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The regulator says broadcasters must not transmit material that might "seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development" of under-18s.
The new policy goes a significant step further than the traditional 9pm watershed, which is aimed at protecting the interests of children under 15.
The inclusion of the rule to protect under-18s will surprise many given that 16 is the age of consent and that modern teenagers are regularly exposed to what many in a previous generation would have regarded as adult behaviour.
Ofcom says it was a necessary inclusion and was designed to comply with other UK and European law designed to protect under 18s.
A spokesman said its intention was not to treat under 18s as an "homogenous block" and it acknowledged that "some 16 ad 17 year olds probably watch a lot of TV after the watershed and well into the night".
Broadcasters had opposed stiff regulation, arguing that the focus on viewers aged 16 and 17 would be unworkable because of the right to freedom of expression of viewers already able to have sex and get married.
But Ofcom's long-awaited broadcasting code, published today, says broadcasters must take "all reasonable steps to protect people under 18".
Potentially offensive material must be justified by its context, including time of broadcast, the size of the audience and by alerting viewers to the programme's content.
The chief executive of Ofcom, Stephen Carter, said the new regulations "set out clear and simple rules which remove unnecessary intervention, extend choice for audiences and allow creative freedom for broadcasters.
"It also secures the protection of the under-18s - which our research has shown to be an important priority for viewers."
Ofcom said the new programme code "set standards to protect the under-18s" and allowed broadcasters "as much freedom of expression as is consistent with the law".
It allows broadcasters to transmit "challenging material, even that which may be considered offensive by some, provided it is editorially justified and the audience given appropriate information".
The watershed remains in place for children under 15, but the new code says the transition to more adult material "must not be unduly abrupt" at 9pm.
"For television programmes broadcast before the watershed... clear information about content that may distress some children should be given."
Violence that can easily be imitated by children "must not be broadcast before the watershed... unless there is editorial justification".
However, the new regulations encompassing the interests of 16- and 17-year-olds are not as strict as some broadcasters had feared.
In its response to the draft version of the code published last year, the BBC said it would like to see a "better balance... between protecting under-18s and their rights to freedom of expression and freedom to receive information. Otherwise there is a real danger that the section as drafted could deprive children and young people of challenging, complex and interesting programmes."
Ofcom said it had "deregulated significantly in the area of commercial sponsorship and commercial references, whilst ensuring at the same time that the overriding principle of editorial independence is maintained".
However, the ban on product placement remains and will be reviewed later this year.
"Ofcom acknowledges the pressure on traditional broadcaster advertising as a key source of funding for commercial broadcasters and will consult on product placement in the context of a wider assessment of the broadcast advertising market later in the year," the regulator said.
"Both broadcasters and audiences told us of the need for clarity and flexibility in how we approach these rules," said Richard Hooper, the deputy chairman of Ofcom and chairman of the content board.
"We believe the new code meets those requirements."
· To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
SOURCE: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1491834,00.html (free registration required)
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 at 07:10 JST
YOKOHAMA ? Kanagawa Prefecture is poised to ban the sale of a violent video game title to youth under 18, claiming it is harmful to minors, local government officials said Monday.
The prefecture is expected to become the first in Japan to designate a violent video game harmful to minors after following the advice of its child welfare council to do so in connection with "Grand Theft Auto III," developed by Rockstar Games of the United States and sold in Japan by Osaka-based Capcom Co.
In the game, the main character kills a number of enemies using guns and other weapons. Capcom had sold about 350,000 volumes of the game software in Japan as of April.
Kanagawa officials selected "Grand Theft Auto III" as the most harmful after buying and playing six game software titles widely distributed in Japan and reputed to have violent scenes.
Child welfare council members judged the violence in the game, such as the main character randomly killing pedestrians using vehicles and guns, as having the "potential to induce youth to feel like doing something cruel," the officials said.
If the game is designated as a harmful publication, its sale to those aged under 18 will be prohibited and the title will be sold on store shelves reserved for similarly designated software and pornography.
Those who sell such games to youth aged under 18 will face fines of up to 300,000 yen.
With a municipality taking action to restrict the sale of publications designated harmful to youth, parents may have second thoughts about letting their children access such publications, said Kanagawa Gov Shigefumi Matsuzawa.
"So, the measure could work as deterrence," Matsuzawa said.
A Capcom spokesman declined to comment on the latest move as it has yet to receive any administrative guidance from the Kanagawa government.
Experts are divided.
Takaaki Hattori, who teaches media-related law at Rikkyo University, said authorities need to show reasonable cause to designate a particular title harmful before exercising their power.
"It's difficult to draw a specific line to decide which kinds of violent games are influential on children," he said.
Meanwhile, Akio Mori, who teaches brain and nerve science at Nihon University and is an author of a book critical of children playing video games, said, "There's no doubt young boys' brutal incidents have been caused under the influence of violent games. We should restrict sale of games in which splattering of blood is a commonplace." (Kyodo News)
Bangladesh launches children?s news agency
Dhaka, 30 May 2005: A dedicated news agency for children ?Shishu Prakash? (Children?s Express) was launched today to enhance both the quality and quantity of child development news in Bangladesh.
Supported by UNICEF and implemented by Mass-Line Media Centre (MMC), the pilot project aims to empower 640 young journalists (aged from 16 to 18) with the techniques for reporting child development issues.
Ten children (five boys and five girls) in each of the 64 districts throughout the country will identify and write news stories. These stories will be sent to the Dhaka-based Child Rights Desk set up at MMC to provide editorial oversight before the stories are published in ten selected national Bangla and English dailies.
It is envisaged that respect for child and adolescent rights in Bangladesh will improve as a result of the collaboration with pro-active newspapers and social networks.
Apart from regular reporting on children stories, Shishu Prakash will release more than 200 issue-based stories and periodic reports analyzing trends in child reporting by the national media in the pilot project which runs until the end of 2005.
Shishu Prakash will use global standard guidelines and checklists in reporting children?s issues. This is the first such initiative in South Asia.
Praising this initiative, speakers at the launching ceremony hoped that this will also increase children?s participation in the media.
END//
For more information, please contact:
Rezwan-ul-Alam
Assistant Communication Officer
Tel: Office: 9336701/392, Mobile: 0171 595045
| New Study Reveals Parents Need Better Cybersmarts; Children's Advocate John Walsh, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications Announce Results of Parental Internet Monitoring Survey ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2005--A new survey commissioned by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) and Cox Communications reveals that, while nearly half of the parents surveyed monitor their children's online activity daily or weekly, the other half admit they don't even know that such monitoring tools are available. The results are a compelling backdrop for Internet Safety Month in June. Other key findings: -- Over half (51%) of parents either do not have or do not know if they have software on their computer(s) that monitors where their teenager(s) go online and with whom they interact. -- 42% of parents do not review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via instant messaging. -- Teenagers who Instant Message use chat lingo to communicate and parents don't know the meanings of some of the most commonly used phrases. 57% don't know LOL (Laughing Out Loud), 68% don't know BRB (Be Right Back), and 92% don't know A/S/L (Age/Sex/Location). -- 95% of parents couldn't identify common chat room lingo that teenagers use to warn people they're chatting with that their parents are watching. Those phrases are POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and P911 (Parent Alert). -- Nearly three out of 10 (28%) of parents don't know or are not sure if their teens talk to strangers online. -- 30% of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom or a home office. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household. -- 58% of parents surveyed say they review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging; 42% do not. To promote awareness of the tools and software parents can easily access to better protect their children online, John Walsh, children's advocate and host of "America's Most Wanted," will appear live in local broadcast television and radio interviews across the country on Wednesday, May 25, 2005. Walsh also will host a program addressing Internet safety and highlighting steps parents can take to better manage what their children see and do online. The show will air on Cox Cable channels nationwide starting in June. The media effort being undertaken by Walsh, NCMEC, and Cox is part of a larger campaign to encourage parents and caregivers to become more involved with their children's online habits and behaviors and show how families can get the most out of their Internet experiences - safely. Launched in partnership with Walsh in 2004, "Take Charge! Smart Choices for Your Cox Digital Home" hopes to increase awareness and use of the parental controls and Internet filtering tools that are already available in Internet and cable customers' homes. A major component of Take Charge! is NetSmartz,(R) an interactive, educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America that uses age-appropriate, 3-D activities to teach children and teens how to stay safer on the Internet. At www.cox.com/TakeCharge, parents and children can find the complete survey results, online safety tools and tips, links to NCMEC, NetSmartz, and the CyberTipline, and a glossary of common Internet chat lingo. "We all know that the Internet is a fantastic tool for children to use and learn from," said Walsh. "However, parents need to be engaged with their children's online habits to prevent the unthinkable from happening within their own home. NetSmartz.org and Cox's Take Charge! web site are great places for parents to learn how they can take charge of their family's web usage." Take Charge! consists of a comprehensive web site at www.cox.com/TakeCharge, free parents' guide, and Public-Service Announcements featuring Walsh and local educational activities within the communities Cox serves. Teaching young children and teens how to stay safer online is a major element of the program thanks to Cox's partnership with NetSmartz. In addition to Take Charge! PSAs, Cox has donated $3.3 million of PSA airtime to NetSmartz and nearly $900,000 to NCMEC. About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 313,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 106,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 92,000 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com. About Cox Communications (www.cox.com) Cox Communications Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is a multi-service broadband communications company with approximately 6.7 million total customers, including approximately 6.3 million basic cable subscribers. The nation's third-largest cable television provider, Cox offers analog cable television under the Cox Cable brand as well as digital video service under the Cox Digital Cable brand, featuring advanced services including digital video recording, high-definition television and video-on-demand. Cox provides an array of other communications services including local and long-distance telephone under the Cox Digital Telephone brand, high-speed Internet service under the Cox High Speed Internet brand, and home networking. Commercial voice and data services are offered via Cox Business Services. Local cable advertising, promotional opportunities and production services are sold under the Cox Media brand. Cox is an investor in programming services including Discovery Communications Inc. Cox Communications is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc. |  |
|
CHICAGO - Burning CD's, downloading mobile phone ring tones, even printing digital quality photos could soon be the newest things on the McDonald's menu.
