ARCHIVE SEPTEMBER 2003

• NEWS:
  International Children's & Youth Radio (ICYR) Manifesto
  
  Children and youth broadcasters in 10 countries are preparing contributions to a Manifesto, articulating what they need from radio and what they really want to say on the radio.
  In a process that was begun by the CREW youth broadcasters at Bush Radio in Cape Town two years ago, young radio representatives are aiming to launch their completed manifesto at the 4th World Summit on Media for Children in Brazil next year. The (ICYR) Manifesto is the first document of its kind to define the role of radio broadcasters as duty bearers to action the child's right to education, information and entertainment and also to enable children's freedom of expression regarding news issues that affect their lives.
  The World Radio Forum (WRF), which is a group of broadcasters, producers, journalists and NGOs involved in making radio for, with and by children, has taken up the ICYR initiative because of its potential to harness the energies of children's & youth radio groups in many countries. WRF supports the original initiative of Bush Radio's CREW youth broadcasters and is working to extend its scope and impact with the support of other organisations such as the International Save the Children Alliance, Plan West Africa Regional Office (WARO), and the Children As Partners Alliance (CAPA).
  Once completed, the document will serve as an instrument of change to inform policy makers and radio broadcasters of the programming needs of children and of their rights to participation. It will be citing articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, present the thoughts and contributions of children and youth in their own words and setting new standards for the provision of appropriate programming.
  For more information, contact Sarah McNeill at the World Radio Forum.
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Would you want your teenage daughter to read this? No way, says outraged Geldof
  
  It would be unfair to say the editors of teenage girls' magazines have a one-track mind; after all, they also like J Lo, shift dresses from Top Shop, and perfect nails. But they do seem particularly keen on sex.
  FULL ARTICLE from The Independent
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Kids becoming fast food TV nation
  
  Junk food does have an effect on children's behaviour and advertising strongly influences what youngsters want to eat, a new report has found.
  The study, the most comprehensive of its kind conducted on the subject, found most food adverts aimed at children appeared on TV. They are dominated by what it calls the "Big Four" - breakfast cereals containing sugar, soft drinks, sweets, and other snacks.
  The past decade has also seen a rapid rise in advertising by fast food chains, which often use the offer of free gifts to tempt youngsters, it says.
  FULL ARTICLE from The Guardian
  
  
• AWARDS:
  Emmy Award for best Children's Program
  
  Kids of diverse backgrounds share their thoughts on a national tragedy and provide surprising words of wisdom and insight in the exclusive HBO special THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.
  MORE ABOUT THE FILM - EMMYS HOMEPAGE
  
  
• NEWS:
  Penguin Group launches Television Division
  
  "Penguin Television will add a new dimension to the Penguin brand and help Penguin's best projects make the natural leap to worldwide television. We've had a warm welcome from publishers in the UK and the US and have at least two dozen exciting ideas on the drawing board."
  FULL ARTICLE from Yahoo!Finance
  
  
• FESTIVALS:
  4th Annual Radio Kidocracy Konfrence
  
  In less than one week children from various countries and representing various organisations and radio stations will again converge on Cape Town to participate in the 4th Annual Radio Kidocracy Konfrence*. The conference which has attracted interest from various countries including Burundi, India, Ireland and Mozambique will be held at the Ganzekraal Conference Centre in Mooreesburg on the West Coast from the 28th September to the 3rd October 2003.
  (*The KIDOCRACY KONFRENCE name was created for the event to denote a form of society characterised by social equality and acceptance of young people with representation for and by young people.)
  FULL ARTICLE from allAFRICA.com
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Parents Group Says There's Too Much Profanity on TV
  
  The Parents Television Council fired another broadside at broadcast TV on Tuesday, finding that foul language increased between 1998 and 2002, particularly in the so-called family hour between 8-9 p.m.
  FULL ARTICLE from MediaPost
  
