This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

Young journalists ensure children's voices are heard

8 May 2002, NEW YORK - Approximately 20 young journalists from Belgium, Estonia, Ghana, Guyana, Mauritius and Viet Nam, who have come to New York to cover the UN Special Session on Children, met at a workshop to sharpen their skills and exchange ideas.

The workshop was coordinated by Iain Guest, coordinator of the Washington, DC-based Advocacy Project, which publishes the newspaper On the Record for Children. The newspaper is covering the Special Session with its own crew of young journalists.

The journalists discussed the various ways to cover the news and listened to pointers from Mr. Guest, who said that writing an effective news story is "the hardest thing to do as a journalist."

Ha Lan Anh, 17, from Viet Nam, picked up some good tips from Mr. Guest. A journalist for three years, Lan Anh is covering no less than four stories on the Special Session for national media in her country. "I'm really into journalism," she said. "But it's hard because we young journalists ask tough questions that go right to the point. Sometimes we have a hard time getting straight answers from adults."

One aim of the workshop was to discuss setting up an international network of young journalists.

For Stacy Gomas, 18, from Guyana, this is a very worthwhile goal. "If we can link with other young journalists around the world," she said, "we can make a big difference." She added, "We don't want children's participation at the UN to seem like a publicity stunt. Young journalists can help make sure the voices of young people at the Special Session and beyond are taken seriously."

Read about how youth journalists polished their skills at the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Children in June 2001.