In a bid to draw the young and tech-savvy into its restaurants, McDonald's Corp. has begun pilot testing a new ATM-style device called the Blaze Net, that allows customers to buy music, ring tones, print photos and surf the Web at the restaurant.
Open since last Monday the new flagship restaurant near Oakbrook Center Mall near Chicago combines several high-tech gadgets yet to be seen in more conventional McDonald's eateries. The gadgets appear alongside such food offerings including lattes in the McCafe section of the store that is more reminiscent of a Starbucks than a burger joint.
"It is clearly unique and not a traditional restaurant," said Bill Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman. "But it is a peek at the future of McDonald's through the use of technology, innovative design and contemporary space."
What is compelling, according to Whitman, is the fact that the new restaurant "gives our customers the ability to do things at McDonald's they can't do at other places. Quite honestly with some of the media centers you don't even need a credit or debit card, you can pay with cash and download your favorite songs on to your own CD."
While it is too early for Whitman to say what will happen with the ATM-Style "Blaze Net" media centers, he said, "so far the customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive."
The pilot test employs four remote computer screens at sit-down stations linked to two Blaze Net media production centers that spit out CDs and pictures. The test is expected to be expanded once the initial 60 to 90 day test period is completed, according to Jonathon First, chief marketing officer for Digital Transaction Machines, the New York-based company that supplies the equipment.
"The first step in the U.S. is Oakbrook," said First. "Then we are going to start, I believe the southeast, probably West Virginia and Florida are the next two testing steps."
The 60- to 90-day pilot test of the technology follows the initial introduction of similar equipment in Munich last November. That technology is now being rolled out into many of the company's 1,250 German restaurants, First said.
"We provide digital merchandise, whether it's music on CD's that can be delivered in under 2 minutes, photos in 6 seconds a piece produced professionally or ring tones that are instant. We also have the capability for ticketing - whether its live events or movies - and eventually we are going to have DVD's and videos as well."
ACTION
Troç (Straight Talk) is a one-hour nationwide weekly television programme in Albania produced by adolescents. Troç deals with issues of concern and interest to young people ? everything from children in the north kept out of school by fears of revenge killings to the national puppet theatre. The young reporters? stories have covered the Youth Parliament, sports heroes, the use of drugs, family problems and the future of Albania, as they see it. About 45 per cent of the programmes are on young people?s issues, 23 per cent each on country issues and cultural heritage, and 10 per cent on talented and distinguished youth.
In a country where 40 per cent of the population is 18 or younger and virtually every household has a television set, TV is a powerful medium for bringing adolescents together. It has proved an effective tool for building bridges between adults and adolescents, so that the latter can play a key role in moving the country forward. The programme is produced by about 80 adolescents, ages 14 to 17, working in 11 bureaus throughout the country. They ?call the shots? in all aspects, guided by an adult facilitator who helps them realize their vision. On the one hand, they become agents of change, informing the country about social problems and responsibilities from their perspective. On the other hand, they are learning valuable reporting and production skills that prepare them for professional life and its challenges. The programme also develops their critical thinking skills. By working as journalists they learn to question and analyse, and not to accept things at face value.
Friday, May 27, 2005
KPFA radio producers Nora Barrows-Friedman and Babak Jacinto Tondre left the camp in the occupied West Bank outside Bethlehem believing they may have glimpsed a future for the Palestinian people beyond war.
They say the journalism being practiced by kids as young as 14 in the refugee community of 12,000 people was compelling enough that it could become a peaceful force toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has enmeshed the youngsters' elders for more than 50 years.
With KPFA and the Berkeley Middle East Children's Alliance, Barrows- Friedman, a Berkeley resident, and Tondre, who lives in Oakland, formed the Freedom Radio Project. Their goals: to give Palestinian youth the means to speak for themselves and to be heard outside their own communities.
"You have a new generation of Palestinians growing up who are watching satellite TV, learning different languages," said Tondre, 36, a producer for KPFA's Voices of the Middle East program. "They're getting new ideas about the world. They're breaking some of the cultural barriers. They have an open tabula rasa about what to do."
The two East Bay residents, among other international volunteers, are helping Dheisheh youth produce and distribute radio stories through the camp's Ibdaa Cultural Center. They're also joining journalists and technicians from Chicago and London in supporting the camp's new low-power FM radio station, Ibdaa Radio 194. If licensed by the Palestinian Authority, the station will become the first broadcast media source beaming from a West Bank refugee community.
While Ibdaa leaders await the decision of the Palestinians' post-Yasser Arafat government on their radio license, Barrows-Friedman, Tondre and other volunteers are reaching out to radio stations in other parts of the world to air recordings of Dheisheh youth journalism.
"These kids are incredible because they're some of the best journalists I've ever seen, and they live in a refugee camp," said Danny Muller, a volunteer at the camp through Chicago's Voices in the Wilderness. "They cut through the bull and see the world in an amazing way."
During her visit to the camp last fall, Barrows-Friedman, the senior producer for KPFA's Flashpoints program highlighting human-rights abuses around the world, led workshops in radio journalism skills, from developing story ideas, to interviewing, writing narration, sound layering and editing. With Tondre providing technical help, the camp journalists completed 14 short radio segments.
Barrows-Friedman's connection to the Ibdaa center grew out of aid work she had done in the West Bank through the Middle East Children's Alliance.
"What Nora and Babak have said is, 'OK, it's horrible here, but we believe young people in particular really need to have a vision for the country and what it could be, and we believe this project does just that,' " said Barbara Lubin, the founder and executive director of the alliance. "This is something that gives them real hope. There's more to life than just trying to fight off the effects of occupation."
Barrows-Friedman is an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, but she said she didn't influence what the teens had to say.
"It was totally spontaneous," said Barrows-Friedman, 26, who plans to return to the West Bank in September. "The stories they deal with on a daily basis are the stories that came through in their radio voices. We didn't have to come from 10,000 miles away to tell them what they already know."
The subject matter the teens chose was overwhelmingly political. It centered on the naqba, the Arabic term for the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians to make way for the creation of a Jewish state in 1948. It means "catastrophe" in English.
"Every aspect of these children's lives is political," said Ziad Abbas, co-director of the Ibdaa center, "from the moment they are born in a refugee camp, to growing up under occupation, to not being able to go to school because of Israeli military curfews, to witnessing the death and imprisonment of friends and family members.
"It's impossible to separate the children's lives from politics because their very existence is a contentious political issue."
The naqba, the military occupation put in place in 1967 after the second Arab-Israeli war, and the stringent enforcement in recent years by the Israeli military to prevent attacks on civilians from the occupied territories are seen by the young journalists as part of the same ongoing narrative of death, destruction and oppression.
Barrows-Friedman and Tondre said the conflict's impact is greatest on the camp's young males, who are watched as potential fighters and have experienced a disproportionate share of the casualties in the conflict since 2000.
Minors made up more than 20 percent of the 3,168 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the occupied territories from the start of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000 till April 20, according to the Web site of B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
The organization condemns both Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and Israeli military actions that it says have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians not involved in fighting.
Abbas said 48 Dheisheh residents have been killed since September 2000, including 18 children. "I don't know exactly how many children have been injured, but I know it's hundreds," he said. "I estimate that about 45 children have been arrested and tortured."
According to the Web site of the Israeli Defense Forces, there were more than 100 major Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces in Israel and the occupied territories from 2000 to February 2004. Attacks killed 732 civilians from the start of the uprising through May 17.
Dheisheh has been both the target of Israeli anti-terrorism actions and, according to the Web site of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, the source of four suicide bomb attacks attempted or carried out by Palestinian men and women ranging from 18 to 23 years old. Such is the political environment in which the teen journalists of Dheisheh operate. Longing for what has been lost and documenting the struggle to restore it are themes they go to again and again.
In one piece that came out of Barrows-Friedman's workshops, a teen interviewed elders who remembered the 1948 expulsion and who still hold the keys to the homes they once had. "Before the occupation," one elder says, "people had many fields filled with vegetables, beans and fruits. Beautiful fields. (We) could live to 100 years."
