Chinese TV Series to Promote Sex Education
Chinese TV Series to Promote Sex Education
In a move to break the country's ancient taboo on discussing sex, China has created its first TV series focusing on sex education for young people.
Entitled "How Can I Tell You This?", the series is centered around a group of junior high school students. Liu Zhixian, director of the series, hopes it will provoke a more open dialogue for discussing sexual health with children. The show garnered widespread attention from the conservative, self-conscious Chinese shortly after it began shooting in the east China province of Jiangxi.
In traditional Chinese culture, "sex" has long been considered a disgraceful word that few discuss openly. Children who asked about differences between men and women would be scolded. As a result, many young people are ignorant even of some very basic facts about their body.
Such evasiveness has caused most of the 20 million children reaching puberty each year to lack basic sex information. "Most of my classmates are sensitive to our physical changes... which we can only discuss in private," said Liu Dewei, a leading actor in the new series and a third-year junior high student. As teenagers have more access to sex information in today's world, experts warn that parents and teachers should inform them properly to safeguard their mental and physical health. "Many youngsters have tried to get information from adult web sites and porn videos. And juvenile pregnancies, drug abuse and STDs have risen among teenage students in recent years," said a teacher with the No.1 Secondary School in Nanchang.
China's education authority has offered young people more access to information about sex in recent years, and middle schools in major cities have included in their curriculum comprehensive sex education courses.
March 20, 2003
March 18, 2003
New paper for Tajik youth highlighted at OSCE roundtable
New paper for Tajik youth highlighted at OSCE roundtable
Educators and representatives from youth organizations gathered recently in eastern Tajikistan for a two-day roundtable discussion to address the problem of limited information access for Tajik youth, a press release from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced.
The discussion, which ended on March 13, focused on the need of young people, particularly in rural areas, to have access to the latest news and developments in Tajikistan. Participants, including the heads of education departments in the Tajikibad, Nurobod, Jirgital, and Garm districts, noted that the national media rarely take into account the real needs of rural youth.
“[Young people] are eager to read newspapers, but currently they are not able to buy them,” said Mullochaeva Kurbongul, head of the Nurobod education department. “Our youth feel themselves left behind in the process of the development of Tajikstan.”
Alexander Kuzmin, head of the OSCE office in Garm, presented a new project that provides students in the region with access to their own publication. OSCE’s “Gulchin” newspaper is geared towards young people in the most remote and inaccessible areas in the region, with 324 schools in the Rasht Valley currently subscribing.
The paper tries “to fill an information vacuum in the region and will open a window of information for youth of the districts,” according to Talat Nigorova, Gulchin’s editor-in-chief. Participants said that, among other issues, the papers should address gender equality, drug abuse, and human trafficking.
For more information on the roundtable and the Gulchin project, contact the OSCE Center in Dushanbe at 12, Zikrullo Khojaev Str., Dushanbe, Tajikistan. E-mail office@osce.tojikiston.com. OSCE Web site at www.osce.org.
(March 13, 2003)
New paper for Tajik youth highlighted at OSCE roundtable
Educators and representatives from youth organizations gathered recently in eastern Tajikistan for a two-day roundtable discussion to address the problem of limited information access for Tajik youth, a press release from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced.
The discussion, which ended on March 13, focused on the need of young people, particularly in rural areas, to have access to the latest news and developments in Tajikistan. Participants, including the heads of education departments in the Tajikibad, Nurobod, Jirgital, and Garm districts, noted that the national media rarely take into account the real needs of rural youth.
“[Young people] are eager to read newspapers, but currently they are not able to buy them,” said Mullochaeva Kurbongul, head of the Nurobod education department. “Our youth feel themselves left behind in the process of the development of Tajikstan.”
Alexander Kuzmin, head of the OSCE office in Garm, presented a new project that provides students in the region with access to their own publication. OSCE’s “Gulchin” newspaper is geared towards young people in the most remote and inaccessible areas in the region, with 324 schools in the Rasht Valley currently subscribing.
The paper tries “to fill an information vacuum in the region and will open a window of information for youth of the districts,” according to Talat Nigorova, Gulchin’s editor-in-chief. Participants said that, among other issues, the papers should address gender equality, drug abuse, and human trafficking.
For more information on the roundtable and the Gulchin project, contact the OSCE Center in Dushanbe at 12, Zikrullo Khojaev Str., Dushanbe, Tajikistan. E-mail office@osce.tojikiston.com. OSCE Web site at www.osce.org.
(March 13, 2003)
Ishigli Ev Helps Homeless Children
Ishigli Ev Helps Homeless Children
"I picked up homeless children at the streets and asked them to come to the centre," said Shiraliyeva. She said these children were looking for food at the refuse dumps.
15/03/2003 15:26
Baku Today
"Ishigli Ev" (House with Light) Day Centre for Homeless Children started to work in June 2002 as a part of the program "Children from Streets." Children can come to the centre any time to have something to eat, to draw and to take lessons, Sudaba Shiraliyeva, Centre's Executive Director, told to Turan news agency.
She said the project is being implemented by NGO Social Charitable Centre "Woman and Art", which is headed by Shiraliyeva herself, jointly with Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism and UNICEF.
The Day Centre differs from children's houses and boarding schools. Children are not held here by force, they do not stay here at night, it just can be a shelter for children at daytime. Akif Saatchioglu, head of Baku UNICEF Office, said earlier that goal of this and other projects for homeless children is to make them to come back to their homes.
"Ishigli Ev" is regularly visited by almost 50 children, of which about 35 ones are homeless and the remaining ones are children whose parents do not care about them. Children from good families also voluntarily come to the centre to provide needed help.
"I picked up homeless children at the streets and asked them to come to the centre," said Shiraliyeva. She said these children were looking for food at the refuse dumps. All these children have relatives, but they very rarely go to school and come home. 14-year-old Ali has never gone to school and he has recently learned to write his name. He spells words out, but likes to play nagara. Now he saves up money to buy this musical instrument at 100,000 manat. His 13-year-old friend Anar also does not go home not to leave his friend alone.
"Ishigli Ev" has financial problems. Sudaba Shiraliyeva feeds children from the money earned by NGO. But in November-December 2002 and January 2003 Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism allotted money for nourishment and Ministry promised to allocate more money. Once Rabita bank placed 400, 000 manat to the account of "Ishigli Ev." UNICEF has presented the centre with one computer, TV set and video recorder. 12 employees of the Centre work actually as volunteers.
Budget of Ministry of Youth, Sports, Tourism does not envisage costs for the centre's activities and Ministry allocated funds from its internal resources. UNICEF wastes money to acquire equipment, hold training and organize trips to exchange experience, Indira Hajiyeva, deputy chief of Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism Department for Relationships with Children, told TURAN. She said public and media must provide support. She said there is no doubt that the centre is necessary and if as many as possible people know about it, it can be supported by private businessmen, state-run and international organizations.
Sudaba Shiraliyeva plans to help homeless children to learn trade and train them to do sport exercises, three children already go to sports. In summer she wants to take children to the Absheron coast to have a rest.
Information for this report provided by Turan
Ishigli Ev Helps Homeless Children
"I picked up homeless children at the streets and asked them to come to the centre," said Shiraliyeva. She said these children were looking for food at the refuse dumps.
15/03/2003 15:26
Baku Today
"Ishigli Ev" (House with Light) Day Centre for Homeless Children started to work in June 2002 as a part of the program "Children from Streets." Children can come to the centre any time to have something to eat, to draw and to take lessons, Sudaba Shiraliyeva, Centre's Executive Director, told to Turan news agency.
She said the project is being implemented by NGO Social Charitable Centre "Woman and Art", which is headed by Shiraliyeva herself, jointly with Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism and UNICEF.
The Day Centre differs from children's houses and boarding schools. Children are not held here by force, they do not stay here at night, it just can be a shelter for children at daytime. Akif Saatchioglu, head of Baku UNICEF Office, said earlier that goal of this and other projects for homeless children is to make them to come back to their homes.
"Ishigli Ev" is regularly visited by almost 50 children, of which about 35 ones are homeless and the remaining ones are children whose parents do not care about them. Children from good families also voluntarily come to the centre to provide needed help.
"I picked up homeless children at the streets and asked them to come to the centre," said Shiraliyeva. She said these children were looking for food at the refuse dumps. All these children have relatives, but they very rarely go to school and come home. 14-year-old Ali has never gone to school and he has recently learned to write his name. He spells words out, but likes to play nagara. Now he saves up money to buy this musical instrument at 100,000 manat. His 13-year-old friend Anar also does not go home not to leave his friend alone.
"Ishigli Ev" has financial problems. Sudaba Shiraliyeva feeds children from the money earned by NGO. But in November-December 2002 and January 2003 Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism allotted money for nourishment and Ministry promised to allocate more money. Once Rabita bank placed 400, 000 manat to the account of "Ishigli Ev." UNICEF has presented the centre with one computer, TV set and video recorder. 12 employees of the Centre work actually as volunteers.
Budget of Ministry of Youth, Sports, Tourism does not envisage costs for the centre's activities and Ministry allocated funds from its internal resources. UNICEF wastes money to acquire equipment, hold training and organize trips to exchange experience, Indira Hajiyeva, deputy chief of Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism Department for Relationships with Children, told TURAN. She said public and media must provide support. She said there is no doubt that the centre is necessary and if as many as possible people know about it, it can be supported by private businessmen, state-run and international organizations.
Sudaba Shiraliyeva plans to help homeless children to learn trade and train them to do sport exercises, three children already go to sports. In summer she wants to take children to the Absheron coast to have a rest.
Information for this report provided by Turan
A Young Reporter's Guide to Staying Out of Jail
WireTap
March 17, 2003
A Young Reporter's Guide to Staying Out of Jail
WireTap
March 17, 2003
Planning to write about or photograph the next anti-war protest for your school newspaper? Listen up: The Student Press Law Center is advising student journalists who plan to cover anti-war protests around the country to take several precautionary steps to avoid being arrested or detained by police as were several student reporters attempting to cover the March 15 protests and the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings in D.C. last September. -- WireTap
1) Bring credentials. Every student journalist covering the event should have something that clearly identifies him or her as a member of the press. D.C. police have said that they recognize official media credentials issued by any government law enforcement agency. Thus a personalized credential from your local, county or state police department may be the best identification. If that isn't available or cannot be obtained in time for the event, an official credential document identifying the journalist by name and photo as a member of their publication staff may be the next best alternative.
2) Avoid the appearance of being a participant in the protests. Wearing insignia, carrying signs or joining in chants with protest participants (or counter-protesters) increases the likelihood that a journalist will be perceived as there for a purpose other than to collect information and cover the news. Editors should ensure that they know which of their staff members are there to cover the events so that if trouble should arise, they can immediately identify each staff member as a journalist and not a protester.
3) Bring a cell phone and at least $50 cash. If detained or threatened with arrest, the ability to contact outside help quickly can be important. Have a means for contacting your editor, adviser or an attorney if necessary. It might be wise to make a plan for all reporters and photographers on the scene to check in periodically with an editor or another newspaper staff member outside of the protest area who will be available during the protest. Although you won't want to pay any "post and forfeit" fee unless you are willing to admit to the offense you've been accused of (see point 5 below), if there comes a point where you choose to pay for your release, you'll need the cash to do so. But be forewarned that despite police pledges, those who "post and forfeit" are not necessarily released any sooner than those who choose to contest the charges against them.
4) Obey all police orders. If ordered by police officials to leave an area or disperse, move outside the crowd and find a place to observe and cover as close as possible. If possible, identify yourself as a journalist to the officer in charge and ask for guidance as to where you can continue your job without interfering with theirs. If you believe police are acting unlawfully or unreasonably in orders given to you, you should do your best to document the names and titles of those involved as well as the names and contact information of other witnesses. If possible, take photos or video of the police misconduct and, as soon as possible, write down what happened. It is generally not a wise idea to disobey a police order on the scene, but you can ask them to reconsider if you make clear that you do not want to interfere with their efforts and will ultimately obey an order given. However, as soon as is practicable, contact an attorney for guidance on how to file a formal complaint.
5) If arrested or detained, act immediately. First, inform the police officers in question that you are a journalist there to cover the events and show them your press credentials. If they disregard your status, encourage that they contact their superior officer before they take any action against a member of the press. Second, contact your editor or other staff representative and let him or her know what's happening. Third, if police insist on arresting or detaining you, let them know that you wish to contact your lawyer and do so immediately. Do not agree to plead guilty (or "no contest" or pay a "post and forfeit fee") to any charge without first talking to legal counsel or fully understanding what you are doing. If you believe you are not guilty, you only preserve all of your legal rights by pleading "not guilty." -- SPLC
Any student journalists that have questions in advance of their protest coverage should contact the Student Press Law Center for assistance at (703) 807-1904.
WireTap
March 17, 2003
A Young Reporter's Guide to Staying Out of Jail
WireTap
March 17, 2003
Planning to write about or photograph the next anti-war protest for your school newspaper? Listen up: The Student Press Law Center is advising student journalists who plan to cover anti-war protests around the country to take several precautionary steps to avoid being arrested or detained by police as were several student reporters attempting to cover the March 15 protests and the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings in D.C. last September. -- WireTap
1) Bring credentials. Every student journalist covering the event should have something that clearly identifies him or her as a member of the press. D.C. police have said that they recognize official media credentials issued by any government law enforcement agency. Thus a personalized credential from your local, county or state police department may be the best identification. If that isn't available or cannot be obtained in time for the event, an official credential document identifying the journalist by name and photo as a member of their publication staff may be the next best alternative.
2) Avoid the appearance of being a participant in the protests. Wearing insignia, carrying signs or joining in chants with protest participants (or counter-protesters) increases the likelihood that a journalist will be perceived as there for a purpose other than to collect information and cover the news. Editors should ensure that they know which of their staff members are there to cover the events so that if trouble should arise, they can immediately identify each staff member as a journalist and not a protester.
3) Bring a cell phone and at least $50 cash. If detained or threatened with arrest, the ability to contact outside help quickly can be important. Have a means for contacting your editor, adviser or an attorney if necessary. It might be wise to make a plan for all reporters and photographers on the scene to check in periodically with an editor or another newspaper staff member outside of the protest area who will be available during the protest. Although you won't want to pay any "post and forfeit" fee unless you are willing to admit to the offense you've been accused of (see point 5 below), if there comes a point where you choose to pay for your release, you'll need the cash to do so. But be forewarned that despite police pledges, those who "post and forfeit" are not necessarily released any sooner than those who choose to contest the charges against them.
4) Obey all police orders. If ordered by police officials to leave an area or disperse, move outside the crowd and find a place to observe and cover as close as possible. If possible, identify yourself as a journalist to the officer in charge and ask for guidance as to where you can continue your job without interfering with theirs. If you believe police are acting unlawfully or unreasonably in orders given to you, you should do your best to document the names and titles of those involved as well as the names and contact information of other witnesses. If possible, take photos or video of the police misconduct and, as soon as possible, write down what happened. It is generally not a wise idea to disobey a police order on the scene, but you can ask them to reconsider if you make clear that you do not want to interfere with their efforts and will ultimately obey an order given. However, as soon as is practicable, contact an attorney for guidance on how to file a formal complaint.
5) If arrested or detained, act immediately. First, inform the police officers in question that you are a journalist there to cover the events and show them your press credentials. If they disregard your status, encourage that they contact their superior officer before they take any action against a member of the press. Second, contact your editor or other staff representative and let him or her know what's happening. Third, if police insist on arresting or detaining you, let them know that you wish to contact your lawyer and do so immediately. Do not agree to plead guilty (or "no contest" or pay a "post and forfeit fee") to any charge without first talking to legal counsel or fully understanding what you are doing. If you believe you are not guilty, you only preserve all of your legal rights by pleading "not guilty." -- SPLC
Any student journalists that have questions in advance of their protest coverage should contact the Student Press Law Center for assistance at (703) 807-1904.
March 17, 2003
Odyssey Young Filmmakers Application Info
Are you a young filmmaker?
Do you want to participate to an unforgettable race around the world?
All the expenses are covered by our organisation:
- airfares, visas
- video equipment,
- hosting all trip long (stay and food),
- traveling insurances, vaccines
Your applications will be considered if it arrives to our office before
September 8, 2003 at 18:00 hours
local time
Send your full application by post to
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruxelles
Belgique
as well as by email to
contest@3-1416.org
Candidate application
- Curriculum vitae
indicating: years of study, years of professional work, prizes, techniques...
send copy by email in attachment + in the text of the email
and send copy on floppy disk or CD + paper copy
- Covering letter
explaining why you really want to participate to the Odyssey!
- A video tape including your most creative and recent productions
Image quality as well as edition construction will be considered.
Maximum lenght: 20 minutes, DV - Beta - VHS in PAL - SECAM - NTSC
Please explain in detail your function for each film, date of production, screenings
Conditions of admission
- Female or male, 20 to 30 years old on January 1, 2004
- Fully avalaible from January 12 to June 16, 2004. Passport in order till December 1, 2004 with at least 16 empty pages
- Full control (speak, read and write) of, at least, one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish
- Responsible, with a high sense of individual and group organisation
- Proved resistance to physical and psychological pressure when traveling under hard and various climatological conditions and/or dangerous environment and situation, a medical certificate from an official hospital is required
- Highly skilled in at least two of the following techniques:
- shooting (working in DV)
- sound recording : voices and exteriors (portable microphone on DV, boom and mixer)
- editing (Final Cut Pro or any other virtual editing software)
- short-film making,
- short-film screenplay writing
- High creativity both on conceiving, filming and editing a short-film
- Good knowledge of modern communication tools, particularly email softwares
To register, please send us by email your full information on the following points:
01 - first name
02 - surname
03 - nationality of birth, and eventually current nationality
04 - gender
05 - birthdate and place
06 - valid passeport with 16 pages free
07 - residence country
08 - residence city
09 - residence address and post-code
10 - telephone number, fax, email, alternative email, website
11 - English, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
12 - French, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
13 - Spanish , levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
14 - other languages you manage
15 - for each other language, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
16 - effective years of video, cinema, journalism studies, details, schools, dates
17 - effective years of professional work in video, cinema, journalism, details, companies, dates
18 - knowledge of directing, details
19 - knowledge of reporting, details
20 - knowledge of screenplay writing, details
21 - knowledge of camera work, details
22 - knowledge of video, cinema editing, details
23 - knowledge of sound recording, details
24 - knowledge of sound mixing, details
25 - prizes received, when, for what, from who
26 - travelling experience, countries you have visited, alone, accompanied, by who
27 - group managment, experience, situations, results
top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tu es un/une jeune cinéaste?
