ARTICLES / PROJECTS: Armenia-Azerbaijan: Young Bloggers Bridge Geopolitical Divides

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Young Bloggers Bridge Geopolitical Divides

Nearly 15 years after a ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, a lasting peace remains elusive and few citizens of either country have the opportunity to meet or communicate with the other. That might all be set to change, however, with DOTCOM, a project funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by Project Harmony.

Bringing together 90 American, Armenian and Azerbaijani children aged 14-16, participants will use online tools such as blogs to “create socially conscious media that will impact communities across the U.S. and the Caucasus.” Global Voices Online briefly spoke to DOTCOM Program Director Elizabeth Metraux earlier today.

    "The hope for students in DOTCOM is that they’ll acquire the skills and confidence to engage in meaningful discourse about subjects that matter. Students have a lot to say about conflict and poverty and human rights and education. DOTCOM is designed to teach students how to use social media to inspire change on those critical issues."

With negative stereotypes of the other perpetuated by the national media in both countries, the task won’t be easy, but blogs by some of the children are already starting to appear online. Even if separated by closed borders and ceasefire lines, the children will at least be able to glimpse into each other’s lives albeit on the Internet until 10 of the children from each country will meet in the United States in July.

The blogs have only just been set up and the number of posts are presently at a minimum, but Global Voices Online wishes the project success and hopes to produce regular roundups of content as more entries appear. Meanwhile, although there might be many obstacles to overcome and some which might even prove insurmountable, 15-year-old Edita from Armenia offers a glimmer of hope.

    "Through DotCom, I would like to see a new project developed where we can discover the cross cultures and lifestyles of Americans and Azerbaijanis for Armenian young people. It gives an opportunity of cultural unification."

The full post where comments can be left is available on Global Voices Online.

Source

EVENTS / FESTIVALS: Expressions New Media Youth Festival calling for submissions

Expressions New Media Youth Festival calling for submissions

Calling all film buffs, animators and game designers!

If you are under 19 years of age and living in Nova Scotia, you are invited to submit your creative works to the second annual Expressions New Media Youth Festival taking place February 21 in Bridgewater.

Expressions is now accepting submissions of original work in the categories of film/video, animation and video games. All the work submitted will be viewed by youth juries and will be eligible to win fantastic prizes including cash, games, pool passes, gift cards and other goodies.

Films and animations can be fact or fiction in any genre - action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery or romance. All types of video games - arcade, platform, puzzle, racing, role-playing, shooter or strategy - are welcome. Entries will be screened at Empire Theatres Bridgewater and prize winners will be announced at the closing gala at the end of the day. The festival promises to be a great celebration of learning, creativity and high-tech fun with afternoon workshops at Artech Studios, so get your projects submitted before the January 31 deadline. For information on how to submit projects and to view highlights from last year's festival, visit the Expressions website at www.youthmediaexpressions.com, e-mail info@youthmediaexpressions.com or contact festival director Ronnie Scullion at Artech Studios, 530-3177, in Bridgewater or toll-free 1-877-530-3177.

full article

Al Jazeera launches pre-school children’s channel

Al Jazeera launches pre-school children's channel

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) recently launched Baraem Channel - the first Arabic pre-school channel.

The new channel broadcasts 17 hours a day from its headquarters in Education City, Qatar, on Arabsat, Nilesat and Hotbird and is available to viewers for free, targeting children ages 3 to 6.

The channel will also feature a new line-up of interactive game shows, talk shows, short documentaries and live programs.

For more information, click here.

Source

NEWS: Children And Women First At NFI (NORWAY)

Children And Women First At NFI

23.01.2009

At last week's annual Film Policy meeting in Tromsö, Nina Refseth, (photo) head of the Norwegian Film Institute said that her priorities for 2009 would be to stimulate the production of children and youth film and women representation in key film positions.
Nina Refseth - CEO of Norwegian Film Institute

2008 will be remembered as a record year for Norwegian films with a 22.5% domestic market share and two local titles among the five top grossing films: Max Manus and Kautokeino Rebellion. However among the 24 films released, only two were children and youth films: SOS, Summer of Suspense and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond supported Kurt Turns Evil. Those two titles didn't make it in the Top 20 whereas in 2007, four children and youth films were in the 20 biggest grosser and accounted for 33% of all audiences.

