NEWS: Liberia: Children's Voices Should Be Heard

UNMIL Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Moustapha Soumaré has encouraged Liberian children to keep having their voices heard, "The International Children's Day of Broadcasting is a day when people around the world "tune in to kids" to hear what they have to say and on this 'Day', in Liberia, we gathered here to listen to you", Mr. Soumaré said.

The UNMIL Acting SRSG made these remarks on Sunday 4 March when he spoke with children participating in this year's International Children Day of Broadcasting-ICDB 2012 at UNMIL Radio in Monrovia. The day was held under the theme "Our Voices Must Be Heard" and brought together more than fifty children from schools and communities around the county.

In an extemporaneous delivery, which focused on the importance of children in the building of a nation, Mr. Soumaré noted "Children, some of you are young adults, you make up a large part of the population around the globe; you are the future of this nation, your "voices" are the "voices" of the future; you "must be heard", closing with "We "tuned in to kids" today and we are listening!"

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OPPORTUNITIES: Red Cross sponsors competition for young journalists

Young reporters interested in covering armed conflict and humanitarian action are invited to enter a competition sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The deadline is October 1.

The four selected candidates will have the opportunity to attend a one-week ICRC delegation in Georgia, Lebanon, Liberia or the Philippines. The mission will take place January or February 2011, and the candidates will present their resulting news reports in Geneva, Switzerland on May 8.

Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25 and have demonstrated volunteer work in a humanitarian field. Candidates will be evaluated through a communications project, which can be submitted in English or French.

For more information, click here.

NEWS / RADIO: Liberian youths report on injustices of education system in Liberia

Liberian youths report on injustices of education system in Liberia

In the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – a landmark international agreement on the basic human rights of all children – UNICEF is featuring a series of stories about progress made and challenges that remain. Here is one of those stories.

MONROVIA, Liberia, 11 January 2010 – As Liberia slowly recovers from a 14-year-long civil war, its educational system retains some of the lawlessness that reigned during the conflict.

AUDIO: Listen now

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NEWS / PROJECTS: UNICEF Radio Digital Diaries: Motorbikes in Monrovia (AFRICA)

MONROVIA, Liberia, 10 December 2009 – "Everywhere you go in Liberia, you will see motorbikes,” says Josephine Zogbaye, 18. “Many people don’t have access to cars, so anytime I’m going somewhere, I take a motorbike to avoid long distance walks so I won’t be late.”

As useful as motorbikes are in Liberia, however, there are downsides.

“Motorcyclists in Liberia don’t drive with care,” Josephine says. “If you’re not careful, they will damage your life.”

Monrovia radio workshop

In August, Josephine was one of the participants in a week-long radio production workshop for seven young people from Liberia. UNICEF Radio, UNICEF's ‘Back on Track’ programme on Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition, the UNICEF Liberia programme and Talking Drum Studios conducted the workshop with three boys and four girls chosen from around the country.

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NEWS / RADIO: Seven youths from Liberia learn how to record, edit, write and produce radio programmes at UNICEF radio workshop

In the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – a landmark international agreement on the basic human rights of all children – UNICEF is featuring a series of stories about progress made and challenges that remain. Here is one of those stories.

MONROVIA, Liberia, 30 October 2009 – "The last time I got malaria, I had to leave school because I couldn't walk properly. I couldn't eat," says Veldis Malkor, age 13. "I missed school for about a week."

Yet Veldis says that he doesn't like to sleep under a mosquito net.

"It's too hot," he admits.

However, after several days of interviewing some of Liberia's experts on malaria for a UNICEF-sponsored week-long radio production workshop, Veldis will think twice about using one.

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NEWS: ‘I Have Something to Tell You’ – documentary gives voice to young Liberian women

by Glenna Gordon and Louis Vigneault

KAKATA, Liberia, 10 March 2009 – After two decades of civil war, girls in Liberia must overcome many obstacles to achieve their dreams. A new documentary film, 'I Have Something to Tell You', is giving voice to a group of 10 ambitious young women who met in a workshop at the Liberia Youth Network's centre in Kakata.

The film brought these young women together to share personal stories about their past lives, their dreams and their ongoing challenges. The filmmaker, Loch Phillips, helped them transform their stories into a script for the film.

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