Tu veux participer à une incroyable course autour du monde?
Tous les frais afférents à ce concours sont pris en charge par notre organisation:
- transport aérien, visas
- équipement vidéo
- séjour (hébergement, nourriture) pendant tout le voyage,
- assurance voyage, vaccins
Ta candidature doit arriver à nos bureaux
avant le 8 septembre 2003 à 18 heures,
heure locale
Envoie ta candidature par la poste à:
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruxelles
Belgique
et aussi par mel à
contest@3-1416.org
Dossier de candidature
- Curriculum vitae
- Lettre de motivation
expliquant pourquoi tu veux vraiment participer à l'Odyssée
- Une cassette vidéo avec tes productions récentes les plus créatives
Nous tiendrons particulièrement compte de la qualité de la prise de vue et de l'originalité du montage
Durée maximale: 20 minutes en format DV - Beta - VHS, en standard PAL - SECAM - NTSC.
Conditions d'accès
- Hommes et femmes âgés entre 20 et 30 ans au 1er janvier 2004
- Totalement disponible entre le 12 janvier et le 16 juin 2004, passeport en règle, valable jusqu'au 1 décembre 2004, avec au moins 16 pages vierges
- Dominant (lire, parler et écrire) au moins l'une des trois langues suivantes : anglais, espagnol, français
- Ayant un sens élevé de la responsabilité et de l'organisation individuelle et de groupe
- Résistance physique et psychologique prouvée face a un déplacement sous des conditions climatiques variées et difficiles et un environnement parfois dangereux, confirmée par un certificat médical délivré par un hôpital officiel
- Maîtrisant parfaitement bien au moins deux des techniques suivantes:
- prise de vue (travail en DV)
- prise de son : voix et ambiance (micro extérieur sur DV, perche et mixette)
- montage (Final Cut Pro ou autre montage virtuel)
- réalisation de court-métrages
- écriture de scénario de court-métrage
- Capable de beaucoup de créativité tant dans l'écriture, le tournage que le montage de ses sujets
- Connaissance des outils de communication contemporains, en particulier du courrier électronique
Pour t'enregistrer, envoie-nous par email tes informations complètes sur les points suivants:
01 - prénom
02 - nom
03 - nationalité de naissance, et éventuellement, nationalité actuelle
04 - genre
05 - date de naissance et lieu
06 - passeport valide avec 16 pages libres
07 - pays de résidence
08 - ville de résidence
09 - adresse de résidence et code postal
10 - téléphone, fax, email, alternative email, adresse de ton site internet
11 - Anglais, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
12 - Français, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
13 - Espagnol, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
14 - autres langues que tu connais
15 - pour chacune de ces autres langues, indique le niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
16 - nombre d'années réelles d'études vidéo, cinéma, journalisme, détails, écoles, dates
17 - nombre d'années réelles de travail professionnel en video, cinéma, journalisme, détails, compagnies, dates
18 - connaissance de la réalisation, détails
19 - connaissance du reportage, détails
20 - connaissance de l'écriture scénario, détails
21 - connaissance de la prise de vue caméra, détails
22 - connaissance de montage en vidéo/cinéma, détails
23 - connaissance de la prise de son, détails
24 - connaissance du mixage sons, détails
25 - prix reçus, quand, pour quoi, de qui
26 - expérience du voyage, pays visités, seul, accompagné, de qui
27 - gestion de groupe, expérience, situations, résultats
top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
¿Eres un/una jóven cineasta?
¿Quieres participar a una increíble carrera alrededor del mundo?
Todos los gastos de este proyecto corren por cuenta de nuestra organización:
- viajes aereos, visas
- equipo vidéo
- estancia (albergamiento y comida) durante todo el viaje,
- seguro de viaje, vacunas
Debes hacer llegar tu expediente a nuestra oficina
antes del 8 de septiembre 2003 a las 18 horas,
hora local
Envía tu expediente por correo a:
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruselas
Bélgica
asi como por email a:
contest@3-1416.org
Expediente del Candidato
- Curriculum vitae
- Carta de interés
explicando porque quieres participar en este evento
- Una cinta vidéo con tus producciones recientes las más creativas
Tomaremos en cuenta tanto la calidad de imagen como de edición,
Duración maxima: 20 minutos en formato DV - Beta - VHS y en estandard PAL - SECAM - NTSC.
Criterios de admisibilidad
- Hombres y mujeres entre 20 y 30 años de edad al 1° de enero 2004
- Totalmente disponible desde el 12 de enero hasta el 16 de junio 2004, pasaporte válido hasta el 1° de diciembre 2004, con un minimo de 16 paginas vírgenes
- Conocimiento perfecto (leer, hablar y escribir) de por lo menos uno de estos tres idiomas: español, inglés, francés
- Persona sensata y responsable, con fuertes capacidades de organización individual y de grupo
- Resistencia física y psicológica comprobada en situación de viaje bajo condiciones climáticas diversas y difíciles en un entorno que puede llegar a ser peligroso, entrega de un certificado medical extendido por un hospital oficial
- Dominio total de por lo menos dos de las siguientes técnicas:
- toma de imágenes (trabajando en DV),
- toma de sonido : voz y exteriores (micrófono exterior, percha y mezcladora),
- edición (Final Cut Pro u otro editor virtual),
- dirección de corto-metraje,
- escritura de guíon para corto-metraje
- Mucha creatividad a la vez en la escritura, el rodaje y la edición de los corto-metrajes
- Conocimiento de los medios de comunicación modernos, particularment del correo electrónico.
Para registrarte, envianos por email toda tu información sobre los siguientes puntos:
01 - nombre
02 - apellido
03 - nationalidad de nacimiento, y eventualmente, nacionalidad actual
04 - género
05 - fecha de nacimiento y lugar
06 - pasaporte válido, con 16 páginas libres
07 - país de residencia
08 - ciudad de residencia
09 - dirección de residencia y código postal
10 - teléfono, fax, email, email alternativo, dirección de tu página web
11 - Inglés, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
12 - Francés, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
13 - Español, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
14 - otro idioma que conoces
15 - para cada otro idioma que conoces, indica el nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
16 - número de años efectivos de estudios en video, cine y periodismo, escuelas, fechas
17 - número de años efectivos de trabajo profesional en video, cine y periodismo, detalles, companías, fechas
18 - conocimiento de la dirección, detalles
19 - conocimiento del reportaje, detalles
20 - conocimiento de la escritura de guión, detalles
21 - conocimiento de la fotografía cámara, detalles
22 - conocimiento de la edición en video, cine, detalles
23 - conocimiento de la grabación de sonido, detalles
24 - conocimiento de lamezcla de sonido, detalles
25 - premios recibidos, cuando, para qué, de quien
26 - experiencia de viaje, paises visitados, solo, acompañado, con quien
27 - manejo de grupo, experiencia, situaciones, resultados
Are you a young filmmaker?
Do you want to participate to an unforgettable race around the world?
All the expenses are covered by our organisation:
- airfares, visas
- video equipment,
- hosting all trip long (stay and food),
- traveling insurances, vaccines
Your applications will be considered if it arrives to our office before
September 8, 2003 at 18:00 hours
local time
Send your full application by post to
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruxelles
Belgique
as well as by email to
contest@3-1416.org
Candidate application
- Curriculum vitae
indicating: years of study, years of professional work, prizes, techniques...
send copy by email in attachment + in the text of the email
and send copy on floppy disk or CD + paper copy
- Covering letter
explaining why you really want to participate to the Odyssey!
- A video tape including your most creative and recent productions
Image quality as well as edition construction will be considered.
Maximum lenght: 20 minutes, DV - Beta - VHS in PAL - SECAM - NTSC
Please explain in detail your function for each film, date of production, screenings
Conditions of admission
- Female or male, 20 to 30 years old on January 1, 2004
- Fully avalaible from January 12 to June 16, 2004. Passport in order till December 1, 2004 with at least 16 empty pages
- Full control (speak, read and write) of, at least, one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish
- Responsible, with a high sense of individual and group organisation
- Proved resistance to physical and psychological pressure when traveling under hard and various climatological conditions and/or dangerous environment and situation, a medical certificate from an official hospital is required
- Highly skilled in at least two of the following techniques:
- shooting (working in DV)
- sound recording : voices and exteriors (portable microphone on DV, boom and mixer)
- editing (Final Cut Pro or any other virtual editing software)
- short-film making,
- short-film screenplay writing
- High creativity both on conceiving, filming and editing a short-film
- Good knowledge of modern communication tools, particularly email softwares
To register, please send us by email your full information on the following points:
01 - first name
02 - surname
03 - nationality of birth, and eventually current nationality
04 - gender
05 - birthdate and place
06 - valid passeport with 16 pages free
07 - residence country
08 - residence city
09 - residence address and post-code
10 - telephone number, fax, email, alternative email, website
11 - English, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
12 - French, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
13 - Spanish , levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
14 - other languages you manage
15 - for each other language, levels of reading, speaking and writing (from 0 to 100%)
16 - effective years of video, cinema, journalism studies, details, schools, dates
17 - effective years of professional work in video, cinema, journalism, details, companies, dates
18 - knowledge of directing, details
19 - knowledge of reporting, details
20 - knowledge of screenplay writing, details
21 - knowledge of camera work, details
22 - knowledge of video, cinema editing, details
23 - knowledge of sound recording, details
24 - knowledge of sound mixing, details
25 - prizes received, when, for what, from who
26 - travelling experience, countries you have visited, alone, accompanied, by who
27 - group managment, experience, situations, results
top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tu es un/une jeune cinéaste?
Tu veux participer à une incroyable course autour du monde?
Tous les frais afférents à ce concours sont pris en charge par notre organisation:
- transport aérien, visas
- équipement vidéo
- séjour (hébergement, nourriture) pendant tout le voyage,
- assurance voyage, vaccins
Ta candidature doit arriver à nos bureaux
avant le 8 septembre 2003 à 18 heures,
heure locale
Envoie ta candidature par la poste à:
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruxelles
Belgique
et aussi par mel à
contest@3-1416.org
Dossier de candidature
- Curriculum vitae
- Lettre de motivation
expliquant pourquoi tu veux vraiment participer à l'Odyssée
- Une cassette vidéo avec tes productions récentes les plus créatives
Nous tiendrons particulièrement compte de la qualité de la prise de vue et de l'originalité du montage
Durée maximale: 20 minutes en format DV - Beta - VHS, en standard PAL - SECAM - NTSC.
Conditions d'accès
- Hommes et femmes âgés entre 20 et 30 ans au 1er janvier 2004
- Totalement disponible entre le 12 janvier et le 16 juin 2004, passeport en règle, valable jusqu'au 1 décembre 2004, avec au moins 16 pages vierges
- Dominant (lire, parler et écrire) au moins l'une des trois langues suivantes : anglais, espagnol, français
- Ayant un sens élevé de la responsabilité et de l'organisation individuelle et de groupe
- Résistance physique et psychologique prouvée face a un déplacement sous des conditions climatiques variées et difficiles et un environnement parfois dangereux, confirmée par un certificat médical délivré par un hôpital officiel
- Maîtrisant parfaitement bien au moins deux des techniques suivantes:
- prise de vue (travail en DV)
- prise de son : voix et ambiance (micro extérieur sur DV, perche et mixette)
- montage (Final Cut Pro ou autre montage virtuel)
- réalisation de court-métrages
- écriture de scénario de court-métrage
- Capable de beaucoup de créativité tant dans l'écriture, le tournage que le montage de ses sujets
- Connaissance des outils de communication contemporains, en particulier du courrier électronique
Pour t'enregistrer, envoie-nous par email tes informations complètes sur les points suivants:
01 - prénom
02 - nom
03 - nationalité de naissance, et éventuellement, nationalité actuelle
04 - genre
05 - date de naissance et lieu
06 - passeport valide avec 16 pages libres
07 - pays de résidence
08 - ville de résidence
09 - adresse de résidence et code postal
10 - téléphone, fax, email, alternative email, adresse de ton site internet
11 - Anglais, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
12 - Français, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
13 - Espagnol, niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
14 - autres langues que tu connais
15 - pour chacune de ces autres langues, indique le niveau de lecture, parlé et écrit (de 0 à 100%)
16 - nombre d'années réelles d'études vidéo, cinéma, journalisme, détails, écoles, dates
17 - nombre d'années réelles de travail professionnel en video, cinéma, journalisme, détails, compagnies, dates
18 - connaissance de la réalisation, détails
19 - connaissance du reportage, détails
20 - connaissance de l'écriture scénario, détails
21 - connaissance de la prise de vue caméra, détails
22 - connaissance de montage en vidéo/cinéma, détails
23 - connaissance de la prise de son, détails
24 - connaissance du mixage sons, détails
25 - prix reçus, quand, pour quoi, de qui
26 - expérience du voyage, pays visités, seul, accompagné, de qui
27 - gestion de groupe, expérience, situations, résultats
top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
¿Eres un/una jóven cineasta?
¿Quieres participar a una increíble carrera alrededor del mundo?
Todos los gastos de este proyecto corren por cuenta de nuestra organización:
- viajes aereos, visas
- equipo vidéo
- estancia (albergamiento y comida) durante todo el viaje,
- seguro de viaje, vacunas
Debes hacer llegar tu expediente a nuestra oficina
antes del 8 de septiembre 2003 a las 18 horas,
hora local
Envía tu expediente por correo a:
Prospective Internationale
28, place Morichar
1060 Bruselas
Bélgica
asi como por email a:
contest@3-1416.org
Expediente del Candidato
- Curriculum vitae
- Carta de interés
explicando porque quieres participar en este evento
- Una cinta vidéo con tus producciones recientes las más creativas
Tomaremos en cuenta tanto la calidad de imagen como de edición,
Duración maxima: 20 minutos en formato DV - Beta - VHS y en estandard PAL - SECAM - NTSC.
Criterios de admisibilidad
- Hombres y mujeres entre 20 y 30 años de edad al 1° de enero 2004
- Totalmente disponible desde el 12 de enero hasta el 16 de junio 2004, pasaporte válido hasta el 1° de diciembre 2004, con un minimo de 16 paginas vírgenes
- Conocimiento perfecto (leer, hablar y escribir) de por lo menos uno de estos tres idiomas: español, inglés, francés
- Persona sensata y responsable, con fuertes capacidades de organización individual y de grupo
- Resistencia física y psicológica comprobada en situación de viaje bajo condiciones climáticas diversas y difíciles en un entorno que puede llegar a ser peligroso, entrega de un certificado medical extendido por un hospital oficial
- Dominio total de por lo menos dos de las siguientes técnicas:
- toma de imágenes (trabajando en DV),
- toma de sonido : voz y exteriores (micrófono exterior, percha y mezcladora),
- edición (Final Cut Pro u otro editor virtual),
- dirección de corto-metraje,
- escritura de guíon para corto-metraje
- Mucha creatividad a la vez en la escritura, el rodaje y la edición de los corto-metrajes
- Conocimiento de los medios de comunicación modernos, particularment del correo electrónico.
Para registrarte, envianos por email toda tu información sobre los siguientes puntos:
01 - nombre
02 - apellido
03 - nationalidad de nacimiento, y eventualmente, nacionalidad actual
04 - género
05 - fecha de nacimiento y lugar
06 - pasaporte válido, con 16 páginas libres
07 - país de residencia
08 - ciudad de residencia
09 - dirección de residencia y código postal
10 - teléfono, fax, email, email alternativo, dirección de tu página web
11 - Inglés, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
12 - Francés, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
13 - Español, nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
14 - otro idioma que conoces
15 - para cada otro idioma que conoces, indica el nivel de lectura, escritura y hablado (de 0 a 100%)
16 - número de años efectivos de estudios en video, cine y periodismo, escuelas, fechas
17 - número de años efectivos de trabajo profesional en video, cine y periodismo, detalles, companías, fechas
18 - conocimiento de la dirección, detalles
19 - conocimiento del reportaje, detalles
20 - conocimiento de la escritura de guión, detalles
21 - conocimiento de la fotografía cámara, detalles
22 - conocimiento de la edición en video, cine, detalles
23 - conocimiento de la grabación de sonido, detalles
24 - conocimiento de lamezcla de sonido, detalles
25 - premios recibidos, cuando, para qué, de quien
26 - experiencia de viaje, paises visitados, solo, acompañado, con quien
27 - manejo de grupo, experiencia, situaciones, resultados
Youth media active on HIV/AIDS issue
March 5, 2003
Rupert Everett Expresses His Outrage
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN and JOANNA BLONSKA
Rupert Everett may have been quiet on the movie front lately, but he continues to be an outspoken activist on AIDS issues, as evidenced by his appearance this week at the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC) conference held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., reports PEOPLE.
SGAC, founded two years ago by Harvard students Ben Wikler and Adam Taylor, is the country's largest student AIDS advocacy group, involving some 250 schools across the U.S. On Monday, its members took their fight to Capitol Hill, where they lobbied Congress to increase AIDS funding.
"These students are amazing, because they're not like people of my generation who get twisted by personal anger," "The Importance of Being Earnest" star, 43, tells PEOPLE.
"You notice a lot of people my age when they're talking about politics, there's a lot of personal anger, which is very dangerous. These kids don't have that kind of anger."