  
• WEBSITES:
  New Website on Children and Youth in Organised Violence
  
  The key objectives of this project are to document cases of children and youth involved in armed groups in countries that are not at war, produce and make available information on the issue, educate the public and the international community, and to identify and suggest best practices and share solutions to the problem.
  COAV WEBSITE

  
  
• WORKSHOPS / FESTIVALS:
  Young producers screen their films in Moldova
  
  OWH TV Studio and UNICEF Moldova organized an official screening of 17 OneMinute films made by young people from Moldova.
  The event on September 8th started with the presentation of the documentary film "Video Laboratory for Jr. 2003", in which the training process and the production of the films were reflected. The event continued with the screening of each film individually.
  During the screenings, representatives of mass-media and youth organizations, well-known directors and film critics from Moldova had the chance to discuss the films with the young directors.
  OWH TV Studio also organizes the International Festival of Documentary Films CRONOGRAF, taking place from December 9-14, 2003. A special section at this year's festival will be dedicated to the 17 OneMinute films produced by the young directors from Moldova.
  
  For more info, please email Viorel Margineanu, Project Manager at OWH TV Studio and/or Violeta Cojacaru, UNICEF Moldova.
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Weeding through Kids' TV
  
  Unfortunately, not all children's shows are like "Olie." There are plenty of mindless programs that champion aggressive behavior or offer little educational value, say parents and TV watchdogs.
  And many families have hundreds of channels, making it even more challenging to pick out the best programs.
  The good news is there are some truly spectacular kids' shows out there - you just have to look, say advocates for quality children's television.
  FULL ARTICLE from The Ledger
  
  
  
• NEWS:
  Protection of minors in the media
  
  At the initiative of Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Audiovisual Policy and Youth, the Commission is organising a meeting of scientific experts in Brussels on 10 September to provide input to its debate on protecting young people against television, Internet and video game violence as part of the review of the "Television without Frontiers" Directive and the 1998 Recommendation on the protection of minors in audiovisual information services.
  At the end of 2003 or the beginning of 2004, the Commission will present a communication on the future of Community audiovisual policy, which will look into whether there is a need for new Community measures on the protection of minors. One of the priorities of the 1998 Recommendation was to call upon Internet access providers to introduce codes of practice.
  " The European Commission hopes that this meeting of some of Europe's best experts, psychologists, sociologists, criminologists and education specialists will produce a scientific opinion on the extent and forms of violence in the media and their consequences for young people, the respective roles of regulation and self-regulation, and education in critical use of the media, as a basis for finding working solutions in an area of major concern to politicians, parents and experts" Viviane Reding said, adding that "the 1998 Recommendation is being applied satisfactorily. It has led to new codes of practice, information campaigns and action plans against illegal content, including the Community "Safer Internet" programme launched in 1999".
  20 experts from Italy, Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Malta, Poland and Spain will exchange news, experience and ideas at the three round table meetings, which will focus on the extent and effects of violence in the media, viewer education and the role of co-regulation and self-regulation.
  
  
• WORKSHOPS:
  Aspiring filmmakers get ahead at Cinemakids
  
  

  It was lights, camera, action for many kids wanting to get a jumpstart in the movie business this weekend. Cinemakids is a two-part program that includes screenings of films created by teenagers and a workshop for younger children.
  MORE INFO
  
  
• NEWS:
  College establishes Fred Rogers center for child education
  
  LATROBE, Pa. (AP) - St. Vincent College, a Roman Catholic liberal arts school, established The Fred M. Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media on Friday.

