SHORT PORTRAIT BIPOC MEDIA FEST – KARAKAYA TALKS gUG
BIPOC MEDIA FEST is a networking and workshop event for migrant media professionals from film, journalism and the creator economy. Through professional workshops, keynotes and networking, the event empowers marginalised artists, journalists and storytellers. The aim is to drive systemic change towards an inclusive, equitable media landscape. BIPOC MEDIA FEST offers media professionals of colour a platform to sustainably develop the media world at all levels.
‘By connecting BIPoC media professionals from different cultural, religious and social backgrounds, BIPOC MEDIA FEST unleashes forces to change the media landscape – to make it more diverse, fairer and more inclusive. Telling the story of society in a way that includes everyone is fundamental to being an effective part of it. The empowerment of BIPoC media professionals is therefore a decisive step towards more visible representation of diverse topics and perspectives, but also a gradual change in invisible structures’, said the jury.
3 Questions to… Esra Karakaya, CEO of
BIPOC MEDIA FEST – KARAKAYA TALKS gUG
The BIPOC MEDIA FEST 2025 is an innovative approach that aims to empower and connect Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) media professionals from journalism, the creator economy and film in Germany. Although 27% of people in Germany have a so-called migrant background, they only make up 6% of the German editorial board, for example. Since 40% of jobs and 70% of leadership roles are created through personal contacts, our approach is urgently needed to enable long-term systemic change.
Through a combination of workshops, panels and networking events, BIPOC MEDIA FEST creates a platform that addresses systemic inequalities in the media industry and discusses concrete solutions. In 2023, each person attending BIPOC MEDIA FEST made 2-4 significant contacts, and this year we are once again focussing on creative collaboration, exchange and forward-looking solutions. Our long-term vision is a sustainable and fairer media landscape.
The prize money would primarily be used to organise our BIPOC MEDIA FEST and make it as accessible as possible. It covers costs for the location, catering, appropriate fees for speakers and their travel expenses. In addition, we would like to fund important services such as childcare to minimise barriers to participation and enable broad participation.
I would like to see a media-friendly attitude in Germany that is characterised by self-criticism, self-reflection and a clear awareness of its own responsibility. It is about understanding the media world as an important player in social change and shaping it in such a way that it can meet the challenges of a constantly changing world. Only in this way can we recognise who is being pushed to the margins of society and work specifically to bring these people and groups back to the centre.
