What's Wrong with a Little Censorship?
Youth Media Teach Schools a Lesson

What's Wrong with a Little Censorship?
Youth Media Teach Schools a Lesson

By Cliff Hahn

In far too many schools, education in civic values is being undermined by censorship of the student press. While some student publications struggle valiantly against curbs on their freedom of expression and do exemplary work, far too many are intimidated into silence by skittish school administrators in a nervous political climate.

This stands in pale contrast with independent youth media and its lively coverage of issues and uncensored youth expression. Although youth media groups have their own struggles balancing youth voice, adult input and organizational mission, young people have more freedom to express their views on a variety of issues that the school-based press - or principals acting as publishers - may deem too controversial. With their responsibility to instill democratic values in our youngest citizens, schools are failing, driven by their need for control over what students write, read and express.

Student's free speech is restricted every day, as these recent news items from the Student Press Law Center chronicle: a school in South Carolina stopped distribution of a middle school newspaper because it had accepted political ads; a Georgia superintendent is accused of confiscating copies of a high school newspaper that included disparaging remarks on his record and new school policies; the principal suspended a high school editor in Florida after the student placed an ad for his personal web site in the school paper - the site contained a story on the arrest of an unnamed special education teacher for battery and domestic assault.

Trend Towards More Censoring

Mark Goodman, Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center, says the Center fielded 1,260 calls for legal advice from the high school press last year. "What we hear from student journalists, their teachers and advisers is that the problems are growing, that there are more demands by school officials to review stories and entire issues of publications before it goes to press."

This pervasive climate of censorship can be traced to the 1988 Supreme Court decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. In this decision, the Court gave school officials extremely broad authority to censor all forms of student expression if they show that the censorship has a "reasonable" educational justification. The decision had an immediate impact at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California, where a principal pulled an article about AIDS from the student paper only hours after the court's decision was announced. That was only the beginning.

As a reaction to the Hazlewood case, several states have enacted "Student Free Expression" laws that provide for greater freedom. But even this law may not deter school authorities from acting as censors. Libby Hartigan, Managing Editor of LA Youth, noted that "if a publication steps too far out of line the adviser is asked to leave or often the principal finds a way to stop its publication before it even comes out."

Goodman feels that "Having a state law is not a panacea…but when students and their advisers do fight censorship in those states where there are laws, they are typically successful in overcoming that censorship." Although they have the law on their side, "It's very hard for advisers to resist that pressure," Hartigan says. "If a situation is extreme enough, the ACLU may step in to defend a student but often it's subtler and the people involved are not angry enough to feel like it's worth the hassle. So freedom of the press gets slowly chipped away."

The stakes are high, according to Goodman: "We are preparing citizens for a life in this democratic society where free expression and press freedom are values we hold dear. Young people are not going to grasp those values if we don't teach them by example - as well as by lesson."

And censoring doesn't make for good journalism training, either. In their dissent to the Hazlewood ruling, Justices Brennan, Marshall and Blackman wrote that censorship "in no way furthers the curricular purposes of a student newspaper, unless one believes that the purpose of the school newspaper is to teach students that the press ought never report bad news, express unpopular views, or print a thought that might upset its sponsors."

Controversy & Criticism

The hot button stories that attract censorship seem to be those with the "wrong" political slant. "Schools are a microcosm for disagreements that exist in the community at large," Goodman says. Marjorie Heins, Director of the Free Expression Policy Project agrees: "Sexuality, gay rights and hate speech are probably the most censored topic areas." Hartigan knows this all too well: "A lot of Catholic schools have dropped LA Youth because we write about homosexuality, abortion, birth control.... if it's a public school, we'll have our lawyer call there and say that, if teachers feel the material has educational value then they are allowed to get it. And we've been able to get back into schools that way."

Administrators may defend their decisions by using the Court's standard of deeming topics "inappropriate for immature audiences". While granting them the benefit of the doubt on some issues, decisions seem blatantly political when it comes to the most censored topic: criticism of school officials themselves.

Goodman points out "The single most frequently censored subject matter is material that is perceived as critical of school policies or officials. It goes to the very heart of what the First Amendment is all about - protecting the public's right to criticize and question the government."

Ultimately, controlling the means of distribution is the most effective way of quelling free speech. LA Youth ran a story about a prominent censorship case at a high school about two years ago and, perhaps not coincidentally, that issue of the paper disappeared from that particular school.

Conversely, a healthy dose of journalism training is an effective alternative to outright censorship. This is the prescription that Kathryn Montgomery, Director of the Center for Media Education offers: "It's important to teach the ethics and the responsibilities that are associated with being a journalist. The people who are teaching our young people how to be communicators and participants in the democracy need to instill in them an appreciation for the First Amendment and the need to fight for that."

On a practical level the student press has the unique opportunity to act as watchdog, independent of the administration's politics or teacher's unions. Throughout the country student journalists are uncovering health problems, exposing abusive disciplinary policy, and reporting on misappropriated school funds.

Youth Media as a Needed Alternative



The most censored topics in the student press are also the most popular topics covered by independent youth media - sexuality, gay rights, violence, and criticism of the educational system. Young people in a freer environment clearly want to address issues that are relevant to them and discuss solutions to the problems they encounter every day.

"Nonprofit media groups have more freedom to operate than the student press," Free Expression Policy Project's Heins says. For example, "Sex education continues to be a big problem, particularly with the emphasis on abstinence education," she notes. "But there's a lot of youth media such as Sex Etc., which give teenagers an opportunity to share reliable information about sexuality that they're not getting in school."

Though youth media is freer from constraint, the forum doesn't provide for an "anything goes" editorial environment. At LA Youth, Hartigan says they work as a team to find the proper mix of "youth voice" and professional standards: "We're not censored or pressured to the degree that student publications are. We always wonder, 'Are we being tasteful, is it something that's going to offend our readers?'"

Additionally, non-school based media isn't beyond the reach of censors. Goodman notes "Increasingly, schools are also trying to censor or silence students who express themselves in non-school-sponsored ways." In one day last month, decisions were handed down in two state courts that ruled when a student communicates something deemed materially disruptive to the school, even if it was created at home, the student can be subject to school punishment. Goodman adds, "That's something we hear all the time - students are told 'You'd better not be writing this story even if it's for that outside publication.'"

Both Are Essential

In addition to being a complement to school media, Goodman feels that youth media helps improve it: "In communities where there is an independent outside publication, as well as school sponsored media, both end up being better as a result - especially the school sponsored. It's really a challenge to them to live up to the expectations that are created by the independent publication." Additionally, many youth media groups have gained some of their best young journalists who are turned off from their censored school press.

Both types of youth media are vital. Young people spend the majority of their time at school and the functioning of a vibrant school press can be an essential component in developing civic responsibility, respect for diversity of opinion, critical thinking and allowing for important dialogue between the student body and school officials.

But school journalism can only go so far. This is why youth media is so critically important to our society in giving young people a powerful, uncensored voice to participate in the national debate on youth issues, to act as a vehicle for exploring and understanding controversial and very personal topics, and for providing the tools, training and education for our next generations of journalists, policy makers, leaders and citizens.

Goodman agrees: "There are so many folks who graduated from high school believing that the First Amendment is nothing more than a hypocritical notion that really means those in power have the ability to control what others read and say. We want to prepare the next generation of journalists who understand the values of journalism and their obligation to be a watchdog of the government and a voice for the voiceless, to be the eyes and ears of their community and provide people with the facts they need to make their lives better. Student media is crucially important."


"Such unthinking contempt for individual rights is intolerable from any state official. It is particularly insidious from one to whom the public entrusts the task of inculcating in its youth an appreciation for the cherished democratic liberties that our Constitution guarantees."
- Supreme Court Justice Brennan, in his dissent in the Hazlewood case

Media Overload

Media Overload
"I don’t want my life to be disrupted by the depressing and often infuriating content of the news."
By Margarita Rossi

I don’t like watching mainstream news. I can’t stand it.

I consider myself an activist, and I have taken a stand on many issues. I want to be able to gather information from different points of view and keep an open mind while I’m forming my opinions. So I think I should be paying more attention to the news, even if I just want to criticize it (which can be quite interesting). But on the other hand, I don’t want my life to be disrupted by the depressing and often infuriating content of the news.

One of the reasons I usually avoid the mainstream media’s news is that in this country, television and radio reports sound biased; they always seem to have a spin that either implies agreement or disagreement with the issue being reported. For instance, in reporting a recent strike by dockworkers on the west coast, ABCnews.com had the headline, “No Toys for Xmas?” instead of a simple descriptive headline like, “Dock Strikes Holding up Deliveries.” They chose to portray the strikers as the grinches who stole Christmas.

TV news is just maddening. People who look and sound totally artificial try to maintain some semblance of professionalism when reporting “news” in which half of the news stories are completely irrelevant or un-newsworthy and the rest is totally watered down to the level of the lowest common denominator. Sometimes I’m not sure if they are even trying to be informative, or if they are giving us just enough information to pass the show off as news programming to sell commercial time. I mean, why was the death of Gwyneth Paltrow’s dad the first or second headline reported on CNN news a few weeks ago when there are so many important things happening right now?

Also we hardly get any news from around the world. To get reported it has to directly affect America or it’s just not deemed newsworthy. Do we really want to have only the American point of view reported? For example, did you know that a rebel group in the Ivory Coast has been leading a bloody rebellion against their government for a month now? Hundreds have died and the rebels have taken over half the country. They just declared a truce on October 17th. I haven’t heard any reports about this on CNN, other than reports on the evacuation of American missionaries from the area.

Another reason I don’t want too much exposure to the news is that I just want to be happy, and I have learned to ignore media that makes me feel bad. I don’t always want to know about the newest plans of the Bush administration to start a war. I don’t always want to know how badly our economy is doing. And I definitely don’t want to be worried by warnings of exotic diseases that have no means of prevention. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Michael Moore’s latest movie, Bowling for Columbine, does a great job of addressing this issue.

Sometimes the media can be overwhelming. A contributing factor to this is that the same stories are reported over and over again. Take for instance the sniper attacks in the suburbs of Washington DC. Now this is definitely a newsworthy event, but recently I saw a news show where they reported that there was no more new information on the sniper — before they did a segment on the president signing the resolution on Iraq. I think that they are showing their skewed priorities when they report any scrap of news from a sensationalist news story over an important event that could lead to a war.

I think you can see why I don’t watch mainstream news. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not informed.

I don’t even need to make an effort to find out what the top news stories are. There are many ways to find out what’s in the news, even if you don’t want to know. Usually a friend or family member will tell me what’s going on. Or my parents will be watching the news in the kitchen while preparing dinner. Even when I just want to check my e-mail there are headlines popping up everywhere. But when I want to know what is happening here and around the world I will usually turn to smaller, independent news sources or public television and radio. These news sources feel more neutral and trustworthy.

I guess in this day and age there is no way to block out the news completely. Inevitably what is on the news is what people will be talking about. What concerns me is that this huge force in our lives is rarely questioned. I think we need to be constantly challenging our media to produce fair and unbiased news.


— Margarita Rossi likes listening to public radio.

Teen journalist joins youth media charity event: www.HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk

Teen journalist joins youth media charity event
by Patrick Astill
A teenager who is working with journalists at the Evening Herald and Western Morning News has joined other youngsters in a leadership course run by youth media charity Children's Express.

It is a nationwide news agency scheme for young journalists aged between eight and 18, and provides them with training and a chance to see their stories in print.

Fifteen-year-old Michael Roberts travelled from Plymouth to the Lake District for his course.

He said: "When you read papers it's all adult gossip and children don't like reading it. They feel they want to get their voices heard.

"Since doing Children's Express I've decided what I want to do - I want to be a journalist."

As well as his work for the Evening Herald and Western Morning News, Michael has also had an article published in The Times and has written a review for the Museums Journal.

MediaChannel

MediaChannel Affiliate Spotlight:
Youth Making Media

MediaChannel sent a questionnaire to seventeen affiliate organizations whose mission is to help youth make media. Happily, at an incredibly busy time of year and without the benefit of much heads-up time, eight affiliates responded, providing serious and thoughtful comment about their missions, their experiences working with young people, the resources they offer and their success in making a difference. A single question and response from each of our respondents appears below, with a link to their complete statements. We've also provided brief descriptive statements and links to all of our affiliates working with youth and media... (Continued)

— Andrew Levy (andrew@mediachannel.org), Affiliate Special Projects Producer

Read the responses below or see the questionnaire.





American Society of Newspaper Editors
Q: What do you think can be done to help young people become more media literate?
A: First, show them what can happen if they rely on one medium or outlet exclusively. This is often eye opening, just as showing someone the difference between whitehouse.gov and whitehouse.com is eye-opening when conducting Web searches — consider the source. But also key is to include them in the process of creating news. If they are part of a school newspaper, for example, even if they don't become journalists, they are more likely to understand the issues journalists face. (Read More)




Feedback Media Review
Q: What do you see as the obstacles young producers of media face in gaining access to television, film, video and print?
A: ... The main problem is that they're all owned and run by older people who are probably a bit scared of letting young producers in. Professional standards need to be maintained, so age and experience are preferred (even though young producers may have professional standards). Also, young producers may not be socialized into the culture of commercial media — their voices may be radical — and so they are overlooked ... If they get any access to mainstream media, it's usually in a setting that is highly controlled by 'the professionals' and is highly homogenized. (Read More)




International Child Art Foundation
Q: What is the mission of your organization?
A: The International Child Art Foundation (ICAF), [is] a Washington, D.C., based 501©(3) nonprofit organization that nurtures, develops and celebrates children's creativity and imagination through art; builds their self-esteem and confidence through exhibiting and publishing their artistic expressions; and unites them by the universal language of art at its international festivals and through the Internet. (Read More)




Just Think Foundation
Q: What age, class and racial, religious and ethnic groups does your organization work with?
A: ... For many schools there are no media education programs available and little or no access to the technology we provide when we teach our programs. As a result many of the students we currently teach are often academically disadvantaged, from lower- to low-income families who have little or no access to technology within the public schools they attend. This also applies to the students we have taught in our international programs. (Of the over 200 students who completed our core media arts-education programs in the United States last year, 35 percent were African-American, 25 percent Latino, 20 percent Asian-American, 10 percent Caucasian and 10 percent other ethnic groups). (Read More)




Listen Up!
Q: What made you originally want to start working with young people?
A: ... The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in teenagers incarcerated — even on death row. Just as it is wrong to assume that adolescents themselves are the problem, it's wrong to think that the solution is to punish, restrict or refuse to support youth. We are constantly searching for the mythical silver bullet that will wipe away our problems in one clean sweep. However, despite America's love for instant solutions, we will not find them by silencing and locking away our young people.

There are clear alternatives to engage youth to become full participants in a civil society and at that same time help adults view youth as an asset and not a liability. Listen Up! is one such solution. (Read More)




MediaRights.org
Q: How would children and young people make contact with your organization?
A: MediaRights.org publishes articles online about youth media and activism and we are creating an online Youth Workshop to help young media activists make videos, find each other, and share their experiences. In our Newsstand we have an article titled "The Right To Be Seen And Heard: Youth Media Distribution" which you can find here. (Read More)




PhotoVoice
Q: What are your organization's successes working with young media producers?
A: Enabling some of the young people we work with not only to have their work taken seriously by both local and international audiences but also to earn an income for their work, which in turn allows them to become independent. We have seen some of the young people we work with grow in confidence as photography creates something new for them, alleviating some of the hardships in their lives. (Read More)




WNYC Radio — Radio Rookies
Q: What are the main facilities, resources and services you make available to young people interested in working in media?
A: ... Radio Rookies partners with community centers in different neighborhoods and teaches up to six students per session. Students learn how to use tape recorders and how to edit using Pro Tools digital editing. They learn how to record sounds professionally and how to write a script. After the workshops they come to WNYC to record their narration in a studio at the station. They are guided through the whole process, learning about every aspect of radio journalism, from conceiving a story to putting it together. (Read More)





ADDITIONAL AFFILIATES WORKING WITH YOUTH





Alternatives: Action and Communication Network for International Development
Alternatives is offering a series of exciting and innovative internships for young people interested in community organizations, international solidarity and building links with the developing world. Design Web sites for community organizations in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America; experience the challenges faced by human rights groups, women's organizations and other sectors of civil society in developing countries. (Home Page)




Childnet International
Above all, Childnet is positive about the opportunities for children that the Internet affords, and we have seen first hand, through our Childnet Awards program and Launchsite directory, how the medium allows children the opportunity to create, connect and discover. (Home Page)




Cyber-times.org
Cyber-times.org is a forum for the exchange of information and the promotion of understanding across international boundaries. It links journalism training institutions throughout the world in a network of cooperative activity on a platform of equitable access. (Home Page)




Harlemlive.org
Harlem's Internet Publication is written, created, presented and represented by teens in Harlem and throughout New York City. HarlemLive broadens youth's view of the world using technology and journalism while fostering understanding through diversity. By using emerging technologies, we cover events, people and issues throughout Harlem, learning as young men and women the processes of journalism, Web creation, professional growth and so much more. (Home Page)




Katha
Katha works with equal dedication and commitment through well-defined programs in the areas of education — in the primary to higher education continuum within both formal and non-formal systems, and in publishing — in the literacy and literature spectrum. The education of working children and children from non-literate families is a major concern of Katha. (Home Page)




Paper Tiger Television
Since 1981, Paper Tiger Television has appeared across the country on public-access cable channels, the noncommercial, uncensored channels available for public use. A volunteer collective of media producers, educators and activists produces the series. (Home Page)




Pop Sustainability
ThinkPop.org is an initiative of Pop Sustainability, a non-profit organization promoting more sustainable lifestyles through the tools of popular culture — mass media and the arts. ThinkPop is both the medium and the message. It represents what we want to say and hear duplicated infinitely through the rapid-fire virtual world. It is the beginning of a global movement towards creative solutions to exclusion, poverty, environmental degradation, social injustice and repression. (Home Page)




United Nations Children's Fund
A new project of UNICEF, Voices of Youth is a vibrant, interactive site for debate by young people of such issues as child labor, children and war, child rights and other issues. Hear what other young people are saying and add your opinion! (Home Page)




Youth at the Millennium — G21
Group 21 is a non-governmental project whose main aim is to educate and empower young people for the coming century. The men and women of the group are volunteers of varying ages and nationalities, most of who are associated with universities and educational institutions. (Home Page)

Training @ Media

04. Medienkongress Stuttgart

22.-24. November 2002

Bei diesem Kongress haben 300 junge interessierte Leute zwischen 15 und 25 die einmalige Chance, einen Einblick in die facettenreiche Vielfalt der Medienwelt zu gewinnen.

An diesem Wochenende werden Dich die verschiedenen Workshops und Vorträge in die Tiefen des Mediendschungels führen und Dir neue Arten und Möglichkeiten der Publikation näher bringen.

Der Begriff "Medien" ist schon lange Bestandteil unsere Alltagwortschatzes. Spontan denkt man da an Zeitung, Film und Fernsehen, doch die Medienwelt in ihrer ganzen Vielfalt und Lebendigkeit bietet weit mehr als das.

Weitere Informationen zu diesem Kongress sind erhältlich unter:

www.trainingatmedia.de / info@trainingatmedia.de

Fellowship Programme

The ITU has initiated a Fellowship Programme to fund one
young woman and one young man of university age (18-25)
from each of its Member States in the world to attend the
ITU TELECOM WORLD 2003 within the scope of its ongoing
commitment to fellowships programmes.
URGENT DEADLINE: 30 November 2002!!!!
For more details, visit
http://www.itu.int/WORLD2003/forum/youth/index.html

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!!!!

In addition to serving as the secretariat for the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) also organizes the World
Telecom forum. The next World Telecom is in October 2003
in Geneva, Switzerland (2 months before the WSIS).

The ITU has created a Youth Forum as part of World Telecom.
Participants in the Youth Forum will visit the ITU TELECOM
WORLD 2003 Exhibition (Geneva, 12 to 18 October 2003) and
will attend the Forum sessions of their choice. Four
sessions will be specifically devoted to the Youth Forum.
These special youth-driven Youth Forum sessions will
feature industry and political leaders, and will address
the technical, regulatory and financial issues, as well as
other concerns relevant to Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) as a tool for social and economic
development. Specific subjects will include:
* the basics of technologies and their possible uses;
* the relationships between policy/regulation and market
structure in the world;
* the fundamentals of building a dynamic communications
environment;
* the relationships between policy, regulation and the
business world; and
* how business is related to the world of communications.

The ITU has initiated a Fellowship Programme to fund one
young woman and one young man of university age (18-25)
from each of its Member States in the world to attend the
ITU TELECOM WORLD 2003 within the scope of its ongoing
commitment to fellowships programmes. The candidates will
be selected on the basis of a competition, which aims to
broaden the talent pool of future leaders in
telecommunications, and specifically in the Information and
Communication Technology sectors. For each candidate,
travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be met by
the ITU, in cooperation with Youth Forum sponsors. The
Fellowship Programme will assist approximately 380 fellows
from around the world. Post-fellowship training is planned
in the country of origin where an opportunity exists for a
placement within an ICT company or an operator which can
offer such training. A post-fellowship career advancement
component is also planned - this could include internships
offered by Government agencies or companies in the private
sector.

