The future of D+C

The turn of the year 2024/2025 marks a new chapter for D+C. After 60 years of publishing a print magazine, we are transitioning to an exclusively digital publication. Moreover, you are looking at a brand-new design. Based on your feedback from our survey in summer 2024, we’ve revised D+C’s layout. We hope you like it! 

That said, there will also be a change in our editorial team. As of January 2025 on, I will be taking over as editor-in chief from Hans Dembowski. It is a great honour and privilege for me to help shape the future of D+C together with the editorial team. 

For many years, D+C was part of my professional career. From 2010 to 2018, I belonged to the editorial team and kept contributing to the magazine later. With my back ground in online journalism as well as in international development affairs, I am keen on facilitating cross-border dialogue, strongly believing that this is what it needs to build shared solutions to global challenges. 

The year 2024 leaves us in polycrisis: populism and nationalism are undermining international institutions and challenging global cooperation. Autocracies are forming alliances across the globe, and many violent conflicts – such as in Ukraine, the Middle East or Sudan – show no signs of ending. Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 seems increasingly out of reach. 

But that’s only part of the story. We have seen notable progress since the turn of the millennium: child mortality rates have halved internationally, literacy rates now generally exceed 85 %, and poverty rates continue to decline, albeit more slowly in recent years. In many African countries, the quality of life has improved, and democracy has strengthened. People worldwide have taken to the streets to challenge repressive regimes, and movements like Fridays for Future, Black Lives Matter and MeToo have left their marks on international politics. Even though the fossil fuel industry remains powerful, renewable energy is gaining ground. 

There’s no denying that daunting global challenges exist, but it is equally important to acknowledge achievements. At D+C, we will continue to explore both sides of the equation and facilitate discussions on how to move forward. Only by connecting across borders can we develop shared solutions to global problems – and that’s exactly what D+C stands for. 

The feedback you gave us to our survey in the summer once again showed what a unique, engaged and global network D+C has built. We are most grateful for the many elaborate responses, the strong encouragement and the large number of proposals. We have carefully read each of your suggestions and have taken steps to implement many of your ideas, including the new design and the D+C app. We are also updating our newsletter, which will soon be published more frequently and offer more in-depth content. This will make it easier for you to access our content and better integrate D+C into your everyday work. Thank you very much for your support expressed in the survey. 

We are trying our best, but we know that snags happen. Do contact us whenever something should not work properly, or should you feel a service is missing. We equally appreciate if you let us know about the things you like. Every kind of feedback helps us to improve our performance, and we’re always happy to hear from you. 

Eva-Maria Verfürth is the editor-in-chief of D+C since January 2025.
euz.editor@dandc.eu