Plan-supported child and youth media projects
Child sponsorship supports long-term community development projects that benefit children, their families and communities.
Plan implements close to 60 child and youth-led media projects worldwide.
The following projects are just a few examples of how Plan is supporting the use of Information and Communications Technologies to empower youth with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence to make their voices heard and bring about positive change in their communities.
Africa
Asia
Latin America
Africa
Kid Waves in West Africa
Kids Waves is a regional radio project implemented at the national level in eleven West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Kids Waves is a 30-minute weekly show broadcast in local languages. The show is hosted by children and "travels" to a different location/village each week. It involves different children each week coming from the visited community. Each show evolves around a theme linked to the Rights of the Child that is explained to the audience along with the responsibilities of children and of those influencing their lives.
Visit Plan's Youth Media & Development website to see and hear some of what the children and youth have to say.
In Senegal, Kids Waves is called Radio Gune Yi. Created in 1995, it is the first Plan radio project around the world.
The Kids Waves show is called Deviwo be Radio in Togo, Etoto Deviwo in Benin, Bibir Radio in Burkina Faso, La voix de Alpha et Finda in Guinea, Denmisenw Kun Kan in Mali.
"I am a child but I have my rights too!" radio program in West Africa
The regional radio campaign "I am a Child but I have my Rights too!" has been produced since 1998 by Plan in West Africa in collaboration with close to 100 radio stations.
The show informs parents, children and authorities on their roles and responsibilities to respect the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Seven West-African countries have implemented the project; Burkina Faso, Guinea, Togo, Mali, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Benin. Two countries, Niger and Cameroon, will start broadcast in 2006.
Dramas and sketches are produced with children and professional comedians. Interviews, debates and radio contests are also included in the shows. They are broadcast by up to 20 radio stations in each county (public, private and community radio stations). Productions have been made in Moore, Bambara, Mina, Cotocoli, Kabie, Wolof, Pulaar, Serere, Diola, Kissi, Toma, Kpele, Maninka, Susu, Creole, Adja, Portuguese and French. More than 700 productions of the stories promoting child rights have been made and thousands of broadcast have been heard throughout the region with the participation of hundreds of children. The show has won international awards.
"Sauti ya Watoto wa Dida" (Give Children a Voice) in Kenya
Video magazine project in Kenya — children are involved in the preparation and production of each film, both in front of and behind the camera. Each film focuses on an issue chosen by the children including child labour, early marriage and street children.
Rights of the Child radio program in Malawi
Radio program in Malawi, in partnership with Malawi Broadcasting Corp and funded by UNICEF. Children produce radio shows about their rights.
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Asia
"Agami" (Future) television show in Bangladesh
Weekly television show in Bangladesh broadcast by BTV, the national public network. Children host the shows and talk about issues relevant to their lives. The show reaches millions of viewers.
"Children have something to say" video project in India
"Children have something to say" is a video project in India which involves young people in creating short films (documentary, drama-documentary and animation) focusing on child rights. The stories are selected by the children themselves and relate to issues that affect their lives: child labor, child abuse, health and environmental issues and many others concerning the violation of the rights of children.
The project won the One World Media Award for Special Achievement in a prestigious contest in the UK that recognises excellence in communication about the wider world through television, radio, print and new media.
"Children's voice" in Nepal
The radio project produced and broadcast in Nepal has involved more than 100 children. The show aims to promote child rights and child participation.
"Bidang bulilit" (Children are the stars) in Philippines
Since 1999, children in partnership with a local radio station, prepare, manage and produce one-hour weekly shows about children's rights. More than three million people listen to the program. Read more about this award winning children's radio show
Young Media club's in Vietnam
Since 1998, hundreds of children have been trained in journalism including radio broadcasting.
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Latin America
Child Media project in several countries
Since 1999, close to 2,000 children have been involved in producing radio programs, videos and printed materials promoting the rights of the Child in Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Guatemala and Dominican Republic.
"Comunicando os direitos das crianças" (Communicating children's rights) in Brazil
In Brazil, young people are trained by professional radio workers to produce programs. The project is run in partnership with a local NGO called the Centro das Mulheres do Cabo (Cabo Women’s Center).
"Caja Magica" (Magic Box) in Colombia
Magazine produced for and by children in Colombia.
"Aquí los chicos" (Here we are) in Ecuador
In Ecuador: a production team of 40 children, supported by a network of 300 community reporters, who prepare and edit reports on child rights issues for a weekly live radio program.
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