In the context of the Eighteenth Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Amman, 6 September 2007 - A first of its kind workshop involving 18 youths from Iraq, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territory started today engaging participants aged 10-20 in the creative production of one-minute video stories visualizing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) .
The five-day experience, organized and carried out by UNICEF and the One Minutes Foundation, in association with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan will conclude with a number of video chronicles being screened in a public event with significant local and regional media presence.
Youth video-makers are selected by UNICEF at the country level from amongst groups of adolescents who are media-savvy and have had previous experience as local or international advocates for children's rights.
The Arab chapter of the "one minutes" will then add to a wider collection of contributions from around the world ahead of the eighteenth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child this November. Commemorating the 18th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is of major significance, especially since the universal treaty will have covered a first generation of children around the globe who will have reached adulthood this year.
As the principal sponsor, UNICEF is to compile the one-minute productions and allow for the final pieces to get posted and advertised through a special "CRC 18@18" website and UNICEF's website in the context of the International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB), December 9. They will also be featured as continued online promotion via Voices of Youth; another online-based initiative accessible at www.unicef.org/voy and theoneminutesjr.org The Royal Film Commission, which has facilitated both venue and equipment for this event, will continue to present the children's productions in the framework of its regular screenings in Jordan. Alternatively, video stories will be used for strengthened UNICEF advocacy via its National Committees in industrialized nations worldwide.
Countries that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child have a legally binding obligation to safeguard children from harm and exploitation at all times. Having gathered almost universal endorsement, the Convention also provides an unchallenged platform for advocacy and action to be taken on behalf of children everywhere.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Samia Salameh
Information Resource Center
UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office
Phone: (962 6) 5502443
E-mail: ssalameh@unicef.org
Karen Cirillo
Executive Producer, Children's Broadcasting Initiatives
Internet, Broadcast and Interactive Section
Division of Communication, UNICEF New York
Phone: 212.326.7506
Email: kcirillo@unicef.org
Zeina Habