February 22, 2005

OPPORTUNITIES: Nominations invited for Media Awards (UK)

Also check http://www.owbt.org/bursaries2005/2005home.htm for more - especially on the Student Bursaries (if you are based in the UK).

NOMINATIONS INVITED FOR MEDIA AWARDS

By Gemma Quade, Community Newswire

Organisers of a prestigious media awards ceremony to be held in London have today called for nominations to be submitted for this year's event to recognise media professionals whose work covers international affairs.

The One World Media Awards, organised by the One World Broadcasting Trust, encourage excellence in media coverage that reflects the social, political and cultural life of people across the world.

Despite a general declining trend of media coverage of the developing world the trust received a record number of submissions last year, and is eager to better that for a second year running.

The ceremony, held at the London Marriott Hotel in June, will be presented by Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow.

He said: "The One World Media Awards are the most cherished in television. They provide enduring proof that despite all, a sturdy thread of real excellence still weaves its way though the output."

The 12 award categories include Broadcast Journalist of the Year, the Popular Features Award and the Children's Rights Award, and all are sponsored by charities including Christian Aid, Unicef and ActionAid.

For details of entry requirements, eligibility, fees and application forms, visit www.owbt.org or call 020 7874 7609. The deadline for entries is Monday, March 21.

SOURCE: http://services.press.net/pressnet/communitynewswire/index.jsp?story_id=728575&setStyle=mlStory&returnStyle=heading.cnw

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

RESEARCH: Teens and Movie Heroes Subject of New Georgetown Study (USA)

Teens and Movie Heroes Subject of New Georgetown Study

(2005-02-21)

Research Examines Whether Teens Perceive Heroic Role Models as Violent or Worthy of Imitation

Washington, D.C. ? Violence in the media and its long-term effect on viewers is under constant observation by policymakers, parents and industry experts. In a new study from Georgetown University?s Children?s Digital Media Center (CDMC), researchers take a closer look at media heroes who commit justified acts of aggression and examine the specific character traits viewers admire and find worthy of imitation. Results indicate that viewers admire the positive qualities heroes exhibit, and the more viewers comprehend a movie?s plot the more likely they are to identify with the heroic characters in it.

?These findings suggest the importance of a mature understanding of narratives by those who view them,? said CDMC Director and Professor of Psychology Sandra Calvert. ?This is a serious policy issue when one considers the number of youth who attend action-adventure movies at theatres or who view them as DVD, videotape and eventual television fare in their homes.?

CDMC researchers led by Calvert conducted a study involving 366 high school and college age students from two cultures living with fears of external threats, the U.S. and Taiwan. Students viewed the DVD ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? in their native languages and then completed a questionnaire about the film. Researchers examined age, gender, cultural background and plot comprehension in relation to students? identification with media heroes. Results are published in the November-December 2004 special issue of the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, co-edited by Calvert and University of California at Los Angeles CDMC researcher Patricia Greenfield.

Study results indicate that both U.S. and Taiwanese students identified with heroes? positive character traits rather than qualities such as aggression or vengeance. Adolescents reported perceiving media heroes as being more compassionate, as using their ?heads before their swords,? and as being in control of their lives. Teenagers did not perceive heroes as being evil or as seekers of revenge. Students who considered characters as heroic also viewed them as role models. U.S. students identified with heroic characters and heroic ideals more than Taiwanese students did.

In addition, researchers found that viewer plot comprehension influenced whether students identified more with heroic characters or villains. Students with better plot comprehension were more likely to identify with heroic characters and those who had a poor understanding of the narrative were more likely to identify with the villain.

?Heroic narratives are embedded in cultures throughout the world,? writes Calvert in the journal. ?How narratives present, modify and use this formula is integral to the socialization of our youth, to the character of our nation, and to our views about the potential for good and evil in other people as well as the moral struggles we face within ourselves.?

About the Children?s Digital Media Center

The Children?s Digital Media Center (CDMC) is a five-university consortium between Georgetown University, the University of California at Riverside, the University of California at Los Angeles, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas at Austin uniting a national community of scholars, researchers, educators, policy-makers, and industry professionals whose goal is to shed light on how children learn from the digital media environment in which they live. Funded in large part by a five-year $2.45 million grant from the National Science Foundation, CDMC is working to gain a greater understanding of how interactive digital media experiences affect children?s long-term social adjustment, academic achievement, and personal identity. For more information about CDMC, visit http://cdmc.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University

Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on its three campuses. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.

Contact: Andrea Sarubbi
202-687-4328
aes54@georgetown.edu

Provided via: http://www.i-newswire.com
If you have questions regarding information in these press release contact the company listed above. Please do not contact us as we are unable to assist you with your inquiry. We disclaim any content contained in this press release.

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES: TV's children confuse reality with fiction

Quite alarming article from India.

Chris

TV's children confuse reality with fiction
February 21, 2005

Sarvesh Saini, 17, a student of Navrachana School at Baroda, disappeared without informing his parents, friends or relatives. Police tracked him down to Dehradun a few days after his disappearance. He told the police that he made a disappearing act after being severely scolded by his teachers.

Yashraj Bhagirath, 16, a student of Umrigar School, Surat, stage-managed his own kidnapping and demanded a ransom of Rs 25 lakhs from his parents. Fearing failure in 10th standard board exams, he hatched a conspiracy to get "kidnapped" collect ransom, and then bribe his teachers using the money. All this to somehow clear the exams, by hook or crook.

A student of class 9 committed suicide after his mother reprimanded him for not performing well in studies.

Such cases are on the rise with children resorting to extreme measures to deal with their problems. It's high time parents and teachers do some serious rethinking about how they deal with problems concerning their children or students.

Sociologist N. Rajaram says: "Media plays a big role in how today's generation deals with their problems. Movies, soaps and glossy magazines deliver a variety of ideas to teenagers. Some of them feign their own kidnapping to get desired results. The problem is that certain television serials portray such acts in jest and children think that they can get away with anything and that faking one's own abduction is a child's play."

Restricting children from watching television or movies is not the way out. Instead parents should understand the limitations of their children, not put much pressure on them, spend some quality time with them and educate them about means to cope with real life problems, Mr. Rajaram says. About two weeks back, a 12 year-old student of K.B. Parikh School, Baroda, claimed that an attempt was made to abduct him while he was on his way to the school and that he managed to escape. However, writing off the entire incident, police officials claimed that the boy was telling lies and that he concocted the entire story probably by watching too much news and getting affected by kidnapping episodes in Bihar.

Noted psychologist Gautam Amin too held the movies and soap operas responsible for children's behaviour. "Young minds are very receptive and get easily influenced by audiovisual inputs. The kind of lifestyle today's movies and serials depict, encourages them to take extreme steps without knowing the consequences," says Mr. Amin. "I have came across a case where a 15-year-old faked his own kidnapping thrice in a year just to pay up for the drugs he was addicted to," informed Mr. Amin. He adds that the urge to become popular quickly also adds fuel to the fire. According to Mr. Amin, the Navrachana School's student could have done it to sensationalise the whole episode thinking that he may become a famous personality like Kishlay, a Delhi Public School student from Bihar, who got `famous' overnight after being kidnapped.

Mr. Rajaram and Mr. Amin say parents and educational institutions need to be more patient and positive while dealing with children. Proper counseling can help them in. differentiating between the reel life and real life. Also, hey must be guided on emotional issues so as to improve their emotional quotient.

SOURCE: http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/15771/section/14

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 21, 2005

NEWS / PROJECTS: Programme boosts IT knowledge among youth (KYRGYZSTAN)

KYRGYZSTAN: Programme boosts IT knowledge among youth

BISHKEK, 21 Feb 2005 (IRIN) - A US-supported training programme on computer skills and literacy in Kyrgyzstan is helping young people boost their information technology (IT) knowledge while providing free access to information.

"In our school we have very old computers and we do not have an information technology (IT) teacher. I came here to learn how to work with computers and the Internet. Moreover, it is completely free of charge," Shirin Osmonalieva, a 15-year-old schoolgirl excitedly trying to find some information on the web, told IRIN in the capital, Bishkek.

"Internet access is free here, while at Internet cafes one hour costs up to US $1. I am a student and access to information is important for me," Elvira, a student of the Kyrgyz National University, told IRIN. The minimum monthly wage in the former Soviet republic is barely $4, while an average monthly salary is less than $50. State scholarship students receive a monthly stipend of some $3.

Such stories are not uncommon in various parts of Kyrgyzstan, where many people of different age groups and professions come to the Internet Access and Training Programme (IATP) centres to improve their computer literacy or enhance their IT knowledge along with getting free web access.

The IATP, a programme run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US State Department, has been providing free Internet access and training in 11 countries throughout Central Asia, the Caucasus and Western Eurasia since 1995. From major cities to small communities, IATP encourages information sharing, network building, and collaboration among ECA programme alumni and other professionals and local organisations.

"Today IT is an integral part of our life and we try and help people get free information. It is important because in such places as Isfana [a remote southern city close to the Tajik border] people wait for news for a long time. They do not know what is happening in the country. Through our centres, people can follow the news and then share it with others," Dmitry Oleynikov, an IATP country coordinator, told IRIN.

The programme now has 17 centres in all provinces of the former Soviet republic. In addition to providing free access to information, the local centres run educational courses and the programme's server in Bishkek hosts more than 2,200 non-commercial web sites for free.

Each month the average number of people trained is about 600 and more then 5,000 people get free Internet access. More than 15,000 people were trained at the centres between July 2002 and December 2004 alone.

The courses, designed in a simple way to teach people how to use the Internet and some programmes, vary from basic skills in computer literacy to more specific higher-end training such as web-programming or network administration.

The design of the training courses changes due to the needs of participants - from school students to government employees. "In the majority of schools there is a big gap in teaching IT and there are problems with equipment. In some of our groups we had students who operated a computer for the first time in their lives. We help schools tackle this educational gap. Also, we try to explain to children that learning how to work on computers is much more useful than playing games at Internet cafes," Nurlan Jumaliev, an IATP programme associate, explained.

"I have studied two courses. Now I am learning how to develop web pages. I want to be a businessman and computer literacy will be very important for me," Arzymat, a 15-year-old schoolboy, told IRIN at a centre in Bishkek.

Meanwhile, many organisations, including government institutions and universities, ask IATP to train their employees. "Three years ago, I needed to learn how to use computers. At the educational centres I had to pay a hefty sum for such training, but I have found that the IATP has such courses for free and I went there. It was a big help in my work," Gulnara, a journalist from the Kyrgyz Television and Radio Corporation, told IRIN.

SOURCE: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45682

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

EVENTS: BUFF 2005 (SWEDEN)

The 22nd BUFF - Malmö International Children and Young People´s Filmfestival
opens in two weeks.

Openingfilm is Torun Lians "COLOR OF MILK" and the shortfilm "STRONG HOLD".
Two films from Norway!

You will find the full programme with 102 films and seminars on www.buff.se

The Vignette Film for 2005 will also be on the net after the festival has
started.

Best regards from BUFF!

Lennart Ström
BUFF FILMFESTIVAL
www.buff.se
PO BOX 4277, SE 203 14 Malmö, Sweden
Tel +46 (0)40 30 25 05
Fax +46 (0)40 30 53 22

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites
linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

ARTICLES: Danger - TV in the home

Danger - TV in the home

Feb 18 2005

By Tony Collins, Evening Mail

Parents should exercise the same control over their children's TV viewing as they do over tablets or chemicals in the home.

That was the warning issued today by psychology experts in Birmingham, increasingly alarmed at the influence of violent TV on impressionable children.

Researchers at Birmingham University's Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology have now issued safety guidelines.

They say the availability of videos, satellite and cable TV in the home means children now have access to " violent media inappropriate to their age, developmental stage and mental health".

The growth in interactive video and computer games containing violence has also limited the effectiveness of parental control.

Centre director Prof Kevin Browne said controls over age restriction were more difficult to implement in the home than in the cinema.

"We are asking that parents show greater responsibility for their children's viewing habits by recommending that parents exercise the same care with violent media entertainment aimed at adults as they do with medication and chemicals around the home.

"Carelessness with material containing extreme violence and sexual imagery might even be considered a

form of emotional child maltreatment."

Prof Browne added: "There is evidence that violence in the media has become more acceptable to policy makers.

"Producers need to recognise the potential impact of violence on vulnerable audiences who may not have the capacity or the will to see the violence in the context of the story."

Studies showed that violence in the media increased aggressive behaviours in children and adolescents, especially boys.

