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| Child TV journos take up social issues |
| BS Reporter / Chennai/ Hyderabad Nov 12, 2009, 00:24 IST |
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With the mainstream media leading by ratings, profit and populist culture, Unicef is readying an alternative participatory media through its CAMP (Children As Media Producers) initiative to bring forth the un-represented issues in society.
In a pilot project in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, with the support of University of Hyderabad, Unicef has trained 21 government school students from VIII, IX and X standards as television reporters. And, armed with Sony digital cameras and tripods supplied by Unicef, these young journos, fully acquainted with picturisation, scripting and editing, have already produced 15 films on social issues in the last five months.
“The idea behind CAMP is to encourage people from deprived communities to express themselves and get exposed to media technologies. For Unicef, the basic premise of the initiative is that children must be seen as producers and not merely as consumers of information,” says Michel Saint-Lot, Unicef representative for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The 15 films – two of 8-minute duration each and the rest 2-3 minutes – project various discriminatory issues like a backward class colony being left out without a concrete road causing untold hardships to the people, problems like villagers continuing to spend money on purchasing drinking water despite having satisfactory water supply, importance of administering polio drops to children before they are five, how children who were married off before they turned 15 are now faring, lack of basic facilities in government schools and Telangana region’s Bathukama festival.
These films will be screened under the non-competitive category at the 16th International Children’s Film Festival, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from November 14, Saint-Lot adds.
“Since the mainstream TV channels don't show stories on our village, I will send them the stories,” says Navneeta, studying IX class in a government school in Medak district, adding that her team is now confident of making full-fledged films on issues concerning their own communities.
Meanwhile, Telugu channel Gemini TV has joined hands with Unicef as a media partner and will telecast the 15 films coinciding with the Child Rights’ Convention week beginning with Children’s day on November 14.
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