kolportiert to the epitome by chaos and threat, partly
really, partly, produced partly, selected in any case: Tschernobyl
and plutonium smuggling, corruption, child prostitution and
Russenmafia - the selection of the topics has a
clear direction.
Information about the everyday life life, about the structure
of the society, over the culture comes further only very meagerly to
us. It seems to be quite comfortable, if the old pictures are preserved and one are not not forced to be occupied with
this in such a way which is obvious society.
Personal contacts increased against it, the travel are
simpler, also many GUS inhabitants came as evacuees to Germany. Last
German companies do not have co-operation, addresses or new sales
markets successfully in Russia looked up, partly quite. The
perception of Russia is still more of global pictures than of direct
experiences coined/shaped nevertheless.
During the establishment of the initiative the experience from Russia attendance was the center of attention : One noticed then that one had developed in the heading a picture of the society and way of life of humans, which does not correspond with the reality one was a type satisfied Propagangda underlaid - in such a way the resolution developed to create an initiative which uses itself for a more objective picture of Russia in German mass media.
Last we are not us united in the fascination, that admitted few from the enormous, country go out, of the cultural wealth and of the determination, the own society system " me nothing you nothing " umzukrempeln. Excitingly could also be, which is still added from this area to the rather anglo-saxon coined/shapedmass media culture of the earth.
The name " Aurora " refers to the tank
cruiser of the same name, by which 1917 in St. Petersburg (at that
time " Petrograd ") were proclaimed the storm on the winter palace and
thus the Russian revolution. To the name there were some objections,
frequently from the new Lands of the Federal Republic, because one
connected with it official GDR-Russian friendship propaganda - however
in the long run it remained plakativen with the " Aurora ". A
political or also only sympathy for revolution and communism is not
connected with it - we consider these designs outdated.
Since the establishment in the autumn 97 has Aurora a set of conferences in the Internet organized, to different
topics around Russia and the GUS. The medium Internet was selected,
because at small expenditure a publication, a spreading and a linkage
of contents there are possible.
At the conferences the users must travel not to a central
place, read them and write their contributions in the computer, which
is connected to Internet by with the computers of the other experts;
in addition, public users can immediately read the texts without
log-on " live " and transmit their contributions; a
moderator coordinates the topics and gives notes. A further
advantage of this procedure is that the debates documented immediately
and be printed at any time or reread can.
Such a work moves outside of the research operation, we would
like thereby however a contribution to make, as knowledge and points
of view of recognized specialists are exchanged and
as sources to be used at any time to be able.
We do not want to be Propheten of the new media - for Aurora that is fewer Internet a mass medium, but a public platform, in order to manufacture personal contacts: To the conferences press releases are transmitted to the editorships of the 50 present-strongest newspapers as well as by radio and TV. Parallel individual journalists are invited personally to the conference. We believe, in this way the request of the Aurora e.V. to keep present " in the back of the head " of the medium-creative.
The " Russia picture in German media " and related research are examined also in scientific work. Here we would like to unite an open list of institutions and persons in the future information and structure, are it with Internet connection or without.
The monitoring is to be developed on a long-term basis or coordinated with other institutions: of medium productions about Russia the status and the development is to document a constant observation and registration. A first step in this direction becomes the assignment one " Zitronen-Preises" sein, für Medienproduktionen, die besonders markant in den Fettnapf der Rußland-Klischees stampfen.
Daneben sind wir auch an deutsch-russischen Institutionen mit anderen Themen und Zielsetzungen interessiert - und bitten ggfs. um Kontaktaufnahme.