SOURCE: http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/mail/tm_objectid=15205364&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=danger---tv-in-the-home-name_page.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

NEWS: Youth services host digital arts festivals (USA)

Youth services host digital arts festivals

by Michael Norris
Pentagram assistant editor

A grant from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America is helping transform children from Fort Myer's Youth Services into budding visual artists.

Anthony Wright, a functional technology specialist with Fort Myer's Child and Youth Services program said he applied for a grant that awarded the installation $2,000 worth of camera equipment and software with the expectation that youth compete in a Digital Arts Festival.

Wright said the Boys and Girls Clubs have had the program for at least the last two years, but that this was the first year Fort Myer would be holding the festival.

The festival will have three components. A movie-making fest will take place Feb. 26 from noon to 5 p.m. Contestants in Web design will gather April 30 from noon to 5 p.m. Graphic designers will compare their skills May 21 from noon to 5 p.m.

Wright said youth will be able to compete within each category in three divisions: 10- to 12-year-olds, 13- to 15-year-olds, and 16- to 18-year-olds. Those competing must already be enrolled in Youth Services.

Already two youths from the program have signed up for the movie-making section, Wright said. Competitors can submit either a film or a screenplay and films cannot exceed two minutes length. He said there are no firm deadlines, but submissions must be submitted the Friday before the festival to ensure they meet festival guidelines.

The grant provided Youth Services with a digital video recorder, music-looping software and other materials. Wright has been using the equipment for workshops to teach kids at the youth center how to edit film, use photo programs and other technology. He said he has recruited media arts professionals from the Pentagon to serve as judges for the festival. Winners will go on to compete at regional and national festivals and be eligible for prizes and awards.

Besides being fun, Wright said the program "teaches youth motor skills and high-end technology programs."

He said the program goes beyond what can be found in Arlington public schools for this age group. For more information on the festival and media training at Youth Services, contact Anthony Wright at (703) 696-3724 or anthony.wright@fmmc.arm-y.mil.

SOURCE: http://www.dcmilitary.com/army/pentagram/10_07/local_news/33468-1.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

RESEARCH: Violent games provoke children

Violent games provoke children
By Clara Pirani
19feb05

CHILDREN are more likely to act aggressively or feel upset after they have watched violent films or television programs.

British scientists have also found that children who passively watched television were as likely to be distressed by violent images as those who played interactive computer games.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham analysed data from six laboratory studies into children's behaviour after they had watched scenes of violence.

They found there was "consistent evidence of an association between younger children watching media violence and showing more aggressive play and behaviour".

The researchers concluded that parents should treat media viewing with the same caution as medications or chemicals around the home.

"Carelessness with material that contains extreme violent and sexual imagery might even be regarded as a form of emotional maltreatment of the child," lead author Professor Kevin Browne wrote in the medical journal The Lancet.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists spokesman Gregory de Moore agreed that young children were influenced by violent images.

"Young children under the age of seven will have great difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy, and often those children mimic what they see on TV, even though they don't really know what they are doing," he said.

"As they get older, they start to differentiate reality from fiction but then they are more likely to have a physiological response such as increased agitation that we know is associated with impending violent actions."

He said computer and video games posed a particular challenge for parents trying to monitor their child's exposure to violence.

"Most parents understand the classification system for movies, but computer games are a new ballpark," Dr de Moore said. "Most parents can't even use the games."

Jane Roberts, president of Young Media Australia, a national group that advocates responsible media viewing, said more than 75 per cent of computer or video games showed some level of violence.

Ms Roberts said children received mixed message from schools and the media. She said some schools had implemented successful programs to teach children that violence was not an appropriate way to respond to conflict.

"But then the child goes home and plays computer games where they play the role of a violent perpetrator."

SOURCE: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,12296794%5E401,00.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 17, 2005

NEWS: Marketing chiefs put junk-food ads on the scales (AUSTRALIA)

Marketing chiefs put junk-food ads on the scales

By Julian Lee, Marketing Reporter
February 17, 2005

The food marketing industry meets today to consider a raft of measures to combat growing levels of obesity as part of its strategy to counter the worldwide groundswell for curbs on junk-food ads.

A centre to explore existing research in the area of advertising and children and a public charter in which food companies can pledge that their advertising meets industry guidelines are just some of the proposals to be discussed at the meeting of media and advertising interests.

The discussions come just weeks after Kraft announced that by the end of this year it would ditch advertising for snack products such as Oreos biscuits worldwide to under 12s and in the following year extend the ban to other products in its portfolio that fail to meet nutritional targets.

In Europe the food industry has been given a year to stop advertising junk food to children and improve labelling or face possible legislation. In the UK the industry has until 2007 to curb advertising and promotions.

In the US other companies are set to follow Kraft's self-regulatory route to head off consumer backlashes against foods high in fat and sugar and avoid possible litigation in major class actions.

But in Australia no such conditions have been placed upon the companies that annually spend an estimated $200 million on advertising snacks and high-fat foods.

"The key word is responsible," said one source close to talks between the industry and the Federal Government. "If we show that we can be responsible in our advertising, then the Government will not feel the need to step in."

Yesterday the Government's anti-obesity taskforce met advertising and food executives as well as dietitians and other health professionals to discuss what to do next.

At the summit McDonald's chief executive Guy Russo revealed that since 2001 the company had cut back its advertising in children's television viewing by 60 per cent while Nestle said it now employed nutritionists to work alongside its marketing department.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council said it wanted its members to be able to make healthy claims in the marketing of products. The Government is reviewing guidelines that currently prohibit health claims being made about food.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has been sitting on an industry-backed ad campaign featuring a character called Joe Lively since August 2003, when it was presented to then health minister, Kay Patterson. Lively was created as an industry response to promote healthy eating and exercise in one message. The character and the campaign - made by McCann Erickson - has since been bogged down in bureaucracy. The eating component has been handed over to Vegie Man, a character in use in an existing campaign running in Western Australia. It is not known if Lively will ever be used by the Government.

"Having recently recommitted to support the Prime Minister's Healthy Active Australia initiative, the advertising and media interests that brought Joe Lively to life aren't going to run away because the Health and Ageing Department has decided to take a different creative approach," said Ian Alwill, president of the Australian Association of National Advertisers, which is leading the industry-wide discussions.

Joe Lively is, however, expected to feature in more initiatives such as a school education campaign run by the coalition of media and advertising interests.

Newspaper groups as well as the peak body for the media buying industry, Media Federation of Australia, will also be present at tomorrow's meeting for the first time.

There is a growing sense among those behind the initiatives that even if the Federal Government is not pressuring the industry to change its tune, consumers will vote with their feet if they don't see change in the food industry.

Even though the initiative marks an escalation in activity by the marketing industry, critics have reservations.

"I'd like to see them not expand the product ranges as that only encourages people to eat more," said dietitian Rosemary Stanton.

"I would also like to see them not trying to make healthy claims on everything - it's misleading.

"I would much rather see them label something as an indulgence. It's not all right to say that you can eat anything in moderation."

SOURCE: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Marketing-chiefs-put-junkfood-ads-on-the-scales/2005/02/16/1108500153895.html?oneclick=true

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

NEWS / PROJECTS: Development funding to digital promotional projects for children (DENMARK)

Development funding to digital promotional projects for children

By Monica Hassel

The National Cultural Heritage Agency has allocated money to two pioneer digital promotional projects, to be implemented in 2005.

In less than one year the Sealand Symphony Orchestra will present a digital visual and auditory experience. The project ?In the Midst of Music? ("Midt i musikken") is going to make it possible to drift through the complex universe of sounds of orchestral music, as the tones as 3D-sound come from behind and just overtake you, or they just come in front and enter the user?s field of vision as colours and forms. The user will be able to drift forward, accelerate, follow one instrument, catch it up and listen more closely to it for a moment, and drift on. The project - that was granted DKK 1.052.500 by the National Cultural Heritage Agency out of the funds earmarked for Culture Net Denmark ? is totally innovative in terms of promoting orchestral music, with children and young people as its primary target group.

In Frederikssund the J.F. Willumsen Museum aims to establish an exciting interactive children?s universe on the Net ? making use of educational insights that are based on experience, as well as the most up-to-date educational research in the field of the digital media. "Wild about Willumsen" will offer a general introduction to issues related to visual arts and specifically promote the painter J.F. Willumsen?s life and works. The project was allocated DKK 580.000.

You can read more about these and other similar projects, that have been supported by the National Cultural Heritage Agency from the Culture Net Denmark pool, here: http://www.kuas.dk/tjenester/kulturnet/index.jsp

SOURCE: http://valhalla.norden.org/valhalla_news/feb20/en/view

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 9, 2005

RESEARCH / REPORTS / PRESS RELEASE: Opportunities and risks go hand in hand on the Internet (UK)

Opportunities and risks go hand in hand on the Internet

Press release - Embargoed: 00:01, Wednesday 9 February 2005

Media Contacts:

Professor Sonia Livingstone, LSE, 07791 663698 or 020 7955 7710, email: s.livingstone@lse.ac.uk

Dr Magdalena Bober, LSE, 020 7955 6005, email: m.bober@lse.ac.uk

Judith Higgin, LSE Press Office, 020 7955 7582, email: j.a.higgin@lse.ac.uk

Stephen Carrick-Davies, CEO of Childnet International, 0771 245 1859

__________________________________________________________________

Children and young people who make the best use of the Internet also encounter more risks online. This is one of the main findings from a two-year research study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The UK Children Go Online (UKCGO) project involved a series of focus group discussions and then a national survey of 1,511 9-19 year olds around the UK, together with their parents, in order to examine young people?s internet use in detail. The research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council under the e-Society Programme.
The report compares more skilled internet users with beginners. Professor Sonia Livingstone and co-author Dr Magdalena Bober found that:

�� Children and young people who are more skilled at using the internet take up more online opportunities than beginners ? such as using the internet for learning, communicating with friends or seeking advice.
�� It is the skilled youngsters, more than the beginners, who are likely to encounter online risks ? such as bullying, online porn or privacy risks.
�� Increasing online opportunities also increases the risks.
�� Those who manage to avoid the risks seem to do so by making only a narrow and unadventurous use of the internet.

Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology at the LSE, said: ?This points up the dilemma that parents and other regulators face. Restricting children and young people?s internet use reduces the risks but also carries a cost because it reduces their opportunities online.

?It is of concern that even the most skilled young people are not avoiding online risks. If we want to make sure that in five years time young people aren?t at greater risk online, more effort is needed to make the internet safer for them.?

The research raises the question what parents can do to ensure their children are making the best use of the internet. Professor Livingstone said: ?Parents who employ supportive practices, rather than simply restricting internet use, increase their children?s online skills and, as a result, increase their opportunities. This includes asking the child what they are doing online, keeping an eye on the screen, helping them online, staying in the same room and going online together. However, this may not reduce online risks.?

Schools also have a role to play. Co-author of the report, Magdalena Bober, said: ?Many pupils have already received some lessons on how to use the internet. However, nearly one in three have not. Schools should provide more specific guidance on internet safety, searching and reliability of websites, especially to the younger children (9-11 years) and the oldest (18-19 years), who are less likely to have received such lessons.?

The research also found that:

�� Beginners lack searching and critical skills and so are more distrustful of online content than skilled users.
�� However, skilled users don?t show blind trust. Rather, they are better at searching and more able to find reliable websites, for example by checking information across several sites.
�� Overall, only one in three 9-19 year old internet users have been taught how to decide if the information they find online is reliable and can be trusted.

Stephen Carrick-Davies, CEO of Childnet International, one of the report sponsors, said: ?This research reminds us that supporting and protecting children online is a complex business, and there are no simple ?one size fits all? solutions. If we want to expand children's online opportunities, we have to recognise that even the most advanced and confident young user will still be open to risks and dangers online. Developing critical net-literacy skills in young people is therefore crucial, and this has to involve parents helping children and having meaningful interaction about the internet. It is also vital that teachers really understand how children are interacting on the internet outside of the classroom, where it is generally filtered, protected and supervised. This is where more work and support is needed if we are to ensure that children are truly life-literate as well as net-literate.?

ENDS

Notes for Editors: The survey UK Children Go Online presents findings from a national, in-home, face to face survey of 1,511 young people aged 9-19 and a written questionnaire to 906 of their parents. The research was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council grant under the ?e-Society? Programme, with co-funding from AOL, Childnet International, Citizens Online, the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and Ofcom. e-Society is the largest ever academic research programme to look at the impact of digital technologies on our society and institutions. For more information, see www.london.edu/e-society. To download the report free, go to www.children-go-online.net.