The reporters Barrows-Friedman trained also sought out political prisoners, interviewed the family of a Palestinian man deported to Italy, profiled a teacher at the camp's boys' elementary school about the barrier put up by the Israelis in 2002 to stop suicide bombers -- known on the Palestinian side as the "apartheid wall" -- and interviewed a camp leader in the uprising.
"Living under the occupation gives us no choice but to resist," the fighter says. "They put me in prison in 1982 when I was a small child, 16 years old. ... There is a price to pay. No nation can be free without paying a price.
"Arafat was a great leader for us," the fighter continues against a soundtrack that sounds like popping gunfire. "Through all these situations, he would rise as a champion to be the leader of Palestine again and again. No other Arab leader has remained this strong. His death is a great loss for Palestinians.
"We're not joking when we say we want peace with the Israelis. The ball is in their hands."
In an interview, Ernest H. Weiner, Northern California director of the American Jewish Committee, sounded a cautionary note.
"One has to understand that Israelis recognize that the conditioning of Palestinian youth by the media, by their educational system and by the leadership, certainly in the Arafat period, has been to shape them and structure their mind-set so they could serve literally as willing 'martyrs,' " he said.
In response, Barrows-Friedman maintained that the perspective of the youth journalism is rational given the historical facts.
"The suicide bombers -- of course it's horrible," she said. "But the disparity in terms of how many daily invasions and sniperings by the Israeli military -- that's also being ignored.
"Culturally, it's almost a sense of pride. It's a very sensitive situation. As Americans, we can easily be horrified that people are taking pride at what people's family members and friends have done, but they can't control anything in their lives. In that sense, the only thing you can control in your life is to take your life."
Abbas noted that the occupation began in 1948, but the first# suicide bombing didn't take place until 1995. The Palestinians consider the bombers to be martyrs, but the incidents aren't part of daily life, he said.
"Israel says that there have been 100 acts of 'terrorism' in the last four years," he said. "These 100 people are out of a global Palestinian population of 9 million, two-thirds of them living in exile. If you think about the population of the U.S. city of Chicago or Los Angeles, there may be 100 murders over four years, but people don't say that the American people are murderers."
Barrows-Friedman said the youth of Dheisheh are finding their own way as they take up the troubled narrative of their people.
"Most of them tell you that the hardest work they have to do is on themselves," she said. "Most of them speak of a real hope for a positive future and not following the footsteps of the past."
For more information or to order a CD of the radio broadcasts, e-mail freedom
E-mail Rick DelVecchio at rdelvecchio@sfchronicle.com
SOURCE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/27/EBGA9CRAVR1.DTL
Subject: The contest winner / El ganador de la competición / Le vainqueur de
la compétition
> English / Español / Français
>
> -------------------------------
>
> UNICEF to award winner of Voices of Youth 'Make a Difference' video
> contest
>
> New York, 16 May 2005 - Macedonia's Youth of the World has been named the
> winner of UNICEF's Voices of Youth 'Make a Difference' one-minute video
> contest. A special award will be presented at the annual PROMAX& BDA
> Conference on 21-23 June in New York City.
>
> The ten finalists were chosen out of 75 creative entries from young people
> around the world. Entries were judged by a panel of adult and youth
> judges and online public voting under the Voices of Youth site.
>
> Among the ten finalists were:
> Sam and John (Australia)
> Youth of the World (Macedonia)
> Vanaja's Story (India)
> No Matter Who (Moldova)
> Make a Difference (Burundi)
> We, Young People (Slovakia)
> Juventudes MIRA (Colombia)
> Operation Traffic Light (USA)
> One for All (Kenya)
> Project Think Different (USA)
>
> The award goes to the video that best capture the mission of Voices of
> Youth -- to promote and protect every child's right to know more, say
> more and do more about the world they live in.
> The winning video will become an official public service announcement of
> Voices of Youth and will be made available for broadcast along with the
> rest of the finalists in celebration of the International Children's Day
> of Broadcasting, 11 December 2005.
> Voices of Youth sets the foundation for youth-initiated change. Through
> web boards, interactive quizzes, live chats and the International
> Children's Day of Broadcasting, Voices of Youth provides thousands of
> young people with an opportunity to explore discuss and take action on
> issues that affect them.
>
> The International Children's Day of Broadcasting is celebrated on the
> second Sunday of every December. With the support of broadcasters,
> children go on the air as reporters, presenters and producers of
> programmes that express their own dreams and concerns.
>
> -------------------------
>
> UNICEF anuncia el ganador de la competición de La Juventud Opina para el
> mejor mensaje de interés público
>
> Nueva York, 16 de mayo de 2005 - La juventud del mundo, de Macedonia, ha
> sido proclamado vencedor de la competición de vÃdeos de un minuto de La
> Juventud Opina de UNICEF, que tiene por tema "Marcar la diferencia". El
> premio se entregará durante la conferencia anual PROMAX & BDA, que se
> celebrará en Nueva York del 21 al 23 de junio.
>
> Los 10 vÃdeos finalistas fueron seleccionados entre 75 presentaciones de
> jóvenes de todo el mundo. Un jurado de adultos y de jóvenes, asà como el
> público en el sitio de La Juventud Opina en Internet, escogieron al
> ganador. Entre los finalistas se encontraban:
>
> Sam y John (Australia)
> La Juventud del Mundo (Macedonia)
> La historia de Vanaja (India)
> No importa quién (Moldova)
> Marcar la diferencia (Burundi)
> Nosotros, los jóvenes (Eslovaquia)
> Juventudes MIRA (Colombia)
> Operación semáforo (Estados Unidos)
> Uno para todos (Kenya)
> Proyecto pensar diferente (Estados Unidos)
>
> El premio recompensa al vÃdeo que mejor refleja la misión de La Juventud
> Opina: promover y proteger el derecho que tienen todos los niños y las
> niñas de saber más, de decir más y de hacer más cosas por el mundo en que
> viven.
>
> El vÃdeo ganador se convertirá en el mensaje oficial de La Juventud Opina
> y por tanto podrá difundirse, al igual que los de los otros finalistas,
> para celebrar el DÃa Internacional de la Radio y la Televisión en favor de
> los Niños, el 11 de diciembre de 2005.
>
> La Juventud Opina establece las bases para que los jóvenes impulsen
> cambios en el mundo. Por medio de boletines en Internet, pruebas
> interactivas, foros de discusión y el DÃa Internacional de la Radio y la
> Televisión en favor de los Niños, La Juventud Opina ofrece a millares de
> jóvenes la posibilidad de examinar las cuestiones que les preocupan,
> debatirlas y después actuar en consecuencia.
>
> El DÃa Internacional de la Radio y la Televisión en favor de los Niños se
> celebra el segundo domingo de cada mes de diciembre. Con la colaboración
> de los profesionales de los medios de comunicación, los niños ocupan las
> ondas como periodistas, presentadores o productores de programas y
> expresan en un lenguaje propio sus sueños y sus preocupaciones.
>
> -------------------
>
> L'UNICEF annonce le vainqueur de la compétition La Voix des jeunes pour le
> meilleur message d'intérêt public.
>
> New York, le 16 mai 2005 - Jeunesse du monde, de Macédoine, a été proclamé
> vainqueur de la compétition La Voix des jeunes de l'UNICEF, avec une vidéo
> d'une minute sur le thème « Faire bouger les choses ». Un prix spécial
> sera présenté lors de la conférence annuelle PROMAX & BDA qui se tiendra Ã
> New York du 21 au 23 juin.
>
> Les dix vidéos finalistes ont été sélectionnées parmi 75 soumissions de
> jeunes du monde entier. Celles-ci ont été jugées par un jury d'adultes et
> de jeunes ainsi que par le public qui a pu voter en ligne, sur le site La
> Voix des jeunes.
>
> Les dix finalistes :
>
> Sam et John (Australie)
> Jeunesse du monde (Macédoine)
> L'histoire de Vanaja (Inde)
> Peu importe qui (Moldova)
> Faire bouger les choses (Burundi)
> Nous, les jeunes (Slovaquie)
> Juventudes MIRA (Colombie)
> Opération Feu de circulation (USA)
> Un pour tous (Kenya)
> Projet Penser différemment (USA)
>
> Le prix récompense la vidéo qui capture le mieux la mission de La Voix des
> jeunes : promouvoir et protéger le droit qu'a chaque enfant d'en savoir
> plus, d'en dire plus et d'en faire plus concernant le monde dans lequel il
> vit.
>
> La vidéo primée deviendra le message officiel de la Voix des jeunes et
> elle pourra être diffusée, de même que les autres finalistes, pour
> célébrer la Journée internationale de la radio et de la télévision pour
> enfants, le 11 décembre 2005.
>
> La Voix des jeunes pose les fondations du changement sous l'impulsion des
> jeunes. Par le biais de modules interactifs, de tableaux d'affichages et
> de forums de discussion, sans oublier la Journée internationale de la
> radio et de la télévision en faveur des enfants, La Voix des jeunes offre
> à des milliers de jeunes la possibilité d'examiner les questions qui les
> concernent, d'en débattre puis d'agir en conséquence.
