OneMinutesJr videos on child rights, Part 1 of 4

NEWS: GNCRC appeals to the media to highlight children's issues

An appeal has been made to the media to do more to help educate the public on issues bothering on child's rights and protection.

Mr Barima Akwasi Amankwaah, Programme Officer of the Ghana Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition on the Rights of the Child (GNCRC), said matters affecting the welfare and growth of children needed to engage serious attention.

This would help to prevent their abuse in the society.

full article

NEWS: Media at forefront in protecting children’s rights

ST JOHN'S, Antigua – Communication for Development Specialist for UNICEF Dr Lisa McClean-Trotman said the regional media must make further efforts to protect the rights of children.

While acknowledging some strides have been made in the past eight years to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, Dr McClean-Trotman said efforts must be made to obscure children's identity in media reporting.

"There are still cases when the media inadvertently can violate children's rights to privacy sometimes by providing a lot of details by identifying the perpetrator and that is one of the biggest concerns we have right now. The media have done a good job to obscure the identity of the child but there is still some work to be done," the doctor said.

full article

OPPORTUNITIES / CALL FOR ENTRIES: Tagd launches film-making competition (UK)

UNICEF UK and Tagd have launched a film-making competition for young people which challenges them to look at the quality of life of children around the world.

The Article 27 competition asks young people, aged 11-18, to create an idea and storyboard for a short film (about 3 mins long) about children’s rights.

The competition is limited to one storyboard per school, and a teacher must submit each entry. If you are interested in entering you should tell your teacher about this competition, and ask if your class or a group of pupils can work on it together.

The winner will have the opportunity to work with a professional film maker to turn their storyboard into a short film.

This film will be included in Just Living, a new teaching resource produced by UNICEF UK based on Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 27 says that: “every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their social, physical and mental needs”.

The film idea should:

• look at what kinds of things stop young people in different parts of the world from reaching their potential and achieving a decent standard of living
  
• show how rights can improve your life
• encourage people to think about the impact their choices can have on others
  
• inspire young people to act to make Article 27 a reality for children worldwide

The winning entry will be chosen by young people, UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School team and media experts. The winner will also get the opportunity to visit UNICEF UK and their winning film will be included as part of the Just Living teaching package.

Just Living is part of a project called Building Young Futures which provides young people across the world with the support and skills they need to achieve their potential through education, employment and entrepreneurship.

Entries should be submitted on A4 sized paper - you can use more than one sheet. Click here to view a blank storyboard on the BBC website, and here to view an example of a completed storyboard.

Please also include an A4 covering sheet giving:

• your school name, address, telephone and email contact details
• the names, ages and year groups of students working on the project
• a teacher's name and email

Please post your finished entry to:

Rebecca Nkata,
Article 27 Competition,
UNICEF UK,
30a Great Sutton Street,
London EC1V 0DU

Closing date: 21 April 2011

If you have any questions about the competition, please contact jillyh@unicef.org.uk.

NEWS / EVENTS: Child rights and the media (PAKISTAN)

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a workshop on child rights said Thursday the media could play an important role in raising awareness about children’s rights. The capacity-building workshop on child rights was organised by the Children’s Complaint Office, Peshawar.

“Pakistan is among the countries that signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but violation of the rights continues and only the mass media can play a positive role in bringing about a change,” said one of the speakers.

Another participant said Article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognised the important function performed by the mass media and stressed upon the states to encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material that is of social and cultural benefit for children.

full article

NEWS / EVENTS: How the media is protecting children’s rights in Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia - 19 November, 2010. On the occasion of the 21st Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child the round-table discussion about reporting on children and media ethics in Georgia was held on 19 November at the Media Frontline Club.

The discussion was led by the prominent Georgian journalists Ia Antadze and Zviad Koridze who highlighted major areas of concern in regard to child-friendly reporting and brought the specific examples from the local media. The audience included active journalists, heads of newsrooms, editors, representatives of the public defenders' office, media associations and international organizations, university teachers and students.

full article

NEWS: Knesset pushes to protect children appearing on TV (ISRAEL)

The Second Authority for Television and Radio is putting together an agreement to formalize rules concerning childrens' exposure in certain media outlets, authority deputy director Ayelet Metzger told the Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child yesterday. The agreement stipulates that children will only participate in media programs, such as reality TV programs, after professionals who spoke with them prior to their participation determine they will not be harmed by the experience.

"We've been trying to phrase an agreement defining children's participation in the programs that would be agreeable to both broadcasting outlets and producers," Metzger said.

full article

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

full article

AWARDS / OneMinutesJr: Child-rights video contest winner focuses on the right to education

NEW YORK, USA, 20 November 2009 – A young girl in India longs to be in school. She watches through the window and the gracious teacher calls her in. But when she sits down, the boys shift over to one side to be away from her.

VIDEO: Watch now

This is the premise of ‘The Classroom’, the winner of the UNICEF youth video contest marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

As the one-minute video progresses, more and more girls join the first girl’s side, until the classroom is full of both boy and girl students doing their lessons.

Worldwide submissions

Created by Sonu Thakur, 15, of West Bengal, India, the video is a simple yet beautiful way of illustrating Article 28 of the CRC, which states that every child has the right to an education. It also illustrates one of UNICEF’s top priorities – getting more girls in school.

The video contest, which drew over 135 videos from around the world, asked young filmmakers to produce one-minute videos expressing what child rights mean to them. Judges selected 12 finalists, representing India, Colombia, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Romania.

The finalists were judged by a panel of youth video makers and activists, and adult media professionals.