This year, four films for children will be released. The franchise film Olsenbanden jr og det sorte gullet (The Junior Olsen Gang and the Black Gold) produced by Nordisk Film will open on January 30, but Norwegian kids will have to wait until the end of 2009 to see the 3D animation Pelle politibil går i vannet (Neofilm), and the two literary adaptations Julenatt i Blåfjell (Storm Rosenberg AS) and Knerten (Paradox Film).

"It's time to bring in new thinking in children's film," said Refseth.

full article

OPPORTUNITIES / AWARDS: Youth Film for Change Award: Deadline Extended to January 30

Youth Film for Change Award: Deadline Extended to January 30

The San Francisco Film Society is pleased to announce the inauguration of an additional Golden Gate Award for Youth Works -- the Youth Film for Change Award. This new award which carries a cash prize of $1,500 was created in partnership with Adobe Youth Voices, Adobe Foundation's global youth media initiative.

Films selected for the Youth Film for Change Award will be screened at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23 - May 7, 2009) in the Youth Works program and listed in the Festival Program Guide, which is circulated worldwide to distributors, film commissions, educators and the media.

The Youth Film for Change Award will be presented to the best youth produced film addressing issues of social change.

The deadline to submit your film has been extended to January 30, 2009.

For more information (including submission requirements) and to submit your film, please visit http://www.sffs.org/sfiff/enter.html
Starts    01/30/2009
Ends    04/30/2009
Issues    Criminal Justice, Economic Justice, Family & Society, Gay/Lesbian, Gender/Women, Human Rights, Immigration, International, Media, Politics/Government, Racial Justice, Religious Freedom, Youth, Body Image, Equal Opportunities, Sexual Harrassment, Violence against women, Africa, Asia, Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific, Canada, Central America, Europe, Middle East, South America, U.S./Foreign Relations, Arms and gun control, Legal Reform, Peace/War, Voting/Elections, Educational reform, Gangs, Identity, Teen Pregnancy, Youth Drug Abuse
Homepage    www.sffs.org
Contact    gga@sffs.org

Source

PROJECTS / RADIO: Radio project gives a voice to indigenous children in Mexico

Radio project gives a voice to indigenous children in Mexico

TENANGO, Mexico, 21 January 2008 – When a 2006 teachers' strike in the State of Oaxaca caused students to miss school for several months, UNICEF and its education partner, Ciesas, saw an opportunity to help children in the poorest and most vulnerable communities. The resulting project gave these children their own radio programme and, more important, a voice.

In four cities and towns, including the remote village of Tenango, UNICEF and Ciesas gave children access to all the training and equipment necessary to record their own programmes. Because of Oaxaca's high concentration of indigenous people, children were encouraged to use their native languages, something that would have been unimaginable just a few years before.

full article & video

OPPORTUNITIES / AWARDS: World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC)

World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC)

The World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC) is awarded to three individuals or organisations for outstanding contributions on behalf of the rights of the child. The election of finalists is structured as a worldwide educational and empowerment process for the rights of the child and democracy and gives the world’s children an opportunity to present the prizes that are awarded for outstanding contributions on behalf of the rights of the child.


Through the World’s Children’s Prize the children have the opportunity to learn about and demand respect for their rights, meet role models fighting for these rights, and take part in the Global Vote. The prize sums are used in support of economically disadvantaged children. Nearly 50,000 schools with 21.5 million students in 94 countries are registered as Global Friend schools of the WCPRC, including millions of students from the vulnerable situations. Students at these schools are entitled to vote in the "Global Vote" - an election to decide the recipient of one of the prizes: the Global Friends' Award. In the Global Vote 2008 6.6 million children voted.

The other major prize, the World's Children's Prize, is awarded by an international Children's Jury. The children on the jury are selected as experts in the field of children's rights through their own first-hand experiences as child soldiers, slaves, and refugees.

Three finalist candidates are put forward each year. The World's Children's Honorary Award goes to the finalist who does not receive either the Global Friends' Award or World's Children's Prize. All three prize laureates receive part of the prize money to use for their work on behalf of the rights of the child.

WCPRC was founded by Swedish organisation Children's World, but is open to all schools and organisations in the world. There are more than 500 Adult Friend organisations in some 40 countries, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), departments of education. and media projects supporting the WCPRC. Adults (organisations, companies, and individuals) may support WCPRC as Adult Friends and may also nominate prize candidates.

The deadline for nominations for the 2010 prize is March 1 2009.
Application Information

People (children and adults) or organisations can be nominated for WCPRC. Self-nominations will not be accepted. All Global Friends and Adult Friends may submit nominations. All children under 18 whose school becomes a Global Friend can take part in the global vote for the Global Friends' Award. Click here for more information about becoming a Global Friend.

World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child

Box 150
Mariefred
SE-647 24
Sweden
Tel: 46 159 129 00
Fax: 46 159 108 60
WCPRC website
prize@childrensworld.org

source

ARTICLES / RADIO / PROJECTS: SWAZILAND: Radio powered by children

 SWAZILAND: Radio powered by children

MBABANE, 16 January 2009 (IRIN) - People are calling Swaziland's first children's radio programme "Ses'khona", which literally means, "We're here", but in the SiSwati language it implies the arrival of a group that intends to stay and be heard.

Beginning in February, Swazi children will be able to tune in to hear their contemporaries report the news, entertain them and discuss issues that matter to pre-adult listeners.

"This is peer-to-peer communications in its purest form. We were looking to support meaningful child participation in programmes involving children," said Nonhlanhla Hleta-Nkambule, communications officer at the Swaziland office of the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF.

The programme is an outgrowth of "Super Buddies", a children's magazine launched in 2003 with UNICEF backing, which uses child actors in photo stories to address child welfare issues. Like the new radio programme, Super Buddies is written and, in some instances, photographed by children.

The magazine is the country's only publication aimed at children and has spawned a string of clubs where activities are carried out and discussions held on topics such as HIV/AIDS, teenage sex and pregnancy, peer pressure, bullying, education, abuse, family problems, friendship, poverty and love, which will also feature in the radio show.

full article

NEWS / ARTICLES: London young people to hold litter-picking flash mob (UK)

London young people to hold litter-picking flash mob

Children & Young People Now
16 January 2009

Young people from east London are planning to combat negative stereotypes with a litter-picking flash mob.

The 11- to 20-year-olds, some of whom are part of LifeLine Youth Consultancy, which gives youth workers advice on engaging young people, will wear high-visibility vests at the Switch ID event in Dagenham on 31 January. They will pick up litter, distribute leaflets for a local youth club and survey local residents on potential improvements to the area, supported by local youth workers.

A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The young people are promoting the event through word-of-mouth and social networking sites.

full article

video

OPPORTUNITIES: Stranger is looking for a new intern

Stranger is looking for a new intern

The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) would like to invite a student of cultural, communications or media studies to join our team as an intern for three days a week for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 9 months, starting 16 February 2009 (starting date is negotianable). "StrangerFestival is Europe's biggest event for young video makers and their fans. StrangerFestival empowers young people in Europe to explore themselves and others through making and sharing videos. The highlight is the international festival in Amsterdam gathering over 300 foreign video makers and media professionals together with a large Dutch audience." The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) would like to invite a student of cultural, communications or media studies to join our team as an intern for three days a week for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 9 months, starting 16 February 2009 (starting date is negotianable). Applicants must be registered students in a higher education institution throughout the course of the internship. Studies of an international character or international experience are seen as an asset. Important: the intern must have a valid work permit for the Netherlands, according to Dutch Labour Law. The European Cultural Foundation (ECF, www.eurocult.org) is an independent foundation supporting cultural cooperation and advocating strong cultural policies for Europe. The ECF believes in the enriching experience of diversity, and in the power of culture to promote mutual understanding and respect. The ECF was founded in 1954 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The internship will take place in Amsterdam, within the StrangerFestival team at the ECF. StrangerFestival builds on the ECF´s 6-year experience from the international youth video project TheOneMinutesJr www.theoneminutesjr.org. StrangerFestival believes in young people's democratic rights for self-expression now - not only as citizens of tomorrow. Videos made by young people have a groundbreaking potential to show unique worlds and views and therefore build a more exciting image of Europe today. As more and more young people gain affordable access to the Internet, strangers are only a click away. For more information: http://www.strangerfestival.com Internship As an intern, you will be involved in helping to develop and coordinate the StrangerFestival. After the first edition the project focuses on consolidating existing partnerships, integrating the analyzed results and building new partnerships, the touring exhibition and the focus group. At the end of February the educational DVD of the StrangerFestival will be released (10.000 copies) and being distributed to partners, school and other professionals in the field of media and audiovisual work. The internship offers the potential to acquire new insights into the world of the media and skills for working in an international and intercultural setting. The internship involves the following working areas: a. Gaining experience from producing events (video workshops, Stranger Festival) b. Assisting in the daily coordination of the StrangerFestival c. Mapping of European youth and media organisations and platforms which ECF could work with and creating a database of contacts d. Assisting in the communications of StrangerFestival and theoneminutesjr e. Participating in ECF's activities related to developing the youth and media programme The internship also includes research on a topic related to youth expression. The intern will receive a gross fee of 375 Euros per month, based on 3 days per week, from which the internship provider will pay the social security premiums and wage tax and national insurance contributions that are due .The intern will ensure that he/she is covered by third-party and health insurance during the internship. Profile of the intern We are looking for an intern who: - is interested in and has first-hand experience of youth and popular cultures - is fluent in English and at least one other language - has good and proven communication and organisational skills - has a genuine interest in cultural diversity and Europe - is computer-literate (Word, Excel, Power Point, preferably experience with CMS and HTML) Application procedure Applicants should send a CV and cover letter (in English) before 31 January 2009 via e-mail or mail to: StrangerFestival Raya Ribbius raya@eurocult.org. Jan van Goyenkade 5 1075 HN Amsterdam The Netherlands The letter should explain your motivation for applying for the internship. The interviews will take place during the first two weeks of February in Amsterdam. For further information, please contact Ms Raya Ribbius raya@eurocult.org or Giusy Chierchia giusy@eurocult.org NB: living in Amsterdam is expensive and accommodation can be hard to find. Please consider this when applying.

PHOTO / WORKSHOPS: ‘Framing Our World’ workshop trains young photographers in Uzbekistan

'Framing Our World' workshop trains young photographers in Uzbekistan

This story is adapted from a report by workshop participant Nastya Kakaladze.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 8 January 2009 – Fifteen Uzbek children recently studied the elements of photography with renowned photographer Giacomo Pirozzi through a workshop called 'Framing Our World', sponsored by UNICEF and the Uzbekistan Ministry of Public Education.

The five-day session encouraged the students to see their home city of Tashkent differently than they ever had before: through the lens of a camera. The children – several of whom were orphans – were selected by their peers to participate in the workshop because they had the skills to share their newfound knowledge with classmates when they returned to school.

A variety of themes

Students in the workshop helped cover three different photographic themes: family, tradition and culture; orphans and disabled children; and nature and the environment. Instructional classes were followed by practical sessions in which small groups set out to explore and record these themes. Children visited schools, families, an orphanage, and a neighbourhood in the old city of Tashkent.

One of the participants, Saidazim Fazilov, 16, called the workshop "an adventure."

full article

RADIO / PROJECTS: Youth radio initiative spreads health messages in Lao People's Democratic Republic

Youth radio initiative spreads health messages in Lao People's Democratic Republic

LUANG PRABANG, Lao People's Democratic Republic, 16 January 2009 – The thought of going live on the air might be a daunting one to most people, but not for 18-year-old Pany Vilaychith. Despite her youth, she is the lead presenter on 'Smile of Hope', a weekly broadcast from a radio station covering Luang Prabang province, a mountainous area of northern Lao People's Democratic Republic.

The programme is part of a four-year-old initiative run by Laos National Radio with backing from UNICEF, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

“I’ve been involved with the radio project for four years now,” Pany explains, taking a break from recording in the station’s small studio. “What I like about it most is that it gives me the chance to share information on lots of different issues with young people like myself.”

full article & audio

NEWS: MTV Arabia will Carry the Message of Hope and Caring for People with Special Needs

MTV Arabia will Carry the Message of Hope and Caring for People with Special Needs

Dubai: 15 January, 2009 - MTV Arabia, the leading Pan Arab youth entertainment channel, today announced it will be the official media sponsor for Al Amal Camp-19 (Camp Hope) for children with special needs, organized by Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) under the patronage of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

To be held from 18-25 January under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Jamila Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, the camp will include entertainment, cultural and art activities that aim to develop the potential of children.

MTV Arabia will film the events and interact with the children as volunteers, since they have been key to the camp's success. Volunteerism has also become an integral part of Sharjah's cultural and recreational activities.

Her Highness Sheikha Jamila Al Qasimi, President of the Organization of the 19th Camp Hope, said: "MTV Arabia's alliance with Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services demonstrates its depth of commitment to social responsibility initiatives. We are confident that the presence of the MTV Arabia team will act as an incentive to attract the youth to offer their voluntary services, while motivating the participants to demonstrate their potential."

full article

ARTICLES / RESEARCH / INTERNET: Internet threat to minors overblown, study suggests

Internet threat to minors overblown, study suggests

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Worries that the Internet and social networking services like MySpace pose a threat to child safety may be overblown, a report by industry, academics and technology experts suggests.