>
> La Journée internationale de la radio et de la télévision en faveur des
> enfants se fête chaque année le deuxième dimanche de décembre. Avec l'aide
> de professionnels de ces médias, les enfants passent sur les ondes en tant
> que journalistes, présentateurs ou producteurs de programmes et ils
> expriment, dans leur langage à eux, leurs rêves et leurs inquiétudes.
>
> -----------------------------------------
_________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________
SOURCE: http://100second.ltc.org/
The 100 second film festival is the festival for everybody. What do we mean?
First off, at 100 seconds - anybody can create a video and participate.
There are no restrictions on theme or subject matter - whatever you have in
mind - you can do it! Secondly, all the entries we receive will be published
to the web and catalogued so that you can hand pick your own favorites and
screen a 100 second festival in your community. By using a Creative Commons
license this festival can go anywhere. This project of Lowell
Telecommunications, LTC, is truly a festival like no other - a dynamic
stream of content which is ever evolving where public access mingles with
the avante garde and we want you to be a part of it. The premiere public
screening is July 15th at Evos Arts in Lowell, MA. So get your submissions
going!
1) Make your own 100 second piece
2)License your work under the Creative Commons {more}
3) Send the tape/dvd/file to us and we'll compress it OR do the compression
and publish the file on your own {more}
4) Compressed pieces are available for download and reviewed by curators
(which can be anyone, including yourself!)
1st Deadline for entries May 30th
5) Show the festival at local venues - public screenings, local cable
access, back through the web, or burn a DVD and play it at home amongst
friends.
{more}
1) Send a Mini DV/VHS/DVD/ or file on disc to:
100 SECOND FILM FESTIVAL
c/o LTC
246 Market St.
Lowell, MA 01852
Clearly label your entry with all credits and a brief description of the
work. (2 sentence maximum)
2) Publish your entry to the web {submit online}
RULES
100 seconds or less in duration
There is NO entry fee
Outright copyright violations, pornography and excessive violence are
unacceptable but mixes, collage, transformative work and envelope pushing
art are welcome.
Non competitive, non commericial festival, no monetary compensation, no
awards, no prizes (just worldwide distribut
This is a new festival and we are looking for all kinds of submissions -
personal stories, travelogues, mini movies, music videos, experimental,
animation, snapshots of life and culture. We can provide support materials
if you are interested in curating or screening the festival in your area.
Thanks,
Jason Daniels
jason@ltc.org
978.458.5400x13
_________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________
Exhibition/Conference-Screenings June 1-11, 2005
June 1, 6 PM (Art Exhibition Opening) - June 8, 6 PM (Conference Opening)
Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22 Street
New York, NY 10011
Full program information
? Inter-cultural communication about youth media and media literacy.
? Share experiences in program development.
? Explore possibilities for cross-cultural collaboration.
? Establish dialog with reflective practitioners around the world.
? Raise visibility of media literacy as an educational resource.
All Events are Free and Open to the Public
Art Exhibition participants include: CityKids, Art Start, Kids with
Cameras, Aja Project, More Art, Agramunt School (Lleida, Spain)
Youth-produced screenings include: Global Action Project, Youth Channel, DCTV, ScenariosUSA, In The Mix, New York City Public Schools, Barcelona and Madrid Schools, Urban Visionaries Festival, media that matters festival
Conference and panel discussion participants include:
Douglas Rushkoff Professor at the New York University. Author of many books on media, values and culture, including "Media Virus," producer of two Frontline (PBS) documentaries "The Merchants of Cool" and "The Persuaders."
Guillermo Orozco Professor at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Author of many books on education, television and communication, including "Histories of Television in Latin America."
Regina de Assis Professor at the Estadual University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Served as Secretary of Education for the city of Rio de Janeiro between 1993 and 1996. Organizer of the 2004 World Summit on Media for Children and Youth, Rio de Janeiro.
Renee Hobbs Director of the Media Education Lab, Temple University, Philadelphia. Author and co-author of many articles and books on media and education, including "Elements of Language."
Eva Pujadas Professor at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain. Her research on quality television received the 2002 award from the Catalan Audiovisual Council.
And many more!
A presentation of Chelsea Art Museum and European Observatory of Children?s Television In association with Duende Pictures, Instituto Cervantes/NYC, and Fordham University
With the support of: Aldeas Infantiles SOS , Fundación Rafael del Pino
(Madrid, Spain),Televisió de Catalunya (TVC), Catalunya Rà dio.
Program Coordinator: Maria Juliana Byck, Project directors: Jordi
Torrent (Duende Pictures, NYC) and Valenti Gomez i Oliver
(OETI,Barcelona)
Contact:
Jordi Torrent
1(646) 342-6669
"Consider that for the first time in human history a child is born into a home which television is on an average of about seven hours a day. And for the first time in human history most of the stories are told not by the parent, not by the school, not by the church, not by the tribes or community, and in many places not even by the native country, but by a relatively small group of conglomerates who have something to sell."
SOURCE: http://www.listenup.org/newsblog/archives/000590.html
<DIV><SPAN class=name><SPAN class=headingstory><A href="http://www.newsreview.info/article/20050503/NEWS/105030071">County students to premiere videos on substance abuse</A></SPAN></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=name><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=name>DANIELLE GILLESPIE - </SPAN><SPAN class=date>May 3, 2005</SPAN><BR><IMG height=10 src="http://www.newsreview.info/graphics/spacer.gif" width=1 border=0><BR><IMG height=10 src="http://www.newsreview.info/graphics/spacer.gif" width=1 border=0><BR><SPAN class=body2>They'll be treated like movie stars.<BR><BR>On Thursday, 100 Douglas County students will ride around in limousines, walk down a red carpet, mingle and munch on hors d'oeuvres. <BR><BR>It's for the local equivalent of Hollywood's Academy Awards -- students from 10 Douglas County high schools have spent months filming and editing 30 public service announcements for the second annual Truth, Lies and Videotapes youth media project. <BR><BR>Now it's their turn to celebrate. <BR><BR>The 30- to 60-second videos are about the consequences of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse. The students will premiere their videos to the public at 7 p.m. Thursday in Jacoby Auditorium at Umpqua Community College.<BR><BR>"This is a night to honor the efforts of our young people," said Marlene Petersen, prevention coordinator with Roseburg School District.<BR><BR>The event will begin at 6 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres. Admission is free.<BR><BR>Eric Titus, a Roseburg High School senior, and Dick Baltus, Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce president, will act as hosts for the evening's festivities.<BR><BR>The students will be honored with "Oscars" and a certificate for their hard work. Their videos will later be aired on KPIC-TV.<BR><BR>Truth, Lies and Videotapes is put on by Oregon Partnership and Douglas County Communities Aligned to Prevent Substance Abuse, the Ford Family Foundation and Oregon Community Foundation.<BR><BR>The intent of the program is to increase awareness among teens. When students produce their own anti-drug message, they are more likely to take a stronger stance against drugs, alcohol and tobacco, Petersen said.<BR><BR>"Who better to know what kids need to know other than the students themselves?" Petersen said.<BR><BR>* You can reach reporter Danielle Gillespie at 957-4202 or by e-mail at <A href="mailto:dgillespie@newsreview.info">dgillespie@newsreview.info</A>.</SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=body2></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=body2><FONT face=Arial size=2>SOURCE: <A href="http://www.newsreview.info/article/20050503/NEWS/105030071">http://www.newsreview.info/article/20050503/NEWS/105030071</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Schuepp<BR>Young People's Media Network - Coordinator<BR>c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)<BR>Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor<BR>D-45770 Marl - Germany</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel.: +49 2365 502480<BR>Mobile: +49 176 23107083<BR>Fax: +49 12126 23107083<BR>Email: <A href="mailto:cschuepp@unicef.org">cschuepp@unicef.org</A><BR>URL: <A href="http://www.unicef.org/magic">www.unicef.org/magic</A><BR>Mailing list: <A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.<BR>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
It started with music. In January 2004, a radio station based in East Jerusalem made its debut on the Internet [www.allforpeace.org], broadcasting a playlist of global tunes that featured Arab and Israeli melodies. By April, the station was hosting talking radio programs in the mornings ? one hour in Hebrew and one hour in Arabic. ?We deal with education, culture and sport, but politics is out,? explains Maisa Seniora, the station?s Palestinian co-director. ?You are bound to hurt someone when you deal with politics.? The station offers a range of programs for adults as well as for young listeners.
?The equator? is a one-hour talk show broadcast in Hebrew that examines the different social and cultural aspects of life in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The show lets Hebrew speaking listeners get to know Palestinian society. Its counterpart is ?Muhawalat,? another daily program. Broadcast in Arabic, it deals with different aspects of Israeli society and gives Palestinian listeners a perspective on Israeli life.
?Crossing Borders? is a youth program hosted by two young girls, Neta Muray and Shireen Yassin. The show deals with the fears, dreams and hopes of both Israeli and Palestinian youth covering issues that affect their lives such as education, music, violence, drugs and more.
The station broadcasts 24 hours a day and plans to continue doing so once they officially go on air. Run by 12 Israelis and Palestinians ? technicians, producers and reporters ? All for Peace Radio is determined to instill fresh hope in two populations that have sunk into apathy and despair. The dual heritage of their small staff in itself serves as an emblem of cooperation and peace.