Besides organizing the contest in connection with the 20th anniversary of the CRC, UNICEF ran ‘OneminutesJr’ workshops in 11 countries under the child-rights theme. Operated in partnership with the One Minutes Foundation and the European Cultural Foundation, the ‘OneminutesJr’ project organizes five-day film workshops in which each participant learns camera skills, story development and production techniques.

The CRC-related workshops resulted in the production of video by young people in Senegal, Bangladesh, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Niger, Ukraine, Barbados, Dominica, British Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Antigua, Guyana, Moldova, Mongolia and Viet Nam.

The videos from these workshops are currently featured on the CRC 20th anniversary website.

NEWS: Cinema push for children’s right to info

Utpal Borpujari, New Delhi, Nov 5, DH News Service

For the first time in history, the International Children's Film Festival India held every alternate year in Hyderabad will have a package of films highlighting children's right to information.

The package, which comprises around eight films made by children filmmakers from Andhra Pradesh's Medak district, is the result of a unique collaboration between the festival and Unicef marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Among the over 70 films to be screened at the festival will be a special package of films from Unicef, and this partnership between the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI) and Unicef is going to be a long-term one. CFSI chairperson Nandita Das says the 16th edition of the festival, starting in Hyderabad on November 14, will also have several sessions devoted to discussions on cinema and entertainment vis-à-vis children.

full article

AWARDS / COMPETITIONS / VIDEO: UNICEF selects 12 young finalists in child rights-themed video contest

NEW YORK, USA, 13 October 2009 – Twelve finalists were announced this week in the UNICEF-sponsored video contest celebrating the 20th anniversary of the the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which spells out the basic human rights of children everywhere.

In response to a call for submissions, young people from around the globe created one-minute videos about what child rights mean to them.

Finalist Dobrota Andreia of Romania found that the experience taught her a lot about herself.

“Children's rights is something I used to know nothing about. I know now that I didn't have the chance to make use of all my rights. I wonder how different I would be if I had,” she said.

full article

COMPETITIONS / VIDEO: UNICEF's CRC 20th Anniversary Video Contest - Semi-Finalists Announced!

Watch all 12 semi-finalist videos and vote for your favorite.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often are neglected in the human rights debate. They created the CRC, the world’s most widely ratified human rights treaty, which spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

The CRC Video Contest asked young people all over the world to make a one minute video about what child rights mean to them. The winning video will be used in the CRC’s 20th anniversary celebration and made available for broadcast around the world for the 2010 The International Children’s Day of Broadcasting.

Over 100 young people responded to UNICEF's call for videos. Now, we want to hear from you! Please watch all 12 videos, then vote for your favorite one. The public vote will be tallied and the top choice will be counted as one vote along with each of the judges' votes. You can only vote once. The last day to vote is 18 October 2009. Watch and vote now by visiting our website: http://www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_4478.html

CRC: General Comment on Article 12: The right of the child to be heard

In Geneva, during its 51st session, 25 May-12 June 2009, the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted the General Comment on Article 12 on the rights of the child to be heard. The overall objective of the General Comment Art No.12 (2009) is to support States parties in the effective implementation of article 12. In so doing it seeks to:
• Strengthen understanding of the meaning of article 12 and its implications for governments, stakeholders, NGOs and society at large;
• Elaborate the scope of legislation, policy and practice necessary to achieve full implementation of article 12;
• Highlight the positive approaches in implementing article 12, benefiting from the monitoring experience of the Committee.

The general comment on Art 12 is available to download at
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/AdvanceVersions/CRC-C-GC-12.pdf.

For further information please contact Victor Karunan, ADAP, UNICEF-HQ, New York, vkarunan@unicef.org

More about the CRC

Teen editorial from Jamaica: ‘Children have rights, too. Protect them!’

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica has been subject to human rights criticisms in regards to our level of intolerance for sexual diversity, poor rehabilitation facilities, an overburdened and inefficient judicial system, human security and the continued impunity of police officers and state representatives who commit crimes.

Two decades ago (1989), world leaders made a historic agreement through the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which acknowledges that governments, caregivers and stakeholders must respect, promote and fulfil the rights of all children within the society.

Internationally, this was the first instrument to incorporate civil, cultural, economic, political and social human rights. The convention outlined the rights of each and every child to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

full article

WORKSHOPS: OneMinutesJr workshop in Donetsk - Day 1

OneMinutesJr workshop in Donetsk, Ukraine - 2009

The workshop in the Eastern Ukrainian mining-city Donetsk will generate a series of short videos about "child rights" - written, filmed and produced by the children themselves. The eleven girls and seven boys have come from places as far as 24 hours by train away from Donetsk. They come from boarding schools, foster families and regular homes and will work together for the next five days here in Donetsk.

full article

CRC @ 20: Queen Rania of Jordan on education

CRC OneMinutesJr Videos

CRC OneMinutesJr Videos

NEWS / PROJECTS: Voices of Youth - CRC@18 Online Art Exhibit

Online Art Exhibit

Voices of Youth is proud to present its 18@18 Online art exhibit.

Take a look at the art pieces submitted by VOY members from around the world, and see what they have to say about their rights. You can navigate from piece to piece, and also e-mail it to friends and family!

Let´s continue to spread the word on Child Rights.

Background

In November 20, 2007, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) celebrated its 18th Anniversary, and as part of the activities to commemorate this historic event , Voices of Youth requested its members to choose an article of the Convention and send their artistic interpretation
it.

Visit Voices of Youth, UNICEF´s website for young people:
http://www.unicef.org/voy
http://www.unicef.org/voy/arabic
http://www.unicef.org/voy/french
http://www.unicef.org/voy/spanish