Candidates must be nationals, aged between 18 and 25 and
must be attending national universities or higher
institutes at the time of submission. All sessions will be
in English, French and Spanish, so they must be able to
participate in one of these three languages. A working
knowledge of English is needed to communicate with other
fellow students of the Youth Forum programme Selection
Procedure and to comprehend briefings which would be
conducted in English. They must have completed two years of
university study by 30 June 2003. The selection committee
is seeking a mix of competencies and interests, and there
is no preference for any special area of studies.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS BEING COORDINATED THROUGH
UNIVERSITIES. THEY WILL NOMINATE STUDENTS AND FORWARD THE
APPLICATIONS TO THE ITU MEMBER ADMINISTRATION IN EACH
COUNTRY. THE ITU MEMBER ADMINISTRATION MUST SEND ITS
RECOMMENDATION OF ON NOT MORE THAN TWO YOUNG MEN AND TWO
YOUNG WOMEN TO THE ITU SECRETARIAT BY 30 NOVEMBER 2002!!!!!
THEREFORE, IF YOU WISH TO BE CONSIDERED, YOU MUST ACT
QUICKLY!!!!

If you are interested in applying for one of these
fellowships, you should contact your university
administration. They should have the nomination forms.
You will need to complete the nomination form and write a
short essay (250-500 words) on the subject "It is widely
believed that ICTs can contribute to the economic and
social development of a country; if you were head of state
in your country, what role would you have young people play
to make this a reality, or make the development of your
country a reality?". The essay may be written in English,
French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic or Chinese. Students
should submit their essays and CVs to their respective
universities for selection and evaluation.

If you do not know who to contact within your university,
or your university does not seem to be aware of this
competition, contact the ITU Member Administration in your
country directly. Contact information for each country is
available through
http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mm/scripts/mm.list?_search=ITUstates

For more information, contact:

Ms Tsehai Bekele
Youth Forum Manager
sunny.bekele@itu.int
tel.: +41 22 730 5179
fax: +41 22 730 6444

The 5th World Survey Of Newspapers In Education Programmes


This report represents the fifth time in a decade that WAN has produced a worldwide profile of Newspapers in Education programmes, and it remains the only worldwide research on this crucial activity. As from the beginning, the survey aims both to find out which countries have NIE services and to give information and inspiration to those who do not yet have Newspapers in Education.

Danish bus brings fun news experience

**********
As a part of a major campaign called “The Press in Democracy – Democracy in the Press,” the NIE division of the Danish Newspaper Publishers’ Association put together a rolling editorial office in a bus that took a real newspaper experience to young people in ten towns between 17 and 30 September.

“The young people were supposed to wonder about things in the local society, express themselves about it and maybe change things,” explained Danish NIE administrator Kirsten Rantorp. “In that way they would work with democracy in practice.”

And that’s exactly what happened.

One class from each town spent the day aboard the bus – from 9h to 16h – to produce two pages in the local newspaper in an atmosphere described as “hectic and happy.”

“First they told us about their stories, then we fixed an order of priority and after that they finish their stories,” explained Kirsten Rantorp, Danish NIE administrator. “We were coaches and together we made their stories attractive to the readers. The driver served lunch and coffee to everybody - and frequently the press interrupted us, printed as well as electronic, making features about the project.

For one of their pages, most classes produced an alternative front page, which was placed somewhere within the newspaper. “One class made the real front page!” Rantorp said.

Both the participants and Danish publishers came away very happy with the result. The secret of its success? Ms Rantorp saw three key elements:
1. The young ones wrote for real newspapers. It was a serious matter, not a game.
2. They were met at an equal level. It was their stories and we were just the coaches.
4. The newspapers, the teachers and the pupils had an intense cooperation before the bus-visit.


Click here for more details and a photo of the bus.

More information from:
Kirsten RANTORP
Administrator
AVISEN I UNDERVISNINGEN
Pressens Hus, Skindergade 7
1159 Copenhagen K
Phone : 45 33 97 40 00
Fax : 45 33 14 23 25
E-mail : khr@danskedagblade.dk

European Institute for the Media

KAZAKHSTAN

Youth press club opened

A Youth Press Club was opened in Almaty on 17 September. The creation of the press club was supported by the city department of the Ministry of Culture, Information and Social Accord and the Almaty city department of internal policy. The newly created press club failed to attract the interest of youth organisations. The founders of the press club explained this fact by the “apathy of young people” and said that the press club was established to fight with this phenomenon.

TURKMENISTAN

President Niyazov proclaims broadcasting for youth main task of media

President Niyazov strongly criticised TV and radio programmes for youth in his speech at the session of the Cabinet of Ministers on 3 September. “There are still very few programmes targeting youth and those available do not take into account the preferences of the young audience. Young men and girls should be addressed in such way that the depth of their hearts resonate. A superficial approach to youth issues gives away indifference and incompetence which cannot be concealed by any words,” said Niyazov.

The President returned to programmes for youth, which is his opinion is the most important task for all media and especially for broadcast media, at a subsequent meeting with high-ranking officials. Niyazov said : “You must remember that young people of the Golden Age [official name of Niyazov’s rule] live in an independent country. They do not comprehend clichés of old times. They are living in an atmosphere of creativity and spiritual revival.”

RUSSIA / TATARSTAN

Russian Press Minister and Tatarstan President discuss situation with media in Russia, Tatarstan

The Russian Press Minister Mikhail Lesin met with the Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiyev in Kazan on 17 September to discuss the situation with media in Russia and, in particular, in Tatarstan. Special attention was paid to the development of the Tatar national culture and heritage, and also media and book-printing in Tatar. Lesin said that President Putin, after his meeting with the participants of the Third World Congress of Tatars, had ordered that the Tatar national culture be supported. Lesin called the state of the Tatarstan media “stable” and expressed his opinion that neither the Tatarstan government nor local self-governments exert pressure on the media. Lesin offered broadcasting resources of the ‘Kultura’ (Culture) TV channel and of some national radio stations for broadcasting programmes in Tatar. A special team, which will produce such programmes, is to be created shortly.

Lesin argued that the national strategy in supporting media is of primary importance. He said that publications in national languages and also publications for children and scientific magazines should be supported as such periodicals are unprofitable and are published for non-commercial purposes. Lesin said that the development of commercial media should only be supported by creating equal conditions for all market players so that no one periodical enjoy ad hoc privileges.

Lesin and Shaimiyev discussed the development of TV broadcasting in Tatarstan and, in particular, the progress in the creation of Tatarstan’s TNV channel (see the July issue of the Newsletter). Shaimiyev said that this channel already reaches 85 per cent of Tatartstan’s population. The TV channel holds the license for broadcasting to all major cities except Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk.

RUSSIA

Russian Internet user: a sociological profile

A research conducted by the ‘Public Opinion’ pollster has shown that 8.8 million people in Russia or around six per cent of its population use the Internet. The poll data were published on 26 September. Russia is in the third dozen of countries behind Brazil, Mexico and South Africa but in front of India where only one per cent of the population uses the Internet.

The largest part of the Russian Internet users (1.7 million) live in Moscow. The Central Federal District (except Moscow) is home to 1.4 million users, and the Siberian Federal District, to 1.3 million. Moscow has also the highest per cent of the users: over a quarter (27 %) of Muscovites use the Internet. The capital is followed by St Petersburg with 21 per cent. In total, if Moscow and St Petersburg are excluded, the fraction of Internet users in the population of all federal districts does not exceed five to eight per cent.

The Web is most often logged in from the offices. Almost half (48 per cent of those polled) use the Internet in their companies, 32 per cent at home, 21 per cent in Universities and educational institutions and 14 per cent in Internet cafes.

In all federal districts except the Far Eastern Federal District males the number of male users is larger than that of female users. The average ratio for Russia is 5 : 3.

The prevailing part of Internet users are young people in the age from 18 to 34. Over half of Muscovites and 17 per cent of Russian residents belonging to this age group access the Internet, making 59 and 68 per cent of all Internet users, respectively. The poll also confirmed that the users with University degrees dominate in the Internet community: they make 38 per cent of all users in Russia and 62 per cent of those living in Moscow.

Rewards for race awareness

Regional press awards - this story published 29.10.2002

Rewards for race awareness
By Holdthefrontpage Staff

Journalists are being asked to step forward and highlight work which has addressed race relations issues for a chance to win a prestigious national award.
The Race in the Media Awards is inviting entries for its next event.
Established by the Commission for Racial Equality in 1992 to encourage more informed coverage of race relations, diversity and multiculturalism, the Awards will be presented to winners of 20 categories that cover newspapers, magazines, TV and radio as well as sport, advertising, websites and material aimed at a children/youth audience.

They are open to all journalists and broadcasters who have had material published or transmitted which addressed race relations issues in the UK - last year there were more than 300 entries.
The regional press was recognised when the Yorkshire Post won an award for its coverage of the Bradford riots. It was named Regional/Local Paper of the Year last year.
The only requirement for entries is that the material addresses race relations, diversity, or multiculturalism in the UK. Set up in 1992, the awards encourage informed coverage of race relations, diversity and multi-culturalism across the UK media.
The closing date for entries is Friday December 6.
Entry forms can be downloaded from www.cre.gov.uk, or for more information call Amanda Rayner on 01494 671332.

South-Eastern European International Model UN - SEIMUN

South-Eastern European International Model UN - SEIMUN is a simulation of the United Nations system. Participants assume the roles of ambassadors to the United Nations and debate the current issues on the UN's agenda. SEIMUN is an United Nations simulation conference for young people from all over the world. The conference will be held from the 9th to the 15th of December 2002 in Sofia.

The conference strives to familiarise delegates with the working structure of the UN, the dynamics of international diplomacy and the most topical issues of the day.In Seimun delegates interpret, follow and defend their respective country's foreign policy. The participants deliberate predetermined topics with the ultimate goal of drafting and passing one resolution on each topic.

SEIMUN'2002 promises to be an exciting week full of diplomatic negotiations and social events.

The participants will be representatives of youth and students organizations from all over the world having a strong interest in fields of political science, sociology, international law, international relations and diplomacy, ways of finding solutions of regional and international conflicts.

Politicians and prominent businessmen will attend the Opening Ceremony of the conference. Representatives of international structures, non-governmental organizations, politicians and statesmen through a direct contact with the participants will present their skills, knowledge and experience and help the future specialists in the international politics field.

IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize

Promoting tolerance, combating racism and discrimination
and contributing to an understanding
of cultural, religious and ethnic differences.
The IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize is about promoting tolerance, combating racism and discrimination and contributing to an understanding of cultural, religious and ethnic differences.
The Prize is an annual competition among journalists from all sectors of media with a simple objective: to promote better understanding among journalists from all communities of the importance of tolerance and defence of human rights, particularly when it comes to reporting on minorities.
The Prize rewards individuals and their work, promoting benchmarks on how to tackle discrimination in whatever form it comes - whether on the basis of language, religion or belief, or ethnic origin.
The Prize promotes editorial independence, high standards of professionalism and journalists' ethics, and diversity in media.
The Prize targets a number of key regions where coverage of minority affairs is often fraught with difficulties and tension.
The Journalism for Tolerance Prize, which is supported by the European Union, is driven by values of journalism and is organised by journalists themselves.

The Prize
The Journalism for Tolerance Prize is awarded in five regions:

Latin America
Central and Western Africa
Eastern and Southern Africa
South Asia
South East Asia
In each region, there are three categories of the Prize awarded for outstanding reporting on actions to combat racism and discrimination:

Print/on-line
Radio
Television

Each region will have a total pool of Euro 3,000 to award to the winners. Each winner will also receive a certificate of recognition. The winners will also be invited to attend a prize giving ceremony and forum in their region in March 2003.

Jaffa Cakes advert censored by watchdogs

Jaffa Cakes advert censored by watchdogs

Television watchdogs have censored an advertising campaign for Jaffa Cakes claiming it could encourage the bullying of overweight children.
The advert, for McVitie's new Mini Jaffa Cakes, shows a football coach telling off his young players for their poor match performance.
He demonstrates goal-scoring techniques by putting the biscuits into his mouth.
At the end of the advert he was shown looking over to a boy who was fatter than the others and saying, "stop dribbling, Bradley".
The Independent Television Commission upheld four complaints from viewers who claimed the advert mocked overweight children and unfairly portrayed them as "greedy and unable to control their food urges".
McVitie's advertising agency, Publicis, says it intended to show a realistic mix of shapes and sizes in a children's football team and had singled out "Bradley" because he had a memorable face.
But the ITC says it considered the ad "singled out in a negative manner a child who was overweight compared with those around him".
It pointed out overweight children were known to experience bullying in everyday life and said the original ad exhibited "potential for harm through the unthinking use of stereotypes".
McVitie's has now changed the ad to avoid the impression an overweight child was being singled out for criticism, reports Media Guardian.
Story filed: 11:19 Friday 25th October

Remembering forgotten Humanitarian Crises

25/10/2002
Remembering forgotten Humanitarian Crises

25/10/2002
Remembering forgotten Humanitarian Crises

The European Union's Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO supported an international one-day conference entitled "Forgotten Humanitarian crises - the role of the media, decision-makers and humanitarian agencies ". Organised in Copenhagen by the Danish Refugee Council and other Danish NGO partners on 23 October, the conference focused on media and donor responses to "forgotten crises. "

Forgotten crises are those where humanitarian needs remain high but where press coverage and donor response are low. Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid together with Costanza Adinolfi, the Director of ECHO, was among the keynote speakers at this event which coincides with the Danish Presidency of the EU. Other main participants included representatives of the Danish government, Member States, journalists, relief workers and researchers.

The conference objective is to inspire the main players to reflect upon their own roles, and ultimately to raise public awareness about forgotten humanitarian crises. Commenting on the initiative, Mr Nielson said: ECHO is deeply concerned by the problem of the 'forgotten crises' and we are pleased to be able to work together with Danish NGOs and the Presidency to draw attention to this problem. He continued : ECHO's mandate is to help the most vulnerable and not simply to 'follow the cameras. ' A lack of media coverage can lead to less interest from donors and unmet needs among the victims. In 2000, when the Mozambique floods hit the headlines, ECHO responded providing nearly €10 million. But, in the same year, there were several other major crises attracting far less media attention to which ECHO allocated higher amounts .

mobile.culture.container

The idea

The mobile.culture.container is set up for a few weeks in each location as a place where young people can meet freely. It is a place for older schoolchildren to come to reflect, to produce their own school newspaper, but it is also a place for discussions, workshops, exhibitions, dancing, listening to music, writing, reading, chatting, a laboratory and a café. It is intended as a creative venue - a place for ideas and a place to relax. Its task is to create something of lasting continuity.

Questions

Questions are raised in the mobile.culture.container:
What does the personal future of young people in South-Eastern Europe look like? How can lasting peaceful coexistence be achieved? And what are the prospects in a world which is at present undergoing a technical revolution? What skills will people need in order to be part of this process?
What future awaits these young people and how can they begin, today, to defend their own future?

Europe
The mobile.culture.container informs young citizens about the tasks and objectives of the European Union. The way to European integration of the countries which the project visits is the way to a future of peaceful coexistence. The mobile.culture.container regards the young people with whom it talks of the future as the generation that can lead their own country into a united Europe.
For this reason there are "Europe Days" providing information and an opportunity to discuss this goal.

Discussion

In the mornings, school classes and youth clubs are invited to discuss the future. By arrangement with school heads and youth group leaders, young people can get to know the mobile.culture.container, use it and talk about their prospects for the future. The project supervisors lead these discussions in the young people's language.

School newspapers

School newspapers can serve as a platform for the free expression of the pupils' own thoughts and opinions. The content and form depends on the pupils' interests, and the pupils themselves take responsibility for the newspaper's design and layout. This activity calls for independence and responsibility and also for a democratic approach.
A first editorial office was founded in 2001 at the secondary school in Cacak. In 2002 the mobile.culture.container will be able to set up several school newspapers and to create a transnational network of correspondents between these editorial offices.

The peace library

The mobile.culture.container has a small library containing both contemporary literature and books on the economic and political rapprochement of Central Europe after the Second World War. These books, which are available to all, help readers to find out the reasons for nationalism and war in the twentieth century, how hatred and isolation were overcome, which strategies were successful and which were not.
In addition there are books about the European Union, journalism, film theory and new technology.

New technology

The mobile.culture.container has an Internet room. The Internet can be used during the communal discussions and also during the afternoons. Project workers show people how to use this technology and what can be found with it so that users can research questions about the future in the Internet, prepare subjects for the school newspaper and establish contacts with institutions, other Internet cafés, interested persons or school projects around the world. Each guest at the mobile.culture.container also has the opportunity to use digital video, photo and event technologies.

Workshops

The workshops develop on the discussions in practical work. In 2001 there were workshops on the following subjects: literature, theatre, newspapers, research, painting, fashion, scenography, radio and public relations. The workshops follow a fixed weekly schedule. Young people enter their names in lists for a place in a workshop. At the end of the visit to each town, the results of the workshops are shown at the final party.

Evenings

The mobile.culture.container is also a public venue for events. Clubs are planned for some evenings in the week where there is music and dancing. Films can also be shown. There is a small stage for musicians, dancers and actors and for presenting books, pictures and opinions. In 2001 these evenings were frequently used for discussions.
The mobile.culture.container is a place for reflection and relaxation.

The Tour

The mobile.culture.container spends a few weeks in a town at the mayor's invitation, because the support of town councils is indispensable in realizing the project. Early on contacts are established to young people, teachers, youth group leaders, the press, artists and institutions.
In winter 2001 the project was suspended to be restarted in the spring of 2002 when it will visit six further towns.

What remains?

Apart from impulses for people to think about their own future, the mobile.culture.container aims also to leave behind something that is very concrete. Therefore there are plans to set up a series of editorial offices for school newspapers.
In Osijek a youth parliament was founded with the assistance of the mobile.culture. container. In Cacak an information club with an Internet centre was set up. These pro-jects which remain after the mobile.culture.container has left contribute to the continuity of our work.

Contact

Contacts are maintained in particular via the Internet, even after the mobile.culture. container has left for other towns. Contacts will also be kept up over the winter period. In addition, young people from the former "mobile.culture towns" are invited to visit the new locations. In 2001 there were visits from Tuzla at
Osijek and from Tuzla and Osijek at Cacak. In Gorazde young people came from all of the towns that had been visited previously to follow the project's work and continue to take part in it.

Structure

The mobile.culture.container consists of 16 containers assembled in a circle and covered with an awning 20 metres wide and 7 metres high. Underneath this awning there is an open space and a stage.
In the containers there is an Internet room with a video lab, an exhibition and discussion room with a library, office, dressing room for the stage, kitchen, toilets and washrooms, and a storeroom. The mobile. culture.container requires a space of 35 square metres.
This construction has satisfied structural acceptance criteria and there are also fire and safety measures.

Local assistance

The mobile.culture.container needs the help of town councils to find a flat, hard court of the necessary size, to cover the electricity requirements (2 x 135 A), to supply water, to remove sewage, to dispose of rubbish and to use the telecommunication lines. There should be connections for each of the supply lines close by. The towns are only expected to provide free of charge for the use of the area, water, sewage and rubbish disposal.
Naturally, the assistance of schools is necessary in order to implement this collaborative project successfully. In addition, contacts are required to the local press, local NGOs and youth clubs etc.

The fund's board of trustees

The nonprofit foundation Fonds Verteidigung unserer Zukunft (Defence of our Future Fund) with headquarters in Vienna is responsible for the mobile.culture.container.
Lieselore Cyrus, the High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina Dr. Wolfgang Petritsch, Hans Koschnik and the Austrian Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Dr. Erhard Busek are among the funds honorary trustees.
The fund curator is the Viennese lawyer Dr. Gabriel Lansky.

The fund's board

The chairperson of the fund's board is Freimut Duve, the initiator of this project and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The Swiss Ambassador Emeritus, Marianne von Grünigen, is deputy chairperson of the fund's board.
Other members of the board are Annemarie Türk (Kultur-Kontakt Austria) and the Luxembourg Ambassador Jacques Reuter.

The team

The mobile.culture.container is run by a team of eight members, the majority from South-Eastern Europe. All members of the team that is responsible for debates, discussions between the young people, advice regarding the Internet and the video lab, press and public relations work and assisting the director are from South-Eastern Europe.
Achim Koch, who is director, technical supervisor and project designer, comes from Germany. Other colleagues providing technical assistance could
come from Western or South-Eastern Europe.

Financing

The project mobile.culture. container is being implemented in the framework of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. The main state sponsors have so far been the Federal Republic of Germany, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway. Further support has hitherto been received from the Principality of Liechtenstein, Republic of Austria, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Other countries will be offering support in the future.
The main private sponsors so far have been Volkswagen AG and Allianz Kulturstiftung.
The fund has been supported by mobilkom austria, Kultur-Kontakt Austria and Korridor X Line.

Documentation

The work of the mobile.culture. container is being evaluated
in various ways. A book is planned for 2002, which will present the experiences from the tour of 2001. At the beginning of 2002 there will be a documentary about the project's work. This film will show excerpts from various video clips produced by the young people during the video workshops of the 2001 tour.
At the same time the film will offer an insight into the mobile.culture.container's work. Press coverage is being archived and a scientific evaluation will also be drawn up.