  Rogers, whose career included more than three decades as host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died of stomach cancer at age 74 on Feb. 27 after working in children's television for 50 years.The Heinz Endowments contributed $1 million in startup funds for the center in May, which will work with the college to establish special degree, certificate and continuing education programs specializing in early childhood education and children's media.
  FULL ARTICLE from the Associated Press (AP)

  
  
• ANNOUNCEMENTS / PROJECTS:
  Beyond Borders - Personal stories from a small planet
  
  Listen Up!, the U.S. based network of youth media organizations, would like to congratulate awarded participants and thank all international applicants for their tremendous effort and interest in our fall youth media project "Beyond Borders - Personal Stories From a Small Planet."
  Listen Up! received up to 50 unique and astonishing personal stories on fear & security from around the globe. With only 15 open spots (including U.S.) it was an incredibly challenging, but rewarding selection process.
  Listen Up! encourage international organizations to continue to participate in this exciting project by submitting personal stories about fear and security to Listen Up!'s online film festival which will launch in early Spring 2004.
  More details about this festival and other avenues to participate will be continually posted and updated on the Beyond Borders website.
  
  Beyond Borders Awarded Participants:
  
  Children's Voice - Ukraine
  La Camioneta - Guatemala
  Centre for Media Studies - India
  Roses Theatre - U.K.
  IEarn - Sierra Leone
  Sawtona (Our Voice) - Jordan
  Polimorfo - Colombia
  Daejeon School - Korea (in collaboration with MNN Youth Channel in New York)
  Perpich Center for the Arts - Minnesota, USA
  House of Frame by Frame Fierce - New York, USA
  Youth For Social Action (Evanston Township High School) - Illinois, USA
  Spy Hop Productions - Utah, USA
  Ghetto Film School - New York, USA
  United Forces - Alaska, USA
  Light House - Virginia, USA
  
  Beyond Borders International Applicants:
  
  Junior Media Society - Czech Republic
  Manana Youth Organization - Armenia
  AVE - Bolivia
  Suited & Booted - U.K.
  Kids for Kids - Israel
  Media Education Center - Yugoslavia
  Youth Studio ADC - Georgia
  Tanzania Media & Youth Development Center - Tanzania
  Calling the Shots - U.K.
  Reliable Future Youth Organization - Azerbaijan Republic
  African Youth Alliance - Ghana
  Tej-Prasarini Don Bosco Communications - India
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Children's TV shows show wide range of diversity
  
  While adult prime-time shows struggle with diversity - some Hispanics and blacks have boycotted prime-time TV for lack of representation - children's shows quietly have grown ore diverse over the past generation, mirroring the children who watch the shows.
  FULL ARTICLE
  
  
• ARTICLES:
  Children 'worried sick' by news
  
  BBC Six O'Clock News presenter George Alagiah today spoke of the difficulties facing parents worried their children were seeing too much "misery" on television news.
  He said children were just as likely to be upset by a relentless diet of bombs, forest fires and paedophilia as they are by the types of programmes traditionally seen as too adult for youngsters - such as post-watershed drama.
  FULL ARTICLE from the Guardian
  
  
• EVENTS:
  Annual meeting for media educators in Quito, Ecuador
  
  The annual meeting for media educators and coordinators of the IAPA Press Institute is scheduled to be held September 10 to 12 in Quito, Ecuador.
  The Press Institute, under the auspices of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), offers educational seminars and materials for journalists, with a particular focus on Latin America. The central theme of this meeting is “reading as a generator of change,” and forms part of the program Newspapers in Education. The goal of this program is to guarantee a love of reading among children and accustom them to being informed at an early age.
  MORE INFO from the IJNet website
  
  
• EVENTS:
  September 8 - International Literacy Day
  
  New data released by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) on the occasion of International Literacy Day (September 8), show improvement over the past decade in adult literacy rates for several of the world’s high population countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt and Pakistan. According to national estimates based on census data, compiled for 40 countries, China made the greatest gains, with the literacy rate of the adult population (15 years and over) climbing from 78 percent in 1990 to 91 percent in 2000. In Egypt, the rate rose from 44 percent in 1986 to 56 percent in 1996 and, according to recent reports, has risen further since. Brazil posted an increase of six percentage points from 80 percent in 1991 to 86 percent in 2000, and Pakistan, between 1994 and 1998, saw a rise from 39 to 42 percent.
  MORE INFO from the UNESCO website
  