The report, which will be released on Wednesday, suggests that the biggest threats to children's safety online may come from other children, and that their own behavior could contribute to the trouble they encounter.

"Minors are not equally at risk online," the report said. "Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives."
It is the product of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, created last February by 49 state attorneys general to address what many of them said was the growing problem of sexual predators soliciting children online.

"The risks minors face online are complex and multifaceted and are in most cases not significantly different than those they face offline, and ... as they get older, minors themselves contribute to some of the problems," the study said.

full article

Berkman Center for Internet & Society website

PHOTOGRAPHY / GRANTS: Photography grants will go toward works on social justice

Photography grants will go toward works on social justice

Posted on: 08/01/2009 Basic Journalism, Fellowships and Awards, Human Rights, Photojournalism Deadline: 20/03/2009 Country: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

The New York-based Open Society Institute recently announced a grant and training opportunity for documentary photographers from Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Mongolia and Pakistan. Deadline: March 20, 2009.

About 20 selected photographers will receive US$3,500 to produce works on human rights or social justice issues in their region.

Grantees will also be assigned an internationally recognized photographer as a mentor to work with in workshops at the beginning and end of the grant and throughout the grant term. The five day workshops, to be held in Central Asia and the Caucasus, will cover professional basics and examine options for the continuation of the participant's photo project.

All expenses are paid by the Open Society Institute. For more information (in English and Russian), click here.

source

RADIO / PROJECTS: Community radio brings out hidden talent of village women, men (INDIA)

Community radio brings out hidden talent of village women, men

Lucknow, Jan 12 (IANS) For Sunita Chandel looking after her family was a full time job - till she discovered the joys of being a radio reporter. The housewife from a village in Uttar Pradesh now records and edits programmes for the community radio and has encouraged other women to follow suit.

“It is difficult for me to believe that as a daughter-in-law of the village, I am actually recording programmes, doing editing and in fact solving issues of women,” said Sunita, a radio reporter of Alapur village of Lalitpur district, about 350 km from here.

“I am both happy and proud today that I have succeeded in becoming a community reporter,” she said.

Lalit Lokvani, the community radio, is a joint initiative of a Sai Jyoti Gramudyog Seva Sansthan, an NGO working in the rural areas, and UNICEF.

“If it is difficult to step out of the home for a daughter-in-law, believe me, it is even more difficult for a daughter, but I held my ground and today I have set an example for the village girls,” said Varsha, a young community reporter.

Sunita and Varsha were speaking at an interface with reporters here and both had stepped out of Lalitpur for the first time.

full article

Workshop - Theatre for Development as Cultural Action

Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2009: Six-day Residential Workshop – Theatre for Development as Cultural Action

 

 

Dear Friends

 

Seasons' Greetings!

 

Its time once again for our annual workshop – "Theatre for Development as Cultural Action".

 

Even as we plan, we look back at our journey of having engaged in theatre-based activities with groups and communities… It was in 1996, that the coming together of a youth theatre group resulted in Chhi! – a one-act play in Hindi on the issue of solid waste management. A two-year long process and over 50 performances later, media matters formally came into being.

 

In 2009, theatre continues to be one of our core areas of intervention – trainings, workshops, working with groups and communities, performances, post-performance discussions… The performing media initiative of media matters now has a repertoire of plays being performed by its youth theatre groups.

 

Consolidating these experiences, we organize our annual six-day residential workshops – an opportunity to interact and work with both, 'development actors' and 'theatre activists'.

 

Our previous workshops have been attended by participants representing CBOs, NGOs, government departments, theatre groups and educational institutions from across states – Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The age-group of the participants ranged from 12 to 52 years. The issues deliberated upon include rights of women, children and young people; eradication of leprosy and TB, HIV & AIDS, disability, commercial sexual exploitation, water and sanitation, gender and life skills.

 

This year too, we eagerly look forward to yet another opportunity for sharing of experiences, demonstrating as well as exploring the scope and possibilities of theatre – in engaging, enabling and empowering groups and communities. Performances by groups practicing participatory theatre will add value to the learning process.

 

We look forward to participation from your organization and partners.

 

Please find below details of the workshop. For registration or any further queries, please feel free to contact us at info@mmindia.org or 91-251-2606929.