What they do have, said the actor, is "outrage -- young, innocent, pure energy. And they are more interesting than Britney and Justin, I'm sorry."
Everett says the trip he took three years ago to visit the Kibera slum, in Nairobi, Kenya, really woke him up to the AIDS problem. "I'm not a major activist ... I was dragged into the AIDS arena kicking and screaming."
Yet he was devastated by what he saw in Kenya, and since that first visit has gone back twice and is now spreading the word among his celebrity friends to raise money to expand the Kibera Community Center.
He also is raising money for another African student group, Youth Media Zambia, whom he also met in Barcelona at the international AIDS conference.
Says Everett: "They started a magazine and a TV show, and I'm trying to find money for them to make the rest of their TV series."
March 5, 2003
Rupert Everett Expresses His Outrage
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN and JOANNA BLONSKA
Rupert Everett may have been quiet on the movie front lately, but he continues to be an outspoken activist on AIDS issues, as evidenced by his appearance this week at the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC) conference held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., reports PEOPLE.
SGAC, founded two years ago by Harvard students Ben Wikler and Adam Taylor, is the country's largest student AIDS advocacy group, involving some 250 schools across the U.S. On Monday, its members took their fight to Capitol Hill, where they lobbied Congress to increase AIDS funding.
"These students are amazing, because they're not like people of my generation who get twisted by personal anger," "The Importance of Being Earnest" star, 43, tells PEOPLE.
"You notice a lot of people my age when they're talking about politics, there's a lot of personal anger, which is very dangerous. These kids don't have that kind of anger."
What they do have, said the actor, is "outrage -- young, innocent, pure energy. And they are more interesting than Britney and Justin, I'm sorry."
Everett says the trip he took three years ago to visit the Kibera slum, in Nairobi, Kenya, really woke him up to the AIDS problem. "I'm not a major activist ... I was dragged into the AIDS arena kicking and screaming."
Yet he was devastated by what he saw in Kenya, and since that first visit has gone back twice and is now spreading the word among his celebrity friends to raise money to expand the Kibera Community Center.
He also is raising money for another African student group, Youth Media Zambia, whom he also met in Barcelona at the international AIDS conference.
Says Everett: "They started a magazine and a TV show, and I'm trying to find money for them to make the rest of their TV series."
Institute for War and Peace Reporting - Women tune into progress
Women Tune into Progress
A new radio station for women is seen by them as yet another breakthrough in their quest for greater rights.
By Haseena Sulaiman and Habib Rahman Ibrahimi in Kabul (ARR No.52, 14-Mar-03)
For the first time in a decade, the sound of women singing was broadcast over the airwaves of Afghanistan this week, the latest sign of strides the fairer sex has made since dark years of the Taleban.
The launch of the new radio station, Voice of Women, follows the setting up of the at least half a dozen women’s publications in the past year in Kabul, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif.
A monthly run by the Women’s Voice League - the organisation that launched the radio station - published its first edition on March 5, with news, opinion and problem pages.
And Kabul University’s arts faculty opened its first-ever music classes for women and girls last semester. Only two of the latter signed up, but the university hopes to fill the remaining 13 places by the time the new semester begins on March 22.
One barrier yet to fall is singing on state television and radio. The ongoing power struggle between conservatives and progressives in the transitional authority mean an official ban remains in place. Jamila Mujahid, president of the Women’s Voice League, founded a year ago, said the prohibition does not apply to her station, as it is not owned by the state.
Mujahid is also a newscaster on TV and Radio Afghanistan and the founder and chief editor of Malalai monthly, an independent women’s publication. “We can see lots of improvements for us which we could not have imagined a year ago,” she told IWPR. “I am ecstatic now that we have our own radio.”
The UNESCO-funded station, with a five-person staff, has started by transmitting an hour a day, in the late afternoon, and plans to double its output very soon.
Its programmes - which focus on news, education, social and women’s issues, cooking and of course music - are broadcast in both official languages, Dari and Pashto, and reach listeners 20 km from the centre of Kabul on FM 91.6 MHz.
The station also plans to set up branch stations across Afghanistan to broadcast its programmes on medium wave radio.
Parween, who in 1957 was the first woman to sing on radio in Afghanistan, performed at a concert for 350 people on March 8 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Women’s Voice League and the launch of the new station, which can only broadcast recordings of women singing, not live performances, so far.
Now 75, Parween still sings despite the fact that she has lost all her teeth. She and others at the inauguration of the station said Afghan women needed to speak up for themselves. “[They] should make an effort to improve their social conditions,” Parween said.
But she and other famous female Afghan singers no longer live in the country, having fled during the years of civil war.
Habiba Surabi, minister of women’s affairs, said at the March 8 event, “This radio station should tell women about their rights and that they don’t have to wait any longer to begin working. We’re human beings and can do anything a man does.”
Surabi also demanded that President Karzai lift the official ban on women singers being broadcast on state television and radio.
Another attendee, Abdul Hamid Mubarez, deputy minister of information and culture, also spoke about the need to raise women’s voices in media throughout the country. “This [station] is a good start, and it is a matter of profound pleasure for all Afghans that women, who were deprived of the right to education and employment, have set up a radio,” he said.
Mubarez said the expansion of the station to other provinces is crucial “because there are some women who are still of the view that they are not entitled to an education”.
But progressive voices are still overpowered by those in the government who want to adhere to a strict Islamic interpretation of women’s place in society.
Hadiths, the stories about the prophet Mohammed’s life, which are the second-tier basis of Islamic principles (after the Quran), can be cited both for and against women singing in public.
Women have been allowed to sing the verses of the Quran since the beginnings of Islam. Even during Taleban times, they sang at weddings in segregated sections.
However, the manager of the preaching department of the justice ministry, Mawlawee Miranshah, told IWPR that the Voice of Women station is against the Shariah, or Islamic law.
“We accept the rights which are given to women by the Shariah, not others, because ours is an Islamic country, and the culture and religion of the country should be taken into consideration. We don’t want to do what the Taleban did to women, but we can’t accept this [radio station],” he said.
Parween, like other middle-aged and older women, can recall the days when women moved, spoke and sang freely in a modernising Afghanistan. In the Sixties and Seventies, they gave public concerts and numbered among the staff of the music department at Kabul University.
Parween and another famous singer, Sara Zaland, gave a concert in Kabul in 1966 wearing modern clothes that exposed their arms and legs.
In the Eighties, the music department at Kabul University had a number of female employees, including Tajik teachers who formed a song and dance group. Only one of them, Najiba Semin, continues to work in the field, at the music section of the information and culture ministry.
She was involved in a mixed male and female singing group that began in 1983, but was disbanded in 1992, after the fall of the Najibullah regime.
She hopes to see the rebirth of women’s music, through classes such as those offered at Kabul University.
The two girls who enrolled in the classes at the university last semester are sisters, Raqeeba, 16, and Rahima, 13. Their mother is from Iran and their father is Afghan, and the family came to Afghanistan last fall after living 25 years in exile.
Raqeeba and Rahima sing and study the armonya (a kind of accordion) as part of the certificate courses in music. Raqeeba was too engrossed in her playing to be interviewed, but Rahima took a moment from her concentrated study to say, “Music gives me a feeling of contentment. I’m interesting in learning to play even more.”
Akbar Bayi, director of the music section at the ministry of information and culture, said that the government has encouraged Afghan artists who have left the country to return and help rebuild the country’s musical traditions.
But he acknowledged that male and female musicians alike are still at risk from conservative Afghans.
A few months ago, in a village just north of Kabul, four musicians were beaten when they came to sing at a party. And before that, two were killed for performing at a wedding party in Paghman, just outside Kabul.
Mohammad Azim Hussaizada, a music teacher in the university programme, said classes are to continue despite the opposition to women performing. “During the last years of war, women rights and needs were ignored. We have given place to girls in the music department so they can succeed in the arts,” he said.
Anything that gives Afghan women a greater voice in society, no matter what the form, is welcomed by most of the younger, educated women.
Suraya, a third-year medical student at Kabul University, told IWPR, “After so much destruction and fighting in the country, steps towards democracy are being taken and women’s rights are being protected. This is a matter of great pride. Now we want the government to lift the ban of women’s music on television.”
Haseena Sulaiman and Habib Rahman Ibrahimi are independent journalists in Kabul.
Women Tune into Progress
A new radio station for women is seen by them as yet another breakthrough in their quest for greater rights.
By Haseena Sulaiman and Habib Rahman Ibrahimi in Kabul (ARR No.52, 14-Mar-03)
For the first time in a decade, the sound of women singing was broadcast over the airwaves of Afghanistan this week, the latest sign of strides the fairer sex has made since dark years of the Taleban.
The launch of the new radio station, Voice of Women, follows the setting up of the at least half a dozen women’s publications in the past year in Kabul, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif.
A monthly run by the Women’s Voice League - the organisation that launched the radio station - published its first edition on March 5, with news, opinion and problem pages.
And Kabul University’s arts faculty opened its first-ever music classes for women and girls last semester. Only two of the latter signed up, but the university hopes to fill the remaining 13 places by the time the new semester begins on March 22.
One barrier yet to fall is singing on state television and radio. The ongoing power struggle between conservatives and progressives in the transitional authority mean an official ban remains in place. Jamila Mujahid, president of the Women’s Voice League, founded a year ago, said the prohibition does not apply to her station, as it is not owned by the state.
Mujahid is also a newscaster on TV and Radio Afghanistan and the founder and chief editor of Malalai monthly, an independent women’s publication. “We can see lots of improvements for us which we could not have imagined a year ago,” she told IWPR. “I am ecstatic now that we have our own radio.”
The UNESCO-funded station, with a five-person staff, has started by transmitting an hour a day, in the late afternoon, and plans to double its output very soon.
Its programmes - which focus on news, education, social and women’s issues, cooking and of course music - are broadcast in both official languages, Dari and Pashto, and reach listeners 20 km from the centre of Kabul on FM 91.6 MHz.
The station also plans to set up branch stations across Afghanistan to broadcast its programmes on medium wave radio.
Parween, who in 1957 was the first woman to sing on radio in Afghanistan, performed at a concert for 350 people on March 8 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Women’s Voice League and the launch of the new station, which can only broadcast recordings of women singing, not live performances, so far.
Now 75, Parween still sings despite the fact that she has lost all her teeth. She and others at the inauguration of the station said Afghan women needed to speak up for themselves. “[They] should make an effort to improve their social conditions,” Parween said.
But she and other famous female Afghan singers no longer live in the country, having fled during the years of civil war.
Habiba Surabi, minister of women’s affairs, said at the March 8 event, “This radio station should tell women about their rights and that they don’t have to wait any longer to begin working. We’re human beings and can do anything a man does.”
Surabi also demanded that President Karzai lift the official ban on women singers being broadcast on state television and radio.
Another attendee, Abdul Hamid Mubarez, deputy minister of information and culture, also spoke about the need to raise women’s voices in media throughout the country. “This [station] is a good start, and it is a matter of profound pleasure for all Afghans that women, who were deprived of the right to education and employment, have set up a radio,” he said.
Mubarez said the expansion of the station to other provinces is crucial “because there are some women who are still of the view that they are not entitled to an education”.
But progressive voices are still overpowered by those in the government who want to adhere to a strict Islamic interpretation of women’s place in society.
Hadiths, the stories about the prophet Mohammed’s life, which are the second-tier basis of Islamic principles (after the Quran), can be cited both for and against women singing in public.
Women have been allowed to sing the verses of the Quran since the beginnings of Islam. Even during Taleban times, they sang at weddings in segregated sections.
However, the manager of the preaching department of the justice ministry, Mawlawee Miranshah, told IWPR that the Voice of Women station is against the Shariah, or Islamic law.
“We accept the rights which are given to women by the Shariah, not others, because ours is an Islamic country, and the culture and religion of the country should be taken into consideration. We don’t want to do what the Taleban did to women, but we can’t accept this [radio station],” he said.
Parween, like other middle-aged and older women, can recall the days when women moved, spoke and sang freely in a modernising Afghanistan. In the Sixties and Seventies, they gave public concerts and numbered among the staff of the music department at Kabul University.
Parween and another famous singer, Sara Zaland, gave a concert in Kabul in 1966 wearing modern clothes that exposed their arms and legs.
In the Eighties, the music department at Kabul University had a number of female employees, including Tajik teachers who formed a song and dance group. Only one of them, Najiba Semin, continues to work in the field, at the music section of the information and culture ministry.
She was involved in a mixed male and female singing group that began in 1983, but was disbanded in 1992, after the fall of the Najibullah regime.
She hopes to see the rebirth of women’s music, through classes such as those offered at Kabul University.
The two girls who enrolled in the classes at the university last semester are sisters, Raqeeba, 16, and Rahima, 13. Their mother is from Iran and their father is Afghan, and the family came to Afghanistan last fall after living 25 years in exile.
Raqeeba and Rahima sing and study the armonya (a kind of accordion) as part of the certificate courses in music. Raqeeba was too engrossed in her playing to be interviewed, but Rahima took a moment from her concentrated study to say, “Music gives me a feeling of contentment. I’m interesting in learning to play even more.”
Akbar Bayi, director of the music section at the ministry of information and culture, said that the government has encouraged Afghan artists who have left the country to return and help rebuild the country’s musical traditions.
But he acknowledged that male and female musicians alike are still at risk from conservative Afghans.
A few months ago, in a village just north of Kabul, four musicians were beaten when they came to sing at a party. And before that, two were killed for performing at a wedding party in Paghman, just outside Kabul.
Mohammad Azim Hussaizada, a music teacher in the university programme, said classes are to continue despite the opposition to women performing. “During the last years of war, women rights and needs were ignored. We have given place to girls in the music department so they can succeed in the arts,” he said.
Anything that gives Afghan women a greater voice in society, no matter what the form, is welcomed by most of the younger, educated women.
Suraya, a third-year medical student at Kabul University, told IWPR, “After so much destruction and fighting in the country, steps towards democracy are being taken and women’s rights are being protected. This is a matter of great pride. Now we want the government to lift the ban of women’s music on television.”
Haseena Sulaiman and Habib Rahman Ibrahimi are independent journalists in Kabul.
UN Agency Kicks Off Plan To Mobilize World Youth To Protect The Environment
14/3/2003
UN Agency Kicks Off Plan To Mobilize World Youth To Protect The Environment
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched in Sydney this week the first event in a campaign to mobilize the world's children and youth to protect the planet's environment.
The Eco-Innovate 03 Forum, with high-profile speakers, discussion forums, hands-on design sessions and mentoring by business and technology leaders, will be held from 14 to 18 July and is expected to attract more than 100 young people aged 15 to 23 from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and India.
Initiated by UNEP, Bayer, and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the forum is part of UNEP's new TUNZA strategy designed to enhance the ability of young people to take action and influence decision makers for a sustainable world. Tunza means "to treat with care and affection" in the East African Kiswahili language.
The plan recognizes that 47 per cent, or 2.9 billion, of the world's population are below the age of 25, with 2.5 billion of that population segment living in developing countries where access to environmental information is limited, UNEP's Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Surendra Shrestha, said.
"We also know that 15 per cent of the world's population accounts for 56 per cent of consumption and if everybody lived like they do we would need 2.6 additional planets to support us all," Mr. Shrestha said. "Our assessments of the state of the environment suggest we will need to innovate a transformation to sustainable production and consumption patterns in the space of just one generation."
Eco-Innovate 03 will draw on UNEP's global environmental perspective, the eco-efficiency and eco-design expertise of UNSW's Faculty of the Built Environment, and Bayer's long-standing involvement in youth education in the region.
14/3/2003
UN Agency Kicks Off Plan To Mobilize World Youth To Protect The Environment
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched in Sydney this week the first event in a campaign to mobilize the world's children and youth to protect the planet's environment.
The Eco-Innovate 03 Forum, with high-profile speakers, discussion forums, hands-on design sessions and mentoring by business and technology leaders, will be held from 14 to 18 July and is expected to attract more than 100 young people aged 15 to 23 from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and India.
Initiated by UNEP, Bayer, and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the forum is part of UNEP's new TUNZA strategy designed to enhance the ability of young people to take action and influence decision makers for a sustainable world. Tunza means "to treat with care and affection" in the East African Kiswahili language.
The plan recognizes that 47 per cent, or 2.9 billion, of the world's population are below the age of 25, with 2.5 billion of that population segment living in developing countries where access to environmental information is limited, UNEP's Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Surendra Shrestha, said.
"We also know that 15 per cent of the world's population accounts for 56 per cent of consumption and if everybody lived like they do we would need 2.6 additional planets to support us all," Mr. Shrestha said. "Our assessments of the state of the environment suggest we will need to innovate a transformation to sustainable production and consumption patterns in the space of just one generation."
Eco-Innovate 03 will draw on UNEP's global environmental perspective, the eco-efficiency and eco-design expertise of UNSW's Faculty of the Built Environment, and Bayer's long-standing involvement in youth education in the region.
March 14, 2003
Journalist failed to get proper consent, says PCC
The Press Complaints Commisssion
- this story published 14.3.2003
Journalist failed to get proper consent, says PCC
The Welwyn and Hatfield Times has been rapped for interviewing a 10-year-old boy without the correct permission.
The interview did not result in a published article.
But the Press Complaints Commission still ruled that such material needed to be gathered in accordance with the requirements of the Editors' Code of Practice, and consent from a legal guardian should have been given, in line with Clause 6 (Children).
The code states that young people should be free to complete their time at school without unnecessary intrusion and that journalists must not interview or photograph a child under the age of 16 without the consent of a parent or other adult who is responsible for the child.
The PCC found a journalist from the paper had not spoken to the boy's legal guardian, but to his mother's partner who was not in a position to give consent, before telephoning the boy at school.
Therefore the complaint was upheld.
Sally Everitt and Andy Brick complained that a reporter from the Welwyn and Hatfield Times had interviewed Sally's son without proper consent.
The journalist had spoken to Andy – not the boy's legal guardian – who had said that, while there probably would not be a problem, he would have to check with the boy's mother. He asked the journalist to call back once he had had the chance to speak to his partner.
The complainants said that the journalist had then phoned the school and interviewed the boy, who had appeared in a television programme, and claimed that she was doing so with consent. She did not call the complainants back.
The newspaper said that the journalist had only phoned the school once Andy Brick had said it 'wouldn’t be a problem' for the journalist to speak to the child.
The paper accepted that there appeared to have been a misunderstanding about whether she could telephone the boy at school and the journalist had therefore apologised to the complainants and the paper had agreed not to publish anything resulting from the interview.
The PCC ruled that while the newspaper suggested that there had been a misunderstanding, the wording of Clause 6 (Children) should be sufficiently clear to prevent any such confusion.
It added that it appreciated that nothing had been published but the journalist should not have telephoned the boy at school without proper consent.
The Press Complaints Commisssion
- this story published 14.3.2003
Journalist failed to get proper consent, says PCC
The Welwyn and Hatfield Times has been rapped for interviewing a 10-year-old boy without the correct permission.
The interview did not result in a published article.
But the Press Complaints Commission still ruled that such material needed to be gathered in accordance with the requirements of the Editors' Code of Practice, and consent from a legal guardian should have been given, in line with Clause 6 (Children).
The code states that young people should be free to complete their time at school without unnecessary intrusion and that journalists must not interview or photograph a child under the age of 16 without the consent of a parent or other adult who is responsible for the child.
The PCC found a journalist from the paper had not spoken to the boy's legal guardian, but to his mother's partner who was not in a position to give consent, before telephoning the boy at school.
Therefore the complaint was upheld.
Sally Everitt and Andy Brick complained that a reporter from the Welwyn and Hatfield Times had interviewed Sally's son without proper consent.
The journalist had spoken to Andy – not the boy's legal guardian – who had said that, while there probably would not be a problem, he would have to check with the boy's mother. He asked the journalist to call back once he had had the chance to speak to his partner.
The complainants said that the journalist had then phoned the school and interviewed the boy, who had appeared in a television programme, and claimed that she was doing so with consent. She did not call the complainants back.
The newspaper said that the journalist had only phoned the school once Andy Brick had said it 'wouldn’t be a problem' for the journalist to speak to the child.
The paper accepted that there appeared to have been a misunderstanding about whether she could telephone the boy at school and the journalist had therefore apologised to the complainants and the paper had agreed not to publish anything resulting from the interview.
The PCC ruled that while the newspaper suggested that there had been a misunderstanding, the wording of Clause 6 (Children) should be sufficiently clear to prevent any such confusion.
It added that it appreciated that nothing had been published but the journalist should not have telephoned the boy at school without proper consent.
March 13, 2003
Chance for student journalists to shine
Regional press awards - this story published 13.3.2003
Chance for student journalists to shine
By Holdthefrontpage Staff
The 2003 Guardian Student Media Awards have been launched, with prizes such as work experience at the Guardian and Sky News up for grabs.
Now in its 25th year, the competition recognises the best student journalists, editors, designers and photographers.
The awards can help students launch a career in the media, and previous winners have included Heat editor Mark Frith, who will be one of the judges at this year's competition.
Also on the judging panel will be Sun editor Rebekah Wade, Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue, Martin Bashir, Jonathan Ross, and Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, along with a host of other journalists from the national press and broadcasting.
This year's categories include:
Student Newspaper of the Year
Student Magazine of the Year
Student Reporter of the Year
Student Feature Writer of the Year
Student Photographer of the Year
Student Publication Design of the Year
Student Website of the Year
Student Critic of the Year
Small Budget Publication of the Year
Student Sports writer of the Year
Student Diversity Writer of the Year
Student Travel Writer of the Year
Student Columnist of the Year
As well as choosing individual category winners, the judging panel will also select an overall winner who will have an extended six-week work placement at the Guardian and Guardian Unlimited.
They will also receive a subsistence allowance of £1,000 for the duration of their placement and a pair of round Europe flights, courtesy of easyJet.
The closing date for entries is July 18, and more details can be found at media.guardian.co.uk/studentmediaawards.
Regional press awards - this story published 13.3.2003
Chance for student journalists to shine
By Holdthefrontpage Staff
The 2003 Guardian Student Media Awards have been launched, with prizes such as work experience at the Guardian and Sky News up for grabs.
Now in its 25th year, the competition recognises the best student journalists, editors, designers and photographers.
The awards can help students launch a career in the media, and previous winners have included Heat editor Mark Frith, who will be one of the judges at this year's competition.
Also on the judging panel will be Sun editor Rebekah Wade, Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue, Martin Bashir, Jonathan Ross, and Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, along with a host of other journalists from the national press and broadcasting.
This year's categories include:
Student Newspaper of the Year
Student Magazine of the Year
Student Reporter of the Year
Student Feature Writer of the Year
Student Photographer of the Year
Student Publication Design of the Year
Student Website of the Year
Student Critic of the Year
Small Budget Publication of the Year
Student Sports writer of the Year
Student Diversity Writer of the Year
Student Travel Writer of the Year
Student Columnist of the Year
As well as choosing individual category winners, the judging panel will also select an overall winner who will have an extended six-week work placement at the Guardian and Guardian Unlimited.
They will also receive a subsistence allowance of £1,000 for the duration of their placement and a pair of round Europe flights, courtesy of easyJet.
The closing date for entries is July 18, and more details can be found at media.guardian.co.uk/studentmediaawards.
March 12, 2003
March 11, 2003
Youth issues
Celebrating two great years
(Posted Date: Monday, March 10, 2003)
By Jay Solomon — Youth Issues
As I began thinking about this month’s column, I was reminded, by my collection of past articles, that this month marks my two-year anniversary with this publication.
As I sat there in shock, that the time past so quickly, I mentally recalled the struggle of ‘getting published’.
I remember spending more than a year trying to convince Toronto newspapers to pick up my column. I tried just about every paper in the city. And, the only one interested in what I — a, then, 18-year-old ‘kid’ — had to say was the Town Crier. It seems like so long ago.
As I sit here today, two years later, and review my decision to get into the ‘media business,’ I am very grateful for the unique opportunity this paper has provided me. I have had the chance to expand my knowledge on numerous subjects and enhance my command of the English language in ways that I would have never thought possible. For that, I must take the time to thank those at the Town Crier for their vision and confidence in me.
We were obviously on to something. Since the Town Crier picked up my column, at least one other local newspaper decided to add a ‘youth’ to their writing staff. I take that as a compliment, as should the Town Crier staff, and you, the reader. If it wasn’t for the people who regularly read this column, and, on occasion, provide me with feedback, I doubt I would have lasted this long.
Over the past two years, we have covered some very important topics. There were articles on education, terrorism, alcohol, drugs, bullying, and role models, just to name a few. There have been serious articles, as well as sarcastic ones. Regardless, we’ve brought important ‘youth issues’ into the spotlight.
As I look to the future, I question how much longer I will be able to maintain the status of a ‘youth’ specialist. My 21st birthday will be celebrated this summer, marking, fortunately or not, an unofficial passage into adulthood. A step that I’m not sure I look forward to. But, that is neither here nor there.
As for the immediate future, I will continue working hard to produce valuable articles that both incite discussion and make people think. If you have suggestions on topics that you would like me to address in the future, please feel free to log on to my Web site at Jay Solomon and e-mail me.
Finally, I want to take the time to thank my biggest supporters: my parents, my siblings and my grandparents. Your support, guidance and love are invaluable.
It’s been a great two years. I look forward to a few more!
Jay Solomon is a York Mills Collegiate alumnus now attending school at York University. As a former advocate against school violence Jay writes on issues affecting today's youth.
Celebrating two great years
(Posted Date: Monday, March 10, 2003)
By Jay Solomon — Youth Issues
As I began thinking about this month’s column, I was reminded, by my collection of past articles, that this month marks my two-year anniversary with this publication.
As I sat there in shock, that the time past so quickly, I mentally recalled the struggle of ‘getting published’.
I remember spending more than a year trying to convince Toronto newspapers to pick up my column. I tried just about every paper in the city. And, the only one interested in what I — a, then, 18-year-old ‘kid’ — had to say was the Town Crier. It seems like so long ago.
As I sit here today, two years later, and review my decision to get into the ‘media business,’ I am very grateful for the unique opportunity this paper has provided me. I have had the chance to expand my knowledge on numerous subjects and enhance my command of the English language in ways that I would have never thought possible. For that, I must take the time to thank those at the Town Crier for their vision and confidence in me.
We were obviously on to something. Since the Town Crier picked up my column, at least one other local newspaper decided to add a ‘youth’ to their writing staff. I take that as a compliment, as should the Town Crier staff, and you, the reader. If it wasn’t for the people who regularly read this column, and, on occasion, provide me with feedback, I doubt I would have lasted this long.
Over the past two years, we have covered some very important topics. There were articles on education, terrorism, alcohol, drugs, bullying, and role models, just to name a few. There have been serious articles, as well as sarcastic ones. Regardless, we’ve brought important ‘youth issues’ into the spotlight.
As I look to the future, I question how much longer I will be able to maintain the status of a ‘youth’ specialist. My 21st birthday will be celebrated this summer, marking, fortunately or not, an unofficial passage into adulthood. A step that I’m not sure I look forward to. But, that is neither here nor there.
As for the immediate future, I will continue working hard to produce valuable articles that both incite discussion and make people think. If you have suggestions on topics that you would like me to address in the future, please feel free to log on to my Web site at Jay Solomon and e-mail me.
Finally, I want to take the time to thank my biggest supporters: my parents, my siblings and my grandparents. Your support, guidance and love are invaluable.
It’s been a great two years. I look forward to a few more!
Jay Solomon is a York Mills Collegiate alumnus now attending school at York University. As a former advocate against school violence Jay writes on issues affecting today's youth.
March 10, 2003
Children-TV Violence Link Has Effect
washingtonpost.com
Children-TV Violence Link Has Effect
By MALCOLM RITTER
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 9, 2003; 6:12 PM
Both boys and girls who watch a lot of violence on television have a heightened risk of aggressive adult behavior including spouse abuse and criminal offenses, no matter how they act in childhood, a new study says.
While the results may not be surprising, experts say the study is important because it included hundreds of participants and showed the effect in females as well as males.
The participants were interviewed at ages 6 to 9 and again in their early 20s, making the study one of the few to follow children into adulthood to gauge the long-term effects of televised violence.
The findings are presented in the March issue of the journal Developmental Psychology by psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann and colleagues at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
Huesmann said televised violence suggests to young children that aggression is appropriate in some situations, especially when it is used by charismatic heroes. It also erodes a natural aversion to violence, he said.
He recommended that parents restrict viewing of violent TV and movies by young children and preteens as much as possible.
The analysis argued against the idea that aggressive children seek out TV violence, or that the findings were due to the participants' socioeconomic status or intelligence, or their parents' childrearing practices.
The study involved 329 adults who were initially surveyed as children in the late 1970s. Researchers interviewed them again as adults, along with their spouses or friends, and checked crime records.
As children, the participants were rated for exposure to televised violence after they chose eight favorite shows from 80 popular programs for their age group and indicated how often they watched them. The programs were assessed by researchers for amount of physical violence. Programs such as "Starsky and Hutch," "The Six Million Dollar Man" and Roadrunner cartoons were deemed very violent.
As young adults, men in the study who had scored in the top 20 percent on childhood exposure were about twice as likely as other men to have pushed, grabbed or shoved their wives during an argument in the year preceding the interview. Women who had scored in the top 20 percent were about twice as likely as other women to have thrown something at their husbands.
For one or both sexes, these "high TV-violence viewers" were also more likely than other study participants in the previous 12 months to have shoved somebody in anger; punched, beaten or choked an adult, or committed a crime or a moving traffic violation.
Along with viewing of violent TV, the participants had been asked as children how much they identified with violent TV characters and how realistic they judged various violent TV shows to be.
Researchers found that high ratings on any of the three childhood measures predicted higher ratings of overall aggression in adulthood. It made no difference how aggressive the participants had been as children.
Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said not all studies find a relationship between TV viewing and violent behavior. "I think the jury is still out about whether there is a link," he said.
The American Psychological Association, however, has concluded that viewing violence on TV or other mass media does promote aggressive behavior, particularly in children. Other mental-health and medical groups have taken similar stands.
Joanne Cantor, professor emerita of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the new study was "a very strong addition to what I consider a large amount of data that points in the same direction."
© 2003 The Associated Press
washingtonpost.com
Children-TV Violence Link Has Effect
By MALCOLM RITTER
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 9, 2003; 6:12 PM
Both boys and girls who watch a lot of violence on television have a heightened risk of aggressive adult behavior including spouse abuse and criminal offenses, no matter how they act in childhood, a new study says.
While the results may not be surprising, experts say the study is important because it included hundreds of participants and showed the effect in females as well as males.
The participants were interviewed at ages 6 to 9 and again in their early 20s, making the study one of the few to follow children into adulthood to gauge the long-term effects of televised violence.
The findings are presented in the March issue of the journal Developmental Psychology by psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann and colleagues at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
Huesmann said televised violence suggests to young children that aggression is appropriate in some situations, especially when it is used by charismatic heroes. It also erodes a natural aversion to violence, he said.
He recommended that parents restrict viewing of violent TV and movies by young children and preteens as much as possible.
The analysis argued against the idea that aggressive children seek out TV violence, or that the findings were due to the participants' socioeconomic status or intelligence, or their parents' childrearing practices.
The study involved 329 adults who were initially surveyed as children in the late 1970s. Researchers interviewed them again as adults, along with their spouses or friends, and checked crime records.
As children, the participants were rated for exposure to televised violence after they chose eight favorite shows from 80 popular programs for their age group and indicated how often they watched them. The programs were assessed by researchers for amount of physical violence. Programs such as "Starsky and Hutch," "The Six Million Dollar Man" and Roadrunner cartoons were deemed very violent.
As young adults, men in the study who had scored in the top 20 percent on childhood exposure were about twice as likely as other men to have pushed, grabbed or shoved their wives during an argument in the year preceding the interview. Women who had scored in the top 20 percent were about twice as likely as other women to have thrown something at their husbands.
For one or both sexes, these "high TV-violence viewers" were also more likely than other study participants in the previous 12 months to have shoved somebody in anger; punched, beaten or choked an adult, or committed a crime or a moving traffic violation.
Along with viewing of violent TV, the participants had been asked as children how much they identified with violent TV characters and how realistic they judged various violent TV shows to be.
Researchers found that high ratings on any of the three childhood measures predicted higher ratings of overall aggression in adulthood. It made no difference how aggressive the participants had been as children.
Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said not all studies find a relationship between TV viewing and violent behavior. "I think the jury is still out about whether there is a link," he said.
The American Psychological Association, however, has concluded that viewing violence on TV or other mass media does promote aggressive behavior, particularly in children. Other mental-health and medical groups have taken similar stands.
Joanne Cantor, professor emerita of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the new study was "a very strong addition to what I consider a large amount of data that points in the same direction."
© 2003 The Associated Press
March 7, 2003
Blair's Iraq policy fails to win over MTV viewers
Blair's Iraq policy fails to win over MTV viewers
By Tim Burt, Media Editor
Published: March 7 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: March 7 2003 4:00
The lead singer of Ugly Rumours did not flinch when he was confronted with his past yesterday. Tony Blair's grin remained plastered in place as he was introduced to 300m MTV viewers as the one-time rocker from Oxford University.
Ignoring the reference to the group that loomed larger than politics during his student days, the prime minister used his appearance on the cult music channel to justify the US-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.
The audience watching his performance - to be broadcast in Europe tonight - was typical MTV. Some sported tattoos, others goatees. There were beany hats, hipster trousers exposing branded underwear, baseball caps, discarded Coke cans and half-eaten sandwiches. And that was just the press room.
In the studio, the Youth Forum with Tony Blair pitched the prime minister against 40 smartly turned out youngsters, hair trimmed, subdued clothing, no angry outbursts. Before the cameras were switched on at Fountain Studios in north London, Mr Blair quipped: "I don't suppose you'll agree but we will have a decent discussion. It's important if you don't agree that you have a dialogue."
In the event, the debate proved less compelling than other Fountain productions such as Pop Idol, Winning Lines and The Kumars at Number 42. The prime minister only caught off-guard by a surreal intervention from a Swedish student. Challenging Mr Blair on his definition of weapons of mass destruction, he said: "I can produce anthrax in my bath, I've studied it. I have anthrax in my spinach at my summer cottage. Why don't you bomb Sweden?"
Mr Blair's confusion was covered by Trevor Nelson, the forum's presenter - better known as a DJ for MTV Base, one of the station's specialist music channels. The DJ cut short persistent critics, aware that previous MTV guests including Bill Clinton and Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, had been caught off-guard by unscripted comments.
The prime minister was allowed to bat away questions on a second United Nations resolution, dismiss suggestions that oil was the motive for the war and reject allegations that the West had armed the Iraqi leader.
He also drew parallels with Ulster - claiming "five years ago the Northern Ireland peace process was in a worse position than the Middle East" - and vowed to seek progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Zarko Panic, a 20-year-old Serbian student, asked whether Mr Hussein could be brought to trial like Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serb president. Mr Blair argued the Iraqi leader could be brought to justice, but admitted he might escape retribution in exile.
Mr Panic was unconvinced. After the show, he said: "He tried to avoid some tricky questions - there are still some points that he wouldn't answer like about Russia." Imran Saithna, a 24-year-old British Muslim, agreed. "I was not convinced before and my view has not changed at all."
MTV declared the event a success. Officials said the programme - due to be shown around the world over the next seven days - would be scheduled between top-rated shows to ensure maximum exposure.
Tonight's broadcast will feature Mr Blair ahead of another well-known Briton: Ozzy Osbourne. Like Mr Blair, the episode of The Osbournes will feature the ageing rocker meeting an old friend, in "Ozzy at the White House".
Blair's Iraq policy fails to win over MTV viewers
By Tim Burt, Media Editor
Published: March 7 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: March 7 2003 4:00
The lead singer of Ugly Rumours did not flinch when he was confronted with his past yesterday. Tony Blair's grin remained plastered in place as he was introduced to 300m MTV viewers as the one-time rocker from Oxford University.
Ignoring the reference to the group that loomed larger than politics during his student days, the prime minister used his appearance on the cult music channel to justify the US-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.
The audience watching his performance - to be broadcast in Europe tonight - was typical MTV. Some sported tattoos, others goatees. There were beany hats, hipster trousers exposing branded underwear, baseball caps, discarded Coke cans and half-eaten sandwiches. And that was just the press room.
In the studio, the Youth Forum with Tony Blair pitched the prime minister against 40 smartly turned out youngsters, hair trimmed, subdued clothing, no angry outbursts. Before the cameras were switched on at Fountain Studios in north London, Mr Blair quipped: "I don't suppose you'll agree but we will have a decent discussion. It's important if you don't agree that you have a dialogue."
In the event, the debate proved less compelling than other Fountain productions such as Pop Idol, Winning Lines and The Kumars at Number 42. The prime minister only caught off-guard by a surreal intervention from a Swedish student. Challenging Mr Blair on his definition of weapons of mass destruction, he said: "I can produce anthrax in my bath, I've studied it. I have anthrax in my spinach at my summer cottage. Why don't you bomb Sweden?"
Mr Blair's confusion was covered by Trevor Nelson, the forum's presenter - better known as a DJ for MTV Base, one of the station's specialist music channels. The DJ cut short persistent critics, aware that previous MTV guests including Bill Clinton and Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, had been caught off-guard by unscripted comments.
The prime minister was allowed to bat away questions on a second United Nations resolution, dismiss suggestions that oil was the motive for the war and reject allegations that the West had armed the Iraqi leader.
He also drew parallels with Ulster - claiming "five years ago the Northern Ireland peace process was in a worse position than the Middle East" - and vowed to seek progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Zarko Panic, a 20-year-old Serbian student, asked whether Mr Hussein could be brought to trial like Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serb president. Mr Blair argued the Iraqi leader could be brought to justice, but admitted he might escape retribution in exile.
Mr Panic was unconvinced. After the show, he said: "He tried to avoid some tricky questions - there are still some points that he wouldn't answer like about Russia." Imran Saithna, a 24-year-old British Muslim, agreed. "I was not convinced before and my view has not changed at all."
MTV declared the event a success. Officials said the programme - due to be shown around the world over the next seven days - would be scheduled between top-rated shows to ensure maximum exposure.
Tonight's broadcast will feature Mr Blair ahead of another well-known Briton: Ozzy Osbourne. Like Mr Blair, the episode of The Osbournes will feature the ageing rocker meeting an old friend, in "Ozzy at the White House".
March 5, 2003
Council of Europe Training Course on Intercultural Learning and Human Rights Education in the Mediterranean (May 20-28 2003)
Council of Europe Training Course on Intercultural Learning and Human Rights Education in the Mediterranean (May 20-28 2003)
Start Date: May 20, 2003
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Event Details: The North-South Center and the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the Council of Europe are jointly organising this training course Intercultural learning and human rights education to be held in the European Youth Centre Budapest.
This training course aims to enable youth workers and youth leaders active or interested in Euro-Mediterranean youth projects to develop intercultural learning and human rights education with young people, and to initiate common projects in these fields.
Objectives of the course:
To develop the participants' knowledge and competence in key concepts of intercultural learning, global education and human rights education with young people;
To develop a common understanding of the situations and challenges faced by young people across the Mediterranean;
To provide tools for analysis of the present challenges to closer co-operation among partners across the Mediterranean, including xenophobia and racism, prejudice and ignorance, social exclusion and poverty, and unequal opportunities for social and political participation;
To familiarise the participants with the approaches and activities of Compass (the manual on human rights education with young people) and on how best to use it and adapt it to their local contexts and realities;
To provide information about existing possibilities and conditions for the development of Euro-Med youth co-operation projects;
To identify common criteria and approaches for follow-up projects and initiatives and to support participants in developing them;
To develop an informal network of youth workers and youth leaders in the European and Mediterranean regions.
Registration Details:
Application deadline March 15 2003. Board and lodging are provided and paid for by the Council of Europe. An enrolment fee of 20 Euros is payable by each participant.
Contact Information:
Marcos Andrade
Youth Dimension Co-ordinator
North-South Centre
Council of Europe
Tel:+ (direct) 351 21 358 40 39 Fax: +(351 21) 352 49 66
marcos.andrade@coe.int
Council of Europe Training Course on Intercultural Learning and Human Rights Education in the Mediterranean (May 20-28 2003)
Start Date: May 20, 2003
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Event Details: The North-South Center and the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the Council of Europe are jointly organising this training course Intercultural learning and human rights education to be held in the European Youth Centre Budapest.
This training course aims to enable youth workers and youth leaders active or interested in Euro-Mediterranean youth projects to develop intercultural learning and human rights education with young people, and to initiate common projects in these fields.
Objectives of the course:
To develop the participants' knowledge and competence in key concepts of intercultural learning, global education and human rights education with young people;
To develop a common understanding of the situations and challenges faced by young people across the Mediterranean;
To provide tools for analysis of the present challenges to closer co-operation among partners across the Mediterranean, including xenophobia and racism, prejudice and ignorance, social exclusion and poverty, and unequal opportunities for social and political participation;
To familiarise the participants with the approaches and activities of Compass (the manual on human rights education with young people) and on how best to use it and adapt it to their local contexts and realities;
To provide information about existing possibilities and conditions for the development of Euro-Med youth co-operation projects;
To identify common criteria and approaches for follow-up projects and initiatives and to support participants in developing them;
To develop an informal network of youth workers and youth leaders in the European and Mediterranean regions.
Registration Details:
Application deadline March 15 2003. Board and lodging are provided and paid for by the Council of Europe. An enrolment fee of 20 Euros is payable by each participant.
Contact Information:
Marcos Andrade
Youth Dimension Co-ordinator
North-South Centre
Council of Europe
Tel:+ (direct) 351 21 358 40 39 Fax: +(351 21) 352 49 66
marcos.andrade@coe.int
Film Bursaries
The time of year for handing out film student bursaries has arrived!
We've taken a very deep breath here (despite having no money yet again), and have decided that we must go ahead with the third year of the student Film Bursary Scheme, designed to help graduates to shoot at least part of their productions in the developing world. Last year's results were very rewarding both for us and I hope for the applicants. Certainly the film night at the Horse Hospital in London last November was an exhilarating occasion.
We are once more seeking those diverse and innovative documentary projects on the developing world deserving of support.
The deadline for applications for the grants is Monday the 21st April - so get your skates on!
Below are the download links for all the Word docs you need - good luck.
The time of year for handing out film student bursaries has arrived!
We've taken a very deep breath here (despite having no money yet again), and have decided that we must go ahead with the third year of the student Film Bursary Scheme, designed to help graduates to shoot at least part of their productions in the developing world. Last year's results were very rewarding both for us and I hope for the applicants. Certainly the film night at the Horse Hospital in London last November was an exhilarating occasion.
We are once more seeking those diverse and innovative documentary projects on the developing world deserving of support.
The deadline for applications for the grants is Monday the 21st April - so get your skates on!
Below are the download links for all the Word docs you need - good luck.
March 3, 2003
The Other Parent
The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children
By James P. Steyer (with an afterword by Chelsea Clinton)
Written by a children's advocate and Stanford professor of education, The Other Parent explores the effects of TV, video games, and the Internet on today's kids. Published in 2002, it deals with the media's presence in children's lives, a presence that the author claims impacts children's relationships with commercialism, consumerism, violence, and sexuality. Steyer offers concrete solutions to the problems that the media can cause in kids' lives, focussing not only on the role of parents in children's development but also on the ethical responsibility of those who produce kid-targeted entertainment. The book includes tips for parents like etablishing good media habits early, keeping television sets out of children's bedrooms, teaching children to ask permission to use media, watching and listening with kids, setting clear rules regarding children's media use in other homes, asking pediatricians to review children's media use as part of their annual checkup, and reading to children.
Publisher: Atria Books (a divison of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
The list price of the hardcover book is US$26; the book may be ordered from online retailers for varying prices.
For complete ordering information, visit
The Other Parent site.
Placed on The Communication Initiative site July 18, 2002.
The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children
By James P. Steyer (with an afterword by Chelsea Clinton)
Written by a children's advocate and Stanford professor of education, The Other Parent explores the effects of TV, video games, and the Internet on today's kids. Published in 2002, it deals with the media's presence in children's lives, a presence that the author claims impacts children's relationships with commercialism, consumerism, violence, and sexuality. Steyer offers concrete solutions to the problems that the media can cause in kids' lives, focussing not only on the role of parents in children's development but also on the ethical responsibility of those who produce kid-targeted entertainment. The book includes tips for parents like etablishing good media habits early, keeping television sets out of children's bedrooms, teaching children to ask permission to use media, watching and listening with kids, setting clear rules regarding children's media use in other homes, asking pediatricians to review children's media use as part of their annual checkup, and reading to children.
Publisher: Atria Books (a divison of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
The list price of the hardcover book is US$26; the book may be ordered from online retailers for varying prices.
For complete ordering information, visit
The Other Parent site.
Placed on The Communication Initiative site July 18, 2002.
Chronicler of the ridiculous turns serious
Monday, March 3, 2003
Chronicler of the ridiculous turns serious
By Rob Seetoo
Poughkeepsie Journal
Rubin
Like many teenagers, Amy Rubin wasn't enamored with high school.
It was lame. Boring. Too many cliques.
She, along with a couple of her classmates in suburban Washington, decided to do something about it.
They picked up a video camera and started recording teenagers and 20-somethings in their community -- at school, at the mall -- to get their opinions on their place in the world.
''It started out with four of my friends in my biology class. We wanted to get on tape how ridiculous our high school was,'' Rubin said. She's now a sophomore at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. ''No one thinks outside the box.''
While her other friends have since dropped out of the project, Rubin is not giving up.
She is going full-steam ahead, holding auditions for additional video shoots in New York City and talking up her program, titled ''Generation Why,'' at local schools, including Poughkeepsie High School.
Tim Sutton is manager of the youth media space at Children's Media Project in Poughkeepsie. He believes it's important for youngsters to understand how media affects their lives and that Rubin is an excellent example of someone who is using it to make a difference.
''What she is doing, and what many (youngsters) are doing, is getting empowerment from picking up a video camera,'' Sutton said.
Rubin, the budding filmmaker, was at the Journal offices recently to screen her documentary movie-in-the-making.
One of the featured speakers talked about the lessons he learned the hard way growing up in the nation's capital.
Her subjects offered no end of insights.
Good interviews
''Sometimes, I was surprised at how open people were. It was amazing,'' she said. ''People just like to talk about themselves. I definitely learned a lot from what people said.''
Rubin has gotten so involved with her hobby she hopes to make a career out of it. She is applying for grants so she can hire assistants to work with her over the summer. She has applied to the federal government to gain approval to form a nonprofit company.
She is also looking into forming a for-profit company. Those approvals have not yet arrived.
She bought a digital video camera and used digital-editing equipment in a lab at Vassar to cull 30 minutes of footage from more than 10 hours of tape.
So why has a young woman at one of the most prestigious academic colleges in the country decided to proceed so far with what began as a lark in high school as just something to do?
''I realized I could do a lot more with it,'' she said.
Where to call: For information on the "Generation Why'' project, call 703-407-4746.
NEIGHBOR
AMY RUBIN
Age: 19.
Residence: Town of Poughkeepsie.
Occupation: Student, Vassar College.
Hobby: Filmmaking.
Neighbor appears Mondays. To suggest a topic, please call (845) 437-4833.
Monday, March 3, 2003
Chronicler of the ridiculous turns serious
By Rob Seetoo
Poughkeepsie Journal
Rubin
Like many teenagers, Amy Rubin wasn't enamored with high school.
It was lame. Boring. Too many cliques.
She, along with a couple of her classmates in suburban Washington, decided to do something about it.
They picked up a video camera and started recording teenagers and 20-somethings in their community -- at school, at the mall -- to get their opinions on their place in the world.
''It started out with four of my friends in my biology class. We wanted to get on tape how ridiculous our high school was,'' Rubin said. She's now a sophomore at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. ''No one thinks outside the box.''
While her other friends have since dropped out of the project, Rubin is not giving up.
She is going full-steam ahead, holding auditions for additional video shoots in New York City and talking up her program, titled ''Generation Why,'' at local schools, including Poughkeepsie High School.
Tim Sutton is manager of the youth media space at Children's Media Project in Poughkeepsie. He believes it's important for youngsters to understand how media affects their lives and that Rubin is an excellent example of someone who is using it to make a difference.
''What she is doing, and what many (youngsters) are doing, is getting empowerment from picking up a video camera,'' Sutton said.
Rubin, the budding filmmaker, was at the Journal offices recently to screen her documentary movie-in-the-making.
One of the featured speakers talked about the lessons he learned the hard way growing up in the nation's capital.
Her subjects offered no end of insights.
Good interviews
''Sometimes, I was surprised at how open people were. It was amazing,'' she said. ''People just like to talk about themselves. I definitely learned a lot from what people said.''
Rubin has gotten so involved with her hobby she hopes to make a career out of it. She is applying for grants so she can hire assistants to work with her over the summer. She has applied to the federal government to gain approval to form a nonprofit company.
She is also looking into forming a for-profit company. Those approvals have not yet arrived.
She bought a digital video camera and used digital-editing equipment in a lab at Vassar to cull 30 minutes of footage from more than 10 hours of tape.
So why has a young woman at one of the most prestigious academic colleges in the country decided to proceed so far with what began as a lark in high school as just something to do?
''I realized I could do a lot more with it,'' she said.
Where to call: For information on the "Generation Why'' project, call 703-407-4746.
NEIGHBOR
AMY RUBIN
Age: 19.
Residence: Town of Poughkeepsie.
Occupation: Student, Vassar College.
Hobby: Filmmaking.
Neighbor appears Mondays. To suggest a topic, please call (845) 437-4833.
TakingITGlobal - Expression - Gallery - Contest
The theme for the month at TakingITGlobal is Cultural Diversity. The Global Gallery is running a contest to promote the visual expression of this theme. "Life As You Know It" calls for artwork that expresses life as you know it in your community, city or country. Help to encourage Cultural Diversity by sharing your story through art!
This contest runs from March 1 until March 22, 2003.
On March 22 submissions will stop being accepted at 12:00pm EST (5:00pm GMT) so that judging may begin. All work submitted will first be voted on by your fellow TakingITGlobal members. After 5 days of voting, a panel of judges will evaluate the top voted submissions based on the following criteria:
relevance to the topic
visual appeal
style
effort
originality
A Hewlett Packard scanner will go to the creator of the winning submission. Also, this submission, along with 4 runners-up, will be exhibited on a TakingITGlobal postcard, which is sent to country team members and mentors all over the world. These 5 winners will each receive 20 of these postcards and 1 TakingITGlobal mouse pad.
Winners will be announced on April 1, 2003.
The theme for the month at TakingITGlobal is Cultural Diversity. The Global Gallery is running a contest to promote the visual expression of this theme. "Life As You Know It" calls for artwork that expresses life as you know it in your community, city or country. Help to encourage Cultural Diversity by sharing your story through art!
This contest runs from March 1 until March 22, 2003.
On March 22 submissions will stop being accepted at 12:00pm EST (5:00pm GMT) so that judging may begin. All work submitted will first be voted on by your fellow TakingITGlobal members. After 5 days of voting, a panel of judges will evaluate the top voted submissions based on the following criteria:
relevance to the topic
visual appeal
style
effort
originality
A Hewlett Packard scanner will go to the creator of the winning submission. Also, this submission, along with 4 runners-up, will be exhibited on a TakingITGlobal postcard, which is sent to country team members and mentors all over the world. These 5 winners will each receive 20 of these postcards and 1 TakingITGlobal mouse pad.
Winners will be announced on April 1, 2003.
Tri-Valley Herald Online - Youth Radio Berkeley finds new home
Youth Radio in Berkeley finds tasty new location
Nonprofit teen broadcast training ground spills over into empty cafe
By Angela Hill
STAFF WRITER
Sunday, March 02, 2003 - BERKELEY -- They might have a music production area. Possibly live broadcasts. Healthy food after school. A film night. Maybe even a teen-run coffee house.
"The place came with an espresso machine, so the possibilities are endless," said a delighted Erin Callahan, development director for Berkeley's Youth Radio, which just rented an empty cafe space next door to its existing cramped offices at 1809 University Ave. So now it has more room and a chance to grow.
Youth Radio is a highly acclaimed, nonprofit training ground for Bay Area high school students to learn principles of broadcast journalism, television and radio production, and Web design. The group won the prestigious Peabody Award last year for broadcast excellence and for giving teenagers a voice on local and national radio broadcasts such as KCBS and NPR.
Youth Radio's new space -- vacated by Anna's Bistro, which moved downtown -- is perfect, say the teens. There are couches and tables, so it feels just like a coffeehouse. And there's a small stage for music.
"Maybe we'll have bands, so it can be a place for kids to come at night," said Gaby Arvizu, 16, of Oakland High School.
"We used to have an additional space on Shattuck Avenue next to the old Fine Arts Cinema, but it was really difficult to keep the programs together with half the offices all the way across town," Callahan said. "Now we're all in one location so this is fantastic for us. And the cafe setting -- we're hoping to follow the example of places like Delancey Street in San Francisco, which runs a cafe."
"We haven't figured out exactly what we'll be doing with (the space)," Callahan said. "We're looking at what kinds of funding we can get for it. But it does allow for the opportunity to expand programs."
And it already has a name. The teen-agers of Youth Radio have dubbed the place Airwaves.
An opening celebration was held Wednesday night with former Youth Radio grads and local dignitaries. Because of the festivities, the every-day high energy was flipped up a notch.
The main offices are always ignited about 3 p.m., when students start trickling in after school and learn how to be a radio DJ, or a radio, TV or print journalist. The offices have studio booths with turntables, speakers, headsets and boards of buttons that look as complex as an airplane cockpit.
Teens trade off at a reception desk, where the phone constantly rings. There are copy machines, a time clock and coffee pot always on. The Web room has three computers behind sliding glass doors.
It's basically a mini-media empire. But the training is free, giving the teen-agers a sense of direction and purpose, say some graduates of the Youth Radio programs.
"It has really been important to me to get familiar with the different aspects of these careers, to see what I want to do," Arvizu said.
She went through the core program last year, and now interns as a peer teacher. "I teach basic radio skills, how to be on the air, how to be a DJ," she said.
A few steps away from the recording studio booths is Youth Radio's newsroom, one wall covered by a white board with this month's schedule of stories and deadlines for various radio programs. Students have come up with such stories as "Life Behind Bars: Teens on Death Row" and segments on Korean adoption.
"Some of the ideas sort of evolve from the editorial meetings and brainstorming, bouncing off of what's in the news," said Gabriela Jacobo, 18, from North Campus High School in Richmond.
"One piece I just did -- my mom's a Jehovah's Witness, and I just brought out how that experience has been in our lives, how my relationship with my mother has evolved, my religious beliefs."
Youth Radio in Berkeley finds tasty new location
Nonprofit teen broadcast training ground spills over into empty cafe
By Angela Hill
STAFF WRITER
Sunday, March 02, 2003 - BERKELEY -- They might have a music production area. Possibly live broadcasts. Healthy food after school. A film night. Maybe even a teen-run coffee house.
"The place came with an espresso machine, so the possibilities are endless," said a delighted Erin Callahan, development director for Berkeley's Youth Radio, which just rented an empty cafe space next door to its existing cramped offices at 1809 University Ave. So now it has more room and a chance to grow.
Youth Radio is a highly acclaimed, nonprofit training ground for Bay Area high school students to learn principles of broadcast journalism, television and radio production, and Web design. The group won the prestigious Peabody Award last year for broadcast excellence and for giving teenagers a voice on local and national radio broadcasts such as KCBS and NPR.
Youth Radio's new space -- vacated by Anna's Bistro, which moved downtown -- is perfect, say the teens. There are couches and tables, so it feels just like a coffeehouse. And there's a small stage for music.
"Maybe we'll have bands, so it can be a place for kids to come at night," said Gaby Arvizu, 16, of Oakland High School.
"We used to have an additional space on Shattuck Avenue next to the old Fine Arts Cinema, but it was really difficult to keep the programs together with half the offices all the way across town," Callahan said. "Now we're all in one location so this is fantastic for us. And the cafe setting -- we're hoping to follow the example of places like Delancey Street in San Francisco, which runs a cafe."
"We haven't figured out exactly what we'll be doing with (the space)," Callahan said. "We're looking at what kinds of funding we can get for it. But it does allow for the opportunity to expand programs."
And it already has a name. The teen-agers of Youth Radio have dubbed the place Airwaves.
An opening celebration was held Wednesday night with former Youth Radio grads and local dignitaries. Because of the festivities, the every-day high energy was flipped up a notch.
The main offices are always ignited about 3 p.m., when students start trickling in after school and learn how to be a radio DJ, or a radio, TV or print journalist. The offices have studio booths with turntables, speakers, headsets and boards of buttons that look as complex as an airplane cockpit.
Teens trade off at a reception desk, where the phone constantly rings. There are copy machines, a time clock and coffee pot always on. The Web room has three computers behind sliding glass doors.
It's basically a mini-media empire. But the training is free, giving the teen-agers a sense of direction and purpose, say some graduates of the Youth Radio programs.
"It has really been important to me to get familiar with the different aspects of these careers, to see what I want to do," Arvizu said.
She went through the core program last year, and now interns as a peer teacher. "I teach basic radio skills, how to be on the air, how to be a DJ," she said.
A few steps away from the recording studio booths is Youth Radio's newsroom, one wall covered by a white board with this month's schedule of stories and deadlines for various radio programs. Students have come up with such stories as "Life Behind Bars: Teens on Death Row" and segments on Korean adoption.
"Some of the ideas sort of evolve from the editorial meetings and brainstorming, bouncing off of what's in the news," said Gabriela Jacobo, 18, from North Campus High School in Richmond.
"One piece I just did -- my mom's a Jehovah's Witness, and I just brought out how that experience has been in our lives, how my relationship with my mother has evolved, my religious beliefs."
February 28, 2003
A sad day in the neighborhood
A sad day in the neighborhood
Death of pioneer in educational TV stills a caring voice for children
By DOUG NYE
Television Editor
MISTER ROGERS DIES AT 74
"Please think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their child care, their health care, their education - listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first."
- Fred Rogers
It's impossible to think of Fred Rogers without catching a bit of that song that opened his long-running and critically acclaimed children's show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Today, though, this amiable ditty sounds sadder. Rogers, a comforting spirit to millions of young children for three decades, died early Thursday. He was 74. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer shortly after the holidays, family spokesman David Newell said.
For many, Rogers was the embodiment of educational - but accessible - children's programming. In a TV landscape increasingly populated by soulless cartoons, talking dinosaurs and dizzily paced live-action shows, "Mister Rogers" spoke children's language, offering an easygoing, tranquil oasis for little minds.
"He was completely unique in children's television," said Ellen Stringer, youth service coordinator for the Lexington County Public Library. "He had the ability to slow things down for the child. I think that's even more important today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. "
Elizabeth Tuller, who has taught kindergarten at Hammond Academy for nearly 20 years, believes Rogers' passing leaves a void in children's programming.
"We need characters and models that show children how to respect each other and themselves," Tuller said. "I don't see anyone right now taking his place."
Why? "Mister Rogers," Stringer said, "seemed to really care."
Listen to the legions of fans who Thursday attested to Rogers' lasting legacy, and almost all of them will mention that: He cared. And the ordained Presbyterian minister made it the foundation of the show he created in Pittsburgh in 1968.
Columbia resident Zane Knauss, who counted Rogers as a friend, met him in those days at Pittsburgh's WQED.
"Fred was just getting his show's format started then," Knauss said. "He had a goodness about him. You could not help but like the man."
And even though Rogers was an expert at conjuring a make-believe world, "There was no pretend about him," Knauss said. "That's just the way he was."
Audiences serenaded Rogers wherever he went. One of his sweaters hangs at the Smithsonian. Eddie Murphy spoofed him with "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood," a "Saturday Night Live" skit that Rogers enjoyed.
Beyond the trappings and fame, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" touched on serious themes, from war to love to feelings. In September 2002, Rogers emerged from retirement to record public service announcements telling parents how to help their children deal with the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
At the show's peak - from 1985-86 - a startling 8 percent of America's households tuned in to watch Rogers peel off his cardigan, change his shoes and assure his listeners they were "special to me." Even at its lowest point, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" drew 3.6 million viewers.
The last first-run episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' aired in August 2001.
"I realize more and more that even if we do all the right things in television scripting and production and editing and promotion," Rogers said as he accepted a 1997 career achievement award from the nation's television critics, "even if we should deliver the perfect program that everybody in the world would see, if we don't have love for the people we're working with and the audiences we're working for, our whole industry will someday dwindle.
"Love and success, always in that order. It's that simple and that difficult."
And if you met Rogers, some people in Columbia say, you'd know he walked the walk.
"I was struck by his complete sincerity and compete lack of a dominant ego," said Stringer, who met Rogers in March 2002 when he made a rare personal appearance at a Columbia event sponsored by EdVenture Children's Museum and S.C. ETV.
"When you are standing there in his presence, you feel he is there for you. He had the ability to connect with a person no matter what their age."
Catherine Horne, president and CEO of EdVenture, called him "everything you saw on television and more."
"The calmness and the gentleness, the consideration of others, it was all there and really exemplified what he was all about."
Linda Ellerbee, a veteran newswoman who has won accolades for her Nick News programs, said it simply: "Nothing is as bad as he was good."
A sad day in the neighborhood
Death of pioneer in educational TV stills a caring voice for children
By DOUG NYE
Television Editor
MISTER ROGERS DIES AT 74
"Please think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their child care, their health care, their education - listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first."
- Fred Rogers
It's impossible to think of Fred Rogers without catching a bit of that song that opened his long-running and critically acclaimed children's show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Today, though, this amiable ditty sounds sadder. Rogers, a comforting spirit to millions of young children for three decades, died early Thursday. He was 74. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer shortly after the holidays, family spokesman David Newell said.
For many, Rogers was the embodiment of educational - but accessible - children's programming. In a TV landscape increasingly populated by soulless cartoons, talking dinosaurs and dizzily paced live-action shows, "Mister Rogers" spoke children's language, offering an easygoing, tranquil oasis for little minds.
"He was completely unique in children's television," said Ellen Stringer, youth service coordinator for the Lexington County Public Library. "He had the ability to slow things down for the child. I think that's even more important today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. "
Elizabeth Tuller, who has taught kindergarten at Hammond Academy for nearly 20 years, believes Rogers' passing leaves a void in children's programming.
"We need characters and models that show children how to respect each other and themselves," Tuller said. "I don't see anyone right now taking his place."
Why? "Mister Rogers," Stringer said, "seemed to really care."
Listen to the legions of fans who Thursday attested to Rogers' lasting legacy, and almost all of them will mention that: He cared. And the ordained Presbyterian minister made it the foundation of the show he created in Pittsburgh in 1968.
Columbia resident Zane Knauss, who counted Rogers as a friend, met him in those days at Pittsburgh's WQED.
"Fred was just getting his show's format started then," Knauss said. "He had a goodness about him. You could not help but like the man."
And even though Rogers was an expert at conjuring a make-believe world, "There was no pretend about him," Knauss said. "That's just the way he was."
Audiences serenaded Rogers wherever he went. One of his sweaters hangs at the Smithsonian. Eddie Murphy spoofed him with "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood," a "Saturday Night Live" skit that Rogers enjoyed.
Beyond the trappings and fame, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" touched on serious themes, from war to love to feelings. In September 2002, Rogers emerged from retirement to record public service announcements telling parents how to help their children deal with the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
At the show's peak - from 1985-86 - a startling 8 percent of America's households tuned in to watch Rogers peel off his cardigan, change his shoes and assure his listeners they were "special to me." Even at its lowest point, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" drew 3.6 million viewers.
The last first-run episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' aired in August 2001.
"I realize more and more that even if we do all the right things in television scripting and production and editing and promotion," Rogers said as he accepted a 1997 career achievement award from the nation's television critics, "even if we should deliver the perfect program that everybody in the world would see, if we don't have love for the people we're working with and the audiences we're working for, our whole industry will someday dwindle.
"Love and success, always in that order. It's that simple and that difficult."
And if you met Rogers, some people in Columbia say, you'd know he walked the walk.
"I was struck by his complete sincerity and compete lack of a dominant ego," said Stringer, who met Rogers in March 2002 when he made a rare personal appearance at a Columbia event sponsored by EdVenture Children's Museum and S.C. ETV.
"When you are standing there in his presence, you feel he is there for you. He had the ability to connect with a person no matter what their age."
Catherine Horne, president and CEO of EdVenture, called him "everything you saw on television and more."
"The calmness and the gentleness, the consideration of others, it was all there and really exemplified what he was all about."
Linda Ellerbee, a veteran newswoman who has won accolades for her Nick News programs, said it simply: "Nothing is as bad as he was good."
February 27, 2003
MTV Wins 'Network of the Year' at 2nd Annual Cable Positive Pop Awards in New York
MTV Wins 'Network of the Year' at 2nd Annual Cable Positive Pop Awards in New York
Wednesday February 26, 5:58 pm ET
* Awards presented by Cable Positive & TV Guide recognize exceptional HIV/AIDS-related cable network programming
* MTV also picks up 3 other awards, for 'First National Sex Quiz,' 'MTV News Now: Sex, School & Scandal,' and 'MTV Presents Levi's(R) Jeans Staying Alive Concert'
NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- At last night's second annual Cable Positive POP (Positively Outstanding Programming) Awards presented by TV Guide in New York, MTV was named "Network of the Year," for most effectively promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention through its original programming. The award was accepted by Brian Graden, President of Entertainment for MTV & VH1. Additional programs that were honored include "First National Sex Quiz," which won the Outstanding Special Programming Award; "MTV News Now: Sex, School and Scandal," which was named Outstanding Documentary; and "MTV Presents Levi's® Jeans Staying Alive Concert in Association with YouthAIDS," which won a Special Jury POP Award, for exceptional original HIV/AIDS-related cable network programming. In collaboration with MTV International, the concert aired on MTV networks around the world on World AIDS Day, December 1.
ADVERTISEMENT
Steve Villano, President & CEO of Cable Positive, commented: "MTV has raised the bar for the entire TV industry in terms of creating programming that raises awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues. Their 'Fight for Your Rights' campaign has especially been effective in reaching young adult audiences, to empower and educate them on this topic."
"It especially meaningful to be honored by our peers in the cable industry for an issue so close to our hearts. AIDS disproportionately affects our audience and we therefore have no choice but to make sure our 'Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself' campaign reaches as many young people as possible," added Brian Graden, President of Entertainment for MTV & VH1.
"Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" is the latest campaign in MTV's Emmy Award- winning Fight For Your Rights pro-social initiative. Developed in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, the year-long campaign focuses primarily on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancy. It includes special programming; public service messages; one of the most comprehensive sexual health Web sites for youth (www.fightforyourrights.mtv.com); grassroots events and advocacy opportunities; and an extensive resource and referral service, including a free sexual health guide.
"MTV's First National Sex Quiz" kicked off the Protect Yourself campaign in April 2002. Almost 15 million viewers tuned in for the special, and over 700,000 young people took the quiz online, spending as much as an hour exploring the resources the quiz provided. "Sex, School and Scandal" examines the social forces that led to four people being diagnosed HIV positive after hundreds of those potentially infected were tested in a small, rural community in South Dakota.
Two history-making concerts took place to produce the 90-minute "Staying Alive" show. The Cape Town event in South Africa featured Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, Usher, and local artists, and the Seattle, Washington, event featured multi-platinum acts Missy Elliot, Dave Matthews and Michelle Branch. Both concerts were edited together and premiered on MTV channels worldwide as a commercial-free special. The special also featured interview segments and public health messages from a stunning line-up of humanitarians, celebrities and musicians, including Nelson Mandela, Bono, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Magic Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce Knowles, Wyclef Jean, and others.
Cable Positive is a national non-profit organization that was founded in February 1992 by three concerned cable executives with the mission of organizing cable's resources in the fight against AIDS. Cable Positive is dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness; to fund AIDS education, research and care; and to promote a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Cable Positive has grown to include supporters from every major cable network, multiple system operator, cable system, hardware manufacturer, trade association, media publication, and affiliated industry vendors and suppliers. Since 1992, Cable Positive has raised more than $9 million in the fight against AIDS. For more information about Cable Positive, call 212-459-1502 or log on to www.cablepositive.org.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates five cable television programming services -- MTV: Music Television, M2, VH1, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, and Nick at Nite's TV Land -- all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks.
Information about MTV and M2 is available on MTV Online, on America Online (Keyword: MTV) and the World Wide Web (http://mtv.com).
MTV Wins 'Network of the Year' at 2nd Annual Cable Positive Pop Awards in New York
Wednesday February 26, 5:58 pm ET
* Awards presented by Cable Positive & TV Guide recognize exceptional HIV/AIDS-related cable network programming
* MTV also picks up 3 other awards, for 'First National Sex Quiz,' 'MTV News Now: Sex, School & Scandal,' and 'MTV Presents Levi's(R) Jeans Staying Alive Concert'
NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- At last night's second annual Cable Positive POP (Positively Outstanding Programming) Awards presented by TV Guide in New York, MTV was named "Network of the Year," for most effectively promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention through its original programming. The award was accepted by Brian Graden, President of Entertainment for MTV & VH1. Additional programs that were honored include "First National Sex Quiz," which won the Outstanding Special Programming Award; "MTV News Now: Sex, School and Scandal," which was named Outstanding Documentary; and "MTV Presents Levi's® Jeans Staying Alive Concert in Association with YouthAIDS," which won a Special Jury POP Award, for exceptional original HIV/AIDS-related cable network programming. In collaboration with MTV International, the concert aired on MTV networks around the world on World AIDS Day, December 1.
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Steve Villano, President & CEO of Cable Positive, commented: "MTV has raised the bar for the entire TV industry in terms of creating programming that raises awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues. Their 'Fight for Your Rights' campaign has especially been effective in reaching young adult audiences, to empower and educate them on this topic."
"It especially meaningful to be honored by our peers in the cable industry for an issue so close to our hearts. AIDS disproportionately affects our audience and we therefore have no choice but to make sure our 'Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself' campaign reaches as many young people as possible," added Brian Graden, President of Entertainment for MTV & VH1.
"Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" is the latest campaign in MTV's Emmy Award- winning Fight For Your Rights pro-social initiative. Developed in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, the year-long campaign focuses primarily on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancy. It includes special programming; public service messages; one of the most comprehensive sexual health Web sites for youth (www.fightforyourrights.mtv.com); grassroots events and advocacy opportunities; and an extensive resource and referral service, including a free sexual health guide.
"MTV's First National Sex Quiz" kicked off the Protect Yourself campaign in April 2002. Almost 15 million viewers tuned in for the special, and over 700,000 young people took the quiz online, spending as much as an hour exploring the resources the quiz provided. "Sex, School and Scandal" examines the social forces that led to four people being diagnosed HIV positive after hundreds of those potentially infected were tested in a small, rural community in South Dakota.
Two history-making concerts took place to produce the 90-minute "Staying Alive" show. The Cape Town event in South Africa featured Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys, Sean "P Diddy" Combs, Usher, and local artists, and the Seattle, Washington, event featured multi-platinum acts Missy Elliot, Dave Matthews and Michelle Branch. Both concerts were edited together and premiered on MTV channels worldwide as a commercial-free special. The special also featured interview segments and public health messages from a stunning line-up of humanitarians, celebrities and musicians, including Nelson Mandela, Bono, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Magic Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce Knowles, Wyclef Jean, and others.
Cable Positive is a national non-profit organization that was founded in February 1992 by three concerned cable executives with the mission of organizing cable's resources in the fight against AIDS. Cable Positive is dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness; to fund AIDS education, research and care; and to promote a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Cable Positive has grown to include supporters from every major cable network, multiple system operator, cable system, hardware manufacturer, trade association, media publication, and affiliated industry vendors and suppliers. Since 1992, Cable Positive has raised more than $9 million in the fight against AIDS. For more information about Cable Positive, call 212-459-1502 or log on to www.cablepositive.org.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates five cable television programming services -- MTV: Music Television, M2, VH1, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, and Nick at Nite's TV Land -- all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks.
Information about MTV and M2 is available on MTV Online, on America Online (Keyword: MTV) and the World Wide Web (http://mtv.com).
POLITICAL YOUTHS AGAINST TV POLITICAL YOUTHS AGAINST TV
Thessaloniki, 27 February 2003 (11:20 UTC 2)
Four political youth organizations suggest that Greek citizens turn their televisions off for 2 hours, between 19:00 and 21:00 on Wednesday, March 5, while at the same time they send faxes and emails to television stations, in protest of the transformation, as they said, of information into a commercial show.
The youths of PASOK, ONNED (New Democracy), the Coalition, and DIKKI, in a joint interview, expressed their resentment regarding the "commercialization of the news and the devaluation of political events", by the media, while the reason behind this common initiative was the way in which television stations covered the antiwar events of February 15.
It should be noted that most television stations had opted for in depth coverage of the visit of the former king of Greece to his parents' graves, instead of the massive protests held in major Greek cities.
Thessaloniki, 27 February 2003 (11:20 UTC 2)
Four political youth organizations suggest that Greek citizens turn their televisions off for 2 hours, between 19:00 and 21:00 on Wednesday, March 5, while at the same time they send faxes and emails to television stations, in protest of the transformation, as they said, of information into a commercial show.
The youths of PASOK, ONNED (New Democracy), the Coalition, and DIKKI, in a joint interview, expressed their resentment regarding the "commercialization of the news and the devaluation of political events", by the media, while the reason behind this common initiative was the way in which television stations covered the antiwar events of February 15.
It should be noted that most television stations had opted for in depth coverage of the visit of the former king of Greece to his parents' graves, instead of the massive protests held in major Greek cities.
City nurse's film is a screaming success
City nurse's film is a screaming success
BY ANGIE BROWN
A YOUNG nurse has scooped a "junior Oscar" for a home-made horror video about revenge on a babysitter by a girl with supernatural powers.
Budding director Gavin Blackie, from Muirhouse, was presented with a First Light Film Award at the Odeon Leicester Square in London for the £10,000 film set in a Roseburn mansion, which includes special effects showing a body being decapitated and the head rolling down a flight of stairs.
The 19-year-old also impressed the panel of judges, which included Nil By Mouth star Kathy Burke, Men Behaving Badly’s Martin Clunes and director Mike Leigh, with a scene where the killer’s eyes light up.
The Babysitter’s Worst Nightmare, which tells the tale of a young girl who uses her superhuman powers on her babysitter after she throws a wild party as soon as the parents are gone, was funded by lottery cash.
The former Craigroyston Community High School pupil was asked to enter the competition by a media expert who had visited the teenager’s youth group.
The Royal Victoria Hospital clinical support nurse today told how he stayed up all night writing the 12-minute film after finding out about the competition just hours before the deadline for ideas.
"I got a call one night from a guy who had visited our youth group, North Edinburgh Arts, a few times to teach us about film and cameras. "He said I would be the best person to apply for this young person’s film award because I had seemed most keen. So I sat up brain-storming with my cousin Leeann Hogg. Then I submitted it the next day."
The five-strong cast, made up of his relatives, spent a week filming in the large house on loan from a friend’s grandmother.
"We didn’t have long to shoot the film but then afterwards we spent a couple of months editing and adding special effects.
"The judges said we won the horror category because of the special effects, the ending, the sound being in the right places and the part played by the lead actress which was my sister Sarah, who played the babysitter."
The film, which also won Best International Short Film at the Olympia International Film Festival in Greece a few months a go, is being shown at North Edinburgh Arts tomorrow and also at the Cameo on Monday at 6.30pm.
David Hay, 24, who helped produce the film, commended the young film director, saying: "He has done really well with this film and I hope he goes on to do more."
Young people aged from seven to 18 created their mini-films as part of a Film Council initiative. Council chairman Sir Alan Parker said: "I’ve no doubt some great future filmmakers will come out of this programme but, more importantly, this scheme enables young people to be creative and express themselves through film from an educational and social point of view."
Ros Davis, production liaison manager at Edinburgh Film Focus, said, "it’s wonderful to see Edinburgh’s future film-makers get off to a flying start.
"The hands-on experience these young people have gained will be invaluable in their future careers. Climbing the first rung of the media industry ladder is often the hardest, and we congratulate the winners on achieving that ."
City education leader Councillor Ewan Aitken said: "This is a fabulous achievement that puts Edinburgh on the map as a centre of expertise for young film-makers.
"I’m proud that their energy, talent and imagination has been recognised at a national level."
City nurse's film is a screaming success
BY ANGIE BROWN
A YOUNG nurse has scooped a "junior Oscar" for a home-made horror video about revenge on a babysitter by a girl with supernatural powers.
Budding director Gavin Blackie, from Muirhouse, was presented with a First Light Film Award at the Odeon Leicester Square in London for the £10,000 film set in a Roseburn mansion, which includes special effects showing a body being decapitated and the head rolling down a flight of stairs.
The 19-year-old also impressed the panel of judges, which included Nil By Mouth star Kathy Burke, Men Behaving Badly’s Martin Clunes and director Mike Leigh, with a scene where the killer’s eyes light up.
The Babysitter’s Worst Nightmare, which tells the tale of a young girl who uses her superhuman powers on her babysitter after she throws a wild party as soon as the parents are gone, was funded by lottery cash.
The former Craigroyston Community High School pupil was asked to enter the competition by a media expert who had visited the teenager’s youth group.
The Royal Victoria Hospital clinical support nurse today told how he stayed up all night writing the 12-minute film after finding out about the competition just hours before the deadline for ideas.
"I got a call one night from a guy who had visited our youth group, North Edinburgh Arts, a few times to teach us about film and cameras. "He said I would be the best person to apply for this young person’s film award because I had seemed most keen. So I sat up brain-storming with my cousin Leeann Hogg. Then I submitted it the next day."
The five-strong cast, made up of his relatives, spent a week filming in the large house on loan from a friend’s grandmother.
"We didn’t have long to shoot the film but then afterwards we spent a couple of months editing and adding special effects.
"The judges said we won the horror category because of the special effects, the ending, the sound being in the right places and the part played by the lead actress which was my sister Sarah, who played the babysitter."
The film, which also won Best International Short Film at the Olympia International Film Festival in Greece a few months a go, is being shown at North Edinburgh Arts tomorrow and also at the Cameo on Monday at 6.30pm.
David Hay, 24, who helped produce the film, commended the young film director, saying: "He has done really well with this film and I hope he goes on to do more."
Young people aged from seven to 18 created their mini-films as part of a Film Council initiative. Council chairman Sir Alan Parker said: "I’ve no doubt some great future filmmakers will come out of this programme but, more importantly, this scheme enables young people to be creative and express themselves through film from an educational and social point of view."
Ros Davis, production liaison manager at Edinburgh Film Focus, said, "it’s wonderful to see Edinburgh’s future film-makers get off to a flying start.
"The hands-on experience these young people have gained will be invaluable in their future careers. Climbing the first rung of the media industry ladder is often the hardest, and we congratulate the winners on achieving that ."
City education leader Councillor Ewan Aitken said: "This is a fabulous achievement that puts Edinburgh on the map as a centre of expertise for young film-makers.
"I’m proud that their energy, talent and imagination has been recognised at a national level."
February 26, 2003
Focus On Youth, Media Urged
Focus On Youth, Media Urged
The Nation (Nairobi)
NEWS
February 21, 2003
Posted to the web February 21, 2003
By Nation Correspondent
Nairobi
The media have been accused of ignoring children's issues.
Coverage of children's concerns was poor and insufficient, a regional seminar on media coverage of children's rights heard.
The three-day event at a Nairobi hotel urged the media to stop ignoring the right of children to be heard. The event, organised by the International Federation of Journalists and the European Union, drew participants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia
The Unicef regional director, Mr Urban Jonsson, described the media's treatment of children issues as erratic and superficial.
Children's stories were relegated to "non-important" pages unless they were sensational, he said.
"The established Press believes children's stories do not sell unless they are sensational. They only get space if political and economic news items are scarce, "Mr Jonsson said, and called for adequate coverage of the issues to raise public awareness on children's rights.
IFJ project officer for Sub-Saharan region Bertrand Ginet decried the negative publicity accorded to children issues in the region.
He said children stories only got prominent coverage if they hinged on child abuse, pornography, exploitation and sensational news making
He called on the regional press to respect the dignity of children by reporting accurately and fairly on their concerns.
However, participating journalists defended existing coverage saying it was based on readers' tastes.
"Readers will only look at stories on children if they have a shock-value," Mr Arthur Okwemba of the African Woman and Child features (Awc) said.
He said commercial considerations in private media consigned children issues to the periphery because many editors believed children stories did not sell.
Mr Okwemba who also writes for the Daily Nation, said many local journalists were ignorant of key children rights enshrined in the Children Rights Convention.
He blamed the ignorance for insensitivity manifest in treatment of children issues.
MsAngela Kamugasa, a senior reporter with Uganda's New Vision said journalists seldom researched on children stories because of uncertainty on whether the stories will be used.
"What is the point of spending time and resources on stories that the editor will not give a second look?"
She blamed the "wrong perception" that only politics sells for the low-regard of children stories.
Her sentiments were echoed by Ms Usia Ledama from Tanzania who said journalists opted to cover political events for personal survival.
"Many journalists do not have permanent jobs but are correspondents who are paid for stories published. They know politics and sensational stories sell. Ignoring children stories is a survival tactic because they know the low attention given to such stories."
Ms Ledama who is a senior reporter for Mwananchi newspaper in Tanzania appealed for a sustained interest in children stories to force attention in readers.
A United Kingdom private media consultant Ms Arjum Wajid appealed to journalists to practice work ethics in covering children issues.
She said sensationalism aimed at ensuring coverage of children stories compromised the rights to privacy of many children.
The EastAfrican Kigali correspondent David Mugalura and Sandra Uwera of Radio Rwanda blamed lack of training for many journalists in their country for the inept treatment of children issues.
Mr Mugalura appealed for scholarships saying relevant training was vital in covering complex children concerns.
Seminar coordinator Martin Ocholi of the Media for Democracy said a manual on reporting children rights for journalists will be released soon.
He said more seminars to equip journalists with relevant skills will be organised by his organisation in collaboration with IFJ.
Focus On Youth, Media Urged
The Nation (Nairobi)
NEWS
February 21, 2003
Posted to the web February 21, 2003
By Nation Correspondent
Nairobi
The media have been accused of ignoring children's issues.
Coverage of children's concerns was poor and insufficient, a regional seminar on media coverage of children's rights heard.
The three-day event at a Nairobi hotel urged the media to stop ignoring the right of children to be heard. The event, organised by the International Federation of Journalists and the European Union, drew participants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia
The Unicef regional director, Mr Urban Jonsson, described the media's treatment of children issues as erratic and superficial.
Children's stories were relegated to "non-important" pages unless they were sensational, he said.
"The established Press believes children's stories do not sell unless they are sensational. They only get space if political and economic news items are scarce, "Mr Jonsson said, and called for adequate coverage of the issues to raise public awareness on children's rights.
IFJ project officer for Sub-Saharan region Bertrand Ginet decried the negative publicity accorded to children issues in the region.
He said children stories only got prominent coverage if they hinged on child abuse, pornography, exploitation and sensational news making
He called on the regional press to respect the dignity of children by reporting accurately and fairly on their concerns.
However, participating journalists defended existing coverage saying it was based on readers' tastes.
"Readers will only look at stories on children if they have a shock-value," Mr Arthur Okwemba of the African Woman and Child features (Awc) said.
He said commercial considerations in private media consigned children issues to the periphery because many editors believed children stories did not sell.
Mr Okwemba who also writes for the Daily Nation, said many local journalists were ignorant of key children rights enshrined in the Children Rights Convention.
He blamed the ignorance for insensitivity manifest in treatment of children issues.
MsAngela Kamugasa, a senior reporter with Uganda's New Vision said journalists seldom researched on children stories because of uncertainty on whether the stories will be used.
"What is the point of spending time and resources on stories that the editor will not give a second look?"
She blamed the "wrong perception" that only politics sells for the low-regard of children stories.
Her sentiments were echoed by Ms Usia Ledama from Tanzania who said journalists opted to cover political events for personal survival.
"Many journalists do not have permanent jobs but are correspondents who are paid for stories published. They know politics and sensational stories sell. Ignoring children stories is a survival tactic because they know the low attention given to such stories."
Ms Ledama who is a senior reporter for Mwananchi newspaper in Tanzania appealed for a sustained interest in children stories to force attention in readers.
A United Kingdom private media consultant Ms Arjum Wajid appealed to journalists to practice work ethics in covering children issues.
She said sensationalism aimed at ensuring coverage of children stories compromised the rights to privacy of many children.
The EastAfrican Kigali correspondent David Mugalura and Sandra Uwera of Radio Rwanda blamed lack of training for many journalists in their country for the inept treatment of children issues.
Mr Mugalura appealed for scholarships saying relevant training was vital in covering complex children concerns.
Seminar coordinator Martin Ocholi of the Media for Democracy said a manual on reporting children rights for journalists will be released soon.
He said more seminars to equip journalists with relevant skills will be organised by his organisation in collaboration with IFJ.
Why I jumped at the chance
By Dan Whitehead, NCTJ student
Why I jumped at the chance
By Dan Whitehead, NCTJ student
Dan Whitehead, (18), a student at Coombeshead College in Newton Abbot, tells Holdthefrontpage about his work experience at The Observer.
The college runs NCTJ approved courses and has some of the youngest NCE candidates in the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My week at The Observer newspaper in London was certainly a work placement that I'll never forget.
As any young budding journalist knows, you should jump at the chance for any work experience in the field and I was definitely not going to pass on this opportunity.
During my week, this January, I was able to see the whole edition develop from scratch to publication. I was even lucky enough to get an article published on the website about my opinion on university top-up fees.
Throughout the week I was sat alongside some of the world's top journalists. Whether it was political editor Kamal Ahmed, or Journalist of The Year 2003, Andrew Rawnsley, I found myself in awe.
I was surprised to learn that there are only 70 journalists working for The Observer compared to more than 350 for The Guardian. The newsroom was just over three times the size as the daily local down in Torbay.
As my week progressed I managed to get involved in many activities, whether it was researching pieces for the monthly Observer magazine, Uncovered, proof reading pages or writing my opinion piece for the website, I was always kept very busy.
It was great to get an insight into how a national paper works, and when it comes down to it there isn't a lot of difference. Journalism, it appeared, was the same anywhere - just the audience was a lot bigger.
By Dan Whitehead, NCTJ student
Why I jumped at the chance
By Dan Whitehead, NCTJ student
Dan Whitehead, (18), a student at Coombeshead College in Newton Abbot, tells Holdthefrontpage about his work experience at The Observer.
The college runs NCTJ approved courses and has some of the youngest NCE candidates in the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My week at The Observer newspaper in London was certainly a work placement that I'll never forget.
As any young budding journalist knows, you should jump at the chance for any work experience in the field and I was definitely not going to pass on this opportunity.
During my week, this January, I was able to see the whole edition develop from scratch to publication. I was even lucky enough to get an article published on the website about my opinion on university top-up fees.
Throughout the week I was sat alongside some of the world's top journalists. Whether it was political editor Kamal Ahmed, or Journalist of The Year 2003, Andrew Rawnsley, I found myself in awe.
I was surprised to learn that there are only 70 journalists working for The Observer compared to more than 350 for The Guardian. The newsroom was just over three times the size as the daily local down in Torbay.
As my week progressed I managed to get involved in many activities, whether it was researching pieces for the monthly Observer magazine, Uncovered, proof reading pages or writing my opinion piece for the website, I was always kept very busy.
It was great to get an insight into how a national paper works, and when it comes down to it there isn't a lot of difference. Journalism, it appeared, was the same anywhere - just the audience was a lot bigger.
February 25, 2003
Comics
People who don't read comics still believe that the medium is just for kids, to the bafflement of anyone who's ever gone looking for kids' comics. Ninth Art talks to 12-year-old Jacqueline, to find out what a girl wants.
24 February 2003
Take a look around your local comic shop this week. Just stand there and take a good long look at the clientele who frequent the store. In slightly over 95 out of 100 of stores, you'll only see one kind of customer - males between the ages of fifteen (generally buying SPAWN) and forty (generally buying AVENGERS). In four of the other five, there may even be gurls (generally buying LADY DEATH, if CrossGen are to be believed). And in that final, elusive store, you might see that most rare of comic book consumers - a child.
In an age where every second comic book-related newspaper headline reads 'comics aren't just for kids anymore', we have to face up to the sad fact that they're rarely for kids at all. This is partly because of the marketing hangover from the early '90s that forced crossover stories into every title in a company line and forced the kids who bought them out of the comic stores altogether, and partly because of the still-prevalent worship of continuity that requires an encyclopaedic knowledge of 40 years of storylines - and in Marvel's case, an encyclopaedia.
So what's the problem? Where did all the kids go? How come children enter comic shops, stock up on their YU-GI-OH and leave again? What, in short, do kids want from their comics? Well, it's not good sitting around waiting for the industry to decide what kids want; it's better to go directly to the only person who can genuinely tell us - a kid.
Jacqueline is twelve years old. Her record collection includes both Jimmy Eat World and Atomic Kitten, and her comic reading tastes are equally varied. The first thing we all want to know, of course, whether outside observers or industry moguls, is the answer to the elusive question, "What makes kids want to pick up a comic?"
For Jacqueline, the answer is clear. "If it had girls on the cover, that would make me want to read it. Heroines are better than heroes."
And what if it were a comic without a female star? Would that put our test subject off? "Not if it was interesting. The only comics that I wouldn't want to read are ones that look boring. Ones with children and animals are the best. Just as long as it's colourful."
Colourful? Jacqueline's comic reading habits include ZOOM'S ACADEMY, AKIKO, CASTLE WAITING and ALISON DARE - all comics with strong female protagonists, but also ones that are published almost exclusively in black & white. Which is it to be?
"No, no, the covers have to be colour. The insides can be black & white or colour or anything. But black & white covers are confusing because you wouldn't be able to work out what was happening. Plus you need to be able to see what colour their costumes are." Costumes? "Well, whatever they wear. And it needs to have a picture of something that happens in the comic on the front. If it's just a picture of the character and it doesn't happen in the comic then it's cheating."
When pressed, Jacqueline does admit to having a favourite comic, and it's one that will surprise nobody with even a passing interest in children's literature.
"I like BONE the best, because I've been reading it for a long time now and you get to know them all. Thorn's a girl but she's not the most important person in it, so I'd still read it if she wasn't in it. Also, it's got serious parts and funny parts." Is humour important? "Oh yeah. If a comic's just serious then it's boring. I like YOUNG JUSTICE because Impulse is daft - oh! And SPYBOY! I like SPYBOY too. But yeah. It has serious bits with Secret and whoever but Impulse is funny."
This mix of superheroes and non-tights books is interesting - perhaps the traditional universes do hold some appeal for today's kids. But it quickly becomes evident that such a statement comes with huge caveats.
"The Fantastic Four are good because they're funny, but I get bored reading them because the stretchy guy uses all these confusing words about molecules and his inventions and things. Spider-Man's the best because he's easy to understand and he's funny."
At this point, Jaqueline becomes pensive. It seems she's struck on a goldmine of an idea. "There should be, like, a Superdog..."
But there already is a superdog. He's called Krypto. "Ah, but this one would be actually called Superdog. And he'd have five puppies. And he'd go out and save dogs from the cats."
Right, so, moving on... "And the cats would make people come to the theatre and brainwash them into becoming cats. They'd be putting on CATS and anyone that saw it would become one of them."
Anyway. If we could just talk about... "And they'd be cats dressed as humans dressed as cats and Superdog'd save them."
So. Other favourite comics. Jacqueline's second choice is, again, something of a staple of the kids' comics market. "AKIKO's really good, because it's about a girl, but it's also got a robot in it. And Poog's really funny, and she goes to other planets and stuff. Plus she's got nice hair."
Lest the implications of Jacqueline's recommendations for comics stray into ever more esoteric areas (images of Spider-Man with bunches spring to mind), perhaps it's time to moot one of the most important questions the comic book industry faces at the moment - trades or singles - and the answer is surprising...
"It's better just to get the individual issues, because they're easier to read. If you're a new reader and you haven't bought a comic before, if you buy an issue you can tell whether you like it or not and it's cheap and you don't need to buy any more, but with a book you have to spend a lot of money and maybe you won't like it. With an issue you can try it out. A book takes up loads of space in your bag, but an issue is handy and you can read it on the train."
With the stigma that's still attached to comics these days, would Jacqueline want to be seen reading one on the train, though? "Yeah. I wouldn't be the weirdest person on the train. You see some really strange people. Besides, it's better than reading a book on something boring like chess. Reading comics is cool."
So what have we learnt? Kids, particularly that elusive 'young female' demographic, want stories that feature characters they identify with. They want humour. They want a range of different subject matters, without needing to pay attention to a large number of other titles. They want affordability, complexity without obfuscation, a story that hold the reader's interest and characters that the audience cares about.
Pretty much the same things we all want, then.
Alistair Kennedy is content editor for Robot Fist.
People who don't read comics still believe that the medium is just for kids, to the bafflement of anyone who's ever gone looking for kids' comics. Ninth Art talks to 12-year-old Jacqueline, to find out what a girl wants.
24 February 2003
Take a look around your local comic shop this week. Just stand there and take a good long look at the clientele who frequent the store. In slightly over 95 out of 100 of stores, you'll only see one kind of customer - males between the ages of fifteen (generally buying SPAWN) and forty (generally buying AVENGERS). In four of the other five, there may even be gurls (generally buying LADY DEATH, if CrossGen are to be believed). And in that final, elusive store, you might see that most rare of comic book consumers - a child.
In an age where every second comic book-related newspaper headline reads 'comics aren't just for kids anymore', we have to face up to the sad fact that they're rarely for kids at all. This is partly because of the marketing hangover from the early '90s that forced crossover stories into every title in a company line and forced the kids who bought them out of the comic stores altogether, and partly because of the still-prevalent worship of continuity that requires an encyclopaedic knowledge of 40 years of storylines - and in Marvel's case, an encyclopaedia.
So what's the problem? Where did all the kids go? How come children enter comic shops, stock up on their YU-GI-OH and leave again? What, in short, do kids want from their comics? Well, it's not good sitting around waiting for the industry to decide what kids want; it's better to go directly to the only person who can genuinely tell us - a kid.
Jacqueline is twelve years old. Her record collection includes both Jimmy Eat World and Atomic Kitten, and her comic reading tastes are equally varied. The first thing we all want to know, of course, whether outside observers or industry moguls, is the answer to the elusive question, "What makes kids want to pick up a comic?"
For Jacqueline, the answer is clear. "If it had girls on the cover, that would make me want to read it. Heroines are better than heroes."
And what if it were a comic without a female star? Would that put our test subject off? "Not if it was interesting. The only comics that I wouldn't want to read are ones that look boring. Ones with children and animals are the best. Just as long as it's colourful."
Colourful? Jacqueline's comic reading habits include ZOOM'S ACADEMY, AKIKO, CASTLE WAITING and ALISON DARE - all comics with strong female protagonists, but also ones that are published almost exclusively in black & white. Which is it to be?
"No, no, the covers have to be colour. The insides can be black & white or colour or anything. But black & white covers are confusing because you wouldn't be able to work out what was happening. Plus you need to be able to see what colour their costumes are." Costumes? "Well, whatever they wear. And it needs to have a picture of something that happens in the comic on the front. If it's just a picture of the character and it doesn't happen in the comic then it's cheating."
When pressed, Jacqueline does admit to having a favourite comic, and it's one that will surprise nobody with even a passing interest in children's literature.
"I like BONE the best, because I've been reading it for a long time now and you get to know them all. Thorn's a girl but she's not the most important person in it, so I'd still read it if she wasn't in it. Also, it's got serious parts and funny parts." Is humour important? "Oh yeah. If a comic's just serious then it's boring. I like YOUNG JUSTICE because Impulse is daft - oh! And SPYBOY! I like SPYBOY too. But yeah. It has serious bits with Secret and whoever but Impulse is funny."
This mix of superheroes and non-tights books is interesting - perhaps the traditional universes do hold some appeal for today's kids. But it quickly becomes evident that such a statement comes with huge caveats.
"The Fantastic Four are good because they're funny, but I get bored reading them because the stretchy guy uses all these confusing words about molecules and his inventions and things. Spider-Man's the best because he's easy to understand and he's funny."
At this point, Jaqueline becomes pensive. It seems she's struck on a goldmine of an idea. "There should be, like, a Superdog..."
But there already is a superdog. He's called Krypto. "Ah, but this one would be actually called Superdog. And he'd have five puppies. And he'd go out and save dogs from the cats."
Right, so, moving on... "And the cats would make people come to the theatre and brainwash them into becoming cats. They'd be putting on CATS and anyone that saw it would become one of them."
Anyway. If we could just talk about... "And they'd be cats dressed as humans dressed as cats and Superdog'd save them."
So. Other favourite comics. Jacqueline's second choice is, again, something of a staple of the kids' comics market. "AKIKO's really good, because it's about a girl, but it's also got a robot in it. And Poog's really funny, and she goes to other planets and stuff. Plus she's got nice hair."
Lest the implications of Jacqueline's recommendations for comics stray into ever more esoteric areas (images of Spider-Man with bunches spring to mind), perhaps it's time to moot one of the most important questions the comic book industry faces at the moment - trades or singles - and the answer is surprising...
"It's better just to get the individual issues, because they're easier to read. If you're a new reader and you haven't bought a comic before, if you buy an issue you can tell whether you like it or not and it's cheap and you don't need to buy any more, but with a book you have to spend a lot of money and maybe you won't like it. With an issue you can try it out. A book takes up loads of space in your bag, but an issue is handy and you can read it on the train."
With the stigma that's still attached to comics these days, would Jacqueline want to be seen reading one on the train, though? "Yeah. I wouldn't be the weirdest person on the train. You see some really strange people. Besides, it's better than reading a book on something boring like chess. Reading comics is cool."
So what have we learnt? Kids, particularly that elusive 'young female' demographic, want stories that feature characters they identify with. They want humour. They want a range of different subject matters, without needing to pay attention to a large number of other titles. They want affordability, complexity without obfuscation, a story that hold the reader's interest and characters that the audience cares about.
Pretty much the same things we all want, then.
Alistair Kennedy is content editor for Robot Fist.
February 24, 2003
Shortwave broadcasting on a budget
by Bernd Trutenau, 31 January 2003
Radio Studio is one of the last 'independent' radio stations broadcasting from Russia on shortwave. Its sudden disappearance from the dial, only to reappear after a long pause in autumn 2002, puzzled many shortwave listeners. They've also been confused by on-air references to Radio Gardarika and Nevskaya volna, and the fact that the station doesn't seem to be on a regular schedule. So what's going on?
Radio Gardarika and Radio Studio are both produced by the same provincial broadcasting company – Dom Radio Gardarika. Some years ago, the administration of Leningrad province (Leningradskaya oblast) was looking for studio facilities and discovered the recording studio "Gardarika" in Vsevolozhsk, a suburb of St Petersburg. The name Gardarika is a reference to the Old Scandinavian word for the St Petersburg region: garðaríki. The administration took over the studios, renamed them "Dom Radio Gardarika" (Broadcasting house "Gardarika") and began producing programmes for the large wired network in the oblast under the name "Radio Gardarika". In recent years, more and more FM transmitters were installed for Radio Gardarika in the oblast, and new radio channels were added.
Four services
At present, the Gardarika studios are producing the following radio outlets:
Radio Gardarika (on FM & wired network)
Nevskaya volna (St.Petersburg 69.05 MHz, 5kW)
Radio Studio (on FM)
Radio Studio on shortwave
Radio Studio was formed on the basis of the well-known youth club and discotheque "Metro" in St Petersburg and is broadcasting from the club's premises. This channel is Gardarika's voice for the younger generation in St Petersburg and the oblast, a 24 hour pop music station which is achieving high ratings in the tough radio market of Russia's second largest city.
Heard around the world
Radio Studio broadcasts around the clock in St Petersburg on FM 102.4 MHz (10 kW). The shortwave transmissions started in 1999. The station hires airtime on a 200 kW transmitter at the Popovka transmitting centre south of St Petersburg. The antenna, a high-gain 4/4 curtain type, is beamed 215 degrees towards Central Europe.
Soon after it started, the station was already gathering many listeners in Europe, though its primary target audience is Russians living abroad. Up to now, Radio Studio has received more than 400 reception reports, especially from listeners in Germany and Scandinavia. The most distant reports have come from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Mauritius.
The name game
Shortwave listeners are often confused by the various station names heard on the broadcasts. In fact, the programmes heard on shortwave are not live, but are recordings produced by Radio Studio, and they often refer to its sister stations Radio Gardarika and Nevskaya volna.
During the current (B02) season, Radio Studio can be heard on 5920 kHz starting at 2000 UTC. The transmitter in Popovka is used until 2000 UTC by the Voice of Russia for transmissions to Europe in Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian.
Radio Studio considers broadcasting on shortwave to be a matter of prestige rather than a commercial venture. Renting a 200 kW shortwave transmitter has its price, and the station is currently on a minimal schedule. In order to balance the books, Radio Studio has to take regular shortwave "breaks" of several weeks at a time. The licence requires it to to be on shortwave for at least 24 hours every third month. In practice, it usually broadcasts up to 3 hours of programming per day over a number of days, such as 2000-2300 UTC on 7 days in December 2002.
Domestic "radio war"
On the domestic front, the Radio Studio broadcasts on shortwave also reflect an ongoing "radio war" between the two administrators in the region: St Petersburg major Vladimir Yakovlev and the governor of the Leningrad oblast, Valeriy Serdyukov. In the mid-1990s, when the state broadcasting system in the region was reorganised by decrees of Russian president Yeltsin, it was the municipal broadcasting company TRK "Peterburg" which received the licence to broadcast on FM not only in St Petersburg, but also throughout the oblast. The provincial administration's Radio Gardarika was left with the much less attractive wired network. Now, in the Leningrad oblast - as all over Russia - the old wired network is gradually being replaced by FM transmitters, which is going to bring Radio Gardarika back on the dial of FM receivers. It is the station's ambition to overtake its competitor TRK "Peterburg" and become the region's main state broadcaster.
Address: Ligovskiy pr. 174, 192007 St.Petersburg, Russia
Email: studiosw@metroclub.ru
Photos © Alexey Osipov
by Bernd Trutenau, 31 January 2003
Radio Studio is one of the last 'independent' radio stations broadcasting from Russia on shortwave. Its sudden disappearance from the dial, only to reappear after a long pause in autumn 2002, puzzled many shortwave listeners. They've also been confused by on-air references to Radio Gardarika and Nevskaya volna, and the fact that the station doesn't seem to be on a regular schedule. So what's going on?
Radio Gardarika and Radio Studio are both produced by the same provincial broadcasting company – Dom Radio Gardarika. Some years ago, the administration of Leningrad province (Leningradskaya oblast) was looking for studio facilities and discovered the recording studio "Gardarika" in Vsevolozhsk, a suburb of St Petersburg. The name Gardarika is a reference to the Old Scandinavian word for the St Petersburg region: garðaríki. The administration took over the studios, renamed them "Dom Radio Gardarika" (Broadcasting house "Gardarika") and began producing programmes for the large wired network in the oblast under the name "Radio Gardarika". In recent years, more and more FM transmitters were installed for Radio Gardarika in the oblast, and new radio channels were added.
Four services
At present, the Gardarika studios are producing the following radio outlets:
Radio Gardarika (on FM & wired network)
Nevskaya volna (St.Petersburg 69.05 MHz, 5kW)
Radio Studio (on FM)
Radio Studio on shortwave
Radio Studio was formed on the basis of the well-known youth club and discotheque "Metro" in St Petersburg and is broadcasting from the club's premises. This channel is Gardarika's voice for the younger generation in St Petersburg and the oblast, a 24 hour pop music station which is achieving high ratings in the tough radio market of Russia's second largest city.
Heard around the world
Radio Studio broadcasts around the clock in St Petersburg on FM 102.4 MHz (10 kW). The shortwave transmissions started in 1999. The station hires airtime on a 200 kW transmitter at the Popovka transmitting centre south of St Petersburg. The antenna, a high-gain 4/4 curtain type, is beamed 215 degrees towards Central Europe.
Soon after it started, the station was already gathering many listeners in Europe, though its primary target audience is Russians living abroad. Up to now, Radio Studio has received more than 400 reception reports, especially from listeners in Germany and Scandinavia. The most distant reports have come from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Mauritius.
The name game
Shortwave listeners are often confused by the various station names heard on the broadcasts. In fact, the programmes heard on shortwave are not live, but are recordings produced by Radio Studio, and they often refer to its sister stations Radio Gardarika and Nevskaya volna.
During the current (B02) season, Radio Studio can be heard on 5920 kHz starting at 2000 UTC. The transmitter in Popovka is used until 2000 UTC by the Voice of Russia for transmissions to Europe in Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian.
Radio Studio considers broadcasting on shortwave to be a matter of prestige rather than a commercial venture. Renting a 200 kW shortwave transmitter has its price, and the station is currently on a minimal schedule. In order to balance the books, Radio Studio has to take regular shortwave "breaks" of several weeks at a time. The licence requires it to to be on shortwave for at least 24 hours every third month. In practice, it usually broadcasts up to 3 hours of programming per day over a number of days, such as 2000-2300 UTC on 7 days in December 2002.
Domestic "radio war"
On the domestic front, the Radio Studio broadcasts on shortwave also reflect an ongoing "radio war" between the two administrators in the region: St Petersburg major Vladimir Yakovlev and the governor of the Leningrad oblast, Valeriy Serdyukov. In the mid-1990s, when the state broadcasting system in the region was reorganised by decrees of Russian president Yeltsin, it was the municipal broadcasting company TRK "Peterburg" which received the licence to broadcast on FM not only in St Petersburg, but also throughout the oblast. The provincial administration's Radio Gardarika was left with the much less attractive wired network. Now, in the Leningrad oblast - as all over Russia - the old wired network is gradually being replaced by FM transmitters, which is going to bring Radio Gardarika back on the dial of FM receivers. It is the station's ambition to overtake its competitor TRK "Peterburg" and become the region's main state broadcaster.
Address: Ligovskiy pr. 174, 192007 St.Petersburg, Russia
Email: studiosw@metroclub.ru
Photos © Alexey Osipov
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