MAGIC news archive
March 2006

PROJECTS
TROC means „Speak Out“ in Albanian

For 5 years now, teenagers from all over the country have been producing a weekly TV show, broadcast on TVSh, the national public TV station. But now they want to go a step further – and turn TROC into a regional project.
FULL ARTICLE

ARTICLES
UNICEF's drama festival kick-off successful
The schools' drama festival hosted over the weekend by UNICEF in collaboration with the Swaziland Theatre for Children and Young People (SWATCYP) and Ministry of Education was a huge success.
The plays presented mostly focused on ways in which children, especially the vulnerable, are exposed to abuse by parents and guardians whom they look up to for protection. These included drama about fathers who perpetrate sexual relationships with their biological daughters, adopted young girls who end up rape victims of their guardians, uncompromising parents who physically abuse their children and mostly male teachers who rape female pupils supposedly under their guidance and care.
FULL ARTICLE

AWARDS - CALL FOR ENTRIES
Child Rights Award 2006: A call to broadcasters
The ABU, CASBAA and UNICEF are now inviting Asia-Pacific broadcasters and producers to submit entries for the Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award 2006.
The ABU CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award, launched in 2001, is given each year in recognition of the best television programming on a child rights issue produced in the Asia-Pacific region. It recognises the efforts of broadcasters in pursuing both the production of top-quality children's programming and better news coverage of children's issues.
Programmes both for children and about children are eligible and can cover any child rights issue. Entries can include documentaries that detail the plight of children, dramas that help break down stereotypes and discrimination, or animation that teaches and entertains.
Entries, which are free, must have been broadcast between August 2005 and July 2006, and must be received by 25 August 2006. The Award will be presented at the ABU Annual General Meeting in Beijing in November 2006. The winner will be flown to Beijing for the ceremony.
MORE INFO

BROADCASTING
Rainbow tops children's TV poll
Rainbow has topped a public survey on the most popular pre-school children's TV shows of all-time. The series, featuring George the hippo, loudmouth Zippy, human pal Geoffrey and Bungle the bear, beat The Magic Roundabout to first place in the poll.
FULL ARTICLE

BROADCASTING
UNICEF thanks Fuji TV for its longstanding support
NEW YORK, USA, 17 March 2006 - UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman today thanked Fuji TV, one of the biggest TV networks in Japan, for its consistent support of UNICEF's work.
In a meeting at UNICEF headquarters with Chairman and CEO Takashi Hoga of Fujisankei Communications International, Inc., Ms. Veneman praised Fuji TV's commitment over the past three decades, during which the company has raised $20 million to help UNICEF improve the lives of millions of children.
FULL ARTICLE

EVENTS
Prix Jeunesse International 2006 - Festival and Workshop in Munich, Germany, from 5 - 10 May, 2006 - "Laugh and the World Laughs with You - Kids, TV and Humour"
Click here for PRIX JEUNESSE WATCHWords Special Edition

EVENTS
Voiceless children - The 16th Cairo International Film Festival for Children highlighted the lack of visual media targetting Arab children
So modest was the Arabs' share of awards handed out by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni at the closing ceremony of the Cairo International Film Festival for Children (CIFFC) last week, it felt somewhat pathetic. Egypt received only three prizes: two for animated films -- Ragya Hassan's Anouch and the Shadow and Bassam Halabi's Friends and Greed -- and one for Magda Abdel-Aziz's TV programme for disabled children, "Hearts that Love You". Executive Production Manager at Arab Radio and Television channel (ART) Layali Badr, formerly a children's programme director and on this occasion the winner of Ministry of Culture's silver prize for producing "Adventures of the Internet", was eager to point out that, though the issue of productions targeting children has been widely debated for a long time, no answer has been found to "problems pertaining to financing children's animation work -- which seems to be the main obstacle".
FULL ARTICLE

BROADCASTING
Can TiVo Know What Kids Need?
Television watchdogs of all stripes are jumping on the bandwagon of a new parental control package that promises to help parents separate "good" programs from all the rest. The prescreened system from TiVo, called KidZone, uses age-based recommendations from diverse interest groups to help parents cherry-pick which live and recorded shows come into their homes.
FULL ARTICLE

OPPORTUNITIES
Student media contest offers share of £10,000 prize pot (UK)
Work experience at The Guardian or Sky News and a share in a prize pot of more than £10,000 are among the prizes up for grabs at this year's Guardian Student Media Awards.
Organisers of the competition, now in its 28th year, are inviting entries from student journalists, editors, designers and photographers, all hoping to be crowned the best in category.
Thirteen prizes will be handed out, for everything from the best student newspaper to the best student critic, with judges looking for originality, quality, and strong, entertaining writing.
FULL ARTICLE

EVENTS

WEBSITE

OPPORTUNITIES
"Break stereotypes" poster competition: Your head. A space full of thoughts. A piece of paper. Your voice.

