Media monitoring training for children

A two day workshop on media monitoring is taking place on 16 and 17 April at Pelican Park Primary in Grassy Park, Cape Town. The workshop is attended by grade seven pupils from the school. The focus of the training is twofold: The first part looks at human rights, children rights and how they relate to the media. It also introduces the project to the children. The second part is about how news media work, how media can either promote or violate children’s rights in the way they report stories on children and how to do media monitoring.

In one of the exercises, children were asked to identify in pictures what they think are key problems facing children in South Africa. Issues that came up from group presentations include: substance abuse – children introduced to alcohol and drugs by other children and by parents, physical abuse, child neglect, teen pregnancy, child prostitution, rape, HIV AIDS, poverty, homelessness, children not heard, verbal and emotional abuse. They also identified what rights are affected by the problems. These were: the right to safety and protection, freedom of speech, right to shelter, health and access to education or school.

This activity is part of the Children and the Media programme which is implemented in South Africa and Zambia. In South Africa children in Cape Town and Johannesburg participate in the programme. The media monitoring is done by primary school children. Mrs Dudley, a teacher at the school, indicated that the children who participated in the programme in 2011 improved in their writing skills, their confidence levels had improved and also the way they communicate has changed. She noted that some of the new children in the 2012 group showed interest after interacting with the 2011 group.

The aim of the programme is to empower the media to utilise a rights-based approach towards reporting on stories involving children which will contribute towards the media’s positive portrayal of children. Assisting and encouraging media to provide spaces and support for children to express themselves and communicate their opinions through initiatives such as media monitoring of children in the news and how they are portrayed and these activities are carried out by children, adults and the civil society. The project also aims to build the media’s skills on children’s rights and reporting on children, through workshops, use of reporting guidelines and ongoing media monitoring.

The outcome of this project is that: Southern Africa society increasingly responsive to children’s rights. The main result for this area is an improvement in the coverage of children’s issues by the mainstream media. The number of articles posted on children, the quality of the articles, the voices of the children in the media and monitoring reports shared with the media on the quality of the reporting will be indicators. The programme is funded by the European Union.

Day of the African Child: 16 June 2012

The theme for the 2012 Day of the African Child (DAC) is: “The Rights of Children with Disabilities: the duty to protect, respect, promote and fulfil’. This theme is in recognition of the fact that children with disabilities continue to be marginalised and they face difficulties in accessing education, health and other social services as well as being able to enjoy their rights. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) Article 13 addresses the rights of children with disabilities. The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) can also be accessed at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/

Save the Children will coordinate Day of the African Child events in the region. For more information, please contact the Save the Children Offices in your country, or Ms Nikiwe Kaunda at: nikiwek@saf.savethechildren.se

Launch of 'A life free of hunger' report

 

Today Save the Children launched its report ‘A life free of hunger: tackling child malnutrition’ at a media briefing in Johannesburg. This is part of the Everyone Campaign and the report was launched simultaneously in three continents.

The report analyses the causes of malnutrition focusing on chronic malnutrition and stunting in children. It identifies solutions that are proven to be effective which include direct and indirect intervention.

Mixael de Kock, Chair of the Johannesburg Press Club, opened the event stressing the importance of looking after children and making sure that the current situation does not continue. All the speakers agreed that there is a need for a partnership between governments and civil society in dealing with malnutrition.

In his presentation, David Sanders of Save the Children indicated that child grants play an important role in curbing the situation. A study conducted in South Africa has proved that recipients of grants have more access to quality foods than those not receiving grants. He also noted that the proposed National Health Insurance in South Africa will not work unless the health system is working (public health system in rural areas, community clinics and small hospitals). He also argued that there is a need to invest in competent people for the right positions and ensure that proper management systems are in place. He commended the work of community workers and that they do not get enough support from the state (nurses and local facilities).  

He added that there is a need to deploy district specialist teams and improve the school health programmes. There are plans for school nurses to visit schools on a regular basis. Save the Children is exploring ways of assisting in this regard. He concluded his presentation by noting that 18% stunting is too high for a middle income country like South Africa. 

There was input from Scott McNiven of USAIDS talked about food aid quality, Osten Chulu of UNDP looked at the challenges of meeting the MDGs by 2015 while Richard Young of the EU looked at the inequities and the relationship to hunger and malnutrition. Chantell Witten, the Nutrition specialist at UNICEF noted that the nutritional challenges differ from community to community and are also affected by geographic location of those affected. She stressed that the problem is not always that people do not have access to food, but the quality of food they have access to. She said that nutrition is an imperative, we can’t do without it. She informed the audience that packages of care for new born babies are available in some provinces and KZN has taken it on board.

A child journalist from Parktown Girls High asked if genetically modified foods have any nutritional value and if it is wise to promote them as an alternative. Witten advised that those with micro nutrients would be best and she would support them. There was also a discussion on the integrated feeding programme at South African schools as it does not meet the nutritional requirements of the students. Nutrition is taught in schools and but school feeding does not focus on nutrition but is there to ensure that kids manage the day.

