International Media Aid

Internationale Medienhilfe (IMH), rendered in English as International Media Aid, is a non-commercial, independent self-help organisation and working community of intercultural, emigrant and Jewish media active across all continents. Founded in 1996, it describes itself as the only international media network of German origin. Its stated aims include fostering worldwide cooperation among media and media professionals, promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression, encouraging international journalistic work, advancing understanding between peoples, supporting linguistic diversity, promoting media innovation, and training young media workers. The organisation operates a worldwide IMH media network that connects foreign-language media in Germany with German-language media abroad. It runs a news agency supplying subscribers with reports on culture, business, media and politics drawn from its global network, and it maintains a media archive hosted at the International Newspaper Museum in Aachen, which holds nearly all German-language newspapers and magazines published abroad. IMH also publishes reference works through IMH-Verlag, most notably "Das Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Presse im Ausland" (The Handbook of the German-Language Press Abroad), described as the first directory of its kind for newspapers and periodicals. In addition, it organises regular media meetups and seminars on international topics and offers media internships worldwide. IMH is led by Björn Akstinat and, according to its own announcements, has a president in Susanne Petermann, a chief editor based in Florida, USA. The network has been cited by German media outlets including n-tv and Medium-Magazin, and it reports on issues such as violence against journalists, commemorative days for Germans abroad, and the "Auslandsdeutsche des Jahres" (German Abroad of the Year) competition. Its activities position it as a niche but internationally oriented media-support and networking brand rather than a commercial publisher.

Internationale Medienhilfe (IMH) was founded in 1996 as an independent, non-commercial self-help organisation and working community of intercultural, emigrant and Jewish media spanning all continents. From its German base, it built a worldwide network linking foreign-language media in Germany with German-language media abroad, and it describes itself as the only international media network of German origin. Over the decades, IMH expanded its activities beyond networking. It established a news agency that supplies subscribers with reports on culture, business, media and politics drawn from its global network. It created a media archive now housed at the International Newspaper Museum in Aachen, which holds nearly all German-language newspapers and magazines published abroad. Through IMH-Verlag it published "Das Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Presse im Ausland," the first directory of its kind for German-language newspapers and periodicals abroad. It also began organising regular media meetups and seminars on international topics and offering media internships worldwide. IMH has been led by Björn Akstinat, and its presidency passed to Susanne Petermann, a chief editor based in Florida, USA. The organisation has been cited by German media such as n-tv and Medium-Magazin, and it runs initiatives including a commemorative day for Germans abroad (6 October), reporting on violence against journalists, and the "Auslandsdeutsche des Jahres" competition. Its history reflects a sustained effort to support linguistic diversity and cross-border journalistic cooperation from a non-commercial, community-oriented standpoint.

• 1996

  Internationale Medienhilfe (IMH) founded as an independent, non-commercial self-help organisation and working community of intercultural, emigrant and Jewish media.

• IMH news agency established, supplying subscribers with reports on culture, business, media and politics from its global network.

• IMH media archive established at the International Newspaper Museum in Aachen, holding nearly all German-language newspapers and magazines published abroad.

• Publication of "Das Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Presse im Ausland" by IMH-Verlag, the first directory of its kind.

• Susanne Petermann, chief editor from Florida, USA, becomes IMH president.

• IMH announces a new worldwide commemorative day for Germans abroad on 6 October.

Non-commercial international media network and self-help organisation for foreign-language, emigrant and Jewish media, with a focus on German-language press abroad.

• Das Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Presse im Ausland

• IMH news agency

• IMH media archive

• Media internships

• Media meetups and seminars

• Tag der Auslandsdeutschen (Day of Germans Abroad)

  A new worldwide commemorative day on 6 October announced by IMH.
• Auslandsdeutsche des Jahres (German Abroad of the Year)

  An IMH competition; the 2025/26 winner comes from Hungary.

1. 1Startseite Internationale Medienhilfe - IMHmedienhilfe.org
2. 2Internationale Medienhilfewikidata.org
3. 3Internationale Medienhilfees.wikipedia.org