Europemedia.net: News - Rural schools get broadband satellite internet access Rural schools get broadband satellite internet access

17/10/2002 Editor: Cathy O'Sullivan

In response to the low levels of internet connectivity in schools in Ireland, a trial service has been launched providing high internet access to schools in rural parts of the country using satellite technology developed by Dublin based Web-Sat and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA).

The trial service, SchoolSat, is based on the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard and allows the user to receive internet services with a relatively small antenna and a PC equipped with a satellite modem anywhere within the footprint of the Eutelsat W3 satellite (used by Web-Sat). This PC can be used as a gateway to connect multiple PCs to the Internet.

The SchoolSat service currently serves the Donegal Education Centre and 9 secondary schools in the county, ranging from the largest secondary school in Ireland, Carndonagh Community School on the Inishowen peninsula serving more than 1300 students, to the small Gaeltacht Vocational School on Arranmore island with just 46 students.

The schools taking part have been equipped with small satellite dishes that allow them to send and receive information at a speed far faster than ISDN.

Reporters Without Borders is publishing the first worldwide press freedom index

Reporters Without Borders is publishing the first worldwide press freedom index

The first worldwide index of press freedom has some surprises for Western democracies. The United States ranks below Costa Rica and Italy scores lower than Benin. The five countries with least press freedom are North Korea, China, Burma, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.


Surprises among Western democracies : US below Costa Rica and Italy below Benin

Reporters Without Borders is publishing for the first time a worldwide index of countries according to their respect for press freedom. It also shows that such freedom is under threat everywhere, with the 20 bottom-ranked countries drawn from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The situation in especially bad in Asia, which contains the four worst offenders - North Korea, China, Burma, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.

The top end of the list shows that rich countries have no monopoly of press freedom. Costa and Benin are examples of how growth of a free press does not just depend on a country's material prosperity.

The index was drawn up by asking journalists, researchers and legal experts to answer 50 questions about the whole range of press freedom violations (such as murders or arrests of journalists, censorship, pressure, state monopolies in various fields, punishment of press law offences and regulation of the media). The final list includes 139 countries. The others were not included in the absence of reliable information.

In the worst-ranked countries, press freedom is a dead letter and independent newspapers do not exist. The only voice heard is of media tightly controlled or monitored by the government. The very few independent journalists are constantly harassed, imprisoned or forced into exile by the authorities. The foreign media is banned or allowed in very small doses, always closely monitored.

Right at the top of the list four countries share first place - Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands. These northern European states scrupulously respect press freedom in their own countries but also speak up for it elsewhere, for example recently in Eritrea and Zimbabwe. The highest-scoring country outside Europe is Canada, which comes fifth.

Some countries with democratically-elected governments are way down in the index - such as Colombia (114th) and Bangladesh (118th). In these countries, armed rebel movements, militias or political parties constantly endanger the lives of journalists. The state fails to do all it could to protect them and fight the immunity very often enjoyed by those responsible for such violence.


Costa Rica better placed than the United States

The poor ranking of the United States (17th) is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there. Arrests are often because they refuse to reveal their sources in court. Also, since the 11 September attacks, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at some official buildings.

The highest-ranked country of the South is Costa Rica, in 15th position. This Central American nation is traditionally the continent's best performer in terms of press freedom. In February 2002, it ceased to be one of the 17 Latin American states that still give prison sentences to those found guilty of "insulting" public officials. The murder in July 2001 year of journalist Parmenio Medina was an exception in the history of the Costa Rican media.

Cuba, the last dictatorship in Latin America, came 134th and is the only country in the region where there is no diversity of news and journalists are routinely imprisoned. In Haiti (106th), journalists are targeted by informal militias whose actions are covered by the government.


Italy gets bad marks in Europe

The 15 member-countries of the European Union (EU) all score well except for Italy (40th), where news diversity is under serious threat. Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is turning up the pressure on the state-owned television stations, has named his henchmen to help run them and continues to combine his job as head of government with being boss of a privately-owned media group. The imprisonment of journalist Stefano Surace, convicted of press offences from 30 years ago, as well as the monitoring of journalists, searches, unjustified legal summonses and confiscation of equipment, are all responsible for the country's low ranking.

France, in 11th place overall, comes only 8th among EU countries because of several disturbing measures endangering the protection of journalists' sources and because of police interrogation of a number of journalists in recent months.

Among those states hoping to join the EU, Turkey (99th) is very poorly placed. Despite the reform efforts of its government, aimed at easing entry into the EU, many journalists are still being given prison sentences and the media is regularly censored. Press freedom is especially under siege in the southeastern part of the country.

Elsewhere in Europe, such as Belarus (124th), Russia (121st) and the former Soviet republics, it is still difficult to work as a journalist and several have been murdered or imprisoned. Grigory Pasko, jailed since December 2001 in the Vladivostok region of Russia, was given a four-year sentence for publishing pictures of the Russian Navy pouring liquid radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan.


The Middle East and Israel's ambivalent position

No Arab country is among the top 50. Lebanon only makes 56th place and the press freedom situation in the region is not encouraging. In Iraq (130th) and Syria (126th), the state uses every means to control the media and stifle any dissenting voice. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein especially has set his country's media the sole task of relaying his regime's propaganda. In Libya (129th) and Tunisia (128th), no criticism of Col Muammar Kadhafi or President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali is tolerated.

The political weakening of the Palestinian Authority (82nd) means it has made few assaults on press freedom. However, Islamic fundamentalist opposition media have been closed, several attempts made to intimidate and attack local and foreign journalists and many subjects remain taboo. The aim is to convey a united image of the Palestinian people and to conceal aspects such a demonstrations of support for attacks on Israel.

The attitude of Israel (92nd) towards press freedom is ambivalent. Despite strong pressure on state-owned TV and radio, the government respects the local media's freedom of expression. However, in the West Bank and Gaza, Reporters Without Borders has recorded a large number of violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees press freedom and which Israel has signed. Since the start of the Israeli army's incursions into Palestinian towns and cities in March 2002, very many journalists have been roughed up, threatened, arrested, banned from moving around, targeted by gunfire, wounded or injured, had their press cards withdrawn or been deported.


Good and bad examples in Africa

Eritrea (132nd) and Zimbabwe (122nd) are the most repressive countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The entire privately-owned press in Eritrea was banned by the government in September 2001 and 18 journalists are currently imprisoned there. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is notable for his especially harsh attitude to the foreign and opposition media.

At the other end of the spectrum, Benin is in 21st place despite being classified by the UN Development Programme as one of the world 15 poorest countries. Other African states, such as South Africa (26th), Mali (43rd), Namibia (31st) and Senegal (47th), have genuine press freedom too.

DAILY EXPRESS NEWS

Express wins State award for contributing to youth development
23 October, 2002
Kota Kinabalu: Daily Express, the largest circulation daily in Sabah, won the inaugural Newspaper Special Award for Youth News at the annual State-level Youth Day gathering at the multi-purpose hall of Likas Sports Complex here on Tuesday night.
The paper’s Special Writer, Mary Chin, received the award (trophy and certificate of appreciation) from Chief Minister Datuk Chong Kah Kiat on behalf of Sabah Publishing House Sdn Bhd, publisher of Daily Express and its sister paper, Overseas Chinese Daily News.
For the year 2001, the newspaper was adjudged to have generated the most news about youth and highlighted their problems, needs, programmes and activities.
Presented by the State Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the award is in recognition of the vital role played by the print media as a disseminator of useful information. This accolade and the Belia Wanita Special Award are new additions to the existing annual awards.

IHT: Search

In Finland, Nokia is calling all kids
By Sarah Lyall (The New York Times)
Friday, October 25, 2002


HELSINKI: Among the second graders at the Kulosaari Elementary School, the most fashionable object of desire this year is not a Barbie or a Power Ranger or even the latest Japanese cyberpet. It is a Nokia cell phone, accessorized with a personal logo on the screen.

Sadly, Tomas Ihonen, 8, does not have one.

"When my dad bought my phone two years ago he put a thing on it that means I can't buy any logos," said Tomas, somewhat abashed at all the noncoolness that implied. "It costs too much money." Helsinki, home to the cell phone giant Nokia Oyj, is one of the most cell-happy cities in the world. An estimated 92 percent of its households have at least one, if not several, phones.

But while the phones have been part of the fabric of daily life for adults and teenagers for as long as a decade, more recently the market has been undergoing a rapid expansion downward.

Poking fun at the trend, a newspaper recently printed a cartoon of a baby with a cell phone, notifying his parents that his diaper needed changing.

"A relatively normal age to get a mobile phone is now 7, when children start to have activities without their parents, like soccer practice and ballet lessons," said Jan Virkki, marketing manager for Makitorppa, Finland's largest cell phone retailer. "Many parents want to have the security of being able to contact their kids." In a society with strict laws about how products can be pitched to children, the lucrative new children's market - and a resultant surge in child-beckoning products like phone covers decorated with pictures of Donald Duck and characters from "Star Wars" - has raised sensitive marketing issues. "Phone manufacturers, operators and service providers are developing products for a target group aged 12 to 16, but their way of bringing them out is really delicate," said Virkki.

Unable to market directly to children, the companies go for the parents instead, playing to their worries about leaving their children unattended at the end of the school day, before the parents come home from work.

Eija-Liisa Kasesniemi, a folklorist whose book "Mobile Messages: Young People and a New Communication Culture" is to be published in December, said cell phones were an essential child-rearing tool in a society where most parents generally work. The phenomenon of "mobile parenting," she said, allows parents to monitor their offspring by telephone, rather than in person.

"Parents will call many times a day and ask if everything is O.K.," she said.

One of the girls she spoke to for her book, 16-year-old Marja, said she was sick of her mother constantly sending text messages along the lines of "Where are you? Have you got your woolly hat on?"

At the same time, parents are sometimes accused of using the cell phones as electronic nannies.

"I think the parent who is at home is differently present in her child's life than someone who just talks to him or her on the phone," said Heli Bergius, 45, who has forbidden her daughter, Charlotta, to have a telephone until she is 12.

She is also worried about radiation.

"My mom said that mobiles make your brain bad," Charlotta said.

Tiia Korppi, who teaches Charlotta and Tomas at Kulosaari, reckons that three-quarters of the 21 7- and 8-year-olds in her class have their own cell phones. In the older classes, it is a rare student who comes to school cell-less. This has necessarily required some adjustment.

"One of the first thing we discuss when school starts is the policy on mobile phones," Korppi explained.

You can have one, but you have to stow it out of sight. You cannot turn it on. You cannot send text messages to your friends, or play amusing tunes in class, or call your parents, or check the soccer scores, or even send out for pizza during history.

"Because of the long, long mobile culture in Finland, owning a mobile telephone has become like owning a watch or a set of house keys," said Virkki of Makitorppa. The phones' ubiquitousness has made their use harder for parents to monitor, he said. "Cutting back on the hours is like saying, 'Don't use your wristwatch for more than three hours a week.'" At Elaintarha, another school, Marcel Moore is trying to hang on to his phone. "I lost it one time, and my parents were screaming at me, saying, 'You have to put it in your bag,'" he said. "I finally found it in the trash."

If he proves that he is responsible enough, he hopes, his parents will buy him a fancier model one day.

"I don't even have any pictures on mine," he said.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Press&publishing | Teen mags to merge after falling sales

Teen mags to merge after falling sales



Ciar Byrne
Thursday October 24, 2002

CD:UK magazine, the spin-off of the popular ITV Saturday morning music show, is to merge with teenage entertainment title TV Hits! as sales of teen magazines continue to plummet.

Both titles came under the wing of the French publishing giant Hachette Filipacchi earlier this year, when it bought the magazine's previous publisher, Attic Futura, for about £40m.

"The merger of CD:UK with TV Hits! sees Hachette Filipacchi UK consolidating its share of the highly competitive teen pop market, which has suffered a further decline of 20% this year," said Vivien Cotterill, the managing director of Hachette Filipacchi UK.

An editor has not yet been appointed for the newly merged title, which will keep the name TV hits!, although CD:UK's editorial director, Pauline Haldane, will keep the same post.

A spokeswoman for Hachette said the company hopes to find jobs elsewhere for the eight editorial positions affected by the merger.

Between January and June 2002 the circulation of TV Hits! fell by 18.4% from the previous year to 143,289 copies, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Over the same period CD:UK recorded its first official circulation since its launch in April 2001 of 138,122 copies.

Top of the Pops magazine, published by the BBC's commercial arm and the market leader in the teen entertainment sector, recorded a circulation of 235,007 in the first six months of the year, dropping 16.5% from the year before.

The whole teen magazine sector has been badly hit in recent years as teenagers spend their time and pocket money on sending text messages and are bombarded by a proliferation of media, including digital pay TV music channels.

Earlier this month Hachette seized control of "middle youth" women's glossy Red when it outbid its former publishing partner, Emap, for the magazine in a sealed bidding process.

Kids can write!!!

Teen writers beginning to see the 'Light'

By Stacy Peterson
Staff writer

Annette Dammer's English class couldn't relate to the lessons they read.

The text was written by someone from another generation. It seemed too preachy.

"I said fine - write something better," Dammer said. "And they did."

Those simple beginnings in a classroom at the Fayetteville Christian Academy in 2000 have led to a journal-style magazine called "Teen Light Magazine," a Web site discussion group and a weekly E-zine.

Teens from as far as South Dakota, Texas and Florida have even joined in with the Web community.

Dammer is now an English instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College and home schools her two children, but she still orchestrates the staff of teen writers and oversees the Web site as the publisher.

"They wanted to share their life experiences," Dammer said. "I think more teens write than you can guess."

The dozen teens behind Teen Light magazine and teenlight.org don't get a dime for their work. They simply write from the heart and when they are inspired with a goal to help others like them.

Rebekah Hamrick is the editor of Teen Light. She has seen her writing go from the magazine to the October issue of the Focus On The Family national publication headed by Dr. James Dobson.

Among her writing in the premiere issue of the printed magazine, Hamrick wrote about domestic abuse and its effect on a teen who opened his life to her.

The story was called "An Ordinary Kid, A True Accounting."

Here's a sample of what she wrote: "One night Jeremy's step-dad hit his mother and busted her lip open. Blood poured down her face and neck. 'I thought I was dreaming,' Jeremy says. 'I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And I couldn't do a thing to stop it.'"

Hamrick is diagnosed with epilepsy and fibromyalga and uses writing as a release and to express herself.

"Everybody always told me I was going to be a writer," Hamrick said. "I'm always writing."

Hamrick is the daughter of the Rev. Randy Hamrick, minister of the Church of the Open Door in Fayetteville, and Merry Hamrick.

She was home schooled and graduated earlier this year. She is taking classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College to be a medical lab technician.

"For me it was a safe place," Hamrick said of Teen Light. "I think it's helped me in a lot of ways."

She has written about the death of a friend and about the importance of time after a stint in the hospital.

"It just kind of a feeling of relief and accomplishment," Hamrick said of writing. "It gives me a way to express myself."

Massey Hill Classical High School senior Hannah Bruhn works as a media reporter for the magazine and introduced Hamrick to the site.

Bruhn reviews movies, music and concerts. She also writes poetry.

Writing is something that came naturally for Bruhn.

She remembers writing to make up stories as a child. Those scribblings evolved into poems.

And it's not fluff.

Her poems and stories in Teen Light have ranged from flowers to abortion.

"It just gives me an opportunity to put my feelings in a tangible form," Bruhn said. "I love to be able to meet other writers and read their work."

The feedback and help with writing tips sometimes comes from adults and college students who serve as Teen Light "mentors."

Thomas Rogers served as an initial mentor and wrote about graduating from Campbell University

Daniel Parsons, another mentor, wrote about Bible lessons.

Others help with tips and answers to questions about the craft of writing.

Godwin teen Haily Simmons does most of the artwork, illustrations and cartoons.

"They never get exhausted by it," Dammer said.

What started out as a challenge to her students also challenged her.

She had to learn how to develop and maintain the Web site.

"We fell down so many times trying to get it up," Dammer remembered.

With the help of a family member in the computer field, Dammer was able to host the site for free.

Once the site took off she found herself selling ads and coordinating with Barnes &Noble Booksellers and local churches for release of the printed magazine.

Now there are 1,000 families on the mailing list.

Dammer said she has had to pay for some of the production, but said she now feels it is a ministry for teens who want to help each other.

Adults, she said, sometimes forget what it was like to be a teenager.

While Teen Light is religious-based, it is open to teen writers and those of any denomination.

"The good kids are the majority, I believe," Dammer said. "I just can't believe what they do for my life."

Staff writer Stacy Peterson can be reached at 486-3512 or petersons@fayettevillenc.com.

UNICEF - Voices of Youth media chat

Young media activists chat via Net with UNICEF Executive Director

Sharing their views: Chat participants at the UNICEF offices in Amman, Jordan.

Participating countries

Participating in the chat were youth from the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Palestine, Georgia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, F.R. Yugoslavia, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Zambia.

Visit Voices of Youth! Or check out their online bulletin board discussion 'How good is media coverage of Young People?'
Participants: 'Mass media does not respond to our needs'
Some 70 young media activists from 17 countries, many of whom produce their own news reports, journalistic features or television programmes for youth, participated recently in an Internet chat with UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. Their nearly unanimous feeling: the mass media does not respond to the needs of youth.

During the chat, many of the participants described their creative ideas for educating other young people about their rights. They said they are looking for opportunities to get the message out. Challenges faced by young journalists include difficulty in getting space in mainstream media and lack of support, or even censorship, from governments and the mainstream media industry.

The chat, which took place on 8 March 2001, was facilitated by the UNICEF Internet project, Voices of Youth. Since 1995, Voices of Youth has worked to link young people with one another and with policymakers via the Net. Voices of Youth focuses on connecting harder-to-reach youth, youth on the 'other' side of the digital divide.

Mainstream media and the young
All of the young participants in the chat were involved in media-related work, many in writing news or producing TV/radio programming, so it isn't suprising that they displayed a keen sense of what sells in the mainstream media and what does not.


Internet chat allows users to interact in real time.
Youth issues, in general, are hard to sell. Conventional political and economic issues predominate. Topics which are of interest to youth, such as girls' rights, HIV/AIDS, music, ethics and values, the serious problems faced by those who leave school, and the role of young people in times of crisis, tend to receive short shrift, according to the chat participants.

More importantly, the participants felt that the biggest missing element in mainstream media is content produced by young people and reflecting their viewpoint. As one participant put it:

We think that only youth can cover their burning problems in the best way in MM [mainstream media]

Another problem that young people experience with mainstream media is the use of stereotypes, such as the 'alienated youth'. Positive steps are needed to overcome this problem:

I think that to look for partnership with NGOs and this kind of thing can help to show the media positive things

Getting coverage and support
Every reporter or TV producer knows that you need resources to write or produce a story, plus a way to get it out to the public--a newspaper to print your story or a TV station to air your programme. Many chat participants expressed frustration with the lack of interest in their offerings from established media channels or from governments.

However, some have enjoyed notable successes in gaining space, attention and support for their products, including for example a youth-produced newspaper in Zambia and a TV station run by youth in Sri Lanka:

carol, we attract media attention because of the success of our paper which is run by young people for young people....it's first of it's kind and result of novelty...picked up and sometimes even copied by bigger paper

...

we have formed a television station that is run by youth
srilanka---[...] do you feel pressured to put on certain topics to attract an audience since it costs money?
we do not feel pressured because our mandate is to highlight youth issues
we however find it difficult to compete with mainstream [media]


When asked by several of the participants about the role of UNICEF on issues such as freedom of speech and censorship, Ms. Bellamy indicated that UNICEF tries to influence governments to respect the rights of young people in ways that might help young journalists.

Teaching the world about child rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have. But many young people do not know about their rights.

In response to Ms. Bellamy's question on how to educate other young people and adults about children's rights, many of the activists participating in the chat had many concrete, interesting ideas, based on their own experience in working with other young people:

any good examples of how to educate about the crc without sounding like you are preaching?
CAROL: do it through true life stories and features, tv dramas, etc
carol: child to child approach is a good tool... for CRC ...
when dealing with youth issues we need to use a medium that they can relate to, music, telling stories etc.
We invite famous persons, shoot documentaries, organize quizzes
UNICEF in Georgia assists us in having discussions about CRC with our peers. we have several discussions on TV. youth parliament was invited to the TV to discuss the CRC
carol: we turned CRC articles into poetry, cartoons, comics.. etc.
We should prepare volunteers for CRC - young people to teach young people
Sure, the best articles are those ones which talk about real life of young people, or use arts to express the rights.
animated cartoons , and funny workshops that reflect the issues, cinema, films, that give the p+ve and -ve sides, in an indirect way
We also conduct TV debates about CRC

How the chat was set up
Besides promoting networking among young people and policymakers, the Voices of Youth project has sought to use the Internet to take advantage of young people's participation in UNICEF programmes around the world. This chat was extensively supported by the work of UNICEF field offices in contacting young media activists, many of whom are involved in UNICEF-assited media programmes, and providing access to the Internet.