Two organizations ? the Palestinian group Biladi (?my homeland? in Arabic) and an Israeli group called The Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace at Givat Haviva ? are partners in the project. When representatives from the groups collaborated to found All for Peace, the European Union believed in their dream enough to fund 80 percent of the project.
The station?s yearly budget stands at $350,000. The Japanese embassy in Tel-Aviv and several private organizations also support the station.
In a relatively short time, this small radio station has built a reputation as a credible source of information. ?While covering recent elections in the Palestinian Authority, we interviewed both Abu Mazen and his political rival Dr. Mustafa Barghouti,? Shimon Malka, the station?s Israeli c0-director, says with pride. ?We were also approached by Israeli media for updates through our sources.?
One of the most fascinating stories covered by the station concerns a Palestinian terrorist who was on his way to launch an attack on Israeli civilians. A sudden moment of reflection led him to the conclusion that nothing useful would come from killing more people. He turned back to his village and eventually started a children?s theater group. All For Peace broadcast this story around the world, inviting the ex-terrorist in for an interview.
?We get about 10,000 daily visitors to the [Web] site,? says Malka. ?I hope the numbers will keep on growing as more and more people hear about us.?
The station?s optimistic vision is all the more impressive considering the hurdles it has faced from Israeli and Palestinian officials. The station originally intended to broadcast via traditional radio waves, but the transmitter it ordered from Italy has been stuck in Israeli customs since November 2003. What seems to be a technical problem is actually a political one ? the Palestinian Communication Office and its Israeli counterpart refuse to communicate since, officially, there is no dialogue between political leaders on both sides.
?This is a very frustrating situation,? says Seniora. ?Since these people are incapable of speaking to one another, the station is stuck as well.?
The Israeli Ministry of Communication responded to questions about the station with a calendar of committee meetings and a saga of missing permits. An ultimatum given by the station?s management to Israeli officials has been ignored. Malka says that at present the station is engaged in trying to purchase an alternative transmitter, a smaller one, but one that will at least allow them to finally go on air. European Union officials have also begun exerting their influence to pressure Israel to allow the station to start broadcasting.
Even though these are not the best of times, Seniora and her colleagues remain determined. ?If there was peace, we would have no work to do. I want to reach the people on the street who are tired of this war. The bottom line is that we are all people who want to live and work and raise our children in peace.?
Sima Borkovski is a freelance journalist based in Jerusalem. Her articles have been published by various Jewish publications in Europe and the United States. She also writes for NANA [www.nana.co.il], a news Web site in Israel.
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>SOURCE: UNICEF Spain</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR vAlign=top> <TD width="100%"><B><FONT face=Verdana color=#0080ff>Habbohotel 'UNICEF Bus' - UNICEF-Comité Español</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD width="100%"><FONT face=Verdana size=1><BR></FONT><B><FONT face=Verdana color=#800000 size=1></FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD width="100%"><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2>MADRID, 9-5-2005 (UNICEF-COMITÉ ESPAÑOL)</FONT></I></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD width="100%"><FONT face=Verdana size=1><BR></FONT><B><FONT face=Verdana color=#800000 size=1></FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD width="100%"><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The Habbohotel ?UNICEF Bus? completed its first year last Friday, April 29th. In order to celebrate this first anniversary, UNICEF created a series of activities and chats concerning ?Sports for Development?, accompanied by a forum on the website </FONT><U><FONT face=Verdana color=#0000ff size=2>www.enredate.org</FONT></U><FONT face=Verdana size=2> (Website of the program of Education for Development for UNICEF-Spanish Committee). The theme also coincides with 2005 being the International Year for Physical Education and Sport. <BR></FONT><BR><FONT face=Verdana size=2>UNICEF and Habbohotel created an alliance in order to carry out chats with young people about important themes such as education or development. Now, thousands of children visit the site to participate in this virtual community, supervised 24 hours a day by a volunteer staff from both Habbohotel and UNICEF, creating a safe environment. Children can get on the ?Bus? for 15 minute chats about given themes. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The special program ?Sports for Development? began April 27 and will extend until May 27. It seeks to create a setting where children can debate themes such as the importance of sports in the psychological recovery of the thousands of children affected by wars and natural disasters, the benefits of sports for your health, values that will help you be better people, or themes discussing discrimination because of gender, handicap, or race. Activities taking place include the chats, games, quizzes, and news related to sports and UNICEF strategies to promote development and peace through sports. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Each week, there will be a famous athlete in the ?Bus? to chat with the children, telling their experiences in sport. Recently, Andrés Guerrero joined as the first celebrity to participate in the initiative. He is responsible for education for development for UNICEF in New York and is currently the Programs Official for UNICEF?s regional office in Geneva. Past participants include actor Imanol Arias, singer Seydu, and the Executive Director of the UNICEF-Spanish National Committee, Jaime Gómez-Pineda. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Verdana size=2>In addition to Guerrero, the Bus has invited MartÃn Vázquez, an ex-football player and member of the Special Olympics; the Atlético de Madrid football player Fernando Torres, and two UNICEF Spain Ambassadors: the ex football player Eusebio Sacristán, and the basketball player Pau Gasol.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Verdana size=2>In its first year, the ?UNICEF Bus? has hosted discussions with more than 4,200 children and adolescents in a series of 458 educational chats. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=4></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Schuepp<BR>Young People's Media Network - Coordinator<BR>c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)<BR>Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor<BR>D-45770 Marl - Germany</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel.: +49 2365 502480<BR>Mobile: +49 176 23107083<BR>Fax: +49 12126 23107083<BR>Email: <A href="mailto:cschuepp@unicef.org">cschuepp@unicef.org</A><BR>URL: <A href="http://www.unicef.org/magic">www.unicef.org/magic</A><BR>Mailing list: <A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.<BR>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>PLATFORMA VIDEO ZERO FIVE</STRONG> <BR>The independent initiative for the promotion of the digital cinema in video will take place in Athens from October 7-10, 2005, in the venue "417" located in the area of Metaxourgio. <BR>We invite film creators to participate with video films produced from 2002 onwards. <BR>There are no thematic or restrictions relating to the duration of the films, in order to participate at PLATFORMA VIDEO ZERO FIVE, while the only prerequisite is that films should not have been transferred into celluloid. <BR><BR>Please fill in the electronic application form at http://www.platforma.gr until August 31, 2005. <BR>For further information please contact us at info@platforma.gr or at +30 6946811911. <BR><BR>PLATFORMA Urban Culture Co. <BR>Kaisareias 6 <BR>11527 Athens - Greece <BR>tel. +30 6946811911 <BR>fax +30 2107487890 <BR><A href="http://www.platforma.gr">www.platforma.gr</A> <BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Schuepp<BR>Young People's Media Network - Coordinator<BR>c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)<BR>Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor<BR>D-45770 Marl - Germany</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel.: +49 2365 502480<BR>Mobile: +49 176 23107083<BR>Fax: +49 12126 23107083<BR>Email: <A href="mailto:cschuepp@unicef.org">cschuepp@unicef.org</A><BR>URL: <A href="http://www.unicef.org/magic">www.unicef.org/magic</A><BR>Mailing list: <A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.<BR>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
| Catch the real vibes at jamsquad.com |
| Laura Jenoure, Observer TeenAge writer - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 |
The pace at which technology is moving these days is absolutely mind-boggling. The Internet is one of the main beneficiaries of this growth as evidenced by the use of broadband technology and the various linkages of the Internet with other media.
It was natural for the Internet and entertainment to merge today to provide societies with greater entertainment options.
David Mullings along with his younger brother Richard are the masterminds behind Random Media which is a multimedia company geared to provide options for especially young people to access information on entertainment and other leisure activities. The concept arose during their first semester in their MBA programme at the University of Miami where they started the realvibes.net website, a site where you can download music from the various genres but which was more geared towards the international market. Random Media were successful with their first project which now averages over 500,000 hits per month.
Back in Jamaica now, the brothers decided that it was time to develop a website geared towards Jamaicans especially the young people of the country.
So with success in their first venture, the Mullings brothers have now officially launched jamsquad.com aimed at exposing Jamaican teens to acceptable role models and achievers.
"This is a special site for us at Random Media. This is the site that connects Jamaican teens to enable them to have further expression and to try and find an area of activity which they can relate to be it cars, fashion, movies, music or just reading about others who have been successful in their particular sphere of life," David Mullings said.
But Random Media isn't all about fun and games.
"We have developed a Real Vibes Foundation through which we give back to the community. We support children's homes and we are in the process of making at least five scholarships available to needy students," David Mullings said.
Random Media has already secured some strong associations with other entities at home and abroad. At present these include La Pluma Negra, RE TV, Hype TV, Telemundo, VP Records, Atlantic Records, Zip 103 FM, and Clear Channel.
"In addition to our website we will also be launching a magazine which will coming out in the summer in order to fully sensitise Jamaicans about the work young people are doing and what are the options available to them," said David Mullings who is also managing director of Random Media.
