NEWS / EVENTS: Digital media empower Middle Eastern youth

Revolutions in the Middle East have been powered by young people using new technology.

Young people, who make up 30 percent of the region’s population, have played a dominant role in protests and political upheaval by documenting events with cell phones, the Internet and social media.

“Children and young people have been at the heart of the Arab Spring. They play a key role in instigating it, using the power of social media to rally their peers and mobilize support,” said Shahida Azfar, UNICEF Regional Director for MENA. “But they have also been among its first victims.”

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COMPETITIONS: UNICEF competition urges youth to think about tomorrow (EGYPT)

CAIRO: Over 350 media students submitted films relayed their aspirations for the future as well as the challenges that face Egyptian youth and children today in the first edition of the Universities’ Movie Festival for Youth and Children.

The festival, which aims at supporting university students and recognizing their work, is organized by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), Egypt’s National Child Rights Observatory and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA) and the Italian Cooperation.

Films were submitted under three categories; documentaries, short films and public service announcements in the competition titled “What do you see for tomorrow?”

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NEWS / CALL FOR ENTRIES: Entries invited for UNICEF media awards focusing on children’s plight and rights

DUBAI: The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) office of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is now accepting entries for the "5th Regional Media Awards 2012.

The competition was recently launched in Dubai, when UNICEF regional director Shahida Azfar and regional goodwill ambassador Mahmoud Kabil, along with media representatives, as well as humanitarian and development experts, shared experiences and ideas to propagate the rights and privileges of Mena children, at the "7th Regional Media Forum" held at Al Morooj Rotana Hotel.

In an interview, Azfar acknowledged the important role of the media in bringing into focus real situations on the ground.

She said continuous lobbying must be done to achieve a much better world for the youth in this part of the world, even if "improvements" have been made in the fields of education, particularly girls education, infant mortality, female circumcision, and welfare.

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AWARDS / OPPORTUNITIES: UNICEF Yemen announces regional media award 2011 on child rights

SANA’A, Jan. 30 (Saba)- UNICEF Yemen Country Office is motivating media representatives and Adolescents in the country to participate in the Regional Media Award 2011 on Child Rights in which the theme of this year is: “Violence against children”.

In its press release, UNICEF Yemen Office said on Sunday that it is welcoming submissions from interested participants in the Regional Media Award.

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AWARDS: The first UNICEF Regional Awards for Media on Child Rights (MENA - Middle East and North Africa)

The first UNICEF Regional Awards for Media on Child Rights held on February 25

The first UNICEF Regional Awards for Media on Child Rights were handed on February 25th in an official ceremony in Amman, under the patronage of her Majesty Queen Rania al-Abdullah First Eminent Advocate for children.

UNICEF regional director Ms. Sigrid Kaag thanked her Majesty Queen Rania al-Abdullah for attending and lending patronage to this event and emphasized the importance of media's role in covering issues related to children and adolescents and their rights, which was the purpose for choosing 'adolescence' as the award subject for this year.

In her speech, Ms. Kaag said that adolescence was an age of transition, of questioning, of strong conviction and self-doubt; of make or break, an age of apparent contradictions which makes writing about them a special challenge.

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