 

Warm regards

 

Seema Kurup

9881261094

 

 

*  *  *

Theatre for Development as Cultural Action

 

Dates

February 26 – March 3, 2009

 

Duration

Six-day Residential Workshop.

The lodging & boarding facilities at the venue will be available from Feb 25 (evening) to Mar 3 (evening).

 

Venue

Environment Education Centre, Talegaon (near Lonavla), Maharashtra

 

Objective

By the end of the workshop, the participants will have explored, experimented and practiced facilitating participatory theatre processes.

 

Methodology

The effort will be towards creating a participant-centred environment for experiential learning. The facilitation will explore a wide range of participatory tools and methods to encourage learning from each other.

 

Language

Hindi and English will be the working language of the workshop. However, participants will be encouraged to interact/work in their regional languages.

 

Participants

The workshop is open to any person from CBOs, NGOs, government departments, theatre groups and educational institutions. The workshop will most benefit participants who have a background of working on community empowerment issues, with an interest/experience in exploring participatory theatre. Young people below 18 years of age will have to be accompanied by a chaperon.

 

Facilitating Team

·        Prabir Bose works in the area of development communication. He has over 20 years of theatre-related experience – training and facilitating processes with groups and communities across states. He also is a visiting faculty for theatre at the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, TISS, Mumbai since the last 10 years.

·        Seema Kurup has an experience of over 10 years of work in community projects and development communication processes on issues related to gender, women's empowerment, reproductive health & rights, youth for development, adolescent life skills and child rights. She is involved in capacity building processes - facilitating "participatory communication & action" with groups.

 

Participation fees

Rs.7,000/-

(Please note that the participation fee includes lodging, boarding, facilitation and workshop resources. Participants will have to make their own travel arrangements.)

 

Registration

To confirm your participation, please send the registration form/s (together with a demand draft favouring "media matters" payable at Ambernath or Mumbai) latest by February 6, 2009.

 

Organized & Facilitated by

media matters

 

--
media matters
400 Sai Section, Ambernath 421501, Maharashtra, India
Tel. 91-251-2606929
Email: info@mmindia.org
Website: www.mmindia.org

FESTIVALS: The BuSho Film Festival (HUNGARY)

The BuSho Film Festival

The festival was established in 2004 by a group of young Hungarian filmmakers in order to fill a gap in the category of short film, but during the years it became clear that it was about much more. The name "BuSho" has come from a pun (Budapest Short - budapesti rövid), but it refers to a traditional popular custom of winter-send-of from Southern Hungary called "busójárás". The festival became an international breakthrough in an exceptionally short period of time: we got 620 individual entries from 61 countries in 2008. Nearby the competition and informational program we have plenty of festival screenings, selections of filmuniversities, feature films, film-, and all-art workshops in the program.

Website

OPPORTUNITIES: Dosta! campaign in schools (UKRAINE, MOLDOVA)

The Dosta! campaign is inviting schools from Ukraine and Moldova to participate in a competition called “music against stereotypes” : set your mind in motion and make a creative song (music & lyrics) breaking down stereotypes and prejudices against Roma.

 

The School Music competition aims to promote successful songs, by giving visibility to the work of the selected participants through the Dosta! campaign website.

 

A jury composed of Council of Europe/European Commission and Roma experts in the field will select the best songs. Contributions will be judged according to their creativity and originality, as well as their capacity to convey the Dosta! campaign messages.

 

Eligibility

The competition is open to all schools in Moldova and Ukraine.

 

Awards

The jury will award the two best songs. The winners will be invited to a Festival “Youth and Art against prejudices” to take place before the summer.

The two best selected songs will be given a prize. The selected schools will be invited to record the song for being published on the website as one of the campaigning tools.

 

Song Requirements

Submitted songs should fulfil the following criteria:

·     Songs lyrics should convey a message of tolerance towards Roma and promote the main Dosta! Campaign messages: Go beyond prejudices, discover the Roma!

·     Songs must be submitted digitally either by post on CD-ROM or by e-mail;

·     Text of songs shall be submitted on separate word document

·     No copyrighted material may be used

·     School representatives must attach a written guarantee that use by the Council of Europe of the submitted songs will not infringe the rights of third parties (including the parties depicted).

