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Global meet on how media can help
children in misery
The 5th World Summit on Media for
Children (5WSMC) at Johannesburg has
300 kid delegates.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
March 27, 2007: A crucial
international gathering on media for
children is now under way in
Johannesburg, South Africa, which
began on March 24, 2007, and will
conclude on March 28.
Over 1,000 delegates from about 90
countries, including around 300
children from South Africa and
overseas, are taking part in the 5th
World Summit on Media for Children
(5WSMC) being held at the Sandton
Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The global summit – organised by the
‘Media as a Tool of Global Peace and
Democracy’ – is being coordinated by
the Children and Broadcasting
Foundation for Africa (CBFA) in
partnership with the SABC, Media
Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA),
Independent Communications Authority
of South Africa (ICASA), the
Department of Communications and
Telkom.
The vision and mission of the 5th
World Summit on Media for Children is
to have a global, interactive
conference to discuss and debate
issues relating to the children and
media in order to come out with
tangible, workable and sustainable
results, according to the organisers.
Right now, millions of children
worldwide are being victimised by
armed conflicts, hunger, refugee
crisis, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence,
rape, natural disasters, forced and
arranged marriages, female
circumcision, forced labour, teenage
pregnancy, lack of education
opportunities, violent crime, child
pornography, juvenile delinquency, and
illiteracy.
Many observers at the summit stressed
that the gathering must provide solid
guidelines and comprehensive policies
for the global media – seen by society
at large as “watchdog” – as to how to
deal best with the burning issues
affecting children.
Many independent organisations like
the Media Monitoring Project (MMP)
continue to accuse certain sections of
local media of being ruthless, too
sensational and acting irresponsibly
when covering issues related to
children.
The MMP, while admitting that covering
children is inherently tricky, says
that follow-ups on stories on children
are rare. Experiences of children are
often sidelined in the stories, with
only facts and figures being
presented.
According to the MMP, this kind of
reporting does not benefit the
children. It not only serves to
marginalise their value and further
victimise them but also ultimately
violates their rights.
There are great expectations at the
5th WSMC in view of the participation
of leading countries, which are hoped
to put forward effective and
sustainable media strategies for the
benefit of children.
The goals and objectives of the 5th
WSMC are in line with the objectives
of the World Summit Foundation on
Media for Children, the United Nations
Millennium Declaration and the
priorities outlined in the Millennium
Development Goals, and the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The World Summit on Media for
Children, held every three years in
different regions of the world, began
in 1995. The first assembly took place
in Australia, then in the United
Kingdom, Greece and Brazil.
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