Many of the participants were from countries in Central Europe, Eastern Europe or the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Commenting after the chat, Robert Cohen of the UNICEF office for this region explained his office's interest:

"In all countries in this region, there are youth media projects. Young people clearly understand the importance of the media for their own future. UNICEF is very active in providing support for these projects. We are looking to develop a young people's media network in our region, and to study the attitudes of youth to media, how they use it, what they view or read, and why."

This chat and others like it would not have been possible without the support of UNICEF NGO partners, who offer Internet connectivity, translating, typing, and even transportation to poorer youth who would otherwise not be able to participate. In most of the participating countires, costs of Internet access are prohibitively high for individuals or even organizations.

The chat was one of a series involving young activists involved with issues such as the media, HIV, gender, disability, girls' rights, and peace.

Chat excerpts have been minimally edited for spelling and grammar.

To learn more about Voices of Youth chats involving Carol Bellamy, contact media@unicef.org.

AFGHANISTAN: Focus on landmine education for children

AFGHANISTAN: Focus on landmine education for children

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

© IRIN

Save The Children staff spreading the mine awareness message in a Kabul school.

KARTE-YE PARVAN, 22 Oct 2002 (IRIN) - As hundreds of thousands of returned refugees return to areas of Afghanistan that were once battlefields, one of the most important and life-saving programmes in the war-damaged country today is landmine education, particularly for children.

"Our main concern with children is that they have been living with the problem for so long that they have almost become oblivious to it," David Edwards, chief of operations for the UN's mine-action programme for Afghanistan (MAPA), told IRIN in the capital, Kabul. "Incorporating landmine education into the
curriculum is essential," he said.

With more than 800 sq km left to clear, of which 410 sq km are high priority, Afghanistan is the most heavily mined country in the world. The former front-line areas in the northern and central regions contain the greatest concentrations of landmines.

A large quantity of unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains from the US-led war against terrorism in Afghanistan. It also poses a huge threat to innocent children.

There are no detailed statistics of victims, but according to the UN's mine-action programme, landmines and UXO cause about 150 to 300 casualties per month, a big strain to on the already overburdened hospital system.

A landmine-education programme being operated by Save the Children-US (SCF-US) in Kabul is saving lives by reaching out to thousands of children. Established in 1996, its aim is to educate young people on what the devices look like and stop them from handling these if they come into contact with them. "Children are playing out in the fields and streets, and they come across these devices every day. But many think they are toys," Sultan Aziz, the training team leader for SCF in Afghanistan, told IRIN in Kabul.

Up to 10 children take part in sessions held at schools, where NGO trainers or teachers use charts, pictures and board and memory games to show youngsters what to avoid. The children also take part in a play where they have to make decisions on what to do if they see a landmine or pieces of UXO.

"I didn't know what a landmine was or what it looked like," Nilam, aged 13, told IRIN at the Robia High School in Karte-ye Parvan District of Kabul Province. "They show us what these explosives look like. Now we know how dangerous they are, we will not touch them," she added.

The project is up and running across the country including the southern province of Kandahar, Jalalabad in the east, Mazar-e Sharif, Meymaneh and Sar-e Pol in the north. "We are also training other NGOs to spread the message to children," Aziz said.

Under the Taliban in 2001, SCF-US educated 21,792 boys and 13,139 girls in Kabul city. So far this year, 3,733 boys and 3,868 girls have been educated since the programme was resumed in the capital. One of the most effective ways of spreading the message has been through community volunteers. "There are many
children who are not be attending school, so this is the best way to get the message across to them," Aziz observed.

Teachers receive four days of training on the subject from SCF-US staff before they can start to educate children on landmines and UXO. The community volunteers are trained for two days before they can carry out sessions. "We expect the children to be informed at least once a week," he said.

During the Taliban era, the number of community volunteers was increased, as this was the only way to get the message across to girls, but the NGO resumed teacher training after the fall of the regime. In total, 19 schools, 142 teachers and 188 school principals have been trained so far this year.

However, its not just landmines and UXO that are endangering the lives of children. According to Aziz, there were some recent incidents where devices were planted near schools. "We have been told that there are pens which contain explosives left outside the school buildings," he explained, adding that the government had broadcast special television announcements warning people of the dangers.

Since the fall of the Taliban girls have been attending school, some conservative Afghans resent this. "We've been told that oppositionists who want to disrupt the education have planted these devices." he aded.

"I'm going to tell all of my friends about this session and warn them of the dangers of touching strange objects," Mohsena, a teenage student, told IRIN.

Staff at the school believe that this method of educating children has been very effective. "Some families don't have access to television or radio, so this is the best way to get the message across," Rowzia Nasiri, assistant principal of
the Robia high school, told IRIN. "We hold a session at our school every morning where we warn and remind children of the danger of landmines and unexploded ordnance," she added, saying that this was the best way to save lives.

Afghanistan is where the UN first became involved in supporting the creation and development of the MAPA. The signing of the Geneva Accords in April 1988, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, led many to believe that warfare had come to an end, that peace would prevail. Optimists believed the rehabilitation of social services and infrastructure would begin.

One of the most important commitments made by the new Afghan government earlier this year was to prevent further laying of landmines. On 30 July, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah signed the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention. The interim government subsequently completed its accession to the Antipersonnel
Mine Ban Treaty by depositing the Instrument of Accession on 11 September at the United Nations.

Meanwhile, children at the Robia High School, such as 12-year-old, Mina were grateful for the being made aware of the dangers of landmines and UXO. "I hope we never come into contact with these horrible devices," she said.

Farabi Cinema Foundation

At http://www.fcf-ir.com/festivals/children/17th-poster.htm you can find some information about a recent Film Festival which was held in the beautiful city of Isfahan in Iran.

The festival news are hosted by the regular Farabi Cinema Foundation's website which is at http://www.fcf-ir.com

Farabi might be interesting for some of you - especially in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Southern Europe who want to get into cross-border projects with young filmmakers.

---------------------------------------------

Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF) established in 1983 whose activity covers all aspects of cinema and film industry.

Farabi produces films, gives low-rate loans, supplies raw materials, lends camera equipment, provides post-production facilities, publishes various cinematic literature and sponsors film festivals.

Farabi is also responsible for promoting and marketing Iranian Cinema all over the world. Introducing Iranian films to festivals, screening of these films in different countries, participating at film markets and world sales of Iranian motion pictures are among its international activities.

Farabi enters co-production projects with foreign producers as well, and is the exclusive importer of movies for theatrical and video release in Iran. Through years of productive activity Farabi Cinema Foundation has established itself as the major organization involved in domestic film industry and the main representative of Iranian Cinema abroad.

ICFJ MEDIA PRODUCTS

The Business of News: Running Successful Newspapers in Emerging Free Markets, a three-volume set, is a comprehensive tutorial on running profitable and professional newspapers in emerging democracies. Newspaper executives will benefit from the expertise of three veteran U.S. journalists, all with substantial experience in the developing world, who discuss advertising, market research and newspaper management.

English, Item No. 1060 $20.00
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In this manual, Chris Braithwaite describes the pivotal role commercial advertising plays in underwriting a free press. Braithwaite, A Knight Internaitonal Press Fellow and publisher of a U.S. community weekly for 25 years, demonstrates how advertising can provide true independence--financial independence--from economic and political forces that often vie to control the media. The manual details an important role of a newspaper: providing reliable commercial information to readers that is separate and independent from its news coverage. And it offers tips on how publishers can convince community retailers that their newspaper is the best way to reach local customers.

Item No. 1061, $8.00 (if purchased separately)
Personnel and Profits: A Guide to Successful Newspaper Management, is a primer for newspaper entrepreneurs in developing countries on how to run the business side of a newspaper, from accounting to distribution and circulation, to managing the newsroom and editorial staff. In this manual, Lewis Wolman, publisher of the Samoa News for 17 years, walks readers through the complex process of publishing a newspaper on tight deadlines and in a cost-effective manner. It is designed to help newspaper executives strike a balance between developing a compelling editorial product and mastering the details of producing and distributing a newspaper--in short running a sound business that produces a high quality product.


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Know Your Audience: Increasing Readership and Advertising Through Market Research offers a roadmap for staying on top of the market by staying on top of the needs and desires of newspaper readers and advertisers. Former newspaper publisher and Knight International Press Fellow Carrol Dadisman walks through the steps a media manager should take to gather quantitative and qualitative data-data that gives media managers an edge in a rapidly changing market. The manual includes sample questionnaires, tips for conducting focus groups and cost-saving alternatives to hiring market research consultants.


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Ten Steps to Investigative Reporting
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In Free & Fair, ICFJ offers journalists guidelines for serving the public well by providing accurate, balanced and thorough election coverage. Free & Fair:

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Ten Practical Tips for Business and Economic Reporting in Developing Economies
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Ten Practical Tips for Environmental Reporting
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Training Foreign Journalists: A Manual
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ICFJ VIDEOS
A Brief History of the American Press
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Journalism Ethics: The New Debate
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Getting the Story: The Basics of Professional Journalism, Reporting, Writing, and Editing
A training film designed to provide an overview of the basic tools of the newspaper journalist. The 40-minute film demonstrates "how it's done" from assignment through the actual editing of a news story that will appear in a newspaper. The video makes generous use of graphics and hands-on exercises. An accompanying workbook and facilitator's guide reinforce the visual lessons of the film.
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MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Ball backs children's radio

Ball backs children's radio

Julia Day
Monday October 21, 2002

TV and radio presenter Zoe Ball and her famous father Johnny have thrown their weight behind a new children's radio station, claiming radio is more stimulating for youngsters than TV.

Zoe Ball, the wife of superstar DJ Fatboy Slim and mother of two-year-old Woody, has lent her support to GWR's Abracadabra station, which is aimed at children under 10 and their carers.

"Radio should be so important for children. When we were young our dad encouraged us to listen to radio rather than be glued to the box," she said.

"He believed it stimulated our imaginations and I agree.

"Radio is less in your face and more in your head than TV," said the former Radio1 breakfast presenter, who now fronts Xfm's drivetime show.

Her father, Johnny Ball, who became a household name in the 80s for presenting a host of children's TV shows such as Think of a Number, is also backing Abracadabra.

GWR, the owner of Classic FM, is hoping the Radio Authority will pick Abracadabra to take over the London analogue radio licence currently operated by Mohammed Al Fayed's Liberty Radio on medium wave.

And Zoe and Johnny Ball are the latest in a line of celebrities to lend their support for the radio station.

The EastEnders and Heartbeat star Nick Berry, former culture secretary Chris Smith and leader of the opposition Ian Duncan Smith have all backed GWR's licence application.

The former children's TV presenter Susan Stranks created the Abracadabra format and and ex-Playschool presenter Floella Benjamin sits on the station's board.

Clipper Media, the company behind children's TV character Fireman Sam, has a stake in the station.

Abracadabra is already broadcast on Lord Waheed Alli's Digital Radio Group digital multiplex in London.

It broadcasts a mix of music - including classical, rhyme, pop, folk and novelty tunes - stories, news and educational programmes.

The Radio Authority postponed the awarding of the licence, which was due to be announced this month, until November. The winning station will go live in July 2003.

Additional info from the organizers of the Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People:

The festival covers transportation within Greece (not international
transportation) and full accomodation for two persons of each film
participating to the competition programme of the EUROPEAN MEETING OF YOUNG
PEOPLE’S AUDIOVISUAL CREATION - Camera Zizanio (films made by children).

For the persons representing films participating to the Informative Section
there is a Hotel discount and all meals, so the participants
have to pay for accomodation after the discount. But, always there is a but,
as we want to give the opportunity to children to live this experience and
meet children from other countries, for this year we decided to cover full
accomodation for the people who would like to come even if the films are in
the Informative Section.

CAMERA ZIZANIO
INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF YOUNG AUDIOVISUAL CREATION
The Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, ever since its first organization, five years ago, has set a constant aim: that children and young people have the first role and that they participate creatively to all the festivities of the Festival.
In order to encourage them to express themselves through images and sounds and to make their own audiovisual creations, the Festival elaborated and promoted the functioning of programs and workshops adapted to the Greek reality.
In 2001 the festival took a leap forward in the quality by creating the European Meeting of Young Audiovisual Creation - CAMERA ZIZANIO, where children and teachers meet, get to know each other’s work and exchange experiences.
In this Meeting, children and young people (up to 20 years old), coming from Greece, Europe, but also from all over the world, present films made either individually, either in cinema workshops or schools.
The films that participate in Camera Zizanio are divided into three departments:
1. Greek department, in which participate and compete films by children coming from Greece.
2. European department, in which participate and compete films coming from all over Europe.
3. International department, which is out of competition.
The 1st Meeting was held in the framework of the 4th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, and took place from November 25th to December 8th, 2001. In the competition participated 55 films from Greece, Spain, France, Norway, Belgium, Hungary, Bulgaria and Netherlands.
The great participation and the presence of children and teachers – one hundred people from abroad - underpinned the need to realize European meetings of this type. According to the people from Europe that attended the Meeting, until now the chance to meet and exchange experiences was missing, while during the last years there is an intense activation in the audiovisual creation of children and young people.
Thus, through the Camera Zizanio Olympia becomes a meeting point of audiovisual creation for children and young people from all over Europe, a big workshop that elaborates the new tendencies of what is now commonly called “School and Cinema”.
Together with the Camera Zizanio the Olympia Festival improves and elaborates the educational programs under the general title “I express myself through images and sounds” that are being organized in collaboration with Municipalities or Schools. They are programs with continuance, where eminent professionals teach and help the children to create by themselves original and completed audiovisual works.
The 2nd European Meeting of Young Audiovisual Creation will take place in Pyrgos from November 30th to December 7th, 2002.

AFGHANISTAN: Camerawomen set to make a difference

AFGHANISTAN: Camerawomen set to make a difference

© IRIN

Afghan camerawomen are keen to learn camera skills

KABUL, 18 Oct 2002 (IRIN) - For the first time ever in the history of Afghan television, women are being trained to use video cameras in the capital, Kabul. Under a one-year training programme at the AINA media and culture centre set up by primarily French journalists in Kabul, 20 women will be taught how to use a digital video camera and film for news, magazine programmes and documentaries.

Some of the women are journalists working for the Afghan media. Mehria Azizi, aged 17, a children's presenter on Kabul TV said she wanted to be a good all round journalist. "I want to be able to film my own stories about children," she told IRIN.

"We have a lot of problems in our society, and I want to show the world what we face every day," Mahari, aged 23, told IRIN, during a training session at the centre.

To ensure they are also fluent in English, they will attend classes at the centre and receive computer training to bring them up to date with the latest technology. "We want them to be of the same ability as international video journalists and work for international organisations in Kabul," AINA's video project manager, Florent Milesi, told IRIN at the centre.

"I hope the first women to qualify will be hired to make Afghan films," he added, saying that it was in the interests of foreign journalists to employ Afghan women in the country as they had better access to certain areas that men could film for cultural reasons.

The women attend training sessions four days a week and are paid US $100 a month so that they remain focused and are not forced by their families to work in other areas to earn a living. "We started paying them in September. This was two months after the course started, so we know that they did not join just for the money," Milesi said. "We believe that after this training most of them will be able to find a job without any problems," he added.

As part of the course, the women will be asked to produce two 50-minute documentaries in the Dari language. The first will be an oral history of more than 100 Afghan women from all over the country. "We hope this film will be finished in time for International Women's Day to be held in March," he explained. The second film will focus on Afghan women in politics, in the hope that both documentaries will be sold and broadcast.

One of the biggest challenges facing teachers at AINA is convincing families to allow the girls to travel, report or film on their own - all generally prohibited for cultural and historical reasons. "Up until March the women will be accompanied by Bridget, our camera journalist, and our cameraman, Habib, and then we will reassess the situation," Milesi said. "These women are very courageous and very talented and they will do well."

Polly Hyman, a British freelance camerawoman filming a documentary in Kabul, read about the training course and offered her spare time to help train the women. "There is a lot of potential here and it is just a question of practice," she said. In addition to this, a photojournalism course funded by a Dutch NGO is also being run at AINA.

Participants meet three times a week at the media centre for theoretical and practical training. Of the 20 students, 12 are men and the rest women.

"We are really excited about the women's unit, because they will hopefully be doing things that have never been seen before," one of the project coordinators, Ana Coyne Alonso, told IRIN in Kabul.

There was a rigorous procedure in selecting the students, based on the answers they gave in a questionnaire. "We asked them what they could tell us about photography, literature or arts, which showed a lot about them," she said, adding that potential candidates were also quizzed on what freedom of the press meant to them and why they wanted to be photojournalists.

"The ones we took were the most unique," she added, pointing out that the educational levels between men and women on application forms were astounding, as females had been so deprived of opportunities in Afghanistan for so many years. "Those who had the desire, were persistent and got through the roadblocks, [they] were the ones who got through," she said.

One of the lucky ones was a young Tae Kwon Do martial arts champion in Afghanistan. "He came in to see us and brought all of his medals and showed a lot of enthusiasm, saying this was his dream job. We think he'd be a great candidate for sports journalism," Alonso said.

The photojournalists will have opportunities to work on publications being produced at the media centre, as well as in other areas. One of the camerawomen has already been asked to work for the United Nations Children's Fund part-time to help produce videos. "Part of our whole structure is to get them connected to others, because there are no real trained Afghan photographers," she observed.

Although the project is up and running, it too is short of funding and resources. It is funded by the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, but there is still a shortfall of $45,000. "We only have funding for nine months, so we need to raise the extra in order for the course to be completed," Milesi said. Alonso stressed that the project was in urgent need of used cameras, computers and any other equipment that could be spared. "We need continued support from the outside world too."

CNN effect

18 Oct 2002
"CNN effect" is not clear-cut

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aid agencies often complain about the role of the media in mobilising the public’s response to crises. Fred Cate, professor of law at Indiana University School of Law, argues that agencies also help to distort the public image of humanitarian emergencies. This article originally appeared in the summer issue of Humanitarian Affairs Review.

Observers often argue that public support for foreign relief activities is directly in proportion to the amount of media coverage given to specific emergencies. These days, few humanitarian crises seem to produce a public response unless they have first attracted the attention of the press and television - the so-called "CNN effect".

Bernard Kouchner -- a former health minister of France and first U.N. governor of Kosovo from June 1999 until January 2001 -- has been quoted as saying: "Where there is no camera, there is no humanitarian intervention."

But leaders in the international humanitarian relief community often bemoan the perceived power of the press. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has referred to CNN as the "sixteenth member of the Security Council."

He said: "The member states never take action on a problem unless the media take up the case. When the media gets involved, public opinion is aroused. Public emotion is so intense that United Nations work is undermined and constructive statesmanship is almost impossible."

Images of human suffering can also desensitise audiences. As Marshall McLuhan commented more than 30 years ago, "The price of eternal vigilance is indifference."

This seems especially true in the context of humanitarian crises, where most people lack a framework in which to place stark images of suffering, death, and destruction.

The flood of these images not only desensitises the public, it can also distort policymakers’ perceptions of humanitarian crises and their causes.

One problem is that the press focuses on "news" events, not on issues or slow-developing processes.

News is composed largely of negative stories, particularly when it concerns developing countries; the Third World and Environment Broadcasting Project reports that two-thirds of mainstream international news coverage is now concentrated on conflicts and disasters.

What’s more, the media sometimes uses dramatic images to attract an audience, whether or not they are relevant to the story.

To save money, Western press organisations have closed foreign bureaus and have reduced coverage of non-Western news by 75% or more over the past three decades.

As a result, the public in many Western countries is astonishingly ignorant about life in other parts of the world, particularly about the causes of humanitarian emergencies and the practical tools for preventing and mitigating them.

Complicity of relief organisations

However, the media is not the only cause of these problems. Increasingly, relief organisations find themselves competing between themselves or with others for public support.

Motivated by the best of intentions, they fight for the attention of the press and of the public, believing that it will make the difference between life and death for the people they serve.

Relief organisations, therefore, have a considerable incentive to stress negative news about developing countries.

They too use eye-catching photos revealing suffering, focus on single, dramatic events, like disasters and wars and suggest simplistic and often unrealistic solutions.

They may also exaggerate the role of Western aid and overlook the importance of indigenous relief efforts.

The relief community has already taken steps to combat these communications problems, but more can be done.

First of all, it is important to recognise that the so-called "CNN effect" is not as clear-cut as many people think.

This is not to suggest that the press is not powerful, but rather that the relationship between press coverage and humanitarian relief activities is complex and the power of media images to motivate action has been exaggerated.

For example, many government and public activities attributed to press coverage were in fact underway well before media images were published.

There are also numerous examples where news reports and dramatic stories have not resulted in humanitarian intervention.

Codes of conduct

Humanitarian relief organisations also need to adopt standards for handling communications with the public and the press.

Some of the larger agencies have already done this. In 1994, six of the world’s largest humanitarian groups joined with the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to adopt a code of conduct.

Under this code, adherents agree to recognise disaster victims as "dignified human beings, not hopeless objects" in their information, publicity and advertising activities.

InterAction, a membership association of US relief organisations, also requires its members to "respect the dignity, values, history, religion, and culture of the people served by the programmes and neither minimise nor overstate the human and material needs of those whom it assists.

