The voices of young people need to be heard on a regular basis in the media
Through media literacy of young people, towards better civic activism in the digital age
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PODGORICA, 31 AUGUST 2021 - Most parents and children in Montenegro believe that the Montenegrin media does not have enough interesting and useful content adapted to different ages of children and young people. In addition, most of them want media content that includes children and young people of different ages, and one in two children in Montenegro wants to participate in the production of such media programmes.
Based on the survey data from the media literacy campaign ‘Let’s Choose What We Watch’ dating from 2018, UNICEF, for the third year in a row, is supporting greater participation by Montenegrin young people in the media in order to discuss more and better issues of children’s rights, as well as to support better civic activism in the digital age through their media literacy.
Strengthening civic participation starts with youth. UNICEF young reporters are a good example of how young people can acquire the knowledge and skills to use media to have their voices heard in the society. We need to let them speak up not only in children’s programs, but also in the news for adults, as they offer their own and very valuable perspectives to our every day issues. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with young reporters and Montenegrin media to improve the quality of the public debate on child rights and to better identify the changes needed to improve the lives of all boys and girls in Montenegro.
He met with UNICEF young reporters during a five-day media literacy training organized by UNICEF with the support of Jan-Willem Bult, an expert in international media and youth, and director of Children in the Centre foundation in the Netherlands.
Well, young people are in media, but they are in media that is separated from, the general media that people access to get information, so how can people get access to information about youth? Only by having youth represented in those media and therefore it's important to integrate them, to help them to find their place in media, and that makes societies grow.
Bult, is also the Editor-in-Chief of the international TV news for young people Wadada News for Kids, which is produced and broadcast in over 20 countries around the world, including in Montenegro for the last two years.
At the workshops, I gained knowledge that will help me create content for young people. I didn’t notice that there was a lot of content in the media for young people. I sincerely believe that there should be as much of it as possible, and we are going to do our best to contribute to that.
Her colleague Aleksa Mrakovic also points out that he has acquired new knowledge and skills regarding the production of media content for young people, but also regarding better participation in the public debate on issues concerning children and young people.
Auditions for the third generation of UNICEF young reporters are nearing completion, and in the coming period they plan to address the key youth issues they recognize, such as: education, poverty, violence, the challenges of growing up in the digital age and during the coronavirus pandemic, etc. As before, they will use both “old” and “new” media to make their messages better heard in Montenegro.
