Calling all journalists for The World Talks

Updates from My Country Talks

Dear friends of My Country Talks,

Hello and welcome to our October newsletter. In this edition, we have a recap of two local events, Halle spricht in Germany and Toronto Talks in Canada. 

But first - calling all journalists! This is a shoutout for our next big project, The World Talks. Would you or someone you know like to join a consortium of global reporters? We are assembling our media partner network to cover the world’s biggest day of dialogue in 2023. Click here for more information.

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What happened in October?

Halle spricht

How can citizens shape their cities for the future? That was our question when we launched the 2022 series of Meine Stadt spricht (My City Talks). And, thanks to generous support from our funders, we were able to host three events around Germany to try to answer that question. 

The Meine Stadt spricht 2022 series finished with Halle spricht on October 15. Participants discussed a wide range of issues, from political correctness and climate change to the Russia-Ukraine War. The event was organized by the city of Halle and a group of local organizations and newspapers, including the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung”.

We are excited to start the series again in 2023, with several more cities around Germany!

Toronto Talks

Speaking of cities, Toronto Talks marked our first international expansion of our local format. The event, which took place on October 18, was organized by The Green Line, a news startup serving Torontonians. 

This event was part of The Green Line’s truly innovative reporting format, which combines investigation and traditional journalism with community-centered learning and events. Toronto Talks was part of their elections series, which covered the October municipal elections around Canada. Alongside the one-on-one debates, participants of the event also got the chance to speak directly with candidates running for office, and were asked to contribute ideas for how to increase youth voter turnout.

We encourage you to read the full piece on their website - it is a great example of constructive local journalism. 

Watch a segment on City News about the event here.

Toronto Talks news segment

What we're reading: book recommendation

Language impacts social polarization. In a conversation turned into a book, the artist Moshtari Hilal and researcher and essayist Sinthujan Varatharajah explore the English language in Berlin: Who speaks it, who is excluded from it? They uncover double standards and capital interests underlying who uses the language, discuss gentrification and asylum policy, and search for forms of fair cultural work.

Learn more about the book

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