                                                                          

Postal Entries

CD-ROMs should include Schools full name and contact details on the cover and be sent to the following address :

 

Council of Europe

School Competition – Mrs Isabelle Hofstetter

Agora Building, A3.33C

1 quai Jacoutot Strasbourg
F - 67075 STRASBOURG Cedex France

e-mail: Isabelle.hofstetter@coe.int

 

                                                                                                                                

Copyright

The Council of Europe has the right to use, reproduce, represent, publish, adapt, translate and distribute – or to have used, reproduced, represented, published, adapted, translated and distributed - in any country, in any language, in any form and on any kind of support, including on a CD-ROM or the internet, the deliverables, or any part thereof, submitted under the competition.

 

Closing Date

Songs must be sent to the Council of Europe not later than 20^th March 2009.

ARTICLES / RESEARCH: Young 'resent negative images' (UK)

Young 'resent negative images'

Teenagers are annoyed by negative stereotyping, says survey

Young people are complaining about a diet of negative news media stories about them in a research project from the National Children's Bureau.

The survey of young people's attitudes claimed that the media had a highly skewed view of their experiences.

They felt they were usually depicted in terms of crime, sex and drugs - with the only positive images coming from exceptional cases such as sports stars.

An overwhelming majority thought that young people were depicted negatively.

full article

ARTICLES: Columbia University and UNICEF awarded top honour in USAID innovation competition

Columbia University and UNICEF awarded top honour in USAID innovation competition

WASHINGTON, DC, 8 January 2009 – Columbia University and UNICEF received the first-place award in the ‘Development 2.0 Challenge’ of the US Agency for International Development. The award was for an innovative system designed to monitor children's health and nutritional status in Malawi.

“This is a perfect example of UNICEF’s vision of convening the world’s experts in acadaemia, private sector and civil society to leverage their knowledge and create solutions which help achieve lasting results for children,” said UNICEF’s Director of Communication Dr. Sharad Sapra.

Six graduate students from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs will work closely with teams from UNICEF to finalize an open-source, ‘RapidSMS’ system, which uses basic mobile phones and text messages to collect information from health workers and improve the speed and quality of data collection.

This data will empower the Government of Malawi, UNICEF and other partners to map and track child malnutrition trends accurately and in real time. The tool will provide a critical means of intervention into rapidly unfolding food and nutrition crises.

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NEWS / MOBILE PHONES / RESEARCH: Portugal: Mobile Phones in Schools

Portugal: Mobile Phones in Schools

At the end of the second quarter of 2008, there were 14.3 million Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) subscribers in Portugal. This is a nearly five percent increase in the total number of subscribers compared to the previous quarter and an increase of more than fifteen percent compared to the same quarter the previous year. Over 1.83 billion calls were made, and the average number of messages sent per subscriber reached 137 per month - an average of over four messages per day.

With these impressive numbers, the Portuguese lead the European countries. The mobile phone penetration rate recorded in Portugal, which is 128.8 per 100 inhabitants, remains significantly above the EU average (114.4 per 100 inhabitants).
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“Our lives are increasingly performed within a mobile context”, comments Carla Ganito, who lectures Digital Communication and Marketing at the Human Sciences Faculty of the Portuguese Catholic University. “There is unanimity regarding the profound impact of mobile communications in the way we live, interact with others and see the world. We live by the mobile phone and construct meaning through it. Education is no exception. Mobile phones are part of the life of societies on five continents and, despite their cultural differences, the populations seem to converge on a common set of practices, concerns and negotiations of time, space and identity concerning the use of mobile communications.”

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ARTICLES: Libraries use video games to attract teens

Libraries use video games to attract teens

By Aaron Sudholt
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 3:12 AM CST

On a cold afternoon Dec. 30, Cole Haggard, 14, of Troy and his friend Mark Kaman, 13, of Glen Carbon were at the Glen Carbon Public Library.

But they weren't reading books, they were playing video games - and in the age of the Internet and big-box book retailers, that's exactly what the library wants them and other teenagers to do.

"The library is a community center," Library Youth Services Director Maggi Henderson said. "If we don't teach them to come here they'll forget about the library and do their research someplace else."

Every Wednesday, the library provides video games to any patron who wants to play them, young or old. It's part of an effort to bring in as many new patrons as possible.

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NEWS / RADIO: Fun Radio rebranded as Fun Kids

Fun Radio rebranded as Fun Kids
 
Indiantelevision.com Team
(2 January 2009 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Folder Media has renamed children's digital radio station Fun Radio to Fun Kids as a part of its rebranding process. It has also launched a new website, www.funkidslive.com, with an aim to expand the station’s brand awareness.