WEBSITE: www.jamsquad.com
Kids Slowly Addicted To Violence, No Thanks To The Media
KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) -- Children are slowly addicted to violence and this is "no thanks" to the media, Pakistan Television programmes director/executive producer Moneeza Hashmi said Tuesday.
She said the media particularly broadcasters were continuously injecting poison into the minds of innocent children, turning them into violent addicts.
Despite being in the broadcasting industry, Moneeza said she was appalled at the television programmes currently being shown.
Instead of pleasure, she said television had become a nuisance to "responsible" parents who were constantly on the edge, wondering what kind of programmes including cartoons that their children were watching.
The presence of cable television also made it difficult for parents as their children were being flooded with imported programmes or cartoons which promoted violence, she said at the second day of the Asia Media Summit.
"(During my days) I had cartoons too but they were not violent, sometimes they may look stupid but they were fun," she said at today's summit which discussed on `Children: Today's Learners, Tomorrow Leaders - Asia Emerging Networks to improve Children's TV'.
Of the television programmes being shown throughout the world today, she said only 30 to 40 percent of them were suitable for children and in some countries, it might be less.
This, she noted, could be worrying since studies carried out in Europe and the United States showed that children between the ages of six and 10 spend an average of two to five hours a day watching television.
To a question, she said the main reason that television had become more violent was because broadcasters and producers - who are adults - were of the opinion that violence sells.
And, this is important because television is a big and costly business and broadcasters have profit margins to worry about, she said.
Moneeza said the media, when confronted on violence in television, would say that this was what the public wanted and they were just serving the needs of their audiences.
"I doubt when you ask any child they will say yes, I am violent, I like and condone violence...give me a break.
"If you keep injecting something like that, ironically, it's like sex, it's like glamour, it's like vulgarity. If you keep injecting it, the boy will say it makes sense and it becomes an addiction," she said.
To overcome this, Moneeza pointed out that there was a need to find new sources of money to fund television programmes that were healthy to children but might not be profitable.
In addition, she said there was now awareness among the public and governments on the need to curb violence in the media, but the reform process would take time.
"It is not easy to change the behaviour and the minds of people. It is happening but it will take a few generations to achieve that," she said.
Meanwhile, Arab States Broadcasting Union Director General Abdelhafidh Harguem said the media could become instrumental in training the citizens of tomorrow.
He said the media had turned into unavoidable "parallel schools" which were at the core of interaction between young people and their family and educational milieus.
This, he said, was because children attending school were soaked with media culture, which moulded their view of the world.
"For all these reasons, the introduction in school curricula of education to the media proves to be a pressing need. Countries like Canada, have integrated it as a full-fledged school discipline," he said.
SOURCE: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=133723
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <H3><A href="http://www.unicef.org/people/people_26561.html">Voices of Youth members plan newsletter</A></H3><!-- page headlines END --><!-- thumbnail and blurb for index pages --><!-- Paragraphs Start --><!-- DELETE after migration - for PC/Cl2/Portrait Page START for PC/Cl2/Portrait Page END --><!-- start body text --> <P><STRONG>By Blue Chevigny</STRONG></P> <P>2 May 2005 - Voices of Youth members from around the globe get together to create newsletter about the issues they care about most.</P> <P><SPAN class=leadquote>Voices of Youth Digital Diaries are all about young people who want to know more?do more?and say more about the world. These reports are first-person/eyewitness accounts by young people from around the world.</SPAN></P> <P>NEW YORK, 2 May 2005 ? Luciana, Jennifer, Laura, Camille, Fatima and Zuhur are hard at work inventing their own means of expression: a newsletter that will be published online through Voices of Youth.</P> <P>These young people and others who are regular participants in Voices of Youth?s online chats and discussions, got together over the last few months to discuss what they could do to affect change in their communities. They ?got together? online, from places as far apart as Somaliland, Romania, France, Nigeria, Morocco, and Argentina. The group has never met in person.</P> <P>Frustrated that they have not been able to affect more change and to make their voices heard, they decided to publish a newsletter. To cut down on production costs and to make it more easily accessible to an unlimited audience, the newsletter will be published online.</P><!-- Placeholder for ASCII code for search pages, etc. --><!-- DELETE after migration - for PC/Cl2/Portrait Page START --><!-- --><!-- for PC/Cl2/Portrait Page END --><!-- Single header pages START --><!-- --><!-- Single header pages END --><!-- Double header pages START --><!-- --><!-- Double header pages END --> <P>They divided up into departments: editorial, a distribution and promotion, and online administration. They also decided that each issue will have a theme, like violence or HIV and AIDS, and each member of the organizing team will get to write an article for each issue. Some will be first-person narratives, some will be interviews, and some will be research-driven articles.</P> <P>They are already feeling better about their own abilities to affect change in their world. Newsletter organiser Fatima, 16 years old and in Morocco, says, ?The desire to act is strong, and it?s a positive way of expressing your personality. Its very important psychologically.?</P> <P>Most of all they want to inspire their readers, most likely other young people, to take action as well. ?We want to make everyone awake,? says Zuhur, 19 and from Somaliland, one of the organisers of the effort. ?The biggest thing that frightens me is people who do nothing.?</P> <P>And Jennifer says, ?Our dream is to reach every nook and cranny of the world.? </P> <P>These six young people, and the many other participants in their project, are making their dreams come true by acting together. They hope to publish their first issue in the next month. Stay tuned to Voices of Youth and UNICEF Radio for more!</P> <P>Learn more about what young people are saying: Visit <A href="http://www.unicef.org/voy/discussions/">Voices of Youth?s online community</A>. Or find out about UNICEF?s work to <A href="http://www.unicef.org/adolescence/index.html">promote and protect the rights of adolescents</A>.</P><!-- Paragraphs End --><!-- POSSIBLE DELETION - PC Positions list Start Pages list End --><!-- Media Agenda START --><!-- Media Agenda END --><!-- DELETE - for UNICEF people/Cl/generic content page --><!-- only used in SOWC04, DELETE after migration --><!-- only used in SOWC04, DELETE after migration --><!-- DELETE --><!-- insert [] instead of [pdf] and [word] --><!-- </p> --><!-- DELETE after final check - for Module/Cl/Image and Text Page (level 2) START for Module/Cl/Image and Text Page (level 2) END --><!-- DELETE after final check - for Press Centre/C-level2/Category Date Page START --> <SCRIPT language=JavaScript> <!-- var ThisPage=26561; //--> </SCRIPT> <!-- --><!-- for Press Centre/C-level2/Category Date Page END --><!-- <span class="pageupdated">Updated 09 May 2005</span> --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- e.g. Back to publications index page --><!-- --><!-- e.g. Back to Video/Audio section --><!--Needs one hard returns to push footer down--></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>SOURCE: <A href="http://www.unicef.org/people/people_26561.html">http://www.unicef.org/people/people_26561.html</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Schuepp<BR>Young People's Media Network - Coordinator<BR>c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)<BR>Bergstr. 8 / 10th floor<BR>D-45770 Marl - Germany</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel.: +49 2365 502480<BR>Mobile: +49 176 23107083<BR>Fax: +49 12126 23107083<BR>Email: <A href="mailto:cschuepp@unicef.org">cschuepp@unicef.org</A><BR>URL: <A href="http://www.unicef.org/magic">www.unicef.org/magic</A><BR>Mailing list: <A href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.<BR>_________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
The industry has woken up to the fact that most pre-teens are so pop-conscious that they can discuss the relative merits of Sugababes and Girls Aloud. They have an appetite for music that encompasses CDs, ringtones, downloads and all the associated merchandise, such as Peter Andre's (sadly discontinued) Mysterious Girl eau de toilette.
"We're targeting sophisticated, pop-hungry pop people," says Eddie Ruffett of Universal Music, who has produced compilation CDs called Pop Party and Pop Party II - the first compilations marketed directly at five-to-11s. This age group isn't interested in entire albums by individual acts; they just want hit singles, and the Pop Party series provides that. Containing only the most "essential" smashes by their favourite artists (eg McFly's Five Colours in Her Hair, Britney's ... Baby One More Time) plus bonus karaoke discs that allow kids to pretend to be Britney and McFly, the two volumes had a £1-million promotional budget.
TV advertising and tie-ins with Tammy clothes shops and McDonald's let children know that here was an album just for them, with no rubbishy filler and, as Ruffett puts it, "no teenage-boy groups like Limp Bizkit". The CDs sold almost 1m copies each - a vast number in a market where a successful compilation is lucky to shift 300,000.
Ruffett and colleague Karen Meekings have won an industry award for the campaign and rival labels are now hastily releasing their own compilations, with titles such as Ultimate Sleepover and Party Party Party, all stuffed with McFly, et al. Unexpectedly, almost as many boys (45%) as girls (55%) buy them, despite their looking, as one mum puts it, "all girlie and Barbie-pinky".
Uncovering a new demographic is exciting for an industry that has been hit by declining singles sales and illegal internet downloads. "This is an investment into the future," says Paul Williams of Music Week magazine. "The Pop Party audience will be the serious fans in a decade's time." In other words, once children start buying music, it becomes a lifelong habit, so get 'em young.
