Today’s youth, tomorrow’s reporters

‘Youth Today’ is a weekly television programme produced by and aimed at young people in Cambodia. Broadcast on Cambodian Television Network (CTV). Since July 2004, it provides young Cambodians with opportunities to have their voices heard by a national audience.

The programme is operated by a local non-governmental organization, Support Children and Young People (SCY).
 
Children and young people constitute over half the population of Cambodia, yet have very few opportunities to express themselves. ‘Youth Today’ seeks to address the critical lack of expressive opportunities for young people and promote youth advocacy through active participation.

Stories about child rights

“It is important for young people to make media because it shows that they can do anything,” says reporter Chea, 18. “Older people can produce programmes well, but they do not really understand the feelings of young people. The best way is for young people to speak directly to other young people.”

Each ‘Youth Today’ programme features several news stories about child’s rights that run three to four minutes each. The topics are selected by the young reporters, who draft their own scripts, then shoot and edit the weekly episodes. One recent show focused on child labour, for example, and the young reporters covered a story about youths working at a brick factory.

Since the launch of the project, close to 215 stories have been produced and broadcast on ‘Youth Today’. And under an agreement with CTN, the most popular private TV network in the country, video packages from the programnme are broadcast nationally every Sunday.

Applicants coming on board

SYC selects its young reporters from local high schools in Phnom Penh. The ‘Youth Today’ programme is advertised through flyers and school contacts, and applicants are invited for interviews. Applicants are selected if they demonstrate a commitment to the advocacy of child rights and a willingness to work on a voluntary basis.

After selection, training sessions teach participants script writing, camera work and production skills. Additional training is supplied for editors, who assemble the show. Applicants receive training not only through these sessions, but also ‘on the job’ as they work.

Each young reporter is assigned a position according to his or her abilities. The programme’s 30 participants are divided into 10 groups, each consisting of a producer, a script writer and a camera operator. Long-term reporters are rotated through these positions. So far, 61 young reporters between the ages of 16 and 21 have been trained to produce video features.

Often, trained reporters will stay in the program beyond their first year in order to further develop their skills and contribute more to the production of ‘Youth Today’.

Plans for the future

The ‘Youth Today’ programme has offered many young people the opportunity to develop career-building skills to which they would not otherwise have exposure. Many of the volunteers move on to work in the media professionally.

‘Youth Today’ faces the same challenges that are faced by the media industry as whole – including the need to maintain financial resources and technical training for staff.

SCY is currently discussing its plans for the future. The group would like to make the show more interactive by its expanding online presence, as well as increase their technical capacity. Not that far in the future, the programme hopes to host weekend workshops that would offer volunteers the chance to interact with even younger people and better gauge the aspirations of Cambodia’s youth.

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‘Youth Today’ on TV: A personal story from Cambodia

Hello, my name is Chea Chandalen. I am an 18-year-old high school student and I live in Cambodia.

Three years ago, I saw an announcement calling for dynamic young people to get involved in video training. My hobby is writing and I thought this is great; I will get trained to be a writer and a producer. Since then, I have been a youth volunteer with the TV programme, ‘Youth Today’.

In the beginning, I was a scriptwriter, and now I am a producer. I have also learned how to use the camera and how to edit. All the volunteers learn the same skills and then we choose special roles based on our talents.

I volunteer two hours every day in either the morning or the afternoon; it depends on my school schedule. We search for stories in the local newspaper and then we continue research on the Internet. Then we sit down and start writing our plan. Almost everyone feels shy when they first see the camera. We have to persuade the interviewee by coming close to them and by talking to them in a friendly way to make them feel confident.

Learning about others

When we make our TV programme we make mistakes, but with each episode, we learn and we get better and better.

The best part of being a member of the ‘Youth TV’ programme is that I get to know about the conditions of children and other young people in Cambodia. I also get to participate in social activities like meetings and official ceremonies. Before, I could only watch these kinds of ceremonies on TV, but now I have the opportunity to participate in these ceremonies too.

My favourite episode was about a famous Cambodian monk. He created the first Khmer dictionary. I learnt a lot about his life during my research.

Youth-to-youth communication

The media has a role to play in social change. It cannot solve all the problems but it can be part of social development.

‘Youth Today’ is the first TV programme made by young people in Cambodia. It is important for young people to make media because it shows that they can do anything. Older people can produce programmes well, but they do not really understand the feelings of young people.

The best way is for young people to speak directly to other young people. They have the same feelings and they can be closer and understand each better, because they do not have any barriers.

Voice of the people

I think the TV is the most powerful tool to communicate. With radio you can listen but you do not see any action or pictures. With a magazine you can only look at a fixed picture, it does not move and you cannot hear it.

With the TV you can see every action and activity, and you can listen to the voice of the people.

My favourite thing is writing. When I finish school, I want to study Khmer and English literature. I want to write about real life, about real issues, so that I can teach other people about the facts.

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