Young people


CHILDREN ACTIVE IN THE MEDIA AND THE DEFENCE OF THEIR RIGHTS






RIIIIiRTOU SrR,



coach for child journalists


She was the darling of the Ougadougou Media and Development Forum: cool, precise
and instructive in her message, displaying a combativeness and firmness, but not
without a certain elegance. Aminatou Sar is the regional coordinator (West Africa) of
the 'Media for children' project launched by PLAN, the international NGO dedicated
to defending the rights of children.


 ence of the group of adolescents
 she was accompanying brought a
 breath of fresh air to this rather
austere meeting. More than that, as the media
professionals spoke with them, they real-
ised that they were dealing with genuine
colleagues, knowledgeable and direct. They
certainly weren't cheerleaders or boy scouts
and most definitely not there for decoration.
Indeed, Aminatou Sar was quickly able to
leave them to their own devices, certain of
their ability to manage their own discussions.
Later, we saw Commissioner Louis Michel
engage them in a lengthy conversation and
invite some of them to visit Brussels.
Aminatou Sar seems to be more of a coach
rather than just a friendly organiser. She is
convinced of one thing: it is vital for young


people to join and progress in the media if
their rights are to be respected in a world
where communication is increasingly impor-
tant. And when it comes to a critique of how
the press operates today, lessons can certainly
be learned by paying heed to the views of
children. In an interview with The Courier,
Aminatou Sar was highly critical of what
she sees as collusion between the govern-
ment and the press in her region and her own
country, Senegal. During the interview, she
laid bare the various pieces of the mechanism
to illustrate how this collusion operates. So,
while praising the work of community media,
especially radio, she condemned the attitudes
of a few small would-be press barons often
non-journalists themselves, who pay shameful
wages to their staff.
The 'Media for children' project started up in
Senegal over a decade ago and is today up and
running in a dozen countries in the sub-region.
Aminatou considers that "it is a pity that it is
an NGO that is doing this work. One could
have imagined a local radio doing it." In 2008,
almost 4,500 young people in the region par-
ticipated in programmes on around 450 radio
stations. She sees an initial result of involving
children in the media as bringing a change in
relations between parents and children, the
former placing more trust in the latter who in
turn acquire more self-confidence when they
return to school.
Due often to a lack of professionalism (just


30-40 per cent of journalists have received
proper training), low wages (on average less
than $100 a month) or a shortage of informa-
tion resources (just 5 per cent of professionals
have a computer) in the region, children's
rights are regularly violated in the media -
according to a recent study cited by the PLAN
representative at the conference. One example
of this violation of rights is the stating of the
name of the child victim in a case of sexual
abuse.
Children who are present in the media often
create a situation where those who invite
them have to acquire the intellectual tools
needed to do a better job. PLAN has set up a
practical training programme that introduces
children to the basics of the journalist's work
as well as learning how to defend their rights
as children and make those they are involved
with media, politicians or others more
aware of the urgency of the issue. They also
learn to prepare items on a range of issues
- female circumcision, forced marriage, the
right to play and so on for all kinds of media
and submit their ideas to them. These are not
confined to the mass media as they also use
other outlets such as the production of musical
discs and other supporting materials. H.G. M


 Keywords
 Hegel Goutier; Aminatou Sar; PLAN; child
 journalists.


COURIER