NEWS: Students in media training workshop (PACIFIC)

In recognition of their potentials, about 20 students are attending a two-day workshop in Labasa to strengthen their participation in development.

Facilitated by the Live and Learn Environmental Education, the journalist forum is aimed at creating an advanced profile to the central role of children in the pursuit of peace, including children's roles in public education through media and formal education.

Formal education program co-ordinator Makelesi Batimala said the three-year project aimed to benefit more than 25,000 children under the age of 16 and to establish a large-scale network of 1800 schools and 2000 teachers in Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

full article

WORKSHOPS / TRAINING: Workshop motivates people (PACIFIC REGION)

MORE than 20 participants from around the Pacific were part of a one-week UNICEF OneTalk4 All workshop at Tanoa Plaza in Suva.

The aim of the workshop was to get people talking about issues concerning youths within the Pacific region and finding ways to solving those issues through the support of the media.

Participants got achance to express their concerns on violence, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), non-communicable diseases and education and how they can get youths to be more aware of the issues.

Beiateta'ake Burabura of Kiribati said she had learnt a lot during the one-week workshop and it had motivated her in creating awareness on issues such as violence, education and STIs in her country.

Ms Burabura said she would surely make a difference when returning to her country as she would present everything she had learnt through the radio station.

"We got the chance to produce radio jingles and TV production ads, which portrays the importance of education," she said.

full article in the Fiji Times

NEWS / EVENTS: Youths gather to focus on child issues

Twenty-one participants from the Pacific region have gathered in Suva to address issues related to children and youths using the media.

The workshop has been organized by UNICEF,PACMAS and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

UNICEF spokesperson, Tomas Jensen says the participants will be engaged in group activities.

“We are going to be producing between 15 and 20 radio, tv, print and social media production that are focusing on topics relevant to young people in the pacific and we are also going to try to establish partnership with the media so that young people continue to do production after the workshop."

full article

NEWS: Youth monitoring exercise to be undertaken (FIJI / PACIFIC REGION)

A youth media monitoring exercise will be undertaken from August as part of the International Year of the Youth.

The Department Youth and Sports and Fiji Media Watch this afternoon signed a memorandum of understanding to ascertain the volume and quality of media coverage given to the youth and related development issues.

full article

NEWS: Use media positively, Turaga urges youth (FIJI)

There is a need for young people to use the media wisely while at the same time, critically analyse what comes out of it.

Fiji Media Watch media monitoring co-ordinator, Fulori Turaga said educating young people was part of their advocacy program from 2010 to 2013.

This follows a presentation to students of Ahmadiyya Muslim College on Thursday.

"We've noticed schoolchildren and youths who are bombarded with what comes out of the media," she said.

"It is important to critically analyse what comes out of the media whether print, broadcast or even advertisements.

full article

NEWS / AWARDS / ONEMINUTESJR: Youth filmmakers nominated for awards

NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM, 21 October 2010 – UNICEF and the One Minutes Foundation announced last week the nominees for the 2010 Oneminutesjr. Awards. The awards will go to the best one minute video made by a youth filmmaker in the past year. The awards will be announced online at www.theoneminutesjr.org on Wednesday, November 10.

There are three categories for competition: (Self)-Portrait, Inside-Out and One Minute of Freedom.

The films nominated for (Self)-Portrait are “Mama” by Wolf Artem (Ukraine), “Dear Dad” by Carlon Knight (Antigua), “Let the Past be the Past” by Swaba Tumusiime (Uganda), “The Gap” by Chris Ndamagye (Uganda) and “Greetings from Kosovo” by Suada Jahirovic (Kosovo).

The films nominated for Inside-out are “Taim Nogut” by Louisah Enos (Papua New Guinea), “Pride” by Jesse Russell (USA), “Paper Wings” by Nargiz Zeynalova (Azerbaijan), “Welcome” by Nikita Wade (Barbados) and “I Am Alone Now” by Ruth Henry (Barbados).

The films nominated for One Minute of Freedom are “Focus” by Ryan Forde (Guyana), “Hanoi Night” by Nguyen The Ngec Hà (Vietnam), “Wailea River” by Epironi Silimanabure Tulele (Fiji), “It Happened to Me” by Melania Dikoulia (Fiji) and “On the Last Drop” by Tolib Homitov (Tajikistan).

All videos were made by filmmakers under the age of 20.

full article

FIJI: Material for children soon available

Material for children soon available
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - Taken from / By: FBC News

Award winning international standard communication material and media for young children will soon be available in the Pacific.

The United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today conducted a workshop with the theme “Media for Children in the Pacific” involving media representatives from Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

UNICEF consultant Barbara Kolucki says the workshop aims to produce communication means for children like books, newspaper spreads, and radio and television spots on topics that will help them do positive things in life.

full article

OneMinutesJr workshop in Suva, Fiji - Day Three

Fiji, 20 January 2010 - At 9 a.m. sharp, the third day of the OneMinutesJr workshop starts in Namadi Heights, a suburb of Suva, the capital of Fiji. There is a long list of videos that need to be filmed today. Planning the schedule is the first thing we need to do and therefore we group the workshop participants by film topic and locations.

Three films can be done right here at the workshop venue since we only need "neutral" backgrounds and no special locations. Also, for these films we need a lot of actors and it is necessary to keep the whole group together for this reason. The filming does not take too long and then we are off in groups.

David accompanies Naca (18) and Manoq (17) to a jail and a small village. They want to film their personal stories there, one is about juvenile justice and the other one about child abuse. At the same time, another group is taken by the second trainer to a home for disabled children and to a local hospital.

Junior (15) is wondering why he hardly ever sees disabled children in Suva. He has made some investigations and contacted a special school for disabled children. We go there and talk to the children, trying to find out how they live, what their dreams are and what they miss.

full article

OneMinutesJr workshop in Suva, Fiji - Day Two

Fiji, 19 January 2010 - On the morning of the second day of the OneMinutesJr workshop in Fiji's capital Suva, we do another round of one-on-one interviews with the participants.

The story ideas need to be finalized and transformed into concrete images. For now, these images exist on paper only as little sketches, but they will soon be turned into real moving images that will then be edited into 60-second videos.

full article

WORKSHOPS / ONEMINUTESJR: OneMinutesJr workshop in Suva, Fiji - Day One

OneMinutesJr workshop in Suva, Fiji - Day One

20 teenagers from Fiji have gathered in the UNICEF workshop room in Suva on this Monday morning to start the first OneMinutesJr workshop in the year 2010. They will work together for the next five days and create a series of 60-second films on children's rights and the issues closest to their hearts.

The workshop is officially opened by Dr. Isiye Ndombi, the UNICEF Representative in Fiji. While addressing the young people, Dr. Ndombi explains what he expects of the process: "In a way, we want you to become part of the UNICEF team. You have the right to grow up in dignity and this workshop gives you a chance to articulate your opinions on children's rights. It's a great opportunity for you to tell your stories and to open other people's eyes."

full article

NEWS: Media shapes children’s thinking (FIJI)

Media shapes children's thinking

The media has become an extremely influential factor in the way children view the world, says Minister for Education, Filipe Bole.

Speaking on World Children's Day Friday, Bole said some media mediums such as television, magazines, and movies negatively affect the younger generation.

"Fiji's media industry needs to realize that to a large extent, it shapes the way our children think and act."

He said that, according to a survey conducted by UNESCO, children watch television on an average of three hours a day.

"The impact of TV violence on aggression seems to be partly due to imitation of the aggressive actions that children see, particularly if they are done by the so-called 'good-guys. The message that our children get is that aggression works to get what you want, and that it's ok to use aggression if you are justified in doing so."

full article