AWARDS: Colombia wins international children's television prize with RCN, Citurna and UNICEF's "One Minute for my Rights"

Colombia wins international children’s television prize with RCN, Citurna and UNICEF’s “One Minute for my Rights”
Bogota, 19 December 2007 (UNICEF)

At the recent Third Ibero American Children’s Television Festival, “Prix Jeunesse”, in Santiago de Chile, Colombia won the prize for the “best new ideas” category with its project “One Minute for my Rights”, developed by UNICEF in association with RCN Television.

The festival, considered one of the most important in the children’s television market, is the Latin American version of the Prix Jeunesse International Festival taking place every two years in Munich, Germany, which since 1964 has been awarding excellence in television production and contents for children and adolescents.

Children aged 8 to 14 from four regions of Colombia – including children from impoverished parts of the city of Bogotá wrote, produced and filmed a total of 50 film-minutes, of which the RCN network currently is broadcasting 27. The film-minutes depict the reality in which the project participants live, and how their rights are promoted, discussed or violated.

UNICEF sponsored this initiative in partnership with RCN Television, to offer an opportunity for children and adolescents living in a great variety of contexts, often unknown to the majority of Colombians, to express themselves.

“If only one of the participating boys or girls stays out of the conflict, if he or she is respected in his or her integrity, if he or she is not forced to work – that’s the most valuable result of “A Minute for my Rights”. Furthermore, what we are looking for is to have an impact on Colombian society, so all the participants in this project deserve very sincere congratulations,” said Paul Martin, UNICEF Representative for Colombia.

The participants were able to see their reality from a rights-perspective and to learn, while having fun, about how to turn their ideas into video productions. RCN joined the initiative, supporting its implementation and broadcasting the videos in its “Bicho” (“Bugs”) slot as well as other programming spaces. Citurna Ltda. is the partner that coordinated the creation and production, with technical support from UNICEF.

In Chile, more than a hundred people attended the screening of the 55 television and film productions in competition at the Third Ibero American Children’s Television Festival, Prix Jeunesse 2007. More than twenty foreign TV experts travelled to Chile to deliberate and exchange ideas on programming for children and youth, and after two days of debates the winners were announced.

The awards ceremony was led by the president of the National Television Council, Jorge Navarrete Martínez, TVN Executive Director Daniel Fernández, FEDEPADRE President Alfonso Canales and Prix Jeunesse International Director Maya Goetz.

Other winners of the Ibero American Prix Jeunesse 2007:

· “Mininho Maluquinho” from Brazil, category 6 to 11 years, Fiction.
· “El Show de las Once” (“The Eleven O’clock Show”) from Mexico, category 12 to 15 years, Fiction.
· “Tonky” a Brazil-Uruguay co-production, category Up to 6 years, Fiction.

For further information

Sara Franky, sfranky@unicef.org, UNICEF Colombia