Children and Youth

When children and young people have access to media, they have a voice in their world, and are able to advocate on issues that effects them. Children's participatory media is an effective way to include young people in a process that shapes their futures, while educating other young people and reflecting on obstacles that facing society as a whole.

Children's participation means not just giving children the opportunity to be involved, but also to be at the forefront of the decision-making, planning, and implementation process. This means putting the programme in the hands of the children, guiding a process that ensures good quality, accurate information, while offering a full range of freedom of expression. It is a mutual learning process, a a collaboration based on respect between young people and those with the technical know-how to make their voices heard loud and clear.

World Summit Kids Programme South Africa

Community Media for Development/ CMFD Productions was present at the 5th World Summit on Media for Children from 25-27 March. Working with a group of children at the summit, we produced a series of radio programmes to provide an opportunity for young voices to be heard, while reaching a wider audience with the issues that were being addressed during the summit. Working in groups of 2-4, the volunteer participants were a young dynamic group that put together some very creative programmes focusing on globalisation and the internet. The programmes include voices from South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Trinidad, United States, Mozambique, Brazil, Angola, Haiti, and Angola. The process brought together young people speaking various languages.

Khuluma Afrika! Counter-Trafficking Community Theatre (South Africa & Mozambique)

To support the International Organization for Migration's Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme (SACTAP) to raise awareness of trafficking issues in South Africa, a community theatre production was created that addresses human trafficking and migration issues, with performances in Portuguese, designed mainly for the Mozambican community in South AFrica. Each performance combined drama, dance, music, discussion, and the distribution of information materials. The project builds on work done previously for SACTAP to produce the 'Get the facts before you go!' PSAs.

Project- Alertos da Vida (South Africa)

Alertos da Vida,  a Portuguese language participatory media group, uses theatre, radio and print to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS and human rights. The group was formed out of a need to address these issues in a Portuguese language setting. Because of the current economic situation in neighbouring Moza mbique, Johannesburg has become a target for thousands of Mozambicans looking for work. However, many of the people coming into the country speak little or no English, and only enough Zulu or other South African language to get by from a day to day basis. Because of this language barrier, current information campaigns and initiatives are not reaching this community.

National Children’s Participatory Radio Forum (Mozambique)

CMFD Productions collaborated with IBIS - Mozambique to bring together children, accompanied by young adult presenters working on children's programmes, from 42 radio stations across the country to participate in the National Children's Radio Seminar 2004. The goal of the seminar was to engage in a participatory process to create a series of magazine style radio programmes produced by and for young people. Participants gained first hand knowledge in interviewing, creating spots, putting together reportage, and developing radio dramas. The magazines address the right to education, the right to health, and the right to play. CMFD provided two onsite studios, did all recording and production, and facilitated the drama portion of the Seminar. A follow up project involved creating a children’s SFX CD.