Save the Children UK says: "The images and text used in all communications must be accurate and should avoid stereotypes and clichés. Wherever possible, the views and experiences of the people involved should be communicated."

Many relief organisations have now made their communications strategies public. But it is also important to develop working relationships with the press before humanitarian emergencies and maintain them afterwards in an effort to draw attention to broader issues.

Most importantly, information supplied to the press needs to be reliable and not overstate the scope of humanitarian crises.

Relief organisations should also evaluate media coverage for accuracy, quality, completeness, timeliness, and professionalism.

They should recognise good coverage and correct inaccuracies through direct contact with the media.

To raise awareness about media coverage, since 1998 Médecins sans Frontières has issued an annual "'Top Ten’ List of the Year’s Most Under-Reported Humanitarian Stories," which is often reported by the press.

These strategies are not a panacea, but they reflect the fact that just as the power of the press to prompt public and government responses to humanitarian emergencies is not as great as once thought, the capacity of relief organisations to misinform and to dull public attention is very considerable.

Fred H. Cate is a professor of law at the Indiana University School of Law and a senior policy advisor to the Hunton & Williams Centers for Information Policy Leadership. He is also a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of many publications on the media and emergencies.

Master on Children's Rights

The Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB/Switzerland) and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) have decided to launch a new international training programme on children's rights, the "Executive Master on Children's Rights", a part-time two-year postgraduate programme that combines residential teaching and distant learning. The overall objective of the Executive Master is to acquire extended and specialised knowledge on children’s rights in their theoretical as well as in their practical dimensions by the introduction of various concepts, approaches and experiences.

The Executive Master is intended for professionals who work with children’s rights issues, such as lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, judges, social workers, government officials, staff of non-governmental organisations, academics and journalists. Admittance presupposes a fair amount of practical experience and basic knowledge of children’s rights issues.

The Programme's design allows participants to combine the work for this Executive Master with professional duties. The methodology used includes mandatory teaching modules and distant learning methods, such as the elaboration of an individual training programme, practical training and the preparation of a thesis. Each mandatory module of the Executive Master will consider a specific theme, including the following: Children's rights in context, international legal instruments on children's rights, the best interests of the child, exploitation of children, the child, subject of rights, juvenile justice, international adoption, illicit transfer and kidnapping of children and implementation and monitoring strategies.

The mandatory modules take place in Switzerland, alternately at IUKB in Sion/Bramois and at the University of Fribourg. The first mandatory module is scheduled from 7 to 12 April 2003. The tuition fee amounts to 9,000 CHF (app. 6,000 €/$), which does not include travel and living expenses.

UNICEF - MAGIC website

The new UNICEF website "MAGIC" is up and running!!!

It will be officially launched in November at the International Emmy
Awards, but it's live now and fully functional already.

MAGIC translates into "Media Activities and Good Ideas by, with and for Children".

There's a lot of background info on children/youth and the media on the
site and also sections for links, features and contacts.

Please take a look at the site - if you have any questions and/or would
like to be included with your youth media project, please let me know.

We hope to turn MAGIC into a truely interactive website where you can
showcase who you are and what you are doing in your countries and a site where you will find many, many good contacts and inspirations for your work.

Kyrgyzstan - Focus on children's media

KYRGYZSTAN: Focus on children's media
KYRGYZSTAN: Focus on children's media


[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]


© CMC

Many children have benefited from the centre

BISHKEK, 16 Oct 2002 (IRIN) - "It is the best opportunity we have to express ourselves," says Rustam Abykeev, a 17-year-old student-cum-journalist at the Children’s Media Centre (CMC) in the capital, Bishkek. "There are no other press outlets that deal with children’s issues and problems," adds his 15-year-old colleague, Anne Donenko. "[Through our reporting] we let other children see they are not alone."

The CMC is the brain-child of Galina Gaparova, a determined woman who had previously been running a children's’ literature shop, where children wrote and illustrated their own high-quality books. Her life dream, she told IRIN, was always to "open my own children’s publishing house. [Starting and leading the CMC] is the total result of all of my dreams and work."

The CMC currently has about 50 students, and anyone is welcome to join. It is a self-selecting group, says Gaparova, and while no one is ever required to be present, students often spend more than 20 hours a week there. All the children come from the Bishkek area, and usually stay at the CMC until they reach college age.

International sponsorship

Initially sponsored by the UK charity Save the Children in 1999, the CMC was established to help get Kyrgyzstan’s young people involved in journalism. "All we had was enthusiasm and nothing else," says Gaparova. "We had no idea what would happen."

The CMC soon attracted the attention of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which had been working with CNN to develop student bureaus in seven countries around the globe. I regarded the CMC as a great candidate for this programme, which aims to ensure that children can express their views and access information in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Today, the CMC’s primarily 12- to 19-year-old students publish a bi-monthly magazine and produce video stories for both domestic and international audiences.

Becoming a CNN Student Bureau significantly changed the CMC, both in terms of available resources and international exposure. The centre now houses some of the most modern video equipment in Bishkek, and the children have received training from CNN and Internews, an international NGO working to foster independent media in emerging democracies. This training is self-perpetuating, and peer-to-peer education is now a large part of the CMC's functions.

Learning essential skills

The children generally come to the centre at least twice a week, and are all responsible for developing their individual monthly work-plans at the beginning of each month. While there are few formal journalism lessons, the children often seek advice from fellow students and there is always a passing down of knowledge from the older to the younger generation.

Bektour Sydykov, a 17-year-old university freshman who has been at the CMC for 10 months, says that the most important things he learned at the centre had been "how to write and structure articles and how to write a scenario for a TV story". "Before CMC," he said, "I didn't know what it was like to be a reporter. I didn't even know how to get an interview or shoot a video."

Abykeev also says that the CMC has given him lots of practical experience in being a journalist. "Although there are some journalism programmes at Bishkek universities," he says, "there is very little hands-on training there." Seventeen-year old Anton Efromev agrees, saying that "the CMC is the only place I know where one can be taught how to use a camera."

"The idea," says Marianne Ohlers, the assistant project officer at UNICEF responsible for the CMC, "is to help young kids get the skills to become good journalists. In the beginning, it was difficult for the kids to find and put together a good story, but they have learned well."

A bi-monthly magazine

The CMC’s bi-monthly magazine called "Skyscraper" is the most visible example of this. Funded by the Democratic Committee of the US embassy, and distributed free of charge throughout Bishkek, according to Gaparova, it is "the only magazine in Kyrgyzstan that is written and produced by kids".

Adults make up a significant portion of "Skyscraper’s" readership. Gaparova says she welcomes this, because the mainstream media generally portray Kyrgyz youth in a negative way, which gives many adults a bad opinion of the next generation. "Most of the youth-targeted programmes on TV right now deal only with pop music," explains Donenko. "At the centre, we only write articles about our feelings and our thoughts."

Becoming journalists

Their involvement in the issues of the day have brought many of the students face to face with the dangers, influence, and vulnerabilities of being a journalist. Sydykov told IRIN that his team was threatened and chased while it was writing a story on child workers. "We were all very frightened," he says. "This was the first time that I realised how dangerous it is to be a journalist."

Sixteen-year old Chengiz Narynov told IRIN that what he really appreciated about the centre was the fact that he could express himself there. "Compared with America," he said, "the right of people to express their opinions in Kyrgyzstan is very limited. The CMC allows me to help create the kind of society that I want in my life."

Nuriya Djunushbekova, the 27-year-old coordinator of the CMC’s CNN Student Bureau said that in the course of researching a story, she and her team visited a home for orphans and abandoned children in an age range of up to four years. She and her colleagues were so touched, she said, that the team now goes to the home once a week just to visit the children. She has also recently participated in a conference to help these children, and organised a campaign to secure donations of warm clothing for the youngsters ahead of the winter months.

"This highlights the difference between the adults' and the children's media," Gaparova observed. Adults just want to produce the news, while many child-journalists want to help find solutions to the problems they are reporting on."

Teaching the UN Convention on children’s rights is also an important facet of the CMC. Ohlers says one of the centre’s goals is to help raise the level of social responsibility in young people to enable them to embark on highlighting the plight of children in Kyrgyzstan.

In support of this, CMC students have several classes a month on the social, civil, political, and economic rights of minors. Everyone who wants to be part of the CMC must get training on the main principles of the Convention, according to Gaparova. CMC students have been asked by several local high schools to pass this training on to their children as well.

Challenges ahead

The CMC faces several challenges, one of which is its seemingly constant efforts to get its programmes broadcast. KTR, Kyrgyzstan’s state-run television channel, for example, has just recently begun to donate the twice-monthly airtime to the centre that it had promised several months ago. After initially approaching the CMC about producing a series of 25-minute programmes, the channel then demanded payment to broadcast them. Once the programmes finally got on the air, Djunushbekova told IRIN that the centre had received many calls from children wanting to join the CMC or to just offer congratulations.

Getting its stories broadcast on CNN has also been a challenge for the CMC. Competition is fierce, and CNN Student News in Atlanta has accepted fewer than five of the CMC’s submissions. One observer told IRIN she believed the major structural changes currently taking place at CNN had impacted the student bureau project, perhaps leading the network to refocus its efforts.

UNICEF’s Ohlers is very optimistic about the CMC’s future. One way the CMC can continue to make an impact in Kyrgyzstan, she says, would be to shift its focus more towards developing programmes for state TV. One mark of success, she says, "would be for the CMC to produce quality shows that concern young children for a nationally televised regular TV programme".

Welcome to this sample issue of "What young people are saying", Voices of Youth's bi-monthly newsletter available at http://www.unicef.org/voy/news/.

Since 1995, Voices of Youth has provided over 20,000 young people from 180 countries the opportunity
to explore, discuss and take action on complex human rights and
development issues.

"What Young People Are Saying" (http://www.unicef.org/voy/news/) represents an effort to spread the voices of youth around the world,
create links between the concerns of young people and current programming
efforts, and ensure decision makers and policy planners hear what young
people have to say.

Every two months "What Young People Are Saying" (http://www.unicef.org/voy/news/) proposes to provide a comprehensive synopsis of young people's thoughts,
reflections and suggestions for action on a particular issue.

The content for the newsletter will be derived directly from the on-line
discussion boards or live chats that Voices of Youth hosts. All messages posted by young people on a given topic on Voices of Youth will be read, sorted, grouped by theme and summarised.

In order to accurately convey the thoughts and recommendations of young
people, as well as provide you updates on Voices of Youth initiatives, "What Young People Are Saying"
(http://www.unicef.org/voy/news/) will compile the following on a bi-monthly basis:

Easy to navigate and prioritised summaries of young people's concerns
Relevant quotations from young people
Suggested action points put forth by young people
Brief overviews of past and upcoming events on Voices of Youth

This month, "What Young People Are Saying" (http://www.unicef.org/voy/news/) is dedicated to The Girl Child and Gender Inequality.

We hope that you will find this newsletter helpful and useful to your
current efforts to create A World Fit for Children, and would greatly
appreciate any comments or suggestions you might have to better tailor
this newsletter to your needs.

Please also take the time to visit Voices of Youth (http://www.unicef.org/voy/) and check out our upcoming new homepage!! Soon all the content and
discussion boards on Voices of Youth will be accessible from one easily navigated page.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Advertising | Disney radio aims to cash in on pester power

Disney radio aims to cash in on pester power

Julia Day
Wednesday October 16, 2002


Capital Disney

Walt Disney is abandoning the "no advertising" pledge that governs its UK television channel for a new radio station aimed at the nation's children.

The company will launch the digital station in a joint venture with Capital Radio tomorrow and plans to advertise to the under-16s through mobile phones and computers.

Capital Disney is the first radio station dedicated to children and hopes to cash in on youngsters' love of pop music and cartoons.

There may even be room for more cerebral fare. BBC Radio 4's eight-hour Harry Potter broadcast on Boxing Day last year attracted an audience of 1 million children but programming tailored to their tastes is rarely broadcast.

Studies have shown UK children receive pocket money worth £1bn in total each year.

Parents splash out a further £4bn for non-essential items, such as trainers and CDs, for their children.

A main commercial feature of Capital Disney will be a website enabling children to get involved with the shows and play games.

The site is expected to add to parents' worries by increasing "pester power". The website, which will tell children to "start saving that pocket money now", will showcase expensive toys and provide links to other sites where they can be bought online.

For instance, the "Inspect A Gadget" area features a £199 Nikko camera car and links to the Firebox site where it can be bought.

Capital Disney will pump out a mix of chart music, competitions, games and speech-based programmes focusing on entertainment, news, sport and technology.

Paul Robinson, the managing director of Disney UK branded television, said: "Capital's expertise and Disney's knowledge of UK children's tastes will help build a radio station that is completely different to the existing commercial and BBC services."

TV presenters from the Disney Channel will host the key breakfast, after-school and evening shows on the radio station.

Capital Disney will have a potential audience of 25 million listeners.

It will broadcast on Capital's Cube digital radio stations in five regions including London, the west Midlands and the North-east.

Although there are only 70,000 digital radio sets in use in the UK, Capital and Disney are hoping their new venture will bring more listeners to the medium.

AOL Time Warner ex-chief Levin heralds 'digital evolution'

AOL Time Warner ex-chief Levin heralds 'digital evolution'
Steve Alexander
Star Tribune

Published Oct 16, 2002 AOL16

Gerald Levin, who has credentials as a futurist and a corporate executive, says consumers can look forward to more convenience, choice and personal control as a result of a "digital evolution" that will bring them traditional news and entertainment in new ways.

Levin, the recently retired CEO of media mega-company AOL Time Warner, told a University of St. Thomas gathering at the Minneapolis Hilton on Tuesday that new forms of digital media -- the Internet, DVDs and video recorders that store TV and movies on computer disk drives -- will change the way people experience information.

The plethora of information and communication available on the Internet "is altering lifestyle patterns not only in the U.S., but globally," Levin said. Nowhere is that more evident than in the music industry, where corporations struggle to use the Internet for marketing while some consumers trade music for free, he said. But he predicted those problems will be ironed out.

One of the Internet's biggest flaws is that much of the information it provides hasn't been checked for accuracy, Levin said. An Internet search engine can find what you seek but "doesn't tell you what's been verified," he said.

DVDs have fundamentally changed the way people watch movies, because filmmakers can include scenes that might have been cut from the original movie. This essentially means the film is never really finished, because additional material can be added when the movie is issued on DVD, he said. "Artistically that's very important."

Personal video recorders, which automatically record programs for later viewing, take programming decisions out of the hands of TV networks and put consumers in control, Levin said. Consumers can watch what they want, when they want, and skip the commercials with ease if they choose. "A central source does not decide what they can have," Levin said.

If anybody knows how the future of media can change, it's Levin, who said he grew up in a corporate culture -- the company that grew by merger to become Time Warner -- that rewarded "being young and foolish and early" to try new things.

Known as a pioneer in the growth of the HBO premium cable TV channel, Levin helped engineer the $106.2 billion acquisition of old-media company Time Warner by new-media darling AOL. But soon after the acquisition was completed in January 2001, the deal no longer looked so good.

One reason, analysts say, is that the expected synergy between Time Warner's TV, film and magazine media and AOL's online information packaging never materialized. In addition, the dot-com bubble burst on Wall Street, lowering AOL's business prospects and advertising revenue. By January of this year, AOL Time Warner was forced to reduce its 2001 revenue projections by about $2 billion. By March, the growth of AOL's online subscriber base had slowed substantially.

Meanwhile, AOL Time Warner's stock price plummeted. Tuesday's closing price of $12.13 a share is 74 percent below the $47.23 per share the day the merger closed, Jan. 11, 2001.

Levin said it's too soon to tell whether the merger was successful, but he declined to say how long it would take.

Some analysts believe Levin's retirement was forced by a board of directors worried about the merger he'd created.

"Levin left under pressure because of the stock price," said David Lee Smith, a media analyst at RBC Capital Markets, a cousin of Minneapolis-based brokerage RBC Dain Rauscher. But he doesn't think the failed merger was Levin's fault. "Levin put that deal together in another era, before the dot-com crash. It would have been very difficult for anyone to see that bubble was going to burst before it actually did," Smith said.

AOL Time Warner's problems have continued in Levin's absence. The company faces investigations of AOL's accounting by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department.

Considering the troubles of AOL Time Warner, is Levin a good candidate to predict the future of the media?

Gary Arlen, president of the interactive service consulting firm Arlen Communications in Bethesda, Md., said that because of Levin's long Time Warner career, he retains his credentials as a media visionary.

"Right now it looks like he made a terrible mistake with AOL Time Warner. But I don't know that you can decide that so soon after the fact," Arlen said.

Added Smith: "I think he's as credible as almost anybody today. The media world is going to be subject to dramatic changes, and not everybody is going to be right all the time."

cooltech.iafrica.com | tech news Interactive TV is child's play

TELEVISION
Interactive TV is child's play
by Audrey Stuart
Posted Thu, 10 Oct 2002

If some of Europe's leading children's television channels are to be believed, kids are voting overwhelmingly with their fingers in favour of more interactive TV content.

The latest ventures by leading children's channels CBBC, Cartoon Networks and Nickelodeon in the interactive field have all been a resounding success, top industry executives told participants at a MIPCOM Junior session here.

This two-day event, preceding the main MIPCOM international audiovisual trade show, has become one of the most important in the field, attracting more than 430 buyers from 53 countries.

Supplementing the traditional telephone and web options with an interactive feature using the TV remote control works well, according to Nickelodeon UK's deputy managing director Paul Lindley. This was proven in his company's recent interactive TV (iTV) trials of adding programme-related voting options to favourite shows.

Cartoon Networks tells the same story. It is currently running several games online and on-screen, all related to kids programmes. Casey Howard, Vice-President and commercial director for Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Europe, said he believes that children's take-up in this area is driven by high scores, multiple-player games, simple and addictive design, and regular new launches.

But while latest industry statistics demonstrate that interactivity is a big winner with children from as young as three right up to experienced teen Gameboy users, parents might prove to be less keen to grant their offspring unlimited access to the new technology.

New sources of revenue is the name of the game for the industry players and that means someone at the other end - namely the parent - will have to cough up.

The cost to take part in kids' iTV sessions currently runs at about 0.33 euros a phone call on the commercial channels and much less on the BBC. As TV licences provide much of its revenue, the British public broadcaster is the only player not chasing large profits from remote involvement.

Many children's traditional programmes are already enhanced with interactive content. This ranges from encouraging phone-in voting through to pressing the red button on the zapper to gain access to a programme-related interactive session. Now that this type of enhanced content has proven to be successful, it is set to increase, along with so-called "stand-alone" iTV content, the MIPCOM Junior conference speakers believe.

Left to their own devices, the number of children plugging into interactive options - both stand-alone and existing programme enhancements - could escalate rapidly. Nickelodeon added a new Sabrina Magic Game format to its existing programme at the start of September. It pulled in one million users over just 25 days.

How fast the take-up of stand-alone interactive programmes and gaming develops is linked to how fast digital TV expands around Europe.

Why Europe? For once, the Continent is way ahead of both the USA and Asia in terms of interactive TV technology and applications.

The UK, the largest digital TV market in the world, is at the forefront of the drive. TV broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4, and cable and satellite operators such as Sky (which reaches six million households) and Flextech, have already aggressively rolled out enhancements across their schedules.

France has its Canal satellite and TPS channels, while Spain and Italy are also established digital markets. In Europe, Germany is the only large country absent from the digital arena.

The main aim of TV operators and programme producers is more to increase ratings and increase viewer loyalty rather than improve young participants' minds. "What's driving this is money," Ferhan Cook President of Mediaplay International told AFP.

CBBC's Greg Childs believes the network's introduction of games and inter active story areas for pre-school children could stimulate colour and number skills. But in his view, the opportunities are "not so much educational as empowerment."

Just what empowerment will result in, no one knows. But the kids TV specialists in Cannes were agreed that all children, from tiny tots to teenagers, would leap at the chance to take up the interactive opportunities.

Nickelodeon's Lindley summed up the industry's hopes for this new sector when he said, "Kids are smart, kids press buttons and kids use technology."

Parents, however, shouldn't despair. Although the big networks clearly want to push what they see as a huge potential source of new revenue, parental locks on the remote control are available!

AFP

MIPCOM headlines

ZDF translating kids 'Out There'
Oct. 09, 2002

CANNES -- German pubcaster ZDF has acquired German-speaking rights to Sesame Workshop's coming-of-age drama "Out There" in a deal announced Tuesday at MIPCOM. Under the presale, ZDF gets exclusive television rights to the series for German-speaking Europe. "Out There," a co-production between Sesame, U.K. kids channel CBBC, Australia's ABC TV and U.S. channel Noggin, is targeted at kids 9-14 and examines the lives of four teenagers living around a veterinary clinic in the Australia outback. "Without being obtrusive, 'Out There' features the importance of fairness, getting involved and managing the daily ups and downs of being a teenager," said Susanne Mueller, head of children's programming at ZDF. "There is emotion, adventure and wildlife all set in the beautiful scenery of the Australian bush. We at ZDF see a lot of potential (for the series)." ZDF, CBBC, ABC TV and Noggin will screen "Out There" starting in 2004. (Scott Roxborough)

The Hollywood Reporter.com: International

Berlin festival taps Hailer to head kids film section
Oct. 15, 2002

COLOGNE, Germany -- Thomas Hailer will be the new director of the Kinderfilmfest (Children's Film Festival) section of the Berlin International Film Festival, organizers said Monday. Hailer will take over from longtime director Renate Zylla, who resigned in August, and will be joined by Maryanne Redpath, a Kinderfilmfest veteran, who becomes deputy director. The Berlin festival said Hailer's appointment would be accompanied by a number of changes to the festival sidebar that will see the Kinderfilmfest work more closely with the commercial kids film sector in Germany and with children's film producers worldwide. (Scott Roxborough)

Health Journalism

COURSE CONTENT program structure, classes and graduation requirements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The M.A. in Health Journalism requires a minimum of 32 semester credits, which can be completed within 12 calendar months, and a capstone project. All students must take a minimum of 16 credits in Journalism.