Steve Gallant of music retailers HMV says that, where record-buying once began at around age 13, "they start to consume at seven or eight now, because there are 30-odd satellite music channels, and they're aware at a much younger age. Previous kids' albums were either hits from Disney movies or stuff like Bob, but this is proper pop music, aimed at kids."
This isn't a completely new concept. In the 1970s, the cheesy Top of the Pops compilation series - a spin-off from the TV show - offered all the latest chart hits. Buyers were dismayed to find that those Abba and Brotherhood-of-Man songs werecover versions by anonymous musicians - but, with no alternatives, the series survived till the late 70s. The new compilations are in another league. Even the artwork is sparky rather than idiotic.
It sounds ridiculously obvious, which is probably why nobody had done it before. The trend was pioneered in Denmark five years ago, with an eight-volume series called Hits for Kids. At that time in Britain, the compilation market was dominated by the long-running Now That's What I Call Music! albums, pitched at teenagers. Hence, if a 10-year-old wanted a compilation to play at a birthday party, there was little choice. Despite the existence of a large prepubescent audience, who had discovered music via the Spice Girls a year or two earlier, it took UK record labels years to catch up.
Now it's clear that mini-CD buyers welcome the trend. Parents, though, are divided: some worry that their children are being prevented from developing their own taste. Others point out that, if they're reading the booklet and singing along, it's good practice for reading and poetry structure. And as music publicist Linda Rowe, mother of a nine- and four-year- old daughter, says, even if they're listening to rubbish, at least they're not eating and drinking it!
(English - Francais - Espanol)
Vote now for your favorite video!
The "Make a difference" one-minute video contest on Voices of Youth is
coming to a close. We received 75 wonderful entries from young people around
the world, and the adult and youth judges have chosen 10 finalists. Now is
your chance to vote for the winner!
Visit http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_2088.html to watch
the 10 videos chosen as finalists, then cast your vote and help choose the
video that best shows how young people are taking action to make the world -
and their own communities - a better place. Don't forget that you need to
register as a member of Voices of Youth to vote.
The winning video will be the official Voices of Youth public service
announcement, will receive prizes, and will be made available for broadcast
around the world on The International Children's Day of Broadcasting.
You have leass than 2 weeks to cast your vote, so do it now!
_______________________
Vote maintenant pour ta vidéo préférée!!
Le concours vidéo-minute "Faites bouger les choses!", présenté sur La Voix
des jeunes, touche à sa fin. Nous avons reçu 75 vidéos du monde entier et
les juges, jeunes et adultes, ont choisi les 10 finalistes. A ton tour
maintenant de voter pour la vidéo qui va l'emporter!
Clique sur http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_2088.html pour
visionner les 10 vidéos finalistes, puis vote et contribue ainsi à choisir
la vidéo qui montre le mieux comment les jeunes se mobilisent pour faire de
notre planète - et de leurs communautés - un meilleur endroit. N'oublie pas
que tu dois devenir membre de La Voix des jeunes pour pouvoir voter.
La vidéo gagnante deviendra le message officiel de La Voix des jeunes et
son auteur se verra récompensé. La vidéo sera proposée aux chaînes de
télévision du monde entier qui pourront la diffuser lors de la Journée
internationale de la radio et de la télévision en faveur des enfants.
Il ne te reste que moins que 2 semaines pour voter, alors vote tout de
suite!
_____________________
¡Vota por tu vÃdeo favorito!
El concurso de vÃdeos de un minuto "Marcar la diferencia", que se presenta
en La Juventud Opina, está llegando a su fin. Hemos recibido 75 vÃdeos
extraordinarios de jóvenes participantes de todo el mundo, y los jueces
jóvenes y adultos han escogido 10 finalistas. ¡Ahora tienes la posibilidad
de escoger tú al ganador!
Visita http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_2088.html para ver
los 10 vÃdeos finalistas, emite luego tu voto y contribuye a elegir el vÃdeo
que mejor muestre a tu entender las medidas que toman los jóvenes para
conseguir que el mundo y sus propias comunidades sean mejores. No te olvides
de inscribirte como miembro de La Juventud Opian para votar.
El vÃdeo ganador se convertirá en el anuncio de servicio público oficial de
La Juventud Opina, recibirá premios y será emitido en todo el mundo durante
el DÃa Internacional de Radio y Televisión en favor de la Infancia.
¡Solamente tienes menos que 2 semanas para emitir tu voto! ¡Vota ya mismo!
_________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________
| Ha Noi, 02 May 2005--Young people in Viet Nam have enthusiastically responsed to the Millennium Development Goals campaign launched by the United Nations Viet Nam Country Team. The initiative has drawn not only attention but also support of thousands of Viet Nam?s youth in helping to achieve the Goals. TakingITGlobal, an online community of young people, shares the highlights of the campaign. During the last two years of 2003 and 2004, young people in Vietnam were stirred up by a Millennium Development Goal youth campaign launched by the United Nations Vietnam Country Team. Since its first launch in 2003, the campaign has involved more and more young Vietnamese people in many innovative programmes. Thanks to the campaign?s series of initiatives, to the receptive interest, and the opening support from the youth union, government agencies and bilateral donors, youth in Vietnam are now more aware of the MDGs and the country?s current development challenges. Many youth, thus, have been ready to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs. Among the campaign?s most influential mobilizations, the Young Initiative to Promote Volunteerism for the MDGs competition was very successful. The competition itself was already a good initiative, more interestingly, it specifically encouraged the youth to propose an initiative or a creative plan to stimulate volunteerism for the MDGs among young people in Vietnam. The two winners of the competition in 2003 and 2004 have done this and more. Nguyen Van Dung, ?Mister Youth Volunteer? of 2003, spent a month bicycling on a 2,100-km journey along the S-shaped country to bring the MDG message to young people. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, ?Miss Youth Volunteer? of 2004 went backpacking through 23 provinces (13 of which are among the poorest). She experienced 80 days living with the poor, encountering different MDG issues in reality and sharing the MDG story with people, particularly the young. However long those amazing journeys were, Dung and Mai, both have given a great impetus to the growth of youth volunteerism for the MDGs in Vietnam. After going back, they still keep going on their MDG journeys but in some different ways and their stories continue to enthuse more and more people. ?Thang?s Journey? was another booming point of the MDG youth campaign in Vietnam. Thang, which means ?victory,? is actually a character of an MDG booklet first published in 2003. On Thang?s travel from the North to the South of the country, he comes across MDG concerns such as extreme poverty in rural areas, student dropouts, and a person living with HIV. Designed in the popular Japanese manga-style comic strip, ?Thang?s journey? not only conveys the MDGs well to Vietnamese youth but also provides the readers with key national data on each MDG, and gives them some suggestions to take action on the MDGs. Actually, besides a lot of new friends made along the journey, Dung and Mai always had Thang by their side. They introduced Thang to everyone they met and gave out the booklets. ??Thang?s journey? has so far been a success and used in an increasing number of UN projects for training and information purposes,? writes Catherine Callens in the Vietnam MDG Youth Strategy. Callens, the UN Communications Officer in Vietnam, says that although the booklet has gone through a third printing in 2004, ?it will be printed more if there are more demands from youth.? Personally, I am sure that with some over 20 million of Vietnamese people probably categorized as youth, the publication was very limited. It is recommended that those who have read the ?Thang?s journey? can spread the word about the book among their friends. Anticipation is high for a brochure of Mai?s journey which will be issued soon. It is also impossible not to mention the ?Towards a Better World? music quiz programme. In collaboration with the Vietnam Students? Newspaper, this interesting competition, asking contestants to demonstrate their knowledge of the MDGs by linking them to songs, was launched in April 2004. After five months, it received over 5,000 entries from all over the country. Although it was rather hard for the judges to choose the best one, the first prize went to Le Thi Phuong Thao and Dinh Thi Bich Ngoc from the Foreign Trade University of Hanoi. Apparently, that music competition was no less successful than the other programmes in the MDG youth campaign. Although it might sound superficial to say music and media when combined is the best effective way to approach young people, an idea to send the MDG messages through music and media is highly appreciated. The following two big events in the Vietnam MDG youth campaign?s calendar 2003 and 2004 could possibly prove that. A free and grand MDG youth concert which involved some very famous Vietnamese pop bands and singers was held in the West Lake Water Park in 2003. The concert attracted a live audience of around 12,000 youth and proved to be a very effective way to communicate the MDGs. In 2004, there was a complementary music programme on TV called ?Towards a Better World.? This time, some of the country?s top musicians performed several songs selected by the contestants of the music competition. The show, which was aired nationwide, also featured discussions among the artists, UN Heads of Agencies and some young people on the MDGs. Last but not least, on the UN Day (October 24) in 2003, several high schools and universities of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, had an opportunity to talk to staff from different UN agencies. It was actually an MDG student outreach initiative, part of the MDG Youth Campaign, which involved the UN staff giving presentations on the MDGs and distributing the ?Thang?s journey? booklet to students. Certainly, those lucky students could never forget the day because there had never been any similar exchange between the UN staff and the Vietnamese students before and this was the first time the MDGs came that close to them. It has been only one year and a half since the official launch of the MDG youth campaign in Vietnam. Many young Vietnamese people have enthusiastically been engaged in various programmes of the campaign. Naturally, their awareness of the MDG development issues in Vietnam is also growing. Still, as ?actions speak louder than words,? it is then their turn to make contributions to the country?s MDG achievement by 2015 and further to a future of sustainable development for Vietnam. SOURCE: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/dynamic/cfapps/news/news2.cfm?ArticlesID=979 |
| By Mark Rickards BBC News, Rajasthan |
Today is an important day for one Indian boy, nine-year-old Narput Singh.