________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

NEWS: Children's newspapers told the tsunami story like it really was - but with a little extra care

World Young Reader Network News #11 - From the World Association of Newspapers

>>> SPECIAL EDITION: THE TSUNAMI STORY AND THE YOUNG

(FOR YOUR BACKGROUND: WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, ten news agencies and ten regional and world-wide press groups. In 1991, it established a global Committee to specialize in young reader issues and, in 1998, a World Young Reader Network of newspapers that make a special effort to reach the young. Our web site: www.wan-press.org)

Please free to reprint the material and do let us know your own news and comments.

Dr. Aralynn McMane, WAN Director of Development and Education
7 rue Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 75005 Paris France
E-mail: amcmane@wan.asso.fr
Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00, Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48

******

Children?s newspapers told the tsunami story like it really was ? but with a little extra care

A World Association of Newspapers Special Report

In children?s newspapers worldwide, editors reacted to the tsunami in Asia with carefully crafted coverage and opportunities for young readers to help.

Paris has some of the world?s few dailies for children ? four, in fact, for different age groups, published by Play Bac Press. Each covered the tragedy in a slightly different way, but all four emphasized the facts of the situation.

?We don?t do Disneyland,? said François Dufour, editor of the newspapers.

Mon Quotidien, targeting 9- to 13-year-olds, is the company?s flagship paper and the one with the highest circulation (about 60,000 daily).

?One can say it all to children and even show a dead body, but it must be done in a manner that doesn?t traumatize them,? Mon Quotidien deputy editor Olivier Gasselin told Agence France-Presse, ?and you certainly cannot sensationalize.? Thus, the only image it published of a body showed anguished Indian parents grieving over their dead child, with only the top of the child?s head visible.

For the youngest children, in Quoti for 5- to 7-year-olds and Le Petit Quotidien for readers aged 7 to 9 years, photos showed mainly destroyed houses, survivors and rescue workers, with maps and infographics. L?actu, the paper for the oldest group, starting at age 14, showed similar images but dealt with the more complex issues of the threat of epidemics and the political question of how guerrilla activities could hamper humanitarian efforts.

All four newspapers defined key words, such as ?tsunami,?? ?repatriate?? and ?natural disaster,?? and put the accent on people like their readers ? children ? highlighting, for example, the estimate that one in three victims was a child.

The weekly Junior Inquirer supplement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Manila didn?t mince words either. It led its 8 January issue with: ?Children, too small and weak to run fast enough or to hold on to safety, are the biggest victims of one of the world?s worst natural disasters.? It showed aerial photos of the Aceh, Indonesia, coastline before and after the wave hit and a very informative but simple infographic about how a tsunami emerges.

A Toronto-based Sri Lankan girl became a reporter for the Brand New Planet supplement of the Toronto Star in Canada, writing on the web site each day about what she found important in the news.

The newspapers helped their young readers to not lose hope and also gave them a chance to do something about it.

A story headlined ?Kids around the world reach out? showed photos of a child collecting money from a rickshaw puller, a child praying at a special inter-faith service at a Buddhist temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a young girl in Hong Kong putting money into a donation box. The story explained several ways to give donations to the Philippines National Red Cross.

The French dailies featured the story of Tilly from the United Kingdom, on vacation with her family in Thailand, whose school class on tsunami caused her to recognize the signs and alert dozens of people to leave the beach.

?We ran some great letters from kids [who reported that their cohorts] all over the city were doing fund-raising and also wanted to tell their stories,? said Sue Grimbly, editor of Brand New Planet.

The Play Bac group explained how schools were going to help young people express their concerns and where they could donate money. Mon Petit Quotidien, organized its own relief fund by publishing coupon-receipts to help children collect money. After adding its own 30,000 Euros (revenues from one day?s paper), Play Bac will send the money to UNICEF and Save the Children. By the end of January, donations totaled 75,000?, with 5,000? still arriving each day.

But some publications took the opportunity to remind readers that other parts of the world also needed help. Kids? Bizz is a quarterly children?s newspaper with 30,000 copies distributed in schools in the London borough of Ealing. It is promoting a fund-raising campaign for countries that are receiving less media coverage, especially Somalia. The borough has a large Somali population and the paper is responding to specific needs there.

THE CHALLENGE FOR NIE

The challenge for Newspapers in Education around the world has been to add to the efforts of newspapers.

In Sweden, which lost thousands of its citizens who were vacationing in the region affected by the tsunami, ?almost all newspapers have engaged in gathering money and other forms of assistance,? explained Göran Subenko, who runs the Newspapers in Education programme for the Swedish newspaper association. ?We try never to compete with our employers, but try to inspire our readers to read and act in collaboration with them.?

He said the programme?s emphasis, through its homepage, was on giving teachers advice on how to use ? and not use ? the mass media and how to talk to children about such difficult matters. A little later, it described how Swedish newspapers covered the event. The next phase was to explain the newspapers? role in covering the tsunami and to defend the coverage in the face of some angry reaction from readers. After that, NIE offered teachers advice on how to use the materials for analysis and on teaching the pupils to write for themselves.

How about NIE in your country.
How did it help young readers understand?
You can contact me at amcmane@wan.asso.fr

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

ARTICLES: Expert to parents: Don't kill TV, 'wound' it

Expert to parents: Don't kill TV, 'wound' it

By Ben Rubin

NORTH ADAMS -- Between violence in the local news, suggestive soap operas and grisly video games, bringing up children in today's media-rich -- and often not family friendly -- culture can be a tough job.

A few local mothers had a chance to vent about this issue at a presentation called "What Effect Does the Media Have On Children's Play and Development?" The discussion was held by professor Erica Scharrer from the University of Massachusetts, at the Sarah Haskins Community Center on Thursday.

Scharrer, 34, has taught at the Amherst campus in the department of communications for six years. She lectures on the social impact of mass media, children and teen relation to the media and media violence. She holds a doctorate in mass communication from Syracuse University and co-wrote the book "Television: What's on, Who's Watching and What it Means."

Most of the mothers at the presentation spent a lot of the time expressing how hard it is to keep their children insulated from the vices in mass media. Even fairy tales seemed too violent, they bemoaned.

To protect their children, some would stop their young ones from spending time at certain friends' homes for fear their kids would see a show or play a video game that they shouldn't. Others monitored and limited the amount of TV watched.

Still, as hard as these mothers try, it can be almost impossible to completely insulate a child from the sex, violence and inappropriate language that comes through the tube every night -- especially when kids almost impulsively want to watch.

"My kids know if I'm tired they can get TV out of me," one mother lamented.

Scharrer said that children under seven are usually drawn to the less plot-driven aspects of TV and tend to fixate on a single part of a show.

Those in that age group like to watch, she said, because they are drawn to the music or graphics or sound effects -- not what's actually going on between the characters. What they take away from the experience might be something a parent might not even notice or realize the child's focus on it.

Scharrer said children as young as two and three tend not to realize that television is not real and might end up talking about cartoon characters as if they are alive.

The problem with controlling content can be compounded by the fact that most parents don't know how to block channels on a TV and don't know what the TV ratings system means.

Media saturated

On top of that, Scharrer said America is very media saturated at home. A regular household has three televisions, 73 percent of homes have computers and one out of four children has a TV in his or her own room, she said.

Scharrer suggested to the parents, how can a mother know what her son or daughter is watching or how often if her child owns his or her own TV?

To these problems, Scharrer suggested some solutions. She said subjective moderation is the most important. Getting rid of a child's TV might be a good first step, she said.

"I'm less a 'kill your television' person than a 'wound your television' person," Scharrer said. "It's important to set limits on the amount and content your child watches on your own ideas of what's OK and what's not."

Scharrer suggested that television does not ultimately take the place of children playing, but does shape it. Children in play will act out what they see on TV, she said, which is why there might always be a "bad guy" involved.

She added that balancing TV watching was especially necessary because several studies have tied excessive watching to obesity and poorer performance in school.

"Parental mediation," which includes active involvement and discussion of what a child is watching, is also very helpful, Scharrer said.

SOURCE: http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9049~2699124,00.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES & ADDITIONAL INFO: International Safer Internet Day reinforces the importance of online safety

SOURCE: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/08/c1914.html

International Safer Internet Day reinforces the importance of online safety

Canadian parents unaware of children's Internet habits, study shows TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - As part of "Safer Internet Day," Media Awareness Network is encouraging parents to get more involved in their children's online activities. Research by Media Awareness Network, Canada's leading Internet education organization, shows that Canadian parents know very little about their children's online activities and they rarely communicate with their children about Internet safety. "Few parents understand their kids' Internet culture and the more complex issues of safety, privacy, online predators and cyber bullying," said Cathy Wing, Director, Community Programming, Media Awareness Network. "International Safer Internet Day is a reminder to us all that we must be vigilant about what our children are doing online. Used responsibly, the Internet can be an excellent educational tool. It's essential for parents to educate themselves in order to safeguard their children against the potential pitfalls." Research conducted by the Media Awareness Network concluded that: - 70 per cent of children say their parents talk to them very little about what sites they visit - Nearly 7 out of 10 children say their parents never sit with them while they surf - 65 per cent of children say their parents don't use filters or blocks - Less than half of children say their parents never check to see what sites they've visited In January 2004, Media Awareness Network, Microsoft Canada and Bell Canada created a national education and awareness campaign called Be Web Aware to provide Canadian parents with the information and tools they need so they can help their children experience all the great benefits of the Internet while ensuring they are protected from the negative forces that come with it. Parents are encouraged to go to www.bewebaware.ca for the tools and information they need. Here are some recommendations available on the web site: - Keep your computer in a highly visible area such as the kitchen, never isolated in a child's room. - Teach your kids the value of their personal information and to protect their privacy on the Internet by not sharing personal details when using chat rooms, bulletin boards, instant messaging or visiting web sites. This includes name, gender, age, home address, e-mail address, phone number, picture, credit card information or passwords. - Lead young children to high-quality non-commercial sites for kids that are fun and educational. - Read the privacy policies on web sites. - Sit with your kids when they're registering for Instant Messaging or e-mail accounts to make sure they protect their personal information and do NOT fill in an online personal profile. - Set clear rules about what kind of sites your children are allowed to visit. - Talk with your children about predators and potential online dangers. - If your children use Instant Messaging, check who is on your children's contact list. Find out if they know each person and encourage them to delete the names of people they have not already met in person. - If your children participate in chat rooms, make it your business to know what chat rooms they visit and who they talk to. Monitor the chat areas yourself to see what kind of conversations are going on. The 2004 Be Web Aware coalition participants included: Alliance Atlantis, Bell Canada, Canadian Association of Internet Providers, Canadian Library Association, CanWest Global Communications Corp., CHUM Television, CORUS Entertainment, Craig Media Inc., CTV Inc. and its specialty television networks, ctv.ca, globeandmail.com, Microsoft Canada, msn.ca, Rogers Cable Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., sympatico.ca, TELUS and the Government of Canada. About Media Awareness Network Media Awareness Network is a non-profit Canadian organization whose mission is to support and encourage media and Internet education, and its widest possible integration into Canadian schools, homes and communities. Its aim is to help adults guide children and youth to develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of the media, the techniques used in creating media products, and the media's role and influence within society.

For further information: visit www.bewebaware.ca or contact:  Stephanie Bell, Media Profile, (416) 504-8464, stephanie@mediaprofile.com;  Rachel-Joy Thexton, Media Profile, (416) 504-8464 No. 251

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES & RESOURCES: 'Report child witness cases sensitively' (UK)

'Report child witness cases sensitively'
By HoldtheFrontPage staff

Regional journalists are being urged to report with sensitivity when covering court cases involving child witnesses.

New research by the NSPCC and Victim Support has shown that some victims of child abuse who give evidence in court only hear about the outcome of the case through their local newspaper or radio station.

And as part of its new Caring for Children in Court Appeal to support child abuse victims giving evidence, the NSPCC has urged journalists to help minimise what is a traumatic experience by using sensitivity when deciding what details to include and how to treat coverage.

Veteran broadcaster Noel Edmonds is chairman of the NSPCC appeal.

He said: "New research shows that some child witnesses find out about the results of their case from newspaper and radio reports.

"If details of cases are not reported sensitively, children can become very distressed.

"We would appeal to journalists reporting on the courts to bear in mind the impact of what they write on these vulnerable children."

The charity's appeal aims to support child witnesses via expert NSPCC services and to change how courts work to reduce children's suffering.

As part of its campaign 50 witnesses in criminal proceedings between the ages of seven and 17 were asked about their experiences of going to court.

The findings have been published in a report entitled In their own words: The experiences of 50 young witnesses in criminal proceedings.

SOURCE: http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2005/02feb/050209wit.shtml

DOWNLOAD SITE FOR FULL REPORT AS PDF-FILE (200 KB): http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/Research/Summaries/InTheirOwnWords.asp

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 7, 2005

RESOURCES: Education For All Through Voices of Children in Central Asia

SOURCE: http://www.unesco.kz/?sector=Education&region=&lang=&newsid=1165&announce=

IN RUSSIAN: http://www.unesco.kz/?lang=1&sector=Education&region=&newsid=1165&announce=

Education For All Through Voices of Children

The UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office issued a new publication "Education For All Through Voices of Children" (PDF 1,23 MB)

The issues and concerns for education are usually left for policy makers, practicioners, teachers, civil society organizations etc who make their views known on important calendar days. We have seldom heard children's own opinions about their educational situation. UNESCO tried to give the floor to the children this time around and to understand what they need and what their attitudes, preferences and opinions are. We hope that the voices of young people will be heeded.

FULL BOOKLET: http://www.unesco.kz/education/efa/booklet_voice.pdf

IN RUSSIAN: http://www.unesco.kz/education/efa/booklet_voice_ru.pdf

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

PRESS RELEASE: Council of Europe urges governments to back "Safer Internet Day" on Tuesday 8 February

Council of Europe urges governments to back "Safer Internet Day" on Tuesday 8 February

Strasbourg, 07.02.2005 - The Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe has called on the organisation's 46 member states to support "Safer Internet Day" tomorrow, Tuesday 8 February.

Speaking on the eve of the event - which is a European initiative to promote a safer Internet for all users, especially young people and children - Maud de Boer-Buquicchio said:

"Raising awareness and promoting education about the safe use of the Internet can help protect the fundamental rights of young people and children, recognised by all 46 member States of the Council of Europe.

"All that glitters is not gold. Alongside its many advantages, the Internet - which has become a window to the world of information and knowledge - is also the vehicle of unsolicited mail, fraud, and illicit or prejudicial content, undermining the very basis of human rights and human dignity.

"The vulnerability of children using the Internet entitles them to special attention and protection - through education and awareness of users, but also through the criminalisation and prosecution of offences committed via the Internet".

Safer Internet Day is an annual event conducted by the Internet Safety Awareness Network (INSAFE) under the patronage of European Commissioner Viviane Reding. It will be celebrated in 30 countries across Europe and beyond.(*)

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

(*) Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Press Release
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 058a05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
pressunit@coe.int

Internet: www.coe.int/press

To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
Council.of.Europe.Press@coe.int

A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops common
responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46 member states.

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

RESEARCH: Computer Games in Education Project Report

Computer Games in Education Project Report

This document describes a small-scale pilot study project involving the use of six computer games in school settings. The extent and duration of the study mean that, whilst the findings are not generalisable, they do offer insights into some aspects of games in education, some points for developers, and some areas for further research.

To support discussions about the issues raised through this study and for other related documents, the Computer Games in Education Discussion Forum (an open forum) has been established on the VTC conferencing area.

Introduction
A brief commentary on the background to the project
Section 1: Games and schools in the study
An overview of the games and schools in this study, together with an outline of how the games were used
Section 2: Games and teaching and learning
Sets out the study findings and analysis, and offers wider information relevant to the use of games in teaching and learning
Section 3: Summary and next steps
Focuses on specific issues for educational software developers and games developers

FULL REPORT: http://www.becta.org.uk/research/research.cfm?section=1&id=2835

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES / INTERVIEWS: Violence in children's entertainment a reason for concern

Violence in children's entertainment a reason for concern

VIOLENT SCREEN IMAGES HAVE MEASURABLE IMPACT ON KIDS

Question: I'm concerned about the violent content of some children's cartoon shows and the toys and other products connected with them. My husband thinks they're harmless. What's your point of view?

Dr. Dobson: I share your misgivings. There's a trend toward a brand of violence in some of today's cartoons and toys that I see as a dangerous departure from the more traditional combat-type games in which boys have always engaged.

For one thing, the characters tend to be adults involved in adult activities, some of which are highly questionable. I don't think they are appropriate role models for impressionable young children. The settings are mythical or futuristic, and the action often revolves around superstition, sorcery and magic. For these reasons they concern me for spiritual as well as psychological reasons.

The electronic media have incredible power to "sell" these dubious heroes and their exploits to our children. Studies have measured actual psychological changes that occur when kids are watching a violent television program or movie: The pulse rate quickens, the eyes dilate, the hands sweat, the mouth goes dry and breathing accelerates. It should be obvious that this kind of "entertainment" has a dramatic emotional impact - especially if it's repeated often enough. And the toys that are marketed as "spin-offs" from such programs serve only to reinforce or extend those negative effects. What's more, there's no balancing positive, healthy or educational component to these products.

That's why our organization, Focus on the Family, and others have made major investments in high-quality videos and other materials for children. We must provide alternatives for families that want their kids to have wholesome entertainment but are determined to protect them from the popular culture. We will continue to do what we can to meet that need.

? ?

? Question: I don't believe kids are as easily influenced by the media and entertainment industry as you say. What they see does not necessarily determine how they behave.

Dr. Dobson: Well, look at it this way. Back in the early '80s, the most popular movie was a science fiction film entitled "E.T." It included a brief scene where the little creature from outer space was given a few pieces of the candy, Reese's Pieces. The brand was not named, but children recognized it during its few seconds on the screen. In the months that followed, the sale of Reese's Pieces went through the ceiling. Isn't that a clear example of a movie's influence on children's thinking?

Why do advertisers spend billions of dollars to put their products before the people if what we see and hear does not influence our behavior? Why do schools and colleges purchase textbooks for children and young adults if what they read does not translate into influence of one form or another?

Of course children are vulnerable to what they witness! We all are. How much greater impact is made by dramatic, sexually oriented, no-holds-barred musical and theatrical presentations that are aimed at the hearts and souls of our kids? Who are we kidding when we say they are not harmed by the worst of it?

SOURCE: http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/living/10829310.htm

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

TRENDS: Mobisoaps - Hollyoaks is out to charm young viewers with exclusive episodes sent to their phones (UK)

A secret shared

Hollyoaks is out to charm young viewers with exclusive episodes sent to their phones. Rob Harris uncovers a teen-friendly TV trend

Rob Harris
Monday February 7, 2005

Guardian

In soapland, there is nothing like a wedding to boost the ratings. From the preparations to the honeymoon, the audience can expect to share the drama. Until now. TV viewers are being excluded from the nuptials of Hollyoaks's Mandy Richardson and Tony Hutchinson - in a broadcasting first, when the lovebirds jet out to Paris in a fortnight, only mobile phone users will be invited. For a price, subscribers will be sent a series of picture messages with brief plot captions.

"Viewers can get that little bit of extra info to gossip about with their friends," promises Sarah Dunn, who stars in the February 21 mobile premiere as Mandy. Those without the technology will be none the wiser, but integrating phones with broadcast media, so viewers can access their favourite TV programmes on the move, could prove a crucial tool in retaining brand loyalty.

For £1.50, users will receive five daily instalments of the Mersey TV-produced soap as a series of picture slides, via multimedia messaging (MMS). The producers point out that the price is relatively low, compared to the cost of ringtones and graphics, which their target audience already download. Mersey TV further insists that they are not considering extending the project to their other teen-oriented show, Grange Hill, to prevent the 14-18 demographic becoming over-commercialised.

It is more a creative tool than a money-spinner, says Lee Hardman, the head of Conker Media, Mersey TV's digital development and production division, which developed the technology along with mobile marketing specialists Brainstorm. "This type of thing only works if the production team buys into it; creative elements cannot just be bolted on as a revenue generator."

Hollyoaks, which is set in a fictional suburb of Chester, regularly commands more than two million viewers in a 6.30 timeslot. Although the show is aimed at 16-24-year-olds, the mobile service is seen as a way to tap into a slightly younger audience, with the promise of "a unique insight into their favourite characters". An existing SMS text message service delivers a character's extra thoughts as the closing credits roll.

But the show's executive producer, Jo Hallows, concedes that viewers will be missing out on plots by not subscribing to the MMS stories. "It's a shared secret with the audience," she says. Hallows says she is surprised by the limited take-up of the technology, given the endless possibilities to bring viewers closer to their shows.

On Vodafone's 3G service, US drama 24 has launched 24 "mobisodes" to tie in with its fourth series, but unlike the Hollyoaks service, these do not feature the same characters as the broadcast version. In the Netherlands, the twice-daily Jong Zuid and the Endemol-produced Fantesstic operate as exclusively mobile soaps without any television companions.

It is estimated that one in 20 phones in Britain are now MMS-capable, but given the popularity of this service, TV companies have been slow to take up MMS technology as quickly as they seized SMS. Last year, for example, viewers of Five's Family Affairs were able to vote by text to decide on the outcome of a major storyline, and text votes are crucial to shows such as Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!. In April last year, Johnny Vaughan's now-defunct BBC3 chat show was the first to encourage viewers to send in MMS pictures of themselves to be praised or ridiculed. This idea was transferred to Vaughan's BBC1 show on Saturday nights with Denise Van Outen, Passport to Paradise, in which MMS photos were displayed at the end of the episode. However, the BBC has not pushed the technology in the other direction, with the only noticeable sign being trials of Video Nation clips on the 3 network. The BBC's interactive team say that they are looking at how to make content available on mobile platforms, given that people are leading busier lives preventing them from watching programmes at their scheduled time. Yet they have no plans to apply the technology to bigger shows such as EastEnders.

The makers of Hollyoaks know that they are on to a winner with the MMS spin-off, given its low production costs and the fact that its audience is completely comfortable with the technology. The show's website receives 15m hits a month. Hallows says: "They change their mobile phones more often than they change their underwear. It's their biggest priority, so we need to tap into that and it will enable us to develop a closer relationship with our fanbase. This is an opportunity for kids to get messages on the school bus, which means they will gossip about them. The new technology is in its infancy but it is growing very fast and we have only just started with it at the moment. The only limit really is your imagination."

Hollyoaks already uses MMS in other ways: subscribers can receive a 15-20 second trailer for the next day's programme, but the sound quality is still not perfect. Last year, 30,000 budding actors sent in pictures via their phones and the web vying for a place at the Hollyoaks On The Pull auditions. Another cheekily named product, Textual Intercourse, will bring viewers right to the heart of the new MMS spin-off. As Conker Media points out, it is quite a challenge writing a story when you are limited to 160 characters per slide, so they are opening the process out to their audience. Viewers will be encouraged to use SMS to send in their own 160-character stories for the MMS service.

In the 1990s, Mersey TV's Hollyoaks and Brookside were the first shows to launch spin-off videos. Hallows, who has been with Hollyoaks since it launched in 1995, says that if the de mand is there, now even specific storylines can be tailored to the audience's desires. She says: "If we wanted to make a late-night DVD, the fans can say 'we want it to be like this and we want these people to be in it'. Effectively, we can make it for them with the money that they pay us. If the audience wants it, why not give it to them?"

SOURCE: http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1407129,00.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 4, 2005

RADIO / PROJECTS: 'OUR TALK' on radio soon (ZAMBIA)

SOURCE: creative-radio list & http://www.jesuit.ie/uk/chikuni/Radio/Features.htm

'OUR TALK' ON RADIO SOON Mazuba Mwiinga At last something is coming around the corner. You might agree with me that children have always been delicate assets of our world communities. No wonder the United Nations formed an organ looking at their plight - UNICEF. Much as a lot of things and programmes have been done to do with children, their voice has been heard from the background. Its either someone does something for them or dictates their choices. And child rights activists will tell you that this is child exploitation. Can you now imagine listening to a child sharing his or her views independently on radio without someone putting words in their mouths? It could sound quite ambitious to some, but this is what 2005 is looking forward to on Radio Chikuni. Suggested as the best idea for Interactive Radio Instructions (IRI) Campaign Programmes for 2005 under the Education Development Centre (EDC), 'Our Talk' will be the first radio programme in Zambia to be hosted by children. As if that is not enough, this programme will be hosted not just by children but IRI or Taonga Learners. These are children who could not go to formal schools for various reasons, among them being lack of money due to poverty, traditional beliefs, having no one willing to sponsor them and other logistical hindrances. Called Ijwi Lyesu in Tonga, the programme producers, who are children themselves, will be hosting fellow children to discuss various issues that are affecting their daily lives. The executive producers will just be helping them identify the issues and how to present the programme. This is in an effort to give them time to share their thoughts, hopes, visions and ideas to the development of their communities. It begins on Friday 17:30hrs starting January 15, 2005. As they always say that children are the leaders of tomorrow, 'Our Talk' will be shaping and tidying the path for their ideal. As Jesus said "the brick that the builders ignored became the most sought for later. "Today's rejects are tomorrow's heroes." You may get the story from our website http://www.chikuniradio.org

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES: Moving Pictures

An article from TIME for kids (November 2004 issue, web-version) about young filmmakers.

Moving Pictures

Kids are the main attraction at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. This year, about 24,000 kids attended the event. So did hundreds of actors and directors from around the globe. They traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to teach-and learn from-the children at the festival.

From October 21 through 31, more than 200 animated and live-action films made especially for kids were shown at the festival. An October 31 awards ceremony honored the best of the fest.

Young movie buffs helped pick some of the winners. Before the festival began, a group of 70 kids, called the Children's Jury, reviewed the 100 movies selected for the awards competition. The Children's Jury then gave prizes in seven categories. Two adult review boards also awarded prizes.

The 21-year-old festival gets two thumbs up from teachers, parents and kids. Nicole Dreiske, the festival director, thinks one reason for its popularity is that it has "tapped into amazing filmmakers from different countries."

Many of those amazing filmmakers are kids. They made 36 of the festival's films. Five kid-produced movies won awards. A 14-year-old from Armenia, Moushegh (moo-sef) Baghdasaryan (bah-dah-sahr-ee-un), won a certificate of excellence. His film, Intervention, was one of only two child-produced projects to receive such a high honor.

Moushegh wrote, filmed and edited his movie, which shows kids playing on a tank. He wanted to show that "children do not want wars." He was the only winner in his category who worked alone. "Ten days have passed since the festival, and I am still happy," he told TFK.

By Kathyrn Satterfield

SOURCE: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/wr/article/0,17585,782327,00.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 3, 2005

OPPORTUNITIES: Films4Lives Awards, at Showcomotion 2005 (UK)

Films4Lives Awards, at Showcomotion 2005.

The competition details are as follows:

UNICEF UK YOUTH AWARD

For UK & international film makers UNDER THE AGE OF 19: films no longer than 30 mins and on any theme but priority given to films on children?s and young peoples? rights.

UNICEF UK AWARD

For UK & international film makers 19 YEARS+ : films no longer than 30 mins and on the theme of human rights.

RIGHT DIRECTION AWARD

Audience award for best over-all film.

Please find the PDF submission form at http://www.unicef.org/magic/media/documents/films4lives_2005.pdf or the Showcomotion website link given below.

Showcomotion runs 30 June ? 9 July 2005 in Sheffield, UK.

Showcomotion: The Film Festival For Children & Young People

Showroom Cinema

Paternoster Row

Sheffield S1 2BX UK

www.showcomotion.org.uk

Tel + 44 (0) 114 276 3534

Fax + 44 (0) 114 249 3204

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

OPPORTUNITIES: International Festival of Documentary Film CRONOGRAF (MOLDOVA)

International Festival of Documentary Film CRONOGRAF
Chisinau, IV th edition
May 19 - May 22, 2005
www.cronograf.owh.md

Deadline for submitting Entry Forms: March 31, 200555

The International festival of Documentary Film "CRONOGRAF" is the only
international film festival in the Republic of Moldova.

The main purpose of "CRONOGRAF" Festival is to promote the art of
cinematography along with the values of documentary discourse, by presenting
the most significant documentary films of the moment. This festival is meant
to host the films that mirror originality and freedom of expression, as well
as the non-traditional forms of cinema language or new aesthetics of world
cultures.

Wishing to join the agenda of East-European events of this kind, the IV th
edition of "CRONOGRAF" Festival will be held in spring of year 2005, May
19 - May 22, when other film festivals are just being announced, or are
beginning only to "enroll" their future participants.

general eligibility criteria

Production companies, filmmakers or filmmaker teams wishing to submit their
productions must comply with the following conditions:

- To submit to the competition video productions completed after
year 2002;
- The productions will be submitted to the pre-selection on VHS
(PAL) support;

Documentary FILM Section

· The maximum running time of the documentary to be submitted: '52
min.
· It is advisable that the films submitted to the section
"Documentary Film" to be subtitled in English or French, and the listing of
film dialogues (translated into English or French) to be mailed to the
festival's organizers, along with the entry form, the cassettes and the
photos.
· The films produced in French or English will be accompanied by
the film's listing of dialogues and will be also mailed to the festival's
organizers along with the entry form, the cassettes and the photos.

Specific submitting criteria:

- The entry form, a photo of the filmmaker/author of the work(s)
submitted to the competition and a production still from each film
submitted, along with a cassette of the film will be mailed to OWH TV Studio
by March 31, 2005;
- Production companies and filmmakers who submitted their films
give OWH TV Studio the right to broadcast, with the view to mediate the
festival, a few fragments of the films;
- The organizing team reserves the right on deciding on the film
screenings' schedule;
- In order to optimize the picture within official screenings, the
filmmakers can submit the films on BETACAM SP, S-VHS support or on other
video standards;
- The VHS cassettes will remain in the festival's archives;
- The cassettes will be returned only if the filmmaker covers in
advance postal fees;
- The participants will cover all the costs related to mailing
services, courier services, fee for shipping the cassettes and mailing fee
for receiving them back;
- The filmmakers whose works will be selected for the Competition
are invited to take part in the festival; the organizing team will cover all
costs related to accommodation and meals. The participants will have to
cover transportation costs.
- The international Jury will be comprised of five members, veteran
documentary makers, critics in the arts and representatives of mass media
community.

Address of the festival's organizing team:

OWH TV Studio, 10 Veronica Micle St., Chisinau-2012, Republic of Moldova
Contact person: Virgiliu Margineanu
Tel/Fax: + 373 22 22 54 09; Tel: + 373 22 23 27 71
E-mail: owh@mail.md, owh_tvstudio@yahoo.com
Web: www.owh.md, www.cronograf.owh.md

GUIDELINES ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
http://www.unicef.org/magic/media/documents/owh_2005_guidelines.doc

ENTRY FORM ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
http://www.unicef.org/magic/media/documents/owh_2005_entryform.doc
_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites
linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

February 2, 2005

OPPORTUNITIES: Millennium Campaign Western Europe Regional Youth Editor

SOURCE: http://about.takingitglobal.org/d/getinvolved?view=35

Millennium Campaign Western Europe Regional Youth Editor

Description
Description
TakingITGlobal is seeking a ?Millennium Campaign Western Europe Regional Youth Editor? for a 12-month position, to engage young people in the Western European Region in the UN?s Millennium Campaign to eliminate extreme global poverty by 2015.

TakingITGlobal has formed a partnership with the United Nations Millennium Campaign which inspires and encourages people?s involvement and action for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An initiative of the United Nations, the Campaign supports citizens? efforts to hold their government to account for the Millennium promise.
Acknowledging the important role young people are playing in achieving the MDGs, the partnership aims at empowering young people to add their voice to the global fight against poverty and campaign around MDGs in their local community.

The Millennium Campaign Western Europe Regional Youth Editor will be mainly concerned with managing, creating, and editing content that is aimed at engaging TakingITGlobal members and young people in Western Europe around the Millennium Development Goals. The majority of this activity is involved with the preparation and follow-up of the TIG monthly theme on MDGs, which will be launched on the first of April. It also includes recruiting a team of regional writers and soliciting articles, interviews and other written pieces on MDGs from them.

Job Description
? Develop content on MDGs through conducting interviews, writing articles and soliciting articles from youth writers
? Review existing content on the TIG website (Panorama publication and events calendar) and flag if related to MDGs
? Contribute to the creation of a TIG monthly theme on MDGs which will be launched in April and support the translation of the theme
? Research existing activities, programs and efforts on MDGs and ensure stories are written and posted on website
? Facilitate/moderate regional discussions on MDGs within the TakingITGlobal website
? Raise awareness of MDGs by giving presentations in schools, at conferences and events
? Organize Open Forums to engage local youth in discussions about how to achieve the MDGs
? Attend meetings and consultations with organizations engaged in the Millennium Campaign and encourage other youth (individuals and organizations) to become involved in national campaigns or to develop their own local campaigns
? Encourage and approve articles written by young people that can be published/broadcasted in local, regional and/or national media (newspapers, magazines, radio etc.); facilitate the publication of those articles
? Translate selected articles written in a local language into English

The position starts on February 7, 2005.

Experience Sought

Required Skills & Qualifications
? Candidates should be based in the Millennium Campaign priority country Austria
? Experience in working or volunteering with youth or student organizations, civil society groups and/or UN agencies
? Strong Communication Skills both oral and written
? Fluency in English and German
? Frequent access to the internet
? Currently studying at a program in college/university or a recent graduate
? Given the youth focus of the campaign the ideal candidate should be under 30 years of age
? Commitment to poverty reduction and awareness of Millennium Development Goals
? Strong teamwork skills (especially in virtual teams) and demonstration of both creativity and initiative
? Experience in developing local, national or regional campaigns on issues of relevance to youth is highly valuable

Application Process
Please submit the following documents by e-mail to the address below:
1. Resume highlighting educational, work and volunteer experiences and qualifications
2. Cover Letter highlighting why you are the right candidate for this position
3. Writing sample in English and additional language (if fluent) discussing experiences that are most relevant to the position in addition to providing recommendations on how to engage youth in advocacy campaigning around development issues such as the MDGs. Also, outline any ideas you might have of strategies that can be undertaken by youth in your region to achieve the MDGs. (1-2 pages)
4. Reference Letter from an educational, volunteer or work contact.
5. Recent Transcript from your latest educational experience (digital copy or fax), if possible

Additional notes:
? The position is considered to be part-time (at least one day a week)
? A small honorarium on a monthly basis as well as support for local travel and accommodation costs will be provided
? Office space or computers will not be provided
? The Western Europe Regional Youth Editor will be part of a team of editors based in different regions of the world

Contact

Franziska Seel, Millennium Campaign Youth Editor and Communications Coordinator - mdg@takingitglobal.org

The application period for this position will be closing on Jan 30, 2005.

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 31, 2005

ARTICLES: Reaching teens and young adults in the Middle East

Reaching teens and young adults in the Middle East

Ranging from preteens to mid 20s and currently accounting for nearly half the Arab World Population (often called Generation-Y). This segment is easily the most diverse and socially tolerant generation yet.

They're also widely considered as one of the most educated and media savvy. Having grown up in a technology rich environment, one in which many have been immersed their entire lives, it is not surprising that studies are showing that they spend more time on mobile phones and surfing the Internet each week than watching TV and reading magazines.

A media consumption disparity only widening as time progresses.

Naturally, there is a wealth of brands in the region trying to appeal to this evasive audience and these marketers are doing everything they can to get their share of the spends they control. But as many marketers are quickly finding, it isn't as easy as it appears.

Consumer studies show generation-Y consumers are increasingly skeptical of "packaged" ad messages showing infinitely more ad savvy then their predecessors. Instead, it appears they take their cues from celebrities and their peers.

To further exasperate matters, media consumption is further fragmenting. More options require more analysis on the part of brand marketers and media planners in this region. Gone are the days when media planners could penetrate an audience through the 30-second TV spot.

But then again this should come as no surprise to us as TV in this region has been highly fragmented for quite some time right?

Instead, Marketers need to take their cues from these finicky and skeptical consumers themselves, and hence have little choice but to reevaluate their advertising and marketing techniques. Media is moving faster now then it ever has before and consumer insights that applied 4 years ago just don't apply today.

Increasingly brands see the answer in putting their budgets into new areas such event marketing with hopes for success. Others, quite logically, are going digital.

But the issue now becomes one of knowing where to advertise once they get there. This of course is a never-ending challenge. What types of sites do these consumers frequent, and are they ones with which you should associate your brand? These sorts of questions may plague marketers, but they're not without answers.

Here are a few tips:

Target interests through Search
Search Engines such as Google and Yahoo! experience millions of Internet searches every single day across the Middle East. Teens are online searching for their favorite celebrities, video games, music and movies; subjects of near obsessive interest with this segment.

This of course opens up a wealth of opportunities for brands wanting to piggy back on the fanaticism. Search can offer your brand with creative and cost effective ad products enabling ad exposure when users search for keywords you pre-specify or even fulfill pre-determined behaviors online.

When you add the fact that search is a performance based media buy, then you really have something effective. No wonder it's the fastest growing media buy in the world.

Entertainment and Music Sites
There are a number of virtual communities in the region based around specific entertainment based content. One strong proponent, Maktoob.com is perhaps the world's biggest community of Arabs aged between 16-26.

Maktoob offers numerous sub-channels centered around interests targeting this demographic. Co-branded sections such as 'Snickers football', 'Twix Melodies' and 'Shuftak' dedicate virtual space to these high interest subjects.

With its focus on interactivity, Maktoob advertisers are offered plenty of opportunities to connect with the audience via quizzes, games, and interactive features that showcase their products.

As far as this youth segment is concerned, music online is king. Sites such as 6arab.com and Mazika.com feature the leading Arab singers and mp3 downloads and are attracting the Arab youth audiences in droves. If you are looking for a more diverse group, then sites like mumtazz.com and timeoutdubai.com are certainly worth investigating.

For marketers opting for portal placements, a viral marketing feature should be top of mind. Jupiter Research recently found in its report "younger consumers are more apt to share online info -- including marketing info -- with others online." Researchers have named "buzz" and word-of-mouth marketing important to this segment.

Think Chat
If there is one thing that brings generation-Y consumers online in this region, then it is the ability to connect with others through the net. This becomes even more significant when regional sensibilities and conservatism is thrown into the equation.

Youth segments in this region are spending countless hours in chat rooms and on forums, discussing anything from relationships to religion. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this may provide a brand with a captive environment to build the brand.

Finally there's this little channel we the industry often refer to as 'Out-of-Browser' advertising or more commonly known as Instant chat. Instant chat's introduction caused a near revolution across both teenagers and adults alike.

Currently over 1.5 million consumers within the Middle East log-in to MSN Messenger every day and this provides a couple choice advertising options complete with high interactivity averages. Compare the size of this audience with any regional newspaper circulation and it becomes clear that online has progressed beyond the niche reach that marketers often attribute to it.

SOURCE: http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/52937.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

PEOPLE: Samira Makhmalbaf (IRAN)

Samira Makhmalbaf

When Samira Makhmalbaf made The Apple (1998) at age 17, about Tehran sisters held captive at home by their fiercely patriarchal dad, skeptics speculated that Samira's father, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, had directed the precocious documentary. The famous Irani filmmaker is credited with the story, and with the editing, so wasn't The Apple, in truth, a film by Mohsen Makhmalbaf?

It wasn't, and neither is Blackboards, talented Samira Makhmalbaf's second picture, a narrative feature, which premiered at Cannes in the year 2000, when the director was 20. Mohsen is credited as executive producer, co-screenwriter, and editor. But once again, Samira is the auteur, the person who was behind the camera during the grueling, dangerous shoot in the high mountains of Kurdistan, along the Irani-Iraqi border. That's where the once-warring countries (1980-87) clashed by night, and where Saddam Hussein tried to destroy the Kurd populace with ghastly chemical weapons. For the three months filming Blackboards, Samira was alone there. Without Makhmalbaf family. Without a phone conversation to Tehran.

The start:
"I was traveling around Iran searching for a story and location that would really move me," she explained at Cannes 2000, when Blackboards played in Official Competition. "During a stay in Kurdistan with my father, we found little topics, little stories, and I preferred this story: about the journey of teachers with blackboards on their backs as they traveled Kurdistan. My father gave me the outline of the story, and I drew up the screenplay as we went along."

The Kurdish-speaking characters in Makhmalbaf's movie-impoverished teachers and youthful smugglers- shuttle back and forth between Iran and Iraq, with threatening helicopters overhead. Is it intentional that, in certain scenes, it's difficult to identify the nationality of those plaguing the Kurds?

"I didn't want to be too specific about any country or region," Makhmalbaf agreed."It's a rather surrealistic film, with the bombings as a bad dream, a nightmare, I imagined in my head. So it is hard to tell who is responsible, Iraq or Iran. But the problem isn't just war between Iran and Iraq. It goes back to former kings and former politicians. Today we have inherited their legacy.

"The issues of smuggling, of people without homes, I could have made in other Iranian provinces. However, I couldn't make a film about Kurdistan without talking about chemical bombings, the human side of war. I was obliged to go every day with the cast two hours to the frontier. My crew would say, 'We don't want to go to the Iraqi border. We can shoot here.' But I wanted to be impregnated by the energy of a border city, Halabcheh, which had been bombed in chemical warfare."

Many of those in the cast are citizenry from Halabceh; one actor is professional, Behnaz Jafari, the sole female in Blackboards. Mahkmalbaf: "I liked the contrast between one woman and a whole group of men. Since women are so ignored in Iran, I wanted to give special value to this woman character, a young widow with a child. One day, I saw a woman going from one village to another, depressed because she had lost her husband, carrying water in a kettle. My actress was inspired by this woman, who was a bit deranged.

"Originally, an actor was cast as the primary teacher. One day he talked to me: could I fire him? The person who now plays the part [Said Mohamadi] came to me spontaneously. For the role of the father, I opted for a well-known Irani professional. As others were natural, he stood out. He was too exaggerated. I found myself with a dilemma. How to blend his acting with the others? He solved the problem himself: 'I'm going. Take someone else.' I chose instead this old man. His skin, his pain, showed all the right information.

"Using such non-actors was both difficult and easy. It was easy in that the people were not as complicated as urban actors. They knew nothing about the sixth art. Many had seen no films at all. Less than a year ago, they still had no electricity.

"It was difficult because they would stop working for prayers, for local feasts. I told them they couldn't, they wouldn't listen to me. In order to encourage them, I had to set an example. I had to go into icy waters, and I climbed mountains, but not out of machismo. They would do it if I, a woman, did it first."

A postscript: The New York Times on December 5, 2002, announced that Makhmalbaf, now 22, is directing "the first feature film to be made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban." The untitled work is "a story of a women's dreams in a changing society."

GERALD PEARY
(January, 2003)

SOURCE: http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/mno/makhmalbaf-samira.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES: Iraqi girl Sara describes her family's preparations for the elections (Voices of Youth Digital Diaries)

Voices of Youth Digital Diaries

28 January 2005: A young Iraqi girl Sara describes her family?s preparations for the coming elections

Sara returns to tell us more about the tough choices her family has made on the eve of Iraq?s election, in her second digital diary for UNICEF Voices of Youth and UNICEF Radio.

Voices of Youth Digital Diaries are all about young people who want to know more?do more?and say more about the world. Our goal is to amplify their voices by inviting the world?s children to share UNICEF?s electronic podium. These reports are first-person/eyewitness accounts by young people from around the world.

AMMAN / NEW YORK 28 January 2005 - With the situation in Iraq on the eve of the elections growing worse each day, 17-year old Sara and her mother and brother have temporarily left Iraq for the neighboring nation of Jordan. In Baghdad, Sara and her family faced rising violence, a lack of electricity and water, and a strict curfew imposed on Baghdad residents.

Sara told us back in October about her return to school after the official end of the war, and now she reports again, about her thoughts on the violence in Iraq, her fears about her father who stayed behind, her experiences in traveling over the border to Jordan, and her hopes for the future of her country.

Since they left last week, things have deteriorated in Baghdad. ?The situation is no good at all,? she says. ?My father told me there has been no electricity for sixty hours. There has also been no water since they bombed the main pipes that give water to the entire city.?

Jordan is close, and many Iraqis have fled there. ?There are over a half a million Iraqis here,? Sara says. ?It took us about 21 hours to reach here because the borders were crowded. All of the Iraqis were traveling after the exams finished.?

Sara?s father stayed behind in Baghdad to make sure nothing happened to their home. He has been debating whether or not to vote on election day this weekend. ?He wanted to, but we told him, no,? Sara says. ?He will risk his life is he votes.?

Sara herself has become more cynical about the election, and about how soon things can improve in Iraq. She expects it will take around ten years to repair the country to the way it was before the war. ?War was not justified. There is no good justification for war. What is it for? For democracy? For freedom? What freedom? I can?t even step out of my house.?

Sara and her family will return to Iraq next week, so that she can return to school after the mid-year holidays.

Listen to Sara?s story, and other Voices of Youth Digital Diaries, at UNICEF Radio.

SOURCE: http://www.unicef.org/people/people_24984.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

ARTICLES: The best of cyber-friends Computers, video games, TV take place of real playmates

The best of cyber-friends Computers, video games, TV take place of real playmates

By Carrie Saldo - Berkshire Eagle Staff

Parents may no longer have to answer the age-old question, "Can Bobby come over and play?" On-screen media -- television, video games and computers -- could be their children's new best friend.

Morris Elementary School adjustment counselor Donna Weber says she has noticed a change in students entering elementary school over the past five years.

"They play by themselves a lot more than students used to," said Weber, who has worked at Morris for 12 years.

The children play alone -- primarily with video and computer games and watching television -- so much that it makes it difficult when it comes time for them to function in a group, she said.

Two hours a day on-screen

According to the organization Common Sense Media, children 6 and younger spend as much time daily consuming on-screen media as they do playing outside -- about two hours a day.

Also, children in general spend more time watching television than any other activity except sleep, according to the Parents Television Council.

Many Web sites are devoted to the effects of on-screen media on children and offer advice for parents about how to talk to their children about their use of computers, video games and television.

The Public Broadcasting Service encourages parents to make television watching an active event by asking children about what they saw and heard.

PBS suggests parents record programs for children to watch at a later date so that parents can pause the program to ask children "why" or "how" questions. If the program is not prerecorded, ask those questions during commercials, PBS suggests.

Sample questions on the PBS Web site were, "I wonder why the writer had the actor say that?" And "Did you notice that the scary music started to play just then?"

PBS also advised parents to remind children that the images on television are created by people, and to suggest a child take some photographs, draw or paint something from their imagination.

Williamstown Elementary School Principal Stephen Johnson said television and interacting with other media may be a way to bring children together.

"They may do it by themselves, but it does generate group activity," said Johnson. "It can give the children common interests."

Johnson said he has discussed the pluses and minuses of playing video or computer games and television viewing with six teachers at the school. They reported to him that children will often discuss the common interests or experiences, including those that are on-screen.

However, Johnson also said parents need to help students find a balance of indoor and outdoor activities. If they do not, he said, studies have shown too much sedentary time can cause problems with maintaining a healthy weight.

"When they are inside playing [these games], they are not physically active," he said. "They need to have a balance."

Ann Marie Carpenter, school adjustment counselor unit leader for the Pittsfield Public Schools, said she has noticed changes in children's social skills development largely because of a change in their environment.

"In the past, kids had more opportunity to just be out there playing," she said. "But kids are now more involved with structured, adult-supervised play."

Carrie Saldo can be reached at csaldo@berkshireeagle.com or at (413) 528-3660.

SOURCE: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~7514~2681826,00.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 28, 2005

ARTICLES: Hopping mad - An animated bunny aimed at teaching children tolerance has raised the ire of US conservatives

Hopping mad - By Suzanne Goldenberg
Washington - January 29, 2005

An animated bunny aimed at teaching children tolerance has raised the ire of US conservatives.

To the untrained eye, Buster is just a bunny, a seemingly innocuous cartoon character on American educational television.

Each week the animated rabbit puts on his red backpack and runners to visit a slice of real America - dropping in on a native Indian reservation in Wyoming and a family of nine living in a caravan in Virginia - he then sends a video postcard to his friends.

The series, designed to show the diversity of the modern family to primary school children, is produced with $US100 million ($A129 million) of federal funding by the public television network PBS. It has a mandate to promote tolerance.

But one day Buster Baxter visited a farm in Vermont to learn about harvesting maple syrup. His hosts on Sugartime! were a lesbian couple and their children. Although the parents remained in the background - as they do in all of Buster's travels - their very appearance on children's TV was too much for US Education Secretary, Margaret Spelling.

She wrote to the president of PBS this week, saying: "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode."

She also asked the network to return federal funds used to make the offending episode, adding: "Congress' and the department's purpose in funding this programming certainly was not to introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television."

PBS withdrew the offending episode but the Boston station that produced it said it would be available to broadcasters.

The proposed bunny ban comes on the heels of a move by conservative Christian groups in the US against SpongeBob SquarePants, a children's cartoon character who, they claim, is spearheading an insidious campaign to spread homosexuality among children.

Dr James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has accused SpongeBob's creators of enlisting him in a "pro-homosexual video". The makers of the video planned to send it to thousands of primary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity".

SpongeBob is already an apparent gay icon supposedly because he holds hands with his sidekick, Patrick.

- Guardian, New York Times

SOURCE: http://www.theage.com.au/news/TV--Radio/Hopping-mad/2005/01/28/1106850107245.html#

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

PUBLICATIONS: Children and the media - Influence of Computer Games on Children

SOURCE: CRINMAIL 647

***************************************************************

- CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA: Influence of Computer Games on Children
[publication]

In the debate on children, youth and computer games, the question of whether
computer games are harmful is often posed. The answers provided are many and
varying, making it easy to interpret the research results as contradictory.
With an aim to clarify and bring some order to the area, the Danish Media
Council for Children and Young People has conducted an investigation that
provides some insight into children's and young people's use of computer
games.

The International Clearinghouse for Children, Youth and Media considered the
report to be of interest to a wider audience and sought collaboration with
the Danish Media Council for Children and Young People concerning publishing
of the report. The authors, Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen and Jonas Heide Smith,
have done some revising and updating of the report, which is now available
in English. It is hoped that the report will contribute to clarification in
the debate on computer games and inspire further research in the area. The
original report Forskningsnotat om computerspil og skadelighed (2003) is
available at www.medieraadet.dk.

For more information, contact:
Catharina Bucht, Information Co-ordinator
Nordicom, Göteborg University
Box 713, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Tel: + 46 31 773 49 53; Fax: + 46 31 773 46 55
Email: clearinghouse@nordicom.gu.se
Website: http://www.nordicom.gu.se

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5035

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites
linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

January 27, 2005

EVENTS / OPPORTUNITIES: Amandusfestival - Film competition for children and young adults (SWEDEN & NORWAY)

Amandusfestival - Film competition for children and young adults

In 2005 the Film Institutes in Sweden and Norway invite to a film competition on the occasion of commemoration of 100 years since the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved. Â?Seen by the neighbour Â? make a film of a joke about NorwayÂ? (Â?Sett av grannen Â? filma en norgehistoriaÂ?) is open for children and young people under the age of 20 years. The deadline for entries is February 10th 2005. Further information about the competition, entry forms and the programme of the festival is available at the website.

Date 14-03-2005 until 14-03-2005

Website http://www.nfi.no/naboen

SOURCE: http://valhalla.norden.org/calender/dec02/en

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

EVENTS: A 'Young People Now' conference & The European Union Approach to Culture Seminar

23 February 2005
Green Paper for Youth ? from consultation to legislation
A Â?Young People NowÂ? conference
London, UK
This event will examine the implications of the GovernmentÂ?s green paper for youth as it undergoes a period of consultation before moving towards its white paper stage. Delegate will be able to question those who are putting the [paper together, hear feedback from key youth work professionals and make their own voices heard.
For further information please contact Mary Brown on +44 20 8267 4011 or email mary.brown@haynet.com

7 March 2005
The European Union Approach to Culture
London, UK
Despite some successful programmes specifically supporting culture, there is a feeling that the reluctance of the member states to allow the EU to interfere in culture has meant missed opportunities and a limited vision. This seminar will explore the background and context for the EUÂ?s stance on culture and the current state of change as well as the implications for culture in the UK.
For further information please contact Christine Wiggins on Christine@euclid.info

SOURCE: Interchanges newsletter - No. 19 - 27 january 2005 - mailto:info@creativecommunities.org.uk
___________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

RESOURCES: CML MediaLit KitT

"From the clock radio that wakes us up in the morning until we fall asleep
watching the late night talk show, we are exposed to hundreds - even
thousands - of images and ideas not only from television but now also from
newspaper headlines, magazine covers, movies, websites, video games and
billboards. Media no longer just shape our culture. . . they ARE our
culture." (Media&Values #57)

http://www.medialit.org/pdf/mlk_orientationguide.pdf

Like a map for a journey, the CML MediaLit KitT provides a path for
navigating our global media culture. It gives a vision of where to go, and
how to get around by providing a basic framework and communications package
that gathers and articulates the key components of an inquiry-based media
literacy education. Based on credible theoretical foundations, the MediaLit
KitT reflects CML's philosophy of empowerment through education.
CML is making the MediaLit KitT easily available for others with several
complementary tools:

a.. A collection of FREE handouts in PDF file format, both black and white
and color versions
b.. A series of eight laminated color posters for purchase that are
suitable for display in classrooms, libraries, homes and community settings.
c.. A free 25-page Orientation Guide providing a "guided tour" of the
media literacy process for teachers, curriculum designers and those who want
to integrate media literacy into an educational setting. It is available
FREE on this website.

The MediaLit KitT provides teachers, parents and community leaders with
easy-to-access tools that can change the way media are used and viewed, and
promote life-long learning through the use of the media literacy process.
The MediaLit KitT framework is embedded in all CML's current work in
leadership, training and educational resources.

HOMEPAGE: http://www.medialit.org/
_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites
linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

RESEARCH: Children: The new media consumer in Madagascar

Now available on the MAGIC website - www.unicef.org/magic

Les moyens de communication - Enquete d'audience
Children: The new media consumer in Madagascar
The study, launched in November 2004 by the Minister of Communication and the National Statistics Institute, reveals that 76% of all households in the country listen to the radio; 32 percent watch TV and 27 percent read newspapers. The study also pointed to the fact that village meetings remain the first source of information for most people and that children, surprise, surprise, listen to the radio as well! The study, technically and financially supported by UNICEF, was conducted in 13 sites in the country, amongst some 10,000 households.

FULL REPORT IN FRENCH (pdf - 618 KB) - http://www.unicef.org/magic/resources/madagascar_audience_research.pdf

___________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 26, 2005

OPPORTUNITIES: CinemaForTolerance

SOURCE: http://www.cinemafortolerance.org/grants.htm

Grants are made for production, completion and promotion/marketing costs for exceptional projects of narrative, documentary, short and animated films with a distinctive tolerance theme.

CT accepts applications from filmmakers in the U.S. and from around the world. Projects may be submitted by filmmakers, project directors and sponsors, as well as by funding sources. Applicants must have creative and budgetary control over the proposed project.

There is no quota on the number of grants we give per year. Grants generally range from $10,000 to $50,000.

We require that applicants demonstrate that they not only have vision but also know the craft of making a film and they can see it through to the end. Each application should include a one-page synopsis of a project; a financing, production and distribution plan; full personal biography (1000 words maximum) citing applicant?s participation in the film industry, along with full titles of past films/videos that the applicant has worked on, including the length of the work, where exhibited, the specific role performed by the applicant, and the names and qualifications of people involved with the project. Of course, it should also include the project budget. We do expect proposals to be clearly written and word processed. All documents must be in English.

We accept applications on an on-going basis. In other words, we have no deadlines. The initial round of review is done within four to six weeks of receipt of a complete application. At that point, applicants will be notified whether their projects have been declined or accepted for review by our Selection Committee. The best projects are then presented to the Board of Trustees for final decision. The Board of Trustees meets four times a year.

The funds must be used within twelve months of our awarding the grant. There are also requirements on reporting on how monies are used?usually an interim report six months after the award date, and a final report one year after. CT may assign a curator to a particular project in order to assist a filmmaker.

Organizations and filmmakers may submit as many film and video projects as they wish, but a separate submission form must be completed for each project.

All projects should be properly copyrighted prior to submission. Submitted materials will not be returned to applicants. Do not submit original materials.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to invite any filmmaker to submit a project.

We charge no submission fee and encourage filmmakers of all backgrounds, interests and obsessions to submit their work.

YOUR PROJECT SUBMISSION PACKAGE SHOULD INCLUDE:

One -page synopsis of a project;

Submission Release Form. This submission release must be signed and enclosed with your submission. Download here;

Financing, production and distribution plan;

Project Budget;

Full personal biography (1000 words maximum) citing applicant?s participation in the film industry, along with full titles of past films/videos that the applicant has worked on, including the length of the work, where exhibited, the specific role performed by the applicant, and the names and qualifications of people involved with the project. In case the project is submitted by a group of people, or a corporate entity, full personal biography of each person involved and full corporate information, including certificate of good standing, current balance sheet and the most recent income tax return is required;

Applicant?s telephone, fax and e-mail address (required);

A Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope in order to receive an official response to your submission (USA only). All foreign applicants will be notified via e-mail, fax or phone.

Mailing address: CT, 11 Brook Dr., Ocean, NJ 07712, USA

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

OPPORTUNITIES: Join YDC Session 2005 - Call for Participation

Join YDC Session 2005 - Call for Participation

The session 2005 of the UNESCO Young Digital Creators (YDC) is to be launched early next year with the following three programmes:

The Sound of our Water
Creating water soundscapes with digital sound.
http://unesco.uiah.fi/water

Youth Creating and Communicating on HIV/AIDS
Expressing oneself and reacting to HIV/AIDS issues via multimedia.
http://digiarts-hiv-unesco.org/

Scenes and Sounds of my City
Digitally audio-visualizing the past, present and future of urban environment.
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php@URL_ID=18446&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

How to participate

Rules of Participation:
- 5 to 15 participating students (12-18 years old) per school/centre/club
- Teachers/local moderators with basic computer skills and dealing with the subjects of art, music, natural sciences, languages, history, geography, philosophy or ethics, etc
- Basic equipment 2-5 computers per school/centre with internet connection

Registration:
The school/centre will have to send the Registration Form to:
Doyun Lee (UNESCO YDC coordinator)
digiarts@unesco.org
tel: 33 1 45 68 43 72
fax: 33 1 45 68 55 89

Presentation of Artworks:
The artworks, created by the young participants during session 2005, are to be exhibited and performed through international events such as:
- Ars Electronica (September 2005, Linz, Austria)
- Competition ?Young Digital Creators Prize? at Computer Space (October 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria)
- World Summit on Information Society 2005 (November 2005, Tunisia)

SOURCE: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=19463&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 25, 2005

RESOURCES / OPPORTUNITIES: World Bank Computer Donation Program

International Program Just Announced

The World Bank Computer Donation Program has now been announced for
locations outside the U.S. Nonprofit or Non-Governmental organizations
located outside the U.S. which meet the program guidelines, should review
the list of participating locations and complete an application.

PENTIUM III COMPUTERS
There will be a total of over 4,300 computers available for pick-up in over
one hundred countries around the world. Contact Stephanie Wilson or visit
our website at www.giftsinkind.org/worldbank.asp for more information, such
as the list of countries and an application for the in-country donations.
These donations must be distributed to people in need in developing
countries. The donor's local offices will also review the applications to
select in country recipients.
GX150 P3 933/133LOW-PROFILE with:

- 256MB RAM IN 2 DIMMs
- 20GB HDD
- 900 Mghz Processor
- 3.5" 1.44MB FDD
- 12X DVD-ROM
- MS WIN2K PRO (Windows 2000 Professional operating system)
- MOUSE PAD
- MS INTELLIMOUSE
- SPACESAVER QUIETKEY KEYBOARD
- STANDARD POWER CHORD
-17" Ultrascan and Trinitron Monitor

For more information, please contact Gifts In Kind International at 1+(703)
836-2121 or via email at productdonations@giftsinkind.org.

To find out what the application status is in your country, go to:
http://www.giftsinkind.org/worldbank_east_central_asia.asp

SOURCE: http://www.giftsinkind.org/programs/default.asp and
http://www.giftsinkind.org/efliers/resourceupdate.htm
_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites
linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the
United Nations or its agencies.
_________________________________________

NEWS: Journalists-in-training launch online newspaper (Moldova)

Jan 24, 2005

Six Moldovan college students have launched their own online newspaper after taking a recent journalism course.

The newspaper, named Our Voice, is at http://ourvoice.go.ro/. The site is the collaborative effort of six students in their third year of journalism school at Moldova State University.

The students launched the site after taking ?Professional Techniques of Journalism,? a course taught by Patricia McCracken, a veteran journalist, trainer, and former Knight International Press Fellow. McCracken, an American, was a Knight fellow in 1995 in Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, and again in 2003 in Moldova.

The contributors to Our Voice are Dina Anghelenici, Alina Birladeanu, Larisa Durbala, Mihaela Gilca, Olga Leca and Cristina Simon. Their articles cover issues such as early marriage, the Moldovan census, and abandoned children.

Knight International Press Fellowship program: http://www.knight-international.org/.

SOURCE: http://www.ijnet.org/FE_Article/newsarticle.asp?Terms=children&UILang=1&CId=271510&CIdLang=1

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

NEWS: Community Radio Broadcasters Gathered in the Philippines

Community Radio Broadcasters Gathered in the Philippines
24-01-2005 (UNESCO New Delhi)

"Radio cannot be replaced as the main media tool for development," said Florangel Rosario Braid in her opening address at a National Convention on Community Radio held in the Philippines between January 17 and 23. Ms Braid is reputed journalist, communication scholar and the Chair of the Communication Committee of the UNESCO National Commission for the Philippines.

"Where the Tambuli and other community radios are functioning, they have been instrumental in supporting local development programmes in remote areas. They are the voice of the people," Ms Braid continued, crediting the support of UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication. "You have shown that community radio is sustainable. To create impact we must make linkages."

Some thirty-five community radio broadcasters and advocates came together for six days of discussions and practical workshops on the convention's theme of ?Emerging Roles of Community Radio in Bridging Informational, Educational and Technological Divides?.

There are now over forty-five community radios in the Philippines working for local development, community empowerment and issues like environmental protection. Since the early 1990s the Tambuli Foundation has facilitated the establishment of twenty-one stations. Tambuli was awarded UNESCO's Prize for Rural Communication in 1996.

Since 2000, Notre Dame Foundation has been working in Mindanao region in the south of the country assisting thirteen communities to date to start their own radios with a special focus on gender and peace. Another fourteen community stations have been started in different areas of the country with the support of UNICEF with a strong focus on promoting the rights of children.

The National Convention was organized by the Tambuli Foundation in association with the University of the Philippines and Pampanga Agricultural College and UNESCO.

"This is the first meeting bringing together radios from all the three networks," explained Louie Tabing, Tambuli's director and one of Asia's leading community radio specialists. "The idea is to get people together, forge collaboration among all the radios and address the need to advance to new opportunities, particularly in educational field and how community radio can take advantage of new technologies."

The convention will lead to the creation of new models to run educational content on community radios and to the establishment of community multimedia centres in the Philippines. Community multimedia centres combine traditional media like community radio with new information and communication technologies such as computers, internet and mobile telephony.

Through UNESCO's global programme on community multimedia centres, CMCs have been established in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka as well as in Africa and the Caribbean.

(By Ian Pringle)

SOURCE: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=18085&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 24, 2005

NEWS / EVENTS: US education department, PBS to co-host media summit

US education department, PBS to co-host media summit

MUMBAI: How does the US media impact on American children's literacy skills? That is the question the US Department of Education and US public broadcaster PBS seek to answer when they co-host a summit A Child's Life: Learning, Literacy and the Role of the Media,

It will be held from 3-4 February 2005 in Baltimore.

The event will offer participants an opportunity to learn about and exchange information on current research, insights and future projections as well as lay a foundation to forge new partnerships among the public broadcasting, reading research, technology and entertainment fields.

Summit attendees will hear from American education experts who will consider how media -- television, video games, computers and the Internet -- shape and influence children's abilities to process and retain information in their preschool and early elementary years.

The keynote speaker Dr. Reid Lyon, chief of the child development and behaviour branch at the National Institutes of Health, will specifically outline about how children learn and the impact of using scientific evidence to influence the development of education-oriented television shows.

Other panelists will address the complexities of today's media, such as its contributions, current role and position, trends and potential obligation in facilitating language and literacy development for young children.

The US education department has noted that American children are continually bombarded with different media influences that may shape the way they learn and perceive the world around them. The seminar is being looked upon as an opportunity to pull together the best and the brightest in the early learning, media and technology fields to address important questions facing educators, parents and caregivers.

The summit will be moderated by education researcher Dr. Michael Cohen. He will present market and public opinion research to help identify potential solutions. PBS president and CEO Pat Mitchell said, "Knowing that children spend more time watching television than anything else, it is critical to understand media's impact on children's learning. Studies have shown that the media can be a powerful teaching tool, specifically that carefully constructed, educational programs improve pre-reading skills. By bringing together the best minds studying media and education, as well as representatives of organisations engaged in children's media, we hope to build on that learning and work together with the US Department of Education to ensure that parents and children have choices in media that will strengthen children's learning skills and enrich their minds."

SOURCE: http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k5/jan/jan205.htm

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

OPPORTUNITIES: International Essay Competition 2005 for YOUTH

“Building a Secure Future Seeking Practical Solutions”

What are the biggest obstacles you face in your daily life?
What practical solutions would you propose to build a secure future for yourself and others?"

Winning essays will be chosen for their originality, clarity and use of thoughtful yet concrete proposals for building a secure future. You are free to develop your essay in any way you find to be the most convincing.

The following approaches may give you some guidance in structuring your answer to the second essay question.

Personal Reflection
Describe your own personal efforts to solve a problem or grapple with a specific issue (through volunteer work or other type of involvement), showing 1) how your work changed your own life or the lives of others, and 2) how those solutions can be adapted to helping others facing the same challenges.

Policy Analysis
Essays in this category could focus on a particular organization or public policy. The goal of the essay would be to show to what extent the work of an organization or a policy has been effective in building a more secure future by addressing issues such as unemployment, homelessness, hunger, gender violence etc. The essays should include concrete recommendations on how a particular project or program can be improved or reformed to have greater impact.

Academic Inquiry
This approach may appeal to students of life sciences (biology, engineering, environment, etc.) or economics, but also of philosophy and history. It may be used describe how new technologies might be used to build a more secure future (for example, environmental solutions or agricultural solutions) in their country. Students of history could use historical precedent or example to build proposals; students of philosophy could look at the response of different philosophical traditions to problems of insecurity and explore reasons for their relevance today.

We invite you to make a critical use of analyses from major sources, including, but by no means limited to, the following sources.

Remember to cite any sources you use.

Are you:

• A young person between 18 and 25 years old?

• Not enrolled in a PhD program?

If you answer ‘YES' to all of the questions, then you can participate in the Essay Competition !!

SOURCE: http://www.essaycompetition.org/EN/C004/doc01/EMS/cms/data/EN/C004/doc01/EMS/cms/data/EN/C004/doc01/detailedDocument

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

NEWS: Teenager wins revival of 'Fraggle Rock' after his global campaign

Teenager wins revival of 'Fraggle Rock' after his global campaign

By Terry Kirby

24 January 2005

When teenage Fraggle Rock fan Warrick Brownlow set out to persuade the bosses of international corporations to re-release his favourite programme his chances of success looked slim.

But two years later and with the backing of an unprecedented 33,000 people across the world, the 19-year-old aspiring puppeteer who lives with his parents in east London has won his battle.

Later this year, the first batch of episodes from the 1980s children's television series will be available on DVD in this country and some have already been released in the US.

Mr Brownlow lobbied the companies that control the empire of Jim Henson, creator of Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show, through an online petition begun when he was 17. His tribute website is now also a source of Fraggle Rock information and trivia.

"I'm really excited about it," Mr Brownlow said. He said he knew that HIT Entertainment in Britain, which controls licensing for many of the programmes from the Jim Henson Company, which is based in the US, had been aware of the petition, but did not know how it would respond. He is now hoping that his ultimate aim of a boxed set of all 96 episodes will be realised.

A spokeswoman for HIT in London said the programmes were being released again in response to consumer pressure. "It is certainly a very popular programme," she said. In Denmark last year, she added, a radio station asked listeners which programme they would most like to see return to their screens, and 20,000 e-mails asked for Fraggle Rock. The programme began running again in December.

Quite what it is about Fraggle Rock that inspires such devotion remains unclear. The Fraggles are a group of Muppet-like creatures, who inhabit caves and speak, and sometimes sing, in squeaky voices. Other characters include the ant-like Doozers and a family of giants called Gorgs, who have an oracle-like talking rubbish heap. Henson said the show was intended to create strong moral themes which would promote ideas of world peace among children. Although created in Britain, it was made in Canada and aired in Britain and the US between 1983 and 1986.

Mr Brownlow said: "I watched these programmes as a kid and the memories just stayed with me. It was the hidden message about peace that appeals to me and that is why I wanted them to be re-released. Children's programmes these days don't have that kind of message and I think it is very important that they do, particularly at this time." The series also inspired Mr Brownlow in his ambition to become a puppeteer. He makes his own puppets and puts on shows for his family.

SOURCE: http://news.independent.co.uk/media/story.jsp?story=603981

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

January 23, 2005

NEWS: EU bid to end junk food ads for children

EU bid to end junk food ads for children

NICOLA STOW

THE food industry was warned today to stop advertising junk food to children within a year or face a clampdown.

The European Union may resort to legislation if the companies do not make sufficient efforts to tackle the problem.

EU health and consumer affairs commissioner Markos Kyprianou said urgent action was needed to tackle obesity in Europe, particularly with children.

He said Brussels would step in if the industry failed to regulate itself on the issue.

He said: "The signs from the industry are very encouraging, very positive.

"But if this doesn?t produce satisfactory results, we will proceed to legislation.

"I would like to see the industry not advertising directly to children any more."

Mr Kyprianou added that he wanted clearer food labelling "more easily understood by a consumer who doesn?t have a PhD in chemistry".

The Cypriot commissioner will announce the self-regulation plans in March, with standards expected to be met by this time next year.

The CIAA, the food industry?s umbrella group in Europe, said it was already working with the Commission to develop new proposals for more rigorous advertising and labelling regimes.

The group said it would be pressing for self-regulation rather than legislation.

The Government?s Public Health White Paper, published two months ago, promised to work with the industry to look at ways of reducing junk food adverts when children are watching TV.

Health Secretary John Reid said that they also wanted to introduce a clearer system of labelling so consumers know exactly what is in the food they are eating and allow them to make healthier choices.

The EU warning comes amid growing concern about the UK?s childhood obesity epidemic, with one in five boys and a quarter of girls aged two to 15 now overweight or obese.

It has been predicted that the present generation of youngsters could be the first to die at a younger age than their parents, as a result of the UK?s obesity epidemic.

New "traffic light" labelling to help consumers identify unhealthy foods on supermarket shelves in the UK is among measures being discussed in the white paper. Among other proposals to encourage children and teenagers to choose healthier eating options is a curb on TV advertising of junk food before a 9pm watershed.

Figures from media watchdog Ofcom show 70 per cent of viewing by children aged four to 15 takes place between 6pm and 9pm.

The white paper - which would apply north of the Border - recommends the voluntary traffic-light labelling scheme for foods, with unhealthy foods receiving a red label and healthy choices such as fruit and vegetables given a green label.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury?s has already launched its own coloured logos to signify healthier options.

The Sainsbury?s "wheel of health" symbol provides basic information about five nutritional factors - salt, fat, saturated fat, added sugar and calories - and was introduced to the chain on 30 of its own-label products this month.

Sainsbury?s came up with the scheme as an alternative to the "traffic light" labelling system following concerns by many in the food industry that the system to be proposed in the white paper is too simplistic and would demonise some products unnecessarily.

This article:

  http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=72862005

Children's Diet:

  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=773

Advertisement complaints:

  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=949

Advertising & PR:

  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=54

Websites:

  Advertising Standards Authority
  http://www.asa.org.uk

  Independent Television Commission
  http://www.itc.org.uk/

_________________________________________

Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany

Tel.: +49 2365 502480
Mobile: +49 176 23107083
Fax: +49 12126 23107083
Email: cschuepp@unicef.org
URL: www.unicef.org/magic
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media

The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.

February 22, 2005

February 21, 2005

February 17, 2005

February 9, 2005

SOURCE: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/08/c1914.html

International Safer Internet Day reinforces the importance of online safety

February 7, 2005

VIOLENT SCREEN IMAGES HAVE MEASURABLE IMPACT ON KIDS

February 4, 2005

February 3, 2005

February 2, 2005

January 31, 2005

Ranging from preteens to mid 20s and currently accounting for nearly half the Arab World Population (often called Generation-Y). This segment is easily the most diverse and socially tolerant generation yet.

Voices of Youth Digital Diaries

January 28, 2005

An animated bunny aimed at teaching children tolerance has raised the ire of US conservatives.

January 27, 2005

January 26, 2005

January 25, 2005

January 24, 2005

January 23, 2005

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