Wednesday 26 September 2007

Useful link: Magic

About MAGIC

Magic has a lot of information in relation to childrens' rights and the media and provides useful resources and links. I especially like their collaboration with oneminutevideo junior . (Recently, however, it has been difficult to access this website - let us hope it is only temporarily).

In 1996 the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which advises governments on their implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child held a consultation on children and the media.

A working group then began to explore the issues involved in developing a positive relationship between children and the media. In 1998, the Norwegian Government and UNICEF initiated a process that would identify examples of good practice, forge cooperative links among the many sectors involved, and produce resources to encourage further developments in the field.

In November 1999, young people involved in media projects, media professionals and child rights experts gathered in the Norwegian capital Oslo to discuss the role the media can play in the development of children's rights throughout the world, under five headings:

• Children's right of access to the media, including new media

• Children's right to media education and literacy

• Children's right to participate in the media

• Children's right to protection from harm in the media and violence on the screen

• The media's role in protecting and promoting children's rights

From their deliberations emerged the Oslo Challenge.

The Oslo Challenge Network was set up for professionals and organizations working in the field of children and the media to share information and ideas. This network - now known as the MAGIC Network - communicates through an email group. If you would like to join this group, just go to the Join MAGIC section of this website.

1 comment:

Chris Schuepp said...

Hi there, I run the MAGIC website for UNICEF and am also involved in the OneMinutesJr project. The website is only temporarily out of service because of a database crash. Should be back soon though!

If you want to see some videos, check out this site: http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/kids.html

Also, the MAGIC group that I run is always happy to have new members:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themagic_network/

And last but not least, please make links to the youthful-media blog:
http://ypmn.blogspot.com/

Please write to me if anything:
Chris Schuepp
cschuepp@unicef.org