The program has two distinct, but overlapping, programs of study. Journalists gain advanced knowledge of public health, including health care systems, delivery of care, population health science, the environment, and the
reporting of scientific advances in research in a multimedia environment.


See descriptions of all courses.


Public health professionals gain advanced knowledge
in the field of journalism, emphasizing reporting and communication skills in a multimedia environment.

Professional journalists
The core course requirements include:
PubH 5020, Fundamentals of Social and Behavioral Science (3 cr) description
PubH 5320, Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 cr) description
PubH 5414, Biostatistical Methods I (3 cr) description
PubH 5420, Introduction to SAS Programming (1 cr) description
And one of the following:
PubH 5200, Environmental Health (2 cr) description
Pub H 5201, Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health (2 cr) description

Public health professionals
The core course requirements include:
Jour 5004, Information for Mass Communication (3 cr) description
Jour 5101, Advanced News Reporting and Writing (3 cr) description
Jour 5102, Visual Communication (3 cr) description
Jour 5771, Media Ethics: Principles and Practice (3 cr) description

To integrate and link the training and experience of professional journalists and public health communicators, all students take:
Jour 5541, Mass Communication and Public Health (2 cr) description
Jour 8191, Proseminar in Health Journalism (4 cr) description / syllabus
Jour 8192, Proseminar in Advanced Health Journalism (4 cr) description
Jour 8193, Information Technology and Health (2 cr) description / syllabus
Four credits of elective courses from approved elective list
Capstone Course (4 cr)

The capstone course requires each student to prepare and publicly present a final project, in consultation with the student’s academic adviser and at least one faculty member outside the adviser’s academic unit. Acceptable formats for the final project include a publishable series, story, or article on an important health issue, an original research paper on an important dimension of health and communication, or a multimedia production on an important health issue or a problem aimed at a particular audience.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Sesame sans frontieres

Sesame sans frontieres

Where Big Bird goes, tolerance should follow. But finding a format to suit areas of conflict is not easy

Gary Younge
Monday October 14, 2002
The Guardian

In the beginning there was Big Bird, and children saw him and said he was good. And in one of those rare moments of inter-generational concord, parents saw him and said he was good too. And so it came to pass that Ernie, Bert, Mr Snuffleupagus and the other characters of Sesame Street were welcomed into liberal homes and hearts, first in America and then around the world.
Progressive parents who denied their boys access to toy guns and forbade their daughters Barbies, only to find their offspring escaping to friends' houses to play war and dress dolls, finally found a tool for ethical and educational child-rearing that worked. Unlike broccoli and piano lessons, here was one of those rare things that parents thought was good for their children and that their children actually enjoyed. Recently, however, even this simple relationship has been violated. In the past year Sesame Street has come under fire in the Middle East, been subject to intense criticism and scrutiny in the US Congress from rightwing republicans, and is struggling to make itself understood within the sectarian atmosphere of Northern Ireland.

A tragic indication that even the most noble attempts to inculcate children with the basic principles of universal humanism - that, whatever our differences, we are more alike than unalike -will founder against the rocks of deeply held prejudices of their parents. Proof, at the very simplest level, that while culture can confront prejudice, only changes in the material conditions that gave rise to it can ever eliminate the discrimination that feeds it.

If the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention claimed that no two countries that had a McDonald's had ever gone to war with each other, then this is the Sesame Street Theory of Conflict Resolution: that no two communities can claim peace unless a locally specific format of Sesame Street can be screened to their children.

It is, admittedly, a major claim for a children's programme, launched in America in 1969 with particular attention to disadvantaged pre-school children in urban areas. But its remit soon widened. It intertwined the effective teaching of basic literacy and numeracy with values, such as sharing and tolerance, which do not make their way to school league tables.

By dealing directly, yet sensitively, with issues like death and divorce, it encouraged emotional intelligence as an essential part of a child's education. By deliberately but unselfconsciously involving children of different races and abilities, it demonstrated that different did not mean worse and bigger did not necessarily mean better.

It soon went global and is now screened in more than 140 countries. Unlike McDonald's, here was one form of US cultural hegemony that liberals could embrace because it involved America exporting its best rather than its worst. Not the military, economic and political power that repels, but the diversity, humour, creativity, energy and optimism that attracts.

Even more so because, while they were anxious to preserve the integrity of the Sesame Street brand - two actors dressed as Ernie and Bert were arrested in the Netherlands last year because they did not have permission from the creators - they have not tried to impose uniformity on how the show might be tailored to local needs.

So in Egypt there is Khokha, the education-eager puppet who encourages girls to go to school; China has Xia Mei Zi, the assertive toddler who promotes self-esteem among girls; and the Russian version has Zeliboba, the ancient tree spirit who teaches children there is much to learn from Old Russia. Last month the South African version, Takalani Sesame, was introduced to Kami, a five-year-old orphan with HIV who lives with a foster mother.

As it has spread in influence so has it risen in stature. Last year the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, appeared on the show and said diplomats could learn a thing or two from its cast. In April one of its characters, Elmo, testified before legislators on Capitol Hill in favour of music teaching in schools. But as its friends have become more powerful so have its enemies. Plans to introduce a similar HIV character into the American version were dropped in August after republican politicians objected with the veiled threat of cutting the partially state-funded show.

But the Street's most thorny problem has been applying its format to areas of conflict. To discover why, we need look no further than Northern Ireland where they are looking to develop a local version. In a recent study, conducted by the University of Ulster, children were shown pictures and objects relating to different communities and asked what they thought of them.

The results were staggering. Almost two-thirds of three-year-old Catholics preferred the Irish flag, while 59% of Protestants preferred the Union Jack. One four-year-old Catholic girl said: "I like the people who are ours. I don't like those ones because they are Orangemen. They're bad people." A Protestant girl of the same age said: "Catholics are the same as masked men. They smash windows." Little wonder then that Sesame Street, which is aimed at precisely that age group, is having trouble setting up there. "It won't be easy. The issues [in Northern Ireland] are extremely complex and we don't pretend to have all the answers. It'll be about finding the right partners," says Gary Knell, the president and chief executive of Sesame Workshop.

For the sake of the region we must hope he succeeds. Research in the Middle East showed that the prejudicial attitudes of children who watched Sesame Street towards those on the other side of the divide softened. In 1993, in the warm glow of the Oslo accords, an Israeli-Palestinian co-production set up a joint venture to screen the show. But, an intifada, several suicide bombers and Israeli military incursions later, the name has been changed to "Sesame Stories" - the notion of a street in the region where people and puppets could mix freely was regarded as untenable, as has the notion that Arab and Israeli children might even become friends. With separate programmes to be made from now on, this illustrates how the show's success is contingent on the political context in which it is shaped.

"Children in Palestine today will not appreciate, understand, absorb and react in a positive way to the goals we want to accomplish," said the Palestinian executive producer, Daoud Kuttab, whose studio in Ramallah was damaged by Israeli soldiers. "You're telling them to be tolerant to Israelis when Israeli tanks are outside their homes."

The best thing parents who want their children to grow up with liberal values can do is make sure there is a liberal world for them to grow up in. Where progressive standards lead, Ernie, Bert and the rest of the crew are sure to follow.

http://www.emmys.com/foundation/education.htm

Educational Programs & Services

The Academy Foundation offers various programs for college students and professors, as well as informational opportunities for the telecommunications and general community.

The Student Internship Program offers thirty-one 8-week paid summer internships in 27 categories of telecommunications work. The program is a national competition and has been selected as one of the top ten internship programs of any kind in the U.S. by the Princeton Review's "America's Top Internships." All internships are served during the summer in the Los Angeles area and each intern is mentored by a former intern.

The College Television Awards is a national competition which provides industry recognition for outstanding student-produced films and videos. The TV Academy Foundation awards cash prizes to the winners and Eastman Kodak gives additional product grants. The Bricker Family award of $4,000 is also given to one first-place winner which best represents a humanitarian concern. The Walter Lantz Foundation sponsors two animation awards as well as two animation internships. Winners are honored at a black-tie gala in Los Angeles each spring. A Festival of Winners takes place the day following the gala. Winners are mentored by television industry professionals.

In November, the TV Academy Foundation hosts a four-day faculty seminar for eighteen college professors selected from a nationwide search. The seminar offers panel discussions on production and post production focusing on prime-time telecommunications. The purpose is to expose college media teachers to aspects of the industry that can only be experienced in the Los Angeles area.

The Visiting Professionals Program provides colleges and universities nationwide with television professionals to do lectures, workshops and seminars on virtually every area of the television industry. The speakers are members of the Academy representing all 26 peer groups.

October-09-2002
MIPCOM Junior Final Press Release

10TH MIPCOM JUNIOR REACHES ALL-TIME HIGH IN NUMBER OF BUYERS

Underscoring the ever-growing demand for youth programming, 433 buyers of children’s programmes from 53 countries attended the two-day screenings event.

Animation remains the favourite category with the highest number of screenings.

Cannes, October 7th, 2002 – The largest contingent of children’s programme buyers ever registered in MIPCOM Junior’s 10-year history came to the two-day screenings event (October 5th - 6th, Palais des Festivals, Cannes). A total of 433 buyers - a 19.3% increase compared to last year’s 363 buyers - attended the event. At MIPCOM Junior 2000, 418 buyers attended the screenings.

Buyers from the American continent represent the largest increase in the overall number of buyers (+54.8% compared to last year), followed by the Asia Pacific region (+40.5%) and Africa/Middle East (+36.4%).

A total number of 685 programmes were presented at MIPCOM Junior (-8% compared to last year’s 758 programmes).

Programme buyers made 12,052 screenings, a 3.6% increase compared to last year’s 11,634 screenings. The most screened category was animation with 9,851 screenings (+5.88% compared to last year), followed by drama/fiction (893 screenings) and education (557). Animation also accounts for all of MIPCOM Junior’s 30 most screened titles (see attached list).

Most screened programmes include Decode Entertainment and Sunwoo Entertainment’s B-Bot Vs The Alien Posse with 79 screenings, followed by Decode’s Franny’s Feet (75 screenings), Millimages UK’s Fire Quest (72), and Alphanim’s Creepschool (71).

In total 166 seller companies, 192 buyer companies and an overall number of 685 participants from 53 countries attended MIPCOM Junior 2002.

The 10 most represented countries by company are:



COUNTRY NUMBER OF COMPANIES

UNITED KINGDOM 54
USA 48
FRANCE 46
CANADA 29
SPAIN 26
GERMANY 26
NETHERLANDS 14
JAPAN 14
ITALY 11
AUSTRALIA 26



Programmes screened and category:


7/10/2002-JUNIOR

GENDER PROGRAMMES SCREENINGS
ANIMATION 494 9851
DOCUMENTARY 23 262
EDUCATIONAL 58 557
FEATURE FILMS 18 128
FICTION 67 893
GAMES 7 62
MUSIC/ART/CULTURE 9 82
SPORT 3 32
TOTAL 695 12052


Top 30 Most Screened programmes


NAME OF THE PROGRAMME COMPANY PROGRAMME COUNTRY SCREENINGS

B-Boot VS The Alien Posse Decode Entertainment Canada 79
B-Boot VS The Alien Posse Sunwoo Entertainment USA 75
Franny's Feet Decode Entertainment INC. Canada 72
Fire Quest Millimages UK United Kingdom 72
Creepschool Alphanim France 71
The Fairytaler Egmont Imagination United Kingdom 68
Corneil & Bernie Millimages UK United Kingdom 67
Seriously Weird Cine Groupe Canada 63
Seriously Weird Granada International United Kingdom 63
Girl Stuff, Boy Stuff Decode Entertainment Canada 63
Clone High Nelvana International Ltd France 61
Bob Screen The Defective Detective Digital Salad France 60
Cooking?...Child's Play Alphanim France 60
Little King Macius Universal Studios TV Distribution United Kingdom 59
A Cow a Cat and the Ocean Futurikon France 58
Something Else TV-Loonland United Kingdom 58
Dr Dog France Animation France 57
The Disgusting World of Horace Grossman Sunwoo Entertainment USA 57
The Crazy Barn Show TV Animation A/S Denmark 57
WereKids TV-Loonland United Kingdom 55
Bus Stop Pepper's Ghost Productions United Kingdom 53
The Bookoshkis Sunwoo Entertainment USA 53
The Invisible Man B.R.B Internacional Spain 53
Brick's & Brat's Carrere Group France 52
Gene Fusion Banjax United Kingdom 52
The Ark Nelvana International France 52
Piggley Winks Mike Young Productions INC USA 51
Tucker TV Loonland United Kingdom 51
Ebb and Flo The Canning Factory United Kingdom 50
The Ammazing Adrenalini Brothers Egmont Imagination United Kingdom 50
Berenstain Bears Nelvana International France 49
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron?Boy Genius Nickelodeon/MTV USA 49

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Wir erwarten von Ihnen Online-Affinität, Schreiberfahrung und Grundkenntnisse der Programme Dreamweaver und Photoshop (oder vergleichbare) und freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung.
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E-Mail: witschke@welt.de

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Big Bird heads for Belfast

Big Bird heads for Belfast

Jason Deans
Wednesday October 9, 2002


Sesame Street

The makers of Sesame Street are planning a Belfast-based version of the long running children's show to promote understanding and tolerance between the rival communities in Northern Ireland.

Sesame Workshop wants to team up with a UK broadcaster to develop a local version of the show.

It would be set in a fictional Belfast street, be written and produced in the city and feature Sesame Street's trademark mix of Muppets such as Big Bird and the Cookie Monster, live action inserts and educational material.

"A version of Sesame Street for Northern Ireland is still very much on our radar," Gary Knell, the president and chief executive of Sesame Workshop, told the C21media.net website at the Mipcom TV market in Cannes.

"It won't be easy. The issues are extremely complex and we don't pretend we have all the answers. It'll be about finding the right partners," Mr Knell said.

Localised versions of Sesame Street are already on air in South Africa, where Sesame Workshop is trying to help educate children about the dangers of Aids by featuring a HIV-positive Muppet.

Other versions of the show are broadcast in the Middle East, with special emphasis given to issues arising from the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"As has been proved in South Africa, Egypt, Israel and Palestine, we own a format and a technology that can inspire kids to treat others with respect and tolerance," Mr Knell said.

"We recently held a Sesame Street workshop in Jerusalem and a lot of people from Belfast came along to see if they could learn from our experiences in the Middle East."

http://www.policy.lv/index.php?id=102467&lang=en

full report online as pdf in Latvian and English

Street children in Latvia: problems and solutions
Year of publication: 2002
Author: Inga Lukasinska, Soros Foundation-Latvia Public Policy Fellow
Organisation: Association for Street Children
Financed by: the Soros Foundation-Latvia, COLPI, LGI
Languages: Latvian, English


ABSTRACT

In Latvia the transition period has been a time of both economic and social tensions; it has created new problems and exacerbated existing ones. One of the new problems, which appeared in Latvia without warning, is the problem of street children. Although Latvia's laws protect the rights of all children, they have proved inadequate for dealing with the problem of street children. The question is whether this situation can be changed in a way that is financially and administratively feasible.

This study shows that it is possible and takes a look at the strategic questions that should receive attention if the existing system for protection of children's rights is to work well enough to cope with the problem of street children.

The study:

analyses the causes and effects of the street children phenomenon;
defines the term "street children" and explains the adopted approach;
outlines the difficulties connected with registering the exact number of street children and assesses future prospects for obtaining regular data;
examines current policy on protection of children's rights and evaluates measures
taken at a state and local government level to cope with the street children problem;
makes recommendations based on case studies carried out in various Latvian cities.
The study also includes a number of specific proposals, concerning:

the term "street children";
statistics on street children;
municipal child and family support councils.

http://www.ifa.de/f/f1/df1mitar.htm

MEDIENASSISTENT/IN
(Polen, Russland, Litauen und Kasachstan)

Die Medienassistenten/innen unterstützen deutschsprachige Zeitungsredaktionen in ihrer täglichen Arbeit. Das Aufgabengebiet umfasst das Redigieren von Texten, und die Recherche für eigene Beiträge.

Einsatzorte:
Polen: Schlesisches Wochenblatt, Opole
Russland: Moskauer Deutsche Zeitung, Moskau; Zeitung für Dich, Slawgorod; St. Petersburgische Zeitung, St. Petersburg; Wolgazeitung, Saratow; Ihre Zeitung, Asowo
Litauen: Baltische Rundschau, Vilnius
Kasachstan: Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Almaty
Tschechische Republik: Landeszeitung, Prag

Voraussetzungen:
Journalistikstudium oder praktische journalistische Erfahrungen
Deutsch als Muttersprache
Sprachkenntnisse des Einsatzlandes
Kenntnisse der Situation der deutschen Minderheit im Einsatzland
Alter max. 35 Jahre

GRANT-MAKERS

Allavida's Charity Know How (CKH) Grants Programme
The programme provides small grants (up to ¸15,000) for cross-border
skill-sharing partnerships among NGOs based in CEE and NIS. Deadlines: Feb
26; Aug 27.
E-mail: enquiries@allavida.org.
http://www.allavida.org/charityknowhow/kh_grantsprog.cfm


Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI)
Awards resident Fellowships for intensive legal research, analysis, and
writing.
http://www.abanet.org - Search for grants


Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation makes grants in the United States and
selected regions internationally. Organizations seeking funding are
encouraged to view its grants guidelines in detail.
http://www.mott.org


Civil Society International
E-mail lists and websites that provide information on various grant
possibilities.
http://www.civilsoc..org//elctrnic/e-fnd.htm


EastChance
Links to grants in CEE countries.
http://www.eastchance.com/anunt-index.asp?cl=cee&datab=sch


Eurasia Foundation
A privately managed grant-making organization dedicated to funding
programs that build democratic and free market institutions in the twelve
New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.
http://www.eurasia.org/grant.html


The Free University of Brussels
human rights network
The new site dedicates itself to human rights scholarship to include
theoretical perspectives, different rights and liberties, guarantees and
protections of human rights, and other special topics that have an impact
on human rights. Specialists in any particular area of human rights are
invited to submit papers for publication on the site. Browse online for
human rights perspectives in a range of topics.
http://www.hrni.org


Ford Foundation
Grants database and information about procedures and deadlines.
http://www.fordfound.org


Foundation Center
Links and books to find funders.
http://fdncenter.org


German Marshall Fund
"The German Marshall Fund of the United States is an American institution
that stimulates the exchange of ideas and promotes
cooperation between the United States and Europe in the spirit of the
postwar Marshall Plan."
http://www.gmfus.org


IREX
Links to grants for scholars and professionals from Eastern and Central
Europe, USA, the New Independent States and Asia.
http://www.irex.org/grants/index.htm


National Endowment for Democracy.
Grants for NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe, and the NIS.
http://www.ned.org/grants/grants.html


Open Society Foundations
Grants within the Soros foundations network.
http://www.soros.org/natfound.html


Research Support Scheme
"RSS grants are intended to help researchers who wish to devote their time
to research carried out in their home countries (with some travel abroad
if necessary to the research and previously approved by RSS). A grant
should therefore be seen as financial support given for the time spent on
the contracted research."
http://www.rss.cz


Sasakawa Peace Foundation
The Japanese foundation provides grants among others in the Central and
East European region.
http://www.spf.org/spf_e/englishpage.html


U.S. Department of Commerce SABIT (Special American Business Internship Training) Program
The program offers grants to U.S. businesses and non-profit organizations,
as well as internships for business executives and scientists from the NIS
to participate in innovation and management training programs.
Tel: 1.202.482.0073. E-mail: tracy_theisen@ita.doc.gov
http://www.mac.doc.gov


Worldwide Guide to Funders' Websites on the Internet
This CD ROM enables charitable organizations and other nonprofits to
identify new sources of funding. It gives access to nearly 3,000
grantmakers' websites from 51 countries. The English sites include
foundations, trusts, companies, and government and other publicly funded
grantmakers. David Wickert Chapel & York Limited
Tel: 44.1.342.836787 E-mail: david.wickert@chapel-york.com
http:// www.chapel-york.com

> ----------------------------------------
> INTERNEWS RUSSIA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS JOURNALISM SCHOOL
> ---------------------------------------
> Internews Russia is now accepting applications from regional TV
> journalists interested in participating in the next session of its
> ""School of Journalism,"" scheduled to take place from November
> 25 to December 21 in Moscow.
>
> Internews has been training broadcast journalists at its school
> since the spring of 1996. Participants attend classes on several
> topics during the program, including theory and practice of TV
> journalism, journalism ethics, legal aspects of journalism, how
> to work with an author's text and read it on the air, research,
> video recording, editing, and montage. Students receive a
> diploma upon successful completion of the four-week program.
>
> The school is offered to regional journalists at no cost, and
> participants are chosen competitively. Applicants must submit
> to Internews a videocassette sample of their work, a brief
> description of themselves and their work, and a completed
> application form (available online at
> http://www.internews.ru/internews/school/november2002.zip ).
>
> All application materials must be received at Internews no later than
> November 7. School organizers ask applicants to send the materials
> as soon as possible or via commercial mail, as regular mail is often
> unreliable. Selected participants will be notified by letter on
> November 18. The results will also be posted on the Internews Web
> site at http://www.internews.ru
>
> For more information on the upcoming session of the Internews-
> Russia School of Journalism, contact Sergei Palko at Internews Russia,
> 119019 Moscow, Russia, 8a Nikitsky Boulevard, Tsentralny Dom
> Zhurnalista. Tel: (7-095) 956-22-48. Fax: (7-095)291-21-74. E-mail:
> palko@internews.ru. Or visit the Internews Web site at
> http://www.internews.ru/internews/school/november2002.html
> -----------------------------------

Grants offered to report on cross- Mediterranean cultural issues

Journalists from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are invited to
send proposals to the European Culture Foundation (ECF) for projects
involving travel to the other side of the Mediterranean to cover a
cultural event or issue.
ECF sees this program as an opportunity to enrich and broaden
cross-Mediterranean dialogue by reporting on culture as a catalyst for
deeper, mutual understanding. The foundation is an independent, non-profit
organization, based in Amsterdam, which promotes cultural participation
and cooperation in Europe and beyond its borders.
The project, called Mediterranean Meeting Points (MMP Media), invites
media professionals to propose a journalistic project in which they would
cross the Mediterranean to investigate and report on an important or
revealing cultural event or issue. Coverage of this event through an
article, photograph or broadcast should give a fresh insight into
Mediterranean arts and culture, while facilitating a wider understanding
of North- South realities.
Print journalists, photojournalists, cartoonists, radio and TV producers
and new media reporters from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and
Turkey are all eligible for support. All applicants must have an interest
in cross-Mediterranean issues, experience reporting on cultural and social
issues and a regular professional contract with an established media
outlet from the specified region. Freelance journalists who can guarantee
the publication of their article or project are also welcome to apply.
MMP Media has set an ongoing call for proposals. Proposals can be sent at
any time, but must reach the European Cultural Foundation at least eight
weeks before the starting date of a proposed project, and preferably
earlier when visas are required. Applicants will be informed of the
assessment team's decision within five weeks of the project starting date.