Set your mind in motion and make a creative statement for diversity, against discrimination. See your work published on posters and flyers all across the EU. Join the European Poster Competition with prizes worth ? 5000 up for grabs. The best visuals will be featured in a travelling exhibition across Europe.
MORE INFO

OPPORTUNITIES
The J8 competition

The J8 competition 2006 is running for students aged 13-16 across the G8 countries. In Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA, students can enter the J8 competition, and for students in Russia a national competition will be launched by the Russian Ministry of Education.
To enter the J8 competition 2006 you and a group of your friends will need to submit a Communiqué on four of the key themes which are going to be discussed at the G8 Summit 2006. The four topics are:
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Education
- Energy security
- Infectious diseases
How to enter

RESOURCES
Revised and improved Education Makes News training kit goes online

UNESCO has launched revised and improved the EFA media training and resource Kit "Education Makes News" for writing and reporting on Education for All (EFA), an international initiative to achieve education for all by 2015.
The kit has been produced and revised with the objective of encouraging the communication media to highlight EFA goals locally, regionally and globally.
FULL ARTICLE
ONLINE RESOURCE

EVENTS / OPPORTUNITIES
Islamophobia - is it a myth or a reality?
The Association of Crimea community youth centers "Youth for Peace and Development" will provide an International youth conference "Youth from Black Sea region countries against islamophobia & discrimination & fanaticism" since 14 till 18 May 2006 at the Crimean tartar theatre in Simferopol city of Crimea, Ukraine.
The conference will be organize as a part of the European youth campaign for diversity, human rights, and participation "All different-all equal!" with supporting by the Council of Europe.
MORE INFO

AWARDS
Swaziland: UNICEF to award local journalists
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has announced a total of $100 (R6 000) in prize money for the best analytical and investigative stories on gender-based violence.
UNICEF Resident Representative Alan Brody announced this yesterday during the official opening of the International Conference on Gender Based Violence, which is being held at the Royal Swazi Sun Convention Centre.
"One prize will be for the print media and the other for the broadcast media (radio and television)," he explained.
FULL ARTICLE
UNICEF in Swaziland

INTERNET
Greek node brings 'invisible world' to TV
E.KAT.O. organised a TV show entitled Atheatos Kosmos (Invisible World) together with national channel ALTER. The show, hosted by Kosta Xardavella, highlights children's use of the internet, the associated dangers, and how to prevent them.
FULL ARTICLE

INTERNET
Czech kids to design their own safety superhero
The Czech internet safety node, CzeSI, is organising a follow-up to last year's "Friendship and Magic" storytelling contest. The challenge is to create an "internet guardian" character with special powers to combat online dangers.
The competition is open to individuals or teams of pupils, aged 10 to 16. Kids should submit a picture of their character, which should be accompanied by a description of its special powers, or a story to illustrate why it has got what it takes to protect young people online.
FULL ARTICLE

INTERNET
Irish minister launches interactive safety initiative
Irish Minister of Education Mary Hanafin T.D. launched the new Webwise website and an interactive safety lesson on Safer Internet Day. These new resources provide children with an introduction to the internet and advice on safe surfing.
Webwise, Ireland's internet safety node, developed the activities and resources to assist and support educators and parents when teaching young people about safe and responsible uses of the internet.
The online learning module is made up of interactive resources, classroom activities, and take-home activities. The activity sheets are designed to facilitate discussion between pupils, their teachers and their parents/guardians about Internet safety.
FULL ARTICLE
WEBWISE WEBSITE

OPPORTUNITIES
2006 International Essay Contest for Young People
The Goi Peace Foundation is pleased to invite young people from around the world again this year to enter our Essay Contest. This year's theme is "Learning to live together: promoting tolerance and diversity in globalized societies."
First prize winners will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan. The deadline for entry is June 30, 2006. You can find the complete guidelines here.

RESEARCH
TV ruled out as cause of child hyperactivity problems
Young children do not develop hyperactivity and attention problems by spending hours in front of television sets, according to psychologists.
The finding overturns research that suggested prolonged television viewing among children could lead to a range of behavioural problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
FULL ARTICLE

ARTICLES
An image-conscious generation: Young children are bombarded by new audio and visual information at home and school. How can ICT help them understand their world and keep their interest in learning?
It's widely recognised that creative use of technology such as digital video, sound recording and graphic design has a powerful motivating effect on children. For boys, in particular, evidence suggests that making films, for example, really does improve their engagement, says Alan Rodgers, primary representative for Naace, the education technology advisers' organisation. "It's the authenticity of the task that engages them."
Primary English offers the most obvious opportunities initially for allying imaginative work to technology's creative potential. Schools that have used technology to complement pen and paper - using digital cameras to take pictures as a stimulus for creative writing or getting pupils to write out instructions for machines they see featured in computer games - have noted a marked impact in class. Not only are children more attentive but their confidence is boosted by doing activities they enjoy and can easily relate to.
FULL ARTICLE

