Infomigrants: When did you launch H2D?

Frank Apfel: We launched the TV canal H2D in September last year with the aim of reaching refugees and volunteers. We also wanted to make the subject of integration easy and provide practical help for daily life so refugees could find their way in and around Germany.

What motivated you to start the channel?

We are media specialists - my partner and I - and we operate and initiate television channels. We asked ourselves: how can we use electronic media to reach refugees and their helpers? Our motivation was that we had the knowhow, the knowledge which we needed for implementing this project, for a task which is actually a task for the whole society.

Why television?

Many refugees live in community shelters and many of them live in metropolitan regions and most of these areas are connected with cables. So we decided to take the classical route and begin with digital TV. We offer practical information and also have programs from partners like France 24. We also work with Euronews, which provides us with video material. We also have programs for young refugees. There is one in which a young Afghan presents different kinds of professions. For example, he goes to a Kindergarten and shows the kind of work a teacher there does. He goes to employment information centers and shows how one can get details for training, or he goes to a metallurgy workshop and explains how things work there.

Which languages does H2D broadcast in?



Our main language is German, but we also have content in Arabic, Farsi and English. We are also concentrating on content for children and we've just received a confirmation for children's programs in Arabic.

How do you decide on the programs you broadcast?

It's quite difficult. We have an editing desk here and much of the content is produced by refugees and production companies. In this manner, we get access to themes that are relevant for refugees. We also get feedback from volunteers.

How do you finance your channel?

It's all privately financed by my partner and me. That is why we are trying to create a non-profit organization so that we can accept contributions or be supported by a foundation.

With the current discussion on refugees, do you think such a channel is sustainable in the long term?

We don't know whether refugees are actually watching our programs. But we do get emails where many refugees thank us for what we're doing. So I don't think we're broadcasting into blank space. And at the end of the day the idea is to create a channel to communicate with refugees. There are Facebook communities for example where people discuss about a theme or an opinion without really thinking whether it is right or not, but we are in a position where we can show explanatory videos or things without having any political agenda.

Frank Apfel is the owner of media consultancy Apfel Programm Marketing GmbH. He runs H2D together with his partner Alexander Trautmannsdorf.

This interview was conducted by Manasi Gopalakrishnan for Infomigrants.