Mass Media for a Minority

Mass Media for a Minority
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 September 2002
As it tries to find its own voice, Budapest’s Romani radio station is caught between the mission of serving its audience and the necessity of attracting more advertisers.
by Doug Merlino

BUDAPEST, Hungary--It’s a little after 7 in the evening in the studio of Budapest’s Radio C, and Bela Ponczok is hunched over the microphone, a black cap pulled low on his forehead as he keeps up a steady banter with callers to his nightly request program.

“Hello Gypsies! What do you want to hear tonight?”

An excited young woman comes on the air and requests “Evil Hides in My Stick” by the Varadi Family, sending the song out to an exhaustive list of friends and relatives.

For the next hour and a half, a stream of listeners phones in with requests for songs by Hungarian Gypsy bands. The interactivity, along with Ponczok’s lively banter, make the show the most popular on Radio C, Hungary’s only radio station aimed directly at Romani listeners.

But while loved by many of Budapest’s 100,000 Roma, Ponczok’s show is also part of a controversy that has surrounded the station since it debuted for a month-long trial run in February 2001. At the time, Radio C--for Cigany, the Hungarian for “Gypsy”--was hailed as a major step forward for the Roma by the Hungarian government, the European Union, and international media such as the New York Times. But since taking to the airwaves permanently in October 2001, the station has been beset both by money problems and criticism from Romani leaders.

While station manager Gyorgy Kerenyi calls the existence of Radio C “a very big step in the emancipation of the Roma,” critics brand the station a lost opportunity: an unprofessional mess that perpetuates negative stereotypes.

“Radio C is not brave enough to give a voice to the Roma community,” says Jeno Zsigo, leader of the Hungarian Roma Parliament, an organization that provides legal aid to Roma and arranges cultural events.

As one of a growing number of media outlets in Central Europe and the Balkans broadcasting for and staffed by Roma--there are similar radio stations in Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, and Romani television stations in Belgrade and Sofia--Radio C’s rocky start shows how difficult it is to establish a media voice for a previously silent minority. With Hungary on the verge of joining the EU--which has identified the plight of the Roma as a key concern--many eyes are on Radio C.

WHOSE RADIO?

Frequent promotional spots on Radio C proclaim it “Our Radio”--especially for Budapest’s Roma. But since before the station went on the air, manager Kerenyi and much of Budapest’s Romani elite have clashed over how the station would best serve its audience.

“The whole editorial plan is set by Gyorgy Kerenyi,” says Aladar Horvath, leader of the Roma Civil Rights Foundation and member of the Hungarian parliament from 1990 to 1994. “This radio station is too important to be based on one person.”

Kerenyi is not a Roma, but has extensive experience in non-mainstream media. Since 1989, Kerenyi, 39, has helped run Hungary’s first alternative nightclub, worked at the country’s first pirate radio station and written for Hungary’s first post-communist alternative magazine. In 1997, he became editor of Amaro Drom, a nonprofit magazine on Romani issues.

Along with five others, Kerenyi sits on the board of owners that secured the station’s broadcast license last year. With a five-year contract, he can only be removed by a vote of all the other owners.

The board includes only two Roma. Some critics charge them with being too close to the center-right Fidesz (Alliance of Young Democrats) party that led Hungary’s coalition government when the station’s license was granted. They say Kerenyi sold out when he agreed to the makeup of the board.

Kerenyi insists that he is just trying to take the middle road, because, he says, creating a station to please all Roma “is absolutely impossible.” He adds, “I’m independent … Roma politicians want us to make propaganda for them.”

Others accuse the station of poor journalism.

“It is a silent radio,” says Szilvia Varro, a non-Roma journalist who helped found the station but left after differing with Kerenyi over editorial direction. “When we started, there was a goal that the news should focus on local Roma. Now, there is nothing, just news on Israel, Indonesia, the United States.”

Kerenyi agrees that the news reporting is not up to par, but faults inexperienced reporters and lack of time. “We are sometimes amateurs,” he says. “We do a lot of things by accident. We have no time to look really deep because we’re always running to solve problems.”

FIGHT THE POWER

While Radio C’s programming includes talk shows, a weekly Romani-language program, a legal aid show, hourly news reports, and a music mix of Gypsy, world, jazz, and hip-hop, Ponczok’s request program is by far the station’s most popular--and controversial.

Many callers send songs to people in jails, known in Hungary by the name of the street they’re located on. So a call dedicating a song to “My brother on Marko Street” is really for a relative in jail.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Roma leader Jeno Zsigo says. “It reinforces the stereotype that Roma are criminals. There are 2 million people in Budapest who can listen to the station and think that all Roma are in prison.”

Roma make up 60 percent of Hungary’s prison population, even though they account for only around 5 percent of the country’s total population of 10 million.

On the streets near Radio C, many Roma identify the request show as their favorite program and Ponczok as the station’s best DJ.

“My mother calls in almost every day to request a song for my brother,” says Aniko, 19, standing in a group of five young Roma. “Everybody calls in to request songs for their friends in prison. It’s the only reason why Radio C is good.”

Kerenyi defends the program. “We are not afraid of the image we show to gadjos--to white people,” he says. But he admits that callers are now discouraged from mentioning prisons on the air--a request that is often ignored. Now Kerenyi says he is thinking about reserving one day a week for prison requests.

“A lot of Roma are in prison,” he says. “It’s a fact. It’s a fact that could be used against the government, against the establishment, against the power.”

AN UNCERTAIN FINANCIAL FUTURE

On a recent Tuesday evening, Kerenyi sat on the corner of his desk squeezing homemade apple brandy from a plastic sports bottle into coffee mugs he then passed around, celebrating the receipt of a $36,000 grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation. The grant was a welcome infusion of cash for the station, which maintains a salaried staff of around 50, most of whom are Roma.

“We’ve got cash-flow problems,” Kerenyi says. Radio C operates on $35,000 a month and is about $100,000 in debt, according to Kerenyi. Most funding for the station comes from Western sources, especially George Soros’ Open Society Institute, which also backs other Romani media projects in the region.

“Mr. Soros doesn’t want to continue funding [Radio C] indefinitely,” says Brigitta Sandor, a program manager for the Soros Foundation in Budapest. “He’d like to force them to find an advertising community, to force them to survive on their own.”

Kerenyi says he wants half of the station’s income to come from advertising by its fourth year of operation. A few local businesses, such as pawnshops, now advertise on the station, but it has landed few big clients. Those include a mobile phone company, an Internet service provider and a recently signed contract with the Hungarian phone company.

“All those have come through personal connections,” says Antal Kote, a Romani manager at the station, referring to the corporate advertisers, all of whom run in the same left-wing circles as Kerenyi.

Zoltan Valcsicsak, a manager in Levi’s Hungarian operation, says it will be hard for Radio C to hit its advertising goals.

“At Hungarian companies, there is a fear that if I use Roma in my commercial, non-Roma will have a problem with it,” he says. “Companies don’t consider the Roma an important consumer group.”

IDENTITY CRISIS

Despite the bickering over the station’s management, Radio C has presented young Roma with opportunities to break into the media.

Ponczok, 21, met Kerenyi four years ago at a club for Romani high school students. For Ponczok, now a student at a catering school, Radio C’s training sessions and exposure offer a chance at a media career.

“He will be a star on commercial radio,” Kerenyi says, adding that he is trying to get Ponczok profiled in women’s magazines and on TV.

Other Roma, including reporters, technicians, talk-show hosts, and managers, also work at the station.

“This station is like a school,” says Andras Mata, a 25-year-old Romani reporter. “You’re getting a chance, but you don’t need a diploma or a special paper, only talent and interest.”

Ponczok says Radio C is a step forward for Roma.

“We feel comfortable having the radio station, we feel more self-confident. The fact that we have a radio station is an achievement,” he says.

But is it sufficient simply that the Roma have a radio station? And what should its goals be?

“It’s not enough,” says Krisztina Debre, 24, one of the few Roma reporters on mainstream Hungarian TV. “When they let it go this way, they accept this poorer treatment of Roma. Radio C must be more than simply a message that it exists.”

Kerenyi insists that his critics will be proved wrong.

“It’s a fantastic story what’s happening with the people here,” he says. “In the last year, I’ve watched these guys grow more confident.

“This radio, it’s an identity-building course for the Roma. They can listen and think, ‘We are in the mainstream now.’ There is Kossuth [Hungarian public radio], there is Juventus [a commercial top-40 station], there is Radio C. It’s so important that Roma not only get entertainment from this station, but that they get an identity from it.”
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Doug Merlino, a freelance journalist, is a former editor at the Budapest Business Journal.
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Media & Violence

About Student Voice

The International Student Voice conference first began in 1997 as a student media initiative and an outreach program of the Faculty of the Political Science of the University in Zagreb. Since then, it has provided news media training for over 500 students from more than 25 European countries thus becoming the largest annual meeting of young journalists in Europe. With the support of several foundations and organizations, such as International Center for Education of Journalists in Opatija, Student Voice has created the only regular student news media program in Central and Eastern Europe.

Student Voice conferences have been dealing with the most important questions of student journalism and journalism in general, providing essential journalism training and promoting understanding and cooperation among students from many countries, especially from South Eastern Europe. From the first conference in 1997 until today, Student Voice brought to Croatia a number of eminent journalists and experts who tackled numerous important issues such as: freedom of speech, propaganda and journalism, yellow in journalism etc. In its five-year tradition, the conference has managed to connect young journalists from all over the world. Together with the Associated Collegiate Press, the largest US student media organization that represents nearly 700 mediums, Student Voice established a bridge conference that enables European journalism students to participate in the biggest US National College Media Conventions.

Student Voice finds its biggest European partner in the Forum of European Journalism Students currently hosted by the Portuguese School of Journalism and includes almost all European schools of journalism through its publications and e-mail groups.

Student Voice 2000 and 2001

In 2000, about 130 young journalists gathered on the island of to Hvar discuss "Yellow in Journalism - Tabloids - Infotainment - Sensationalism". Panel sessions and numerous workshops were led by eminent experts such as John Ryan, former executive editor of The Guardian, Gabriella Cseh, media law expert with The Council of Europe, Boris Dežulovic, former editor of the most popular Croatian satirical weekly Feral Tribune and many others. The conference brought reports on sensationalism in science, politics and show business and presented the world of talk shows, paparazzi, glamour and scandals, edited stories and completely different kind of journalists who, as it appears, have been receiving more and more attention from the world audience.

In 2001 the conference tackled globalization as a phenomenon, its connection with the mass media and its positive and negative impacts to the region. Representatives from the BBC and Croatian media talked about how journalists must "think globally" when they report about news events; how news events in one country affect people living in other countries and how pop culture has turned the world into the global village. Sociologist Dražen Šimleša spoke about multinational companies and their tendency to maintain unfair social status quo. He was opposed by Majda Tafra from Coca - Cola. Hrvoje Hribar, Croatian movie director and Mirjana Krizmanic, psychologist, gave excellent presentations on the fear of small countries to lose their identity because of the globalization of popular culture. Several case studies were presented by active participants or journalists who were covering the Genoa meeting and antiglobalization movements.

Conference Structure

Four-day program includes group sessions and discussions which will take place in the morning, while afternoons are reserved for workshops in which participants will deal with practical questions of journalism, closely linked to the main topic.

Official language

English with simultaneous translation into Croatian.

Accommodation

The accommodation will be provided in the Amfora hotel, Hvar www.hvar.hr

Transfer to Hvar

All participants are expected to arrive in Split on October 9th /Wednesday/ where a Student Voice hydrofoil will wait to take them to the island of Hvar. The exact time of departure will be announced well in advance. If you will be arriving to Zagreb and do not have an option to organize your own transportation to Split, please contact us at the latest by the end od September

Application

The application form is attached and should be filled in and returned at the latest by September 25 by fax or e-mail. If you want to participate in the "Storyhunt" workshop, please sign up now because the number of participants for this group is very limited. If you need a visa to enter Croatia, you have to submit your application at the latest by September 15 so that we can send the invitation letter in time to have your visa issued.

Organizers

The Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb and Croatian Student Council, in cooperation with the Associated Collegiate Press - USA.

Island of Hvar

Called the "Croatian Madeira", Hvar is listed among the ten nicest spots on the Earth according to The Traveler and The New York Times. It is said to bathe in more sunshine than any other place in the region. The fine weather is so reliable that hotels give a discount on cloudy days and a free stay if you ever see snow. This peculiar Mediterranean island is luxuriantly green, with brilliant patches of lavender, rosemary and heather. For more check www.hvar.hr.

Contacts and mailing address:

Marijana Grbesa and Domagoj Bebic

Faculty of Political Science Lepusiceva 6 10 000 ZAGREB, Croatia

phone: +385 1 4826 942 or +385 1 4655 490

fax: +385 1 4826 941 or +385 1 4655 316

e-mail: mgrbesa@fpzg.hr; domagoj.bebic@fpzg.hr

Grants offered to report on cross- Mediterranean cultural issues

Journalists from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are invited to send proposals to the European Culture Foundation (ECF) for projects involving travel to the other side of the Mediterranean to cover a cultural event or issue.

ECF sees this program as an opportunity to enrich and broaden cross-Mediterranean dialogue by reporting on culture as a catalyst for deeper, mutual understanding. The foundation is an independent, non-profit organization, based in Amsterdam, which promotes cultural participation and cooperation in Europe and beyond its borders.

The project, called Mediterranean Meeting Points (MMP Media), invites media professionals to propose a journalistic project in which they would cross the Mediterranean to investigate and report on an important or revealing cultural event or issue. Coverage of this event through an article, photograph or broadcast should give a fresh insight into Mediterranean arts and culture, while facilitating a wider understanding of North- South realities.

Print journalists, photojournalists, cartoonists, radio and TV producers and new media reporters from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey are all eligible for support. All applicants must have an interest in cross-Mediterranean issues, experience reporting on cultural and social issues and a regular professional contract with an established media outlet from the specified region. Freelance journalists who can guarantee the publication of their article or project are also welcome to apply.

MMP Media has set an ongoing call for proposals. Proposals can be sent at any time, but must reach the European Cultural Foundation at least eight weeks before the starting date of a proposed project, and preferably earlier when visas are required. Applicants will be informed of the assessment team’s decision within five weeks of the project starting date. On average, MMP Media projects should last between four and 10 days. The maximum duration is two weeks

All MMP applicants must be able to guarantee the publication of their material through an agreement with their regular employer or media contact. Applications must be submitted in English or French. Work produced though MMP Media may be presented in the language used for publication or broadcast with a summary in English and French.

For more information, contact Vanessa Reed, grants officer at the European Cultural Foundation at Jan van Goyenkade 5, NL-1075 HN Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Telephone 31-20-676 02 22. Fax 31-20-676 02 31. E-mail vreed@eurocult.org. Web site: www.eurocult.org

INTERNEWS RUSSIA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS JOURNALISM SCHOOL

> Internews Russia is now accepting applications from regional TV
> journalists interested in participating in the next session of its
> ""School of Journalism,"" scheduled to take place from November
> 25 to December 21 in Moscow.
>
> Internews has been training broadcast journalists at its school
> since the spring of 1996. Participants attend classes on several
> topics during the program, including theory and practice of TV
> journalism, journalism ethics, legal aspects of journalism, how
> to work with an author's text and read it on the air, research,
> video recording, editing, and montage. Students receive a
> diploma upon successful completion of the four-week program.
>
> The school is offered to regional journalists at no cost, and
> participants are chosen competitively. Applicants must submit
> to Internews a videocassette sample of their work, a brief
> description of themselves and their work, and a completed
> application form (available online at
> http://www.internews.ru/internews/school/november2002.zip ).
>
> All application materials must be received at Internews no later than
> November 7. School organizers ask applicants to send the materials
> as soon as possible or via commercial mail, as regular mail is often
> unreliable. Selected participants will be notified by letter on
> November 18. The results will also be posted on the Internews Web
> site at http://www.internews.ru
>
> For more information on the upcoming session of the Internews-
> Russia School of Journalism, contact Sergei Palko at Internews Russia,
> 119019 Moscow, Russia, 8a Nikitsky Boulevard, Tsentralny Dom
> Zhurnalista. Tel: (7-095) 956-22-48. Fax: (7-095)291-21-74. E-mail:
> palko@internews.ru. Or visit the Internews Web site at
> http://www.internews.ru/internews/school/november2002.html
> -----------------------------------

Here's looking at a film festival, kid
Sunday, October 06, 2002

By MAIA DAVIS
Staff Writer


Stacy Janos is just 11, but she can already name her favorite film genre.

"I'm into comedy,'' the Paramus girl says.

Her friend, Yasemin Eriskin, also of Paramus, prefers romantic movies as long as they don't get too heated or mushy.

"If it's just an hour full of romance, I can't sit and watch that,'' 11-year-old Yasemin states firmly.

On Saturday, the two girls were able to satisfy some of their love of movies at a film festival for kids.

The 2002 Kids First! Film, Video, and DVD Festival kicked off its East Coast tour at the Clearview Cinema's Warner theater in downtown Ridgewood with showings on two screens throughout the day.

The festival, which also featured live musical performances and magic shows, was sponsored by the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, a national non-profit group that publishes ratings of children's film and videos.

Founded in 1991, the coalition runs a Web site, www.kidsfirstinternet.org, and has published, "A Parent's Guide to The Best Children's Videos, DVDs, and CD-ROMs.'' It also holds workshops that teach children how to evaluate movies for themselves.

Among the offerings Saturday were a film that shows impressionist artist Claude Monet when he was a young, penniless painter; a documentary that follows an African-American family's long journey off welfare; and a big-screen showing of a preschooler TV favorite, "Dora the Explorer."

Coalition President Ranny Levy said her group does not support the censorship efforts of some religious conservatives.

"We're not here to tell the media what to put out and what they can't put out, but we're here to tell parents and educators what's age-appropriate and how media affects them,'' she said. "Our focus is really media education of kids.''

The coalition held its first film festival in 2000 in Santa Fe, N.M., where the group is based, and will hold festivals in 13 locations this year. Saturday's event marked the start of a tour that will travel to four theaters in the New York metropolitan area.

Saturday was the first time in Ridgewood, and organizers said the turnout was disappointing. By late morning, only a few dozen parents and children had shown up.

Levy said the festival usually draws bigger crowds. She said the event won't be held in Ridgewood again unless some community group steps up to help. In some cities, for example, a local children's museum promotes the festival.