Earlier owned by GCap Media, Folder Media bought the three-year-old station in September 2008.

Fun Kids, which targets children under 10, is available on digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio in London. It is also available on digital TV and online across UK.

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OPPORTUNITIES / RADIO: Contest to award five students spots in Moscow journalism program

Contest to award five students spots in Moscow journalism program

Posted on: 26/12/2008 Fellowships and Awards, Young Journalists Deadline: 20/02/2009 Country: Russia

Five secondary school students will be selected to enter Moscow State University (MSU) as journalism students through a contest organized by the newspaper Rossijskaya gazeta, Radio Rossii, and the journalism faculty of the Moscow State University (MSU). Those selected will be exempt from entrance exams. Deadline for entries: February 20, 2009.

Students that finish their studies in 2009 are invited to apply. Interested applicants must write a story on one of five proposed themes as well as a bio.

Selected participants will be invited to attend a live radio program at Radio Rossii station. Five winners will be announced in April 2009, when they will be accepted as journalism students of MSU.

For application information (in Russian) visit http://www.rg.ru/, http://www.radiorus.ru/ or http://www.journ.msu.ru/. Works (in Russian) are to be sent to mgu@radiorus.ru.

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NEWS: New TV channel to launch in Cambodia

New TV channel to launch in Cambodia

A new television station is due to launch in Cambodia on 9 January.

MYTV is a commercial free-to-air TV channel aimed primarily at Cambodia's youth market. Programming will consist of reality TV formats as well as music programmes, local 'teen' dramas and educational documentaries.

The channel is owned by joint venture partners mobile phone operator Millicom and Cambodia's Royal Group of Companies who already own and operate the Cambodian Television Network (CTN) channel.

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EVENTS: 2009 is the European year of creativity and innovation.

2009 is the European year of creativity and innovation.

Each year, the EU chooses a theme for a campaign to draw attention to a specific issue. 2009 will be devoted to creativity and innovation. During the year, hundreds of conferences, projects and exhibitions will take place across Europe, all intended to raise awareness of the need for imaginative solutions to today’s challenges.

The EU has long recognised creative thinking as key to success in a global economy. Innovation is an essential part of both the commission’s climate change package and its plan to revive the EU economy, now suffering its worst downturn in decades.

Although the year of creativity and innovation officially begins on 7 January with a conference and gala in Prague, there has already been one event – a concert performed on instruments made of fresh vegetables! Later in the year, Brussels will host a series of debates on how to encourage bold new ideas and how society can benefit more from them.

The world today thrives on rapid innovation. As the EU moves to a knowledge-based economy, it must develop its potential for creativity. In particular, Europeans must learn to embrace change and be receptive to different strategies.

Teachers have a critical – and difficult – role. Increasingly they will have to balance traditional education requirements with the need to give young people “soft” skills like a sense of initiative, according to education commissioner Ján Figeľ.

The campaign will help shape the EU’s agenda for cooperation between its member countries on education and culture. It will also feed into policy in other areas, like business and employment.

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EVENTS: SIGNIS Board Meeting Celebrates 80th Anniversary and Announces World Congress in 2009

SIGNIS Board Meeting Celebrates 80th Anniversary and Announces World Congress in 2009

Rome, November 28, 2008 (SIGNIS) - SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, announced this week the dates of the next SIGNIS World Congress to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from October 17 to 21, 2009, with the theme "Media for a Culture of Peace: Children’s Rights, Tomorrow’s Promise." Meeting in Rome, the SIGNIS-World Board of Trustees also celebrated the 80th anniversary of the association by confirming its mission in the new communication era and refreshed its management team with the appointment of a new Secretary General.

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EVENTS: 2010: European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

2010: European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

The European Year demonstrates the European Commission’s dedication to fighting against poverty.  It will focus on four main objectives:

• Recognition means recognising the right of people in a situation of poverty and social exclusion to live in dignity and to play a full part in society

• Ownership implies increasing public ownership of social inclusion policies, emphasising everyone’s responsibility in tackling poverty and marginalisation

• Cohesion spells out our vision for Europe: a more cohesive society is one where no one doubts that everyone will benefit from the eradication of poverty

• Commitment: we can only eradicate poverty as a result of a substantial and consistent effort that involves all levels of governance, at EU and national level

For more information email 2010againstpoverty@ec.europa.eu