VIDEO
Check out the "Unite for children, unite against AIDS" video

You can still participate, of course, and send us YOUR version so we can add it to the video.
WATCH THE FILM
MORE INFO in English - Spanish - French

WORKSHOPS
Baltic portraits

The first OneMinutesJr workshop in 2006 was organised in Liepaja on the coast of Latvia from February 21-25. The 20 participants came from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The theme of the workshop was (self-)portrait, the new category in the annual theoneminutesjr competition.
Tthe workshop was hosted by the culture and information centre k@2 (www.karosta.lv) in the district of Karosta which used to be a Soviet naval base. The sea, the orthodox church, hyperrealistic portraits of locals on the walls and beautiful winter days created a perfect setting for the workshop.
FULL STORY

EVENTS
The Kids' TV Forum in London, UK

Website

NEWS
Children’s news agency changing the face of Bangladeshi media

Children's Express journalists Tarek Mehdi and Farah Tasnim Ahmed
interviewing a young mechanic. © UNICEF Bangladesh / 2006

DHAKA, Bangladesh, 2 February 2006 - It looked like any other press conference in the capital, but there was one big difference: on this particular day it was Bangladesh's top newspaper editors on the receiving end of pointed questions - from children.
It was an entertaining sight; senior editors squirming in their chairs as a volley of questions were thrown at them by young journalists. The junior 'journos' from Shishu Prakash - or Children's Express - enthralled the packed audience at the National Press Club with their hard-line approach:
"Why can't you give more space to children's news?"
"Why are children being portrayed negatively?"
"Why don't you give us a page daily?"
FULL ARTICLE

OPPORTUNITIES
Dubai media awards open to all journalism students
Journalism students worldwide have until March 15 to enter a competition to recognize young media talent, organized by Dubai Media City.
MORE

NEWS
Youth reporters cover Games for Plan
When the 3,100 media personnel descend on Melbourne for the Games, among their number will be nine talented young people from across the Commonwealth.
Three reporters each from Ghana, India and Pakistan will act as roving journalists during the Games, gathering television and print stories for the Goodwill Partner, Plan.
FULL ARTICLE

NEWS
Kids Channels are the flavours of Urban India
Kids Channels are the flavour of the season. Today, everybody is running after the estimated 30 million kids in 'Urban India'. The reason: they are the main influence in buying anything, be it a plasma TV, the latest bike or a game.
However, one fact has become clear: the TV-viewing pattern of kids has changed drastically over the last few years. Media analysts opine that children's programming has moved from animation and cartoons to a mix of live action programmes (Hungama Channel's Hungama Fungama), documentaries, movies and game shows.
FULL ARTICLE

UPDATES
"Mundo sem Segredos" MAGIC entry updated

Check out this fascinating youth radio project from Mozambique in the MAGIC bank.

OPINIONS
Editorial: Parents should talk to children about violence in media
Collegian Editorial Board - Kansas State Collegian
The old adage of "guns don't kill people - people kill people" applies to the media, as well.
(...) Parents have little to fear from violence in the media, as long as they are able and willing to communicate the real-life consequences of that violence with their children.
FULL ARTICLE

WORKSHOPS
OneMinutesJr workshop starts in Latvia

The OneMinutesJr workshop in Latvia brings together 20 young people from the Baltic States - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In a 5-day workshop, they will create 20 OneMinutesJr videos. All films will soon be online at the project website www.theoneminutesjr.org.

REPORTS
Teenagers hit out at stereotyping - Ireland
Young people believe they are being treated unfairly due to stereotypical notions associating them with crime and sexual promiscuity, a new survey has revealed.
Teenagers said their treatment was often unequal and unfair in comparison with the way adults are treated in public places. The report 'Inequality and the Stereotyping of Young People' from the Equality Authority and the National Youth Council of Ireland found young people felt they were being treated differently to adults in the education system, in shops and in public places.
FULL ARTICLE
FULL REPORT in pdf

OPPORTUNITIES
Junior Film Contest - My Europe

"Shooting Europe" is a European film festival to take place in Karlsruhe Germany (24-28 May 2006). There will be a competition for professional movie makers.
However, we decided also to ask non-professionals for their contributions in a special junior cathegory. Please take your camera and show what you would call "My Europe".
More info available in the following languages: Bulgarian, Dutch, English, German, French, Latvian, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish and Ukrainian here.

For older news, please go to the
ARCHIVE

MAGIC partners | Privacy policy | Top