by UNICEF
In a Powerpoint presentation - followed bu a Q & A session, a new initiative, the Young People's Media Network for Europe and Central Asia, is presented to the participants.
The last decade has witnessed sweeping transformations across the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic States. Arguably, among the most wide-reaching and significant changes in this region have been those that have occurred in the media. After ten years, many questions have arisen about the nature of these changes, including how the media have helped to transform these societies or, conversely, how people in these societies have contributed to changes in the media. These questions apply particularly to young people, those aged 10-24, the first generation to come into adulthood since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 2000, UNICEF's Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic States (CEE/CIS & the Baltics) commissioned InterMedia (www.intermedia.org) to prepare a report on the major trends and issues concerning young people and media in the 27 countries that make up the region.
The InterMedia study showed that young media enthusiasts in the region would be very interested in communicating through various media channels with other young people in their own country, in neighboring countries and/or in Western countries. Against this background, UNICEF's European Headquarters invite interested organizations, media and donors - and young people themselves - to join in a new initiative, provisionally called the Young People's Media Network (YPMN). This is a project designed for, with, and by the young developers and users of media in transition countries as well as Western Europe to help provide them with much-needed tools and opportunities. The broad aim of this initiative is to ensure that these young journalists and media enthusiasts are supported and recognized as they strive to become professional and credible conveyers of information and entertainment, and influential shapers of opinion and values in their countries.
This initiative is envisaged as a "bottom-up" endeavor that truly reflects the needs and interests of those young people who will be active participants in the network. The heart of the network, of course, will be its members: grassroots youth media projects in Western as well as Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There are hundreds of such projects in existence already and they will benefit enormously from the YPMN peer exchanges, training and internship opportunities, equipment donations, media fairs and awards program.
In late 2002, the network will be formally launched. UNICEF and the Task Force organizations will hire a coordinator who will be based with one of the participating organization, most likely in Central Europe. A number of young volunteers will contribute to the establishment of the YPMN and will serve as regional focal points. The YPMN Secretariat will be supervised by a Steering Committee coordinated by UNICEF and made up by a small group of other Core Partners. An Advisory Board will provide advice and oversight from a larger number of organizations, institutions and companies supporting the YPMN financially and/or through provision of services or equipment.
Just as there are hundreds of young people's media projects underway throughout the region - mostly working in isolation from one another - there are also many NGOs, media organizations and regional or international agencies supporting media efforts by young people in the transition countries. But they, too, tend to work separately, supporting smallscale projects and country-specific intitiatives.
The Young People's Media Network is envisioned as an opportunity to add value to these disparate programs and projects through regional linkages and exchange. UNICEF (www.unicef.org) is eager to join with established media, regional NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, foundations and aid agencies to form the network, with and for the young people who will be tomorrow's journalists, media professionals and opinion-makers.
Created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 to help children after World War II in Europe, UNICEF was first known as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations system, its task being to help children living in poverty in developing countries. Its name was shortened to the United Nations Children's Fund, but it retained the acronym "UNICEF," by which it is known to this day.
UNICEF helps children get the care and stimulation they need in the early years of life and encourages families to educate girls as well as boys. It strives to reduce childhood death and illness and to protect children in the midst of war and natural disaster. UNICEF supports young people, wherever they are, in making informed decisions about their own lives, and strives to build a world in which all children live in dignity and security.
Working with national governments, NGOs (non-governmental organizations), other United Nations agencies and private-sector partners, UNICEF protects children and their rights by providing services and supplies and by helping shape policy agendas and budgets in the best interests of children.
UNICEF's governing body of 36 nations, representing all regions of the world, establishes policies, reviews programs and approves budgets for the organization. Headquartered in New York, UNICEF carries out its work through seven regional offices and 126 country offices covering more than 160 countries, territories and areas.
The 37 National Committees for UNICEF are private, not-for-profit organizations, primarily in industrialized countries, that support UNICEF programs. Extensive networks of volunteers help the Committees raise funds, sell the well-known UNICEF greeting cards and carry out other activities, such as the "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" program. These efforts help generate a deeper understanding of the rights and needs of children everywhere and provide ways for young people as well as adults to change the world for children.
Presenter:
Chris Schuepp works as media consultant with UNICEF in Geneva. Formerly a radio and TV journalist in Germany, Schuepp worked as Country Director for Internews Network in the Kyrgyz Republic (Central Asia) in 2000 and 2001 before joining UNICEF as coordinator of the Young People's Media Network. Schuepp holds a university degree from the Faculty of Journalism at the University of Dortmund in Germany.