Young People's Media Network
Young People's Media Network has been operating since November 2002. The network unites 14 children's studios engaged in television, radio and print media. The Network assists young people in sharing their experiences with peers from other countries of the region and provides opportunities to interact with various international festivals and other youth media outlets. The Network is strategic and pivotal for assisting young people in building their media literacy skills. In 2003 young filmmaker George Baramidze, member of the Young People Media Network in Georgia, won the award at the International Festival of one-minute videos held in Amsterdam. His video "Leave No Child Out" won the main prize - a SONY video camera. The film is a tragicomic presentation of a mother too busy with her social life to even notice that her son cannot get into their apartment. A regional ‘OneMinuteJr’ workshop was held in Tbilisi in July 2003, bringing together children from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In August 2005, another workshop with 25 children participating from the Network was held in Chakvi, a popular resort of the Black Sea coast. These activities have furthermore, led to the creation of ‘Kids’ Crossroads’, a three-year initiative spearheaded by Internews, a Media Development Organization and has been implemented across the three South Caucasian Republics. Funded by USAID and UNICEF, ‘Kids’ Crossroads’ aims to involve children from across the region in co-productions The project envisages television production training for young people. The currently aired television programme, ‘Our Express’ is produced by young people within the project and is broadcasted once every two weeks on the 1st Channel of Georgian Public Television. In 2005, members of the Young People's Media Network were actively involved in marking the International Children's Day of Broadcasting, celebrated around the world every year on the second Sunday in December. The first channel of the national Public TV set aside a lot of time for children on 11 December. Two hours of live programming in the morning were led by youth including stories from different parts of Georgia about children and sport. In addition, 10 One Minute videos were aired about the participation of children in sporting activities.
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