"We know people love it when they show up,'' said Levy, who was interviewed by phone.

Indeed, preschoolers at Saturday's event seemed thrilled at seeing a segment of the TV production "Blue's Clues'' on the giant screen.

"A clue! A clue!'' some yelled out, when the telltale paw print appeared on screen.

One of those youngsters was 3-year-old Benjamin Unger of Glen Rock.

His dad, Dan, said he brought his son after reading about the festival in a weekly paper.

Unger said he and his wife are careful about what TV shows and videos their children watch. Occasionally, he said, it's important for even young children to experience the magic of movie theaters.

"I believe in the intimacy of film, how it was really developed to be shown in a screen format,'' Unger said. "It's really special to see it in a theater with other people in the audience. And just the size of the screen, it's much more captivating.''

Maia Davis' e-mail address is davis@northjersey.com

Cinekid


Cinekid 2002
In 2002, the Cinekid organisation will be organising the international film, television and new media festival for children for the 16th time.
For eight days, from Sunday 13 October to Sunday 20 October in the centre of Amsterdam, Cinekid will be showing the latest films for young people from all over the world, together with a selection of the best television programmes from inside and outside the Netherlands.
In addition to watching films, children can try out the latest interactive games and CD-Roms in a hall filled with computers, and actively participate in cross-media workshops.
Cinekid will be held in Pathé City cinema and in De Balie, next to the Leidseplein. A special Cinekid Selection will be screened in Theatre De Meervaart in Amsterdam Osdorp, while children from all over the Netherlands will also be able to enjoy the festival: during the local autumn school holidays a satellite festival will be organised in 33 different cities under the name Cinekid on Location.

For film and TV professionals there is Cinekid International, of which the Cinekid market, the ScreeninClub, forms an important element. Cinekid will also be organising seminars concerning subjects of national and international importance in the area of media for the young.

WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2002 EXHIBITION IN SKOPJE

From December 12 th 2002 till January 7th 2003 World Press Photo exhibition
can be seen in Museum of contemporary art in Skopje. This traveling
exhibitionfor the second time in a row is coming in Skopje thanks to
Macedonian Institute for Media. Each year, an independent international
jury, consisting of nine members, judges the entries (in nine different
categories), submitted by photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and
magazines from all corners of the world. The annual exhibition is shown each
year at about 75 venues in 37 countries all over the world, seen by over a
million people, subject to the condition that all prizewinning entries are
exhibited without any form of censorship. This year's exhibition contains a
total of 207 photographs. The exhibition does not only show the best in
press photography in the past year, it can also be seen as a historical
document containing the world's main events of 2001.The fact that hundreds
of thousands of visitors around the globe will view this exhibition bears
out the power of the photograph to transcend cultural and linguistic
frontiers. The World Press Photo foundation is an independent platform for
international press photography, founded in 1955. This platform manifests
itself in the annual World Press Photo of the Year Contest and the
corresponding yearbook and exhibition.The World Press Photo Foundation is
worldwide sponsored by Canon, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Kodak
Professional, a division of Eastman Kodak Company. This traveling exhibition
is brought to Skopje with the support of Royal Netherlands Embassy in
Macedonia.

::: KOSOVA/O :::

---------------------------------
Mission Statement:

The project mission is to stimulate peacebuilding and defuse the tensions which contribute to
continued violence in Kosovo/a by encouraging a re-evaluation of inter-ethnic perceptions and by
creating a safe forum for dialogue on the subject of multi-ethnicity.



Project Objectives:

-to shed doubt upon accepted stereotypes by pointing out commonly shared, human emotions, experiences, reactions and hopes and by encouraging a sense of mutual recognition in viewers.
-to use film as a safe means of getting-to-know individuals and life on the other side of the 'ethnic divide'
-to develop a sense of peacemaking and of the possibility for future coexistence in Kosova/o among the participating youths and viewing public
-to make a statement on diversity and universality which will spark recognition among viewers in other conflict areas around the world by inviting other non-governemental organizations to use the film in their peacebuilding projects.


Project Activities:

- to create a 60-minute documentary film, "Kosovo/a" which interweaves the everyday lives, points of view, experiences and future visions of four young people living in Kosovo/a today (16-23 years-old) from both Serbian and Albanian communities.
- to screen the film during June-August 2002 in each municipality of Kosova/o and hold discussions after the film on the issues raised within it.
- to broadcast the film on Radio Television Kosovo in the autumn of 2002 and other as-yet-unidentified broadcasters throughout the Balkan region.




THE PROBLEM

Two years after a severe ethnic conflict, which was itself only the most recent chapter in a centuries-long tug of war, ethnic tensions and violence continue in Kosova/o. The intentions of the international community to create a multi-ethnic community show few signs of success. While the 1999 NATO bombings and the presence of UN peacekeepers(KFOR) have put an end to unrestricted, open conflict, international organizations have not yet been able to eliminate the causes of the conflict and ensure a peaceful future to the region.

One of the most fundamental, long-term problems in Kosovo/a today is a continued and increasing ethnic polarization. This problem was at the heart of the 1998-1999 conflict, as it was in the many conflicts that preceded it over the centuries. The cycle of victim to victimizer and back again shows no sign of abatement: the anger of the victim leading to retribution against a perceived oppressor whose sufferings, in turn, transform him into a victim. The key element that allows for this transformation is the misidentification of guilt. Rather than seeking justice against the actual perpetrators of violence, it is far easier and faster to identify a group which can be blanketed with blame and targeted randomly. This stereotyping leads to violence against innocents, creating new victims and continuing the cycle.

The issue, therefore, has to do with perceptions of the other. As long as each sides blames the other as a whole for their past or current sufferings, they can justify their ethnic hatred, demonize the other and perpetuate ethnic divisions. This project will allow viewers from each community to travel into the other world get to know specific individuals and hear what they actually think, feel, fear and dream in order to rethink these ill-conceived perceptions.




OBJECTIVES

A) ENCOURAGING PEACE

The overall objective of any post-war peacebuilding initiative is to create an environment of peaceful co-existence which can prevent a re-escalation of violent conflict. In the case of Kosova/o, where ethnic tensions continue to exist and violence is on the rise, the primary aim is to defuse the situation. Short of 'cleansing' the region and/or redrawing borders-options the international community are not willing to contemplate-a means must be found to inhibit the causes of those tensions. If they are created by anger and fear, then the focus must be on eliminating the factors that feed these sentiments. Nothing can eliminate the memories of war and acts of terror nor the continuing loss resulting from them, but it is possible to affect the perceptions of one's adversaries as irredeemable enemies. These perceptions can be gradually weakened by several means. One way is to create a point of contact in which individual members of the communities can communicate on a human level, get to know each other and develop trust.



B) CHANGING PERCEPTIONS

The purpose of this project is to alter individuals' perceptions of the other through communication and mutual recognition. Members of the communities should be able to find a non-threatening, non-political language by which they can discover common ground. It is an assumption of this project that creative endeavor provides the conditions in which this kind of communication can take place. Because of the extremely volatile situation in Kosovo/a at present, however, it is not possible to bring the general public together to discuss, to be creative or to build relationships. But it is possible-and will be the purpose of this project-to create a safe environment in which an indirect dialogue can begin: the hermetically sealed world of film.


C) USING FILM TO INTRODUCE 'THE ENEMY'

The primary objective by which the project means to achieve its purpose is through creating a documentary film(length: 60 minutes) consisting of four separate, interwoven components: two Albanian and two Serbian stories. The intention is to juxtapose the stories to highlight common outlooks, shared values and potential recognition points for viewers. The film will be shown to audiences in towns and villages throughout Kosova/o with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE) and the UNMIK Department of Culture. Two important assumptions underpin this project: first, that common features exist in the lives and sentiments of these two groups; and second, that the recognition of these similarities can spark a re-evaluation of cultural stereotypes in the minds of the viewing public.

Within each community, two young people between the ages of 16 and 23 are the focus of the film made by an international crew. Each person serves as our entry into his/her world-friends, family and larger community. The participants were invited to film elements themselves which, when they help to deepen the intimacy of their stories, are included in black and white in the final film. The film centers on their outlooks, concerns, goals, emotions, obstacles and perceptions drawing upon their everyday life experiences, relationships and creative activities. The principle aim and challenge of the film is to uncover universals shared by all people regardless of age, sex or ethnicity. In order to achieve our goals, the film must allow viewers to enter into the lives on both sides of the divide. This means that elements of politics and blame cannot play a role in the film. Given the recent conflict, it is impossible to eliminate all political or war-related references, but these only occur indirectly as they relate to character, the present and the future.



D) DEVLOPING A SENSE OF PEACEBUILDING AMONG PARTICIPANTS

Given its overall reconciliation objective, this project also aims to encourage a sense of peacemaking among those participating in it. There are several reasons for choosing adolescents and young adults to make the film. In general, they are more accessible, more open to new ideas and changing perceptions than their parents and grandparents. Kosovar/n youth are already looking forward and are not afraid of challenging taboos. The knowledge that their contributions are part of a larger project which seeks to discover common ground has naturally affected the way these young people relate to each other and the way they think about the question of living together. Over the filming and screening periods, they have had chances to meet and we hope that they will continue to develop relationships between them.
Additionally, a welcome by-product of this project is to empower at least this small number of youths. By allowing them to tell their stories and to see their creative output valued and taken seriously; the final product should be a tangible symbol for them of their efforts and may inspire them to future creative activities. And, if the film fulfills its purpose and makes a contribution towards a peaceful future for Kosova/o, they should have a feeling of personal satisfaction and achievement.




E) HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER CONFLICT ZONES

There is one final, interrelated objective associated with the film project: to have an impact on other ethnically-, racially- or nationally- divided groups throughout the world. It is often easier to recognize one's own weaknesses refracted through the mirror of another. Perhaps young people in a racially divided town in Mississippi, or across the religious divide in Belfast or Jerusalem, or along the border of Eritrea and Ethiopia may think again about their prejudices and preconceptions as a result of experiencing the journey this film will take them on. The film will thus be available for other NGO's working on conflict resolution and will hopefully have a wider visibility through international broadcast and film festivals.





THE PROJECT

The project consists of two distinct activities: making the film and distributing it.


THE MAKING OF THE FILM


· Specific film research and scriptwriting took place in Kosova in October-November 2001. The youth were selected from Albanian and Serbian communities of similar size and sociological composition-Mitrovica (north and south), Gracanica(Pristina) and Vushtrri.

· The one-month shoot began in mid-November 2001 in both communities simultaneously in order to maximize potential communication links between the participants. A team of three women-two Dutch one American-worked as co-directors and crew. The kids were invited to shoot short segments of the film reflecting their perceptions of daily life and what was important to them.

· Post-production took take place over the period January -May 2002 in Amsterdam with the same international team editing the film. We expect to add an epilogue of the participants and their friends and family watching and reacting to the film-together; as well as reactions by Kosovar/n audiences during screening/discussion tour


THE TOUR


· This is the core of peacebuilding aspect of the project. It will entail a 2-month tour throughout Kosova/o showing the finished film in as many towns and villages within the 30 municipalities as possible. This tour was developed with the help of UNMIK Department of Culture and Kosova Film, providing equipment and space in municipal cultural centers, the OSCE, providing logistical support, and other local and international NGOs.

· The centerpiece of each stop on the tour is the film screening which will be followed by a discussion forum led by the producer, and a local facilitator from each community, trained in conflict resolution techniques. Local facilitators were determined essential in order to have the legitimacy and authority to discuss such sensitive and potentially explosive issues and to know how best to encourage an open, effective dialogue.

· Additional organizations conducting peacebuilding initiatives in Kosovo/a were also invited to link their activities to this project.

· In addition to broadcasting the film after the tour's completion, Radio Television Kosovo/a plans to develop news items and programming to further introduce the project to the Kosovar/n population. Project partner, Press Now, has many contacts with broadcasters throughout the region and will assist in getting the film shown on Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian and Montenegrin and other Balkan television stations.

ECF - Art for Social Change program back

World Press Photo Exhibition

In 2001 and 2002 within Art for Social Change a number of photo projects in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were initiated in which young people used camera and video to experiment with images and expression. At the same time the European Cultural Foundation supported a World Press Photo seminar for young press photographers from the Baltic States giving the participants as an assignment to make a photo story about young people at risk. The picture stories of the photographers and a selection of the photo’s made by the kids who participated in the AFSC photo projects will be merged in one exhibition organized in parallel to the international World Press Photo exhibition shown in Vilnius City Hall this Autumn. The official opening of the exhibition is 6 September at 16 pm, Didzioji street 31 in Vilnius. A catalogue of the exhibition will be printed in a limited print-run.

http://www.ifj.org/hrights/tolerance/prize.html

IFJ Journalism For Tolerance Prize
For Excellence in Journalism
Combating Racism and Discrimination
Categories for Print/On-line, Radio and Television
Entries Close 7 January 2003

Promoting tolerance, combating racism and discrimination
and contributing to an understanding
of cultural, religious and ethnic differences.
The IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize is about promoting tolerance, combating racism and discrimination and contributing to an understanding of cultural, religious and ethnic differences.
The Prize is an annual competition among journalists from all sectors of media with a simple objective: to promote better understanding among journalists from all communities of the importance of tolerance and defence of human rights, particularly when it comes to reporting on minorities.
The Prize rewards individuals and their work, promoting benchmarks on how to tackle discrimination in whatever form it comes - whether on the basis of language, religion or belief, or ethnic origin.
The Prize promotes editorial independence, high standards of professionalism and journalists' ethics, and diversity in media.
The Prize targets a number of key regions where coverage of minority affairs is often fraught with difficulties and tension.
The Journalism for Tolerance Prize, which is supported by the European Union, is driven by values of journalism and is organised by journalists themselves.

The Prize
The Journalism for Tolerance Prize is awarded in five regions:

Latin America
Central and Western Africa
Eastern and Southern Africa
South Asia
South East Asia
In each region, there are three categories of the Prize awarded for outstanding reporting on actions to combat racism and discrimination:

Print/on-line
Radio
Television
Each region will have a total pool of Euro 3,000 to award to the winners. Each winner will also receive a certificate of recognition. The winners will also be invited to attend a prize giving ceremony and forum in their region in March 2003.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
The IFJ is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes co-ordinated international action to defend press freedom and social justice through the development of strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists. The IFJ works closely with the United Nations, particularly Unesco, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, WIPO and the ILO, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Union, the Council for Europe and with a range of international trade union and freedom of expression organisations.
The IFJ mandate covers both professional and industrial interests of journalists.
The IFJ administers other prizes including the Lorenzo Natali Prize for Journalism.

More Information
How to Enter

Rules of the Competition

Application Form

Français : Prix de la FIJ - Journalisme pour la tolérance

Español: Premio FIP periodismo para la tolerancia

Portuguese: Prémio FIJ jornalismo de tôlerancia (PDF)

Winners 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the support of the European Commission
For a Better Understanding of the World of Development.

http://www.ifj.org/publications/press/pr/422.html

Media Release October 1st 2002

Multilingual Service for Journalists on EU Affairs:
Joint EurActiv and IFJ Project
for a Crosslingual Portal
The "CrossLingual II Network" was launched on Friday 27th September to provide a multilingual online service for news and other information on the European Union. Over the next two years, the online network will develop the technology and content model of the EurActiv portal in collaboration with partners in Central and Eastern Europe. As a result, journalists will be able to access to information on EU activities in their own language.

EurActiv's multilingual content will be available for syndication to "EU Actors'" websites, media news sites, mobile operators and of course journalists working on EU affairs. The IFJ Website will soon have the facility to provide automatic translation into French, Spanish and German at the click of a button through the popular Systran facility.

The CrossLingual Project is supported by the eContent programme of the EU's Directorate General 'Information Society'. Members of the consortium include EurActiv, Systran (language software developer), DB Scape (specialist in multilingual content management), Telelingua (translation support) and the International Federation of journalists (IFJ). Partners from Central and Eastern European media, specialised in EU policies, included Bruxinfo (Hungary), EON (Slovenia), Club Europa (Romania), Integrace (Czech Republic), Unia Polska (Poland), Novinite (Bulgaria) and Abhaber (Turkey).

Oliver Money-Kyrle, Projects Director of the International Federation of Journalists said: "With Enlargement negotiations entering their final stage easy access to information on EU affairs is of particular importance to journalists in accession countries. This project provides a vital service to the public by breaking down the barriers to information and improving understanding of the EU." More background information available at www.euractiv.com.

What is the World Summit all about?

The World Summit on the Information Society is the latest in a series of important world events convened by the United Nations. It seeks to
explore the effect of information and communications technologies on our lives and our planet. Some of the many issues identified by the Youth Caucus as important to consider include access to technology and
knowledge, changing role/style of education, cultural diversity, local
content, technology for youth employment, public space online,
environmental impact of technology, and cross-cultural communication.
The World Summit, to be held in Geneva, December 10-12th 2003, will
bring together government leaders, non-government organisations,
business and others to address these concerns and others. Clearly, the
issues are all exceedingly relevent to young people. Young people are
those who are growing up with the internet, are students in educational systems, in general know more about technology and this emerging society than anyone else, and who are often running the most innovative companies/non-profit projects in this area. It's a vital process for all youth organisations to be part of....

What is the Preparatory process?

In preparation for the World Summit, consultations, planning and
negociations will occur at a national, regional and international level.
Three global preparatory meetings in Geneva will be the focus of
attention (the first meeting was already held in July 2002, the second
will be in February 2003, the third likely to be in September 2003).
Regional meetings will also be very important (Africa already held in
May 2002, Europe in November 2002, Asia and Latin America in January
2003). National level consultations are also occuring in many countries.

What is the Youth Caucus?

The youth caucus brings together young people who are active around
information society issues, for example youth organizations/youth-led
small enterprises that operate access centers, run community media
initiatives, or develop technology applications, student organisations
representing educational concerns, and other youth organisations active
at an international level (for example national youth councils,
UNESCO-affiliated groups, and those interested in the intersection of
ICTs with sustainable development, healthcare, or employment). The youth
caucus was formed at the First Preparatory Committee meeting in July
2002, and works to mainstream youth perspectives into civil society,
business and government input for the World Summit. The Youth Caucus
receives some secretarial and other support via the Youth Creating
Digital Opportunity program of TIG, IISD and GKP. Some of the
organisations involved include TakingITGlobal, AEGEE, Communications
Rights in the Information Society, the International Young Professionals
Foundation, YOIS etc.

What is the European Regional Meeting?

The European Regional Meeting will be held in Bucharest, Romania. It is designed to provide a space for development of the European position on the WSIS and in itself, provide an opportunity for the Europeans to find a shared vision of the type of information society they would like to live in. I think it will have about 1000 participants or more. It is also considered the "North American" regional meeting, but I doubt many North Americans will attend.

What you need to do:

1) Register to attend the Regional Meeting in Bucharest at their
website. If you do not have UN accreditation, you are most welcome to
accredit through TakingITGlobal while you begin the process of applying for your own - just send me an email and I will add your name to our list.

2) Join wsisyoutheurope@yahoogroups.com which is a mailing list for
young Europeans interested in the WSIS process. Simply go to
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/wsisyoutheurope/join/ to sign up!

3) Send a quick introduction to the list, including information about
yourself, your organization, and your thoughts on key priority areas for the WSIS, in general, from a european perspective, and from a youth perspective.

4) We will together draft a document of initial input to the meeting
with specific language we think should be included in the Bucharest
Declaration. The Ambassador of Romania to the UN has specifically
invited our input and this needs to come very soon, so that there is
time for them to consider and perhaps incorporate our suggestions.

THE WIDER ISSUE OF EUROPEAN YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN WSIS

More broadly, I am interested in getting European youth groups more
organized yourselves around WSIS, allowing me to focus more on other
regions that 'need more help' as they have less organised youth
structures. I know there has been interest from the Swiss and Dutch
National Youth Councils, AEGEE and YOIS - but this needs to become more coordinated and other groups need to get involved. For example, I think it would be wonderful to set up a European Youth Secretariat for WSIS at one of the member orgs (perhaps YOIS, European Youth Forum, OBESSU,AEGEE, the Swiss National Youth Council etc) that can have someone work part-full time coordinating activities for the political process for European youth orgs. What are your thoughts? Any groups interested? Maybe the European Regional Meeting can serve as a meeting place to work out how input is going to become more coordinated in Europe?

Also, there is the matter of participation of young people on government delegations. I suggest you approach your government about including a youth rep on their delegation to the European Regional Meeting and future global preparatory meetings. Preferably this would be someone from a legitimate national youth organisation who has a strong interest/background in information society issues (not necessarily the President/leader of an organisation). If you write to me, I will be happy to connect you to the people who are leading your governments' delegation. At the same time, I am also going to email all the heads of government delegations encouraging them to include a young person on their delegation and giving them the name of some organisations in their countries (like yours) they might look to in selecting a youth delegate.

I hope this helps alert you to the process of the WSIS and the
need/opportunities to get involved.


Warmest regards,

Donald Charumbira
Secretary General
World Assembly of Youth

Further info from:
Nick Moraitis
Strategy and Partnership Coordinator
TakingITGlobal - Toronto, Canada
www.takingitglobal.org
nick@takingitglobal.org