60 years Robert Bosch Stiftung: The "Lektorenprogramm" supported an exciting career

Christian Mihr is Managing Director Human Rights Impact at Amnesty International Germany. Previously, he was managing director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, co-founder of the F5 Alliance for Digital Policy for the Common Good, and Head of Media Policy Projects at n-ost, a network for reporting on Eastern Europe. He is also a member of the Bosch Alumni Network.

In 2005 and 2006, Christian was a lecturer for journalism in the Robert Bosch Stiftung's "Lektorenprogramm". This experience opened many doors for him on his personal path.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Christian reflects on his sponsorship and tells his alumni story.

At what stage of your life were you when you received your grant from the Robert Bosch Stiftung?

I already had several years of professional experience as a journalist and wanted to try something completely new.

How did the grant affect your future path?

I had already studied abroad for a while, in Chile, and worked abroad for a while, in Ecuador. The Robert Bosch Stiftung fellowship broadened my horizons considerably and, above all, gave me access to Eastern Europe, a region that was largely unknown to me at the time. The fellowship from the Robert Bosch Stiftung also sharpened my international professional profile and thus decisively qualified me for my later international professional activities - at n-ost as well as at Reporters Without Borders. 

Is there an experience from the program that you will never forget?

Oh, there are so many. In these days when Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine is once again under attack by Russian troops, I remember above all a very nice regional meeting of all the scholarship holders on my programme in Kharkiv. The images of destroyed houses in Kharkiv seem very unreal to me in view of my fond memories of the city.

What place(s) has your program taken you?

As part of the program, I lived in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, where I taught journalism and organized projects at the Independent Russian-German Institute for Journalism.

What program did you participate in?

As part of the Robert Bosch Stiftung's "Lektorenprogramm", I worked as a specialist lecturer for journalism in 2005 and 2006.

Bild © Christian Mihr

More of these personal impact stories have been published in recent weeks - showing how the initial support of the Robert Bosch Stiftung helped someone on their future path. 

For more inspiration around the anniversary, keep an eye out for #boschstiftung60 on LinkedIn or Instagram.