  
• AWARDS:
  ABU CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award 2003
  
  The ABU and CASBAA are now calling on Asia Pacific broadcasters for the ABU CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award 2003. The Award is made each year to the best television programming on children's rights produced in the Asia-Pacific region. There is one category and one winner.
  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, television can help in almost every area of child development.
  MORE INFORMATION
  
  
• Reports:
  Staying Alive - an HIV/AIDS mass media campaign
  
  Since 2002, YouthNet has partnered with MTV on the Staying Alive Campaign, which reached over 800 million households worldwide, making it the largest public health campaign ever.
  The campaign produced five hours of television available to TV and radio stations around the world, and also produced a website with HIV/AIDS information, referrals, and programming in English, French, and Spanish. A case study was recently published by YouthNet, detailing the successes and experiences of the 2002 Staying Alive Campaign.
  FULL REPORT as pdf-file (998 KB)
  
  
• Workshops:
  OneMinutesJr. workshop in Derry, Northern Ireland
  
  
  
  20 teenagers (aged 14-15) participated in a OneMinutesJr. workshop in the City of Derry in Northern Ireland from August 26-29, 2003. The workshop was organized by the OneMinute Foundation (European Cultural Foundation, Sandberg Institute and UNICEF's Young People's Media Network) and BBC Blast. It took place in the Nerve Centre in Derry.
  The participants produced nine OneMinute movies at the four-day workshop and had chosen topics like 'drug & alcohol abuse', 'teenage pop star dreams', 'disability' or 'identity' for their short films. All produced videos will shortly be online at www.theoneminutesjr.org.
  For more information, please email Chris Schuepp.
  
  
  The Derry workshoppers at the video-screening on the final day
  
  
• Articles:
  Under-6s watch up to six hours of TV daily
  
  Children aged six and under are watching up to six hours of television a day even though their parents believe they should be outside playing, according to a survey published today (September 3rd, 2003).
  FULL ARTICLE from The Guardian
  
  
• Call for applications:
  4th OneMinutesJr. workshop in Berlin, Germany
  
  
  
  UNICEF's Young People's Media Network (YPMN), the European Cultural Foundation and the Sandberg Institute would like to encourage young people between the age of 12 and 20 to apply for the 4th OneMinutes Jr. workshop.
  The five-day workshop will be held in Berlin, Germany, from October 10th - 14th, 2003. All expenses in Berlin are paid for by the organizers.
  The workshop is part of this year's Prix Europa and the films produced at the workshop will be shown at the festival.
  As this is the 4th of a series of regional OneMinutesJr. workshops in 2003, we would like to receive applications from young people from the following countries for the Berlin workshop: Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Belarus and Austria.
  For more information and an application form, please email Chris Schuepp - YPMN Coordinator.
  
  
• Articles:
  UNICEF lauds China Central Television's work for and with children
  
  NEW YORK, 4 August 2003 - UNICEF today honoured China Central Television (CCTV) for its support for the International Children's Day of Broadcasting and its contribution to quality broadcasting for and with children.
  FULL ARTICLE from the UNICEF website
  
  
• Exhibitions:
  "Playrooms - children's media from Robinson Crusoe to Harry Potter" - Special exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland, from May 21 to October 5, 2003
  
  The "Playrooms" exhibition is structured around five world-famous stories and characters: Robinson Crusoe, Pinocchio, Alice, Pippi Langstrumpf and Harry Potter - all of them works of literature written originally for children, but avidly read by adults too. Organized by the Swiss National Museum in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Media for Children and Young People, the exhibition uses these characters to trace the development of children's media from the early 18th century to the present.
  The exhibits range from books and peep shows to tin soldiers, Lego bricks, Websites and Playstations. Among the highlights is a 3-D show about Robinson, Alice and Pinocchio. An audiovisual history tour featuring figures created by the famous artist and sculptor, Imre Mesterházy has been installed in the permanent collection to coincide with the exhibition and there are to be semi-dramatized readings of "Alice in Wonderland" in the atmospheric Rococo music room.
  For more information: Museum website
  
  
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