Something new is arriving in his remote village of Varna in the dusty, dry state of Rajasthan.
Something he has never had a chance to see before - it is a computer.
The digital divide seems at its greatest in India. On one side you have some of the most advanced work in IT taking place in cities like Bangalore or Delhi.
On the other you have children who have little or no access to new technology and live in conditions where clean water and electricity are still luxuries.
It is this divide that one man, Sugata Mitra, intends to bridge.
He was first struck by it looking out of his office window.
Breaking barriers
Inside his IT compound he could see the young techno-savvy professionals, belts hung with electronic gadgets.
Beyond the perimeter fence, he could see the dispossessed children sleeping rough in a shanty town.
He decided it was time to break a hole in the wall and give the children outside a chance to see what a computer was.
He cut a hole and hooked one up. What happened next amazed him. They taught themselves how to use it.
Sugata took his experiment further and set up computers amongst the underprivileged communities of Delhi.
He built special kiosks where only children could reach the keyboard, and left them connected to the internet. In each case the results were the same.
Without adult intervention, the children got to grips with the technology, even with their limited understanding of English.
Sugata was able to make some important but controversial observations.
"Groups of children given adequate digital resources can meet the objectives of primary education on their own - most of the objectives."
Teaching themselves
In the thousands of small villages across the length and breadth of India, this clearly has enormous implications.
If the schools cannot provide access to both computers and trained teachers, then perhaps Sugata's approach could work.
And for the children of Varna, the day has come.
| The internet is the future ....and our children have dreams Village elder |
The Hole in the Wall project is to leave a computer in their village, and it will be up to Narput Singh and his friends to work out how to use it.
The moment the box is open, the children swarm around it.
They've never even seen the packaging before and some of them are rubbing bits of polystyrene on their arms, even trying a bite of it.
Sugata gives a short talk before letting them loose.
"Who can ride a bicycle?" he asks. Forty hands shoot up.
"And who taught you?" There is some confusion and shaking of heads.
"No-one taught you," he says. "It's a skill you can learn on your own."
He turns to the computer behind him. "And the computer is like a bicycle."
Fun and games
With the computer switched on, the children press all the keys and every mouse button.
But Sugata has noticed a pattern emerging after the first initial chaos.
"You find that the noise level begins to come down, and from somewhere a leader appears.
"Often his face is not visible in the crowd, but he is controlling the mouse because suddenly you see the mouse begin to move in an orderly fashion.
"And then suddenly a lot of children's voices will say 'Oh, that pointer can be moved!' And then you see the first click, which - believe it or not - happens within the first three minutes."
Narput Singh has the mouse and takes control. And within three minutes he has clicked and, to his surprise and pleasure, inadvertently opened a game.
He doesn't distinguish between educational games and those that are just for fun, and he is soon learning English words through a painting game with colours to fill in.
Whilst he is picking up the use of the computer directly, others around him are absorbing what he does.
Scarce resources
For Sugata, it is this group learning which is significant.
"We know that in nine months the entire group of children in a village would have reached approximately the level of an office secretary, which means they know dragging and dropping files, they know downloading, they can play video and audio and they can surf the internet".
Not everyone is enthralled with Sugata's results.
Tom Standage, technology editor of the Economist, is sceptical of such projects.
He points out that Bill Gates chose not to drop computers across the developing world as part of aid packages, preferring to concentrate on medicines and other more practical help for poor communities.
"Do you really want to have the maintenance of PCs in villages? Couldn't you have spent the money on a water pump? I'm not saying there's no benefit to it, but it may have been that the resources could have been used elsewhere in a way which helped more people."
It costs Sugata about $1,900 for every computer put into a village, and he believes it is worth it.
Most of the cost goes in maintenance as the technology has to withstand a tremendous pounding from the elements and the users.
But, as the sun sets and the desert cools, Narput Singh is still engrossed, and will be for some hours to come.
The adults of the village also welcome the new developments, believing it will offer their offspring much better chances than they have had themselves.
"The internet is the future," says one elder, "and our children have dreams."
Time will show whether the dreams are turned to dust in the desert, or whether the computer can make a lasting difference to these children's lives.
Mark Rickards is a senior producer with BBC Radio Four.
A Hole in the Wall, presented by BBC South Asia Correspondent Navdip Dhariwal, will be broadcast on 3rd May at 1000 -1030 GMT on BBC Radio Four.
| Children make films to express their views on issues that impact their lives. NITIN JUGRAN BAHUGUNA |
KOPPAL and Raichur districts, Karnataka, have one thing in common with all other districts in India ? a population that is not respected and often looked down upon as a liability by society, a population that is forced to live a life of tears.
These, in effect, are the opening words of a 10-minute documentary on disability. It examines the stigma and indifference with which families and communities regard disabled children.
Although the theme is not new, it is handled with a distinct clarity and sensitivity. That children have made the film and narrated it underlines the seriousness with which today's 12-18 age group looks at issues such as disability, illiteracy, child labour, sexual exploitation and child marriage that impact their lives.
"A Life of Tears" tells the story of young Nagamma. The mentally challenged girl is left at home for long hours every day while her parents and siblings leave for work and school. Her parents leave food for her with the neighbours, but they often forget to feed her. Now the whole village is her playground. But when she attains adolescence, her parents will lock her up at home like Radhama's mother.
Earlier, Radhama roamed about the village and followed anyone who offered her food. Once a man lured her to his house on the pretext of giving her something to eat and raped her. Radhama became pregnant and subsequently delivered a stillborn baby. The incident shook her mother and now she won't let her daughter out of sight.
The documentary moves on to the touching and inspiring story of Yellappa. An adolescent boy who, despite wearing a brace on his left leg, regularly attends school. He ignores the constant jeering and discrimination of teachers and peers alike in the hope of getting an education and building a future for himself. If the bus does not come, Yellappa trudges eight km to school. When he gets there, the other children won't let him play with them. "They don't call us by our names, but by our disability. When we fall down, they laugh at us. I feel very humiliated," he says. Incidents such as these as well as the absence of ramps and toilets dissuade many disabled children from attending school, he adds.
Yellappa's parents feel it is useless to spend money for his education because he is handicapped, but the boy works on weekends and summer holidays so that he can stay on in school. The short documentary does not attempt to analyse or give sermons. It simply presents the story of these children and concludes with the simple message that discrimination begins at home and that this is the place where perceptions must change.
Another interesting experiment in film ? using animation ? made by children of a south Delhi resettlement colony investigates children's need to have accurate information on safe sex so that HIV/AIDS can be prevented. An 11-minute film, "A Misguided Life" begins with children watching a TV advertisement for birth control pills. When they ask their mother what the pills are for, she declines to answer. When their older brother Sumit, the main protagonist, returns from work, he also refuses to tell them until he remembers what happened when he was younger.
Sumit was also not informed about the changes his body was going through during adolescence. First his father refused to explain and then his teacher skipped the relevant chapter in the textbook. Uncomfortable with the natural sexual desires he felt, Sumit sought to satisfy them first with younger boys and then with sex workers. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The doctor told him he was lucky not to have been infected with HIV, and counselled him on safe sex practices. Sumit then decides to inform his siblings about sexual desires and safe sex so that they don't repeat his mistakes.
About 20 children from Badarpur and Sangam Vihar in south Delhi were involved in the making of "A Misguided Life", says Umesh, programme officer with Community Aids Sponsorship Programme (CASP), a local NGO which promotes awareness on children's issues and has coordinated the production of the documentary. The objective is to give children a platform to raise and discuss issues that concern them.
For Nirmala and Meenakshi, for instance, "A Misguided Life" raises relevant adolescent concerns about sex and sexuality. Meenkashi, 17, has been associated with CASP for three years and is a member of its Bal Panchayat (children's council), which discusses children's issues. Nirmala, 18, recalls her initial hesitation as people in her locality made fun of her when she went around with a camera. "But now both parents and children are concerned with the adverse effects of the media and are more open to discussing sensitive issues," she remarks.
Since its inception in 1999 by Plan India, a Delhi-based NGO, the project "Children Have Something to Say", (funded by Plan, Netherlands), has given children an opportunity to deliberate on various issues. These include education, dowry, female foeticide, traditional practices, substance abuse, trafficking, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence and sexual exploitation.
The two films were among several made by children, which were screened in Delhi recently. The project, involving over 300 children between 12 and 18 years from 13 organisations across seven states, has yielded 40 documentaries so far, says Nidhi Pundhir, project coordinator of Plan India. More importantly, the children learn that they too have a voice that should be heard and respected.
Courtesy: Women's Feature Service
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