The keynote address was given by Lynn Moeng, the Director of Nutrition from the South African Government. In her speech she said that people affected by malnutrition are not consulted when developing strategies. She asked the following questions: Are we targeting the right people? Are we investing in the right strategies? Are policies aimed at addressing malnutrition correct? Who should be investing in the first 1000 days of a child’s life? What should government do to ensure mothers breast feed for the first six months?

Moeng acknowledged that various government departments should be involved in nutrition issues not just one. She stressed the need to hear from children what needs to be done differently. She pointed out that when dealing with nutrition and hunger, people must understand that causes are different and not the same in each environment and should be treated accordingly. It depends on the areas where people live e.g. an alcoholic parent, where parents are overweight, where both parents earn an income. Its not only the poor who struggle with poor nutrition. She said that everyone needs to play a role – governments, families, establishments and business. She concluded by stating that she feels ashamed as an adult to be told by children that we should feed them. This was after she was handed a petition signed in thumbprints by hundreds of children.

A life free from hunger

                                                                                  

The Global Launch

Save the Children and the Johannesburg Press Club

will be hosting a media briefing for the launch of the report called A Life Free from Hunger.

This new report highlights the issue of hunger and malnutrition for children around the world.

Children on the African continent are amongst the worst off today.

 Policy makers and key stakeholders will be in attendance. There will be a panel discussion on the issue and an opportunity to ask questions

Members of the media

are cordially invited to this launch on Wednesday, February 15, at 10h00 for 10h30 at Marks Park Sports Club (Pavilion Room), Judith Road, Johannesburg

The report which will be released simultaneously  in a number of major cities around the world including New York, Geneva, London, and Singapore with Johannesburg serving as the focal point in Southern Africa.

RSVP and Media Requests to:

Ms. Noma Rangana nomar@saf.savethechildren.se  012 334 0222/ 082 888 0341

Why now? This crisis is not new. Progress on reducing malnutrition has been pitifully slow for 20 years.  But a combination of global trends is putting future progress on tackling malnutrition at risk.  Action must be taken now because if current trends continue, the lives of more than 450 million children globally will be affected by stunting in the next 15 years.

A child's perspective of COP17

As I walked out of the King Shaka International airport, all I could see was poster after poster advertising for Cop17. For me the thought that came to my mind was that they are doing all of that for us. If they don’t fix the problems now, in 20 years the earth will be a very difficult place to live!

When you drive past the busy streets with the sound of foreigners speaking with strange accents, it makes me feel great that they are here just for us children to secure our future.

At the Durban Convention Centre, you walk inside to see all these items of technology, like solar cars

and hydro-bikes. This gives me hope that working together, we can stop the effects of climate change.

I was privileged to interview Connie Hedegaard, who is the Commissioner for the European Union. She says that she got into climate change when she was appointed as Environmental Minister.

Someone in the ministry asked her, “what do we do about the climate?” She responded by saying, “the more knowledge you get about climate change the more you understand how serious it is, and then it’s hard not to get interested in how we can solve this difficult problem.”

Hedegaard said that “Our efforts now make a huge difference, even what people do in their daily lives.” Some people say “What does it help if I do anything because there are 7 billion people on planet earth?” She added, “If everyone thinks like that one thing is for sure, nothing happens.”

The Commissioner is convinced that if all of us work together to see what we can do that we can change things.

According to NASA Science, if we don’t do something to stop pollution and the consumption of fossil fuels, the average temperature will rise between 2 to 6 degrees by the end of the 21^st century.

We need to save our planet starting now!

Article by Asher Pardey, one of the children participating in the Children and the Media programme in South Africa

Conference on the status of children's rights in SADC

From 14 to 16 November 2011 Save the Children, the Pan African Parliament and SADC CNGO hosted a conference on the Status of Children’s Rights in Southern Africa.

The conference was attended by government representatives from 11 SADC countries, the Pan African Parliament Members of Parliament, SADC Parliamentary Forum Members of Parliament, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, civil society organizations from 12 Southern African countries, academics and consultants.

The conference aimed at increasing the participant’s understanding of instruments and processes in promoting accountability for the realization of children’s rights. There were dialogue sessions to strengthen civil society and government’s capacity to collaborate on advocacy issues around children’s issues.

On the last day a committee was established to take forward the process of establishing a Regional Child Rights Reference Group to undertake advocacy around children’s rights in the region.The terms of reference for the Reference Group were discussed but it was agreed that further discussions at country level have to take place.

The conference also agreed that more issues should be included to the Reference Group's ToRs. The issues include identifying child rights advocacy priorities and resource mobilization, building networks and coalitions for child rights advocacy, establishing collaborative relationships amongst CSOs and governments, the implementation of regional and international instruments and protocols, reporting mechanisms and child participation.

At the end of the conference resolutions were made which will be finalised once country network consultations have taken place. They will be communicated wildly and used as a benchmark. The report on the conference will be available shortly.