News & trends

The latest news from the youth media sector from around the world...

 

August 20, 2009 - Unite for Climate

Children and young people across the world are joining forces to address climate change with a new initiative, Unite for Climate, www.uniteforclimate.org launched today at the International Children & Youth Conference in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

UNICEF, together with UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, youth activists, academia and the private sector have developed an online space to enable youth networks, children, young people and experts to collaborate on climate change using open-source technology.

UNICEF and partners have been increasingly broadening the global scope of youth engagement through technological innovations. Through networking opportunities and social tools offered on the Unite for Climate site, young citizens can connect, share knowledge, learn, and engage in the issue of climate change.

Most of the tools are designed for low-bandwidth areas, allowing more children and young people to join Unite for Climate. Amongst other partners, YouTube and FlipCam have been supporting the Youth Climate Debates that will also be launched in Republic of Korea as part of Unite For Climate.

This week, children and youth from some 110 countries have been discussing the challenges of climate change at the TUNZA International Children and Youth Conference in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, organized by UNEP. An action plan will be produced and a statement delivered to world leaders urging them to sign a proactive agreement at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December.

full article - Unite for Climate website

© UNICEF / Chris Schuepp / 2009

Alina (14, left) presenting her story idea to the other participants at the OneMinutesJr workshop in Donetsk.

August 17, 2009 - OneMinutesJr workshop in Donetsk - Day 1

The workshop in the Eastern Ukrainian mining-city Donetsk will generate a series of short videos about "child rights" - written, filmed and produced by the children themselves. The eleven girls and seven boys have come from places as far as 24 hours by train away from Donetsk. They come from boarding schools, foster families and regular homes and will work together for the next five days here in Donetsk.

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August 15, 2009 - Romanian TV shows have bad influence on children

UNICEF Romania, the National Audiovisual Council (NAC) and the Centre for Media Studies and New Communication Technologies at the University of Bucharest today launched a study on TV violence and its effects on children.

The report gives a clear picture of violent content in TV programmes and makes a classification of the frequency, duration and intensity of violent scenes that can be seen on different TV channels. The research aims at making the general public aware of the impact media violence has on children and the responsibility of the family, the school and the mass-media to protect young viewers.

A number of TV channels - TVR1, ProTV, Acasa, Antena 1, Antena 3, Realitatea TV, Prima TV, OTV, Cartoon Network, Jetix and Minimax - were studied. Results show that the average number of violent scenes that can be watched in one hour of TV broadcast (excluding commercials and promo images) varies from 9 on TVR1 to 23.4 on ProTV. Cartoon networks recorded even higher values, varying from 20 violent scenes on Minimax to 37 on Jetix.

OTV channel was found to have the longest duration of violent acts on the air: 22.6 of 60 broadcast minutes (excluding commercials and promo images). At the opposite end, we find Acasa TV, with 3.6 minutes.

An act of violence lasts an average of 60 seconds on OTV (the highest value recorded) and 20 seconds on Prima TV (the lowest value recorded). As far as cartoon networks are concerned, the average duration of a violent scene is of 15 seconds on Cartoon Network, 11 seconds on Jetix and 10 seconds on Minimax.

"NAC will show zero tolerance to any deviation from audio visual legislation on TV/radio stations, especially since some channels might think of adding violent content to their shows for the purpose of boosting their audience during the economic crisis" declared Rasvan Popescu, President of NAC.

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August 14, 2009 - 22 Ethiopians Complete International Study of Children’s Media

Workshop on quality content reviews, discusses children’s programs from around the globe.

Film-makers and artists gathered at the Goethe-Institut this week to gain new insights into the production of children’s television. Participants viewed top quality children’s programs from around the world, collected by the Prix Jeunesse International Children’s Television Festival held in Munich, Germany once every two years. Viewings were followed by discussions on the strengths and weaknesses of each program, and participants offered insights on what could be learned in order to strengthen children’s content in Ethiopia. The week’s events concluded with a script writing workshop, discussion on future collaborative projects, and a short ceremony recognizing participants for their involvement.

The event was organized by Whiz Kids Workshop, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and Prix Jeunesse International.  Whiz Kids Workshop received an award at the 2008 Prix Jeunesse festival for their Ethiopian children’s television program “Tsehai Loves Learning.” “It was such a privilege to participate in Prix Jeunesse in Germany last year, and get exposed to so many inspiring children’s productions from around the world,” said Mrs. Bruktawit Tigabu, co-founder of Whiz Kids Workshop and Tsehai Loves Learning. “We’re happy that Tsehai is being shared with producers not only in Ethiopia, but at other Prix Jeunesse workshops all around the world. Tsehai is proof that high-quality children’s programs can be produced with limited resources if you have a lot of creativity and a very dedicated team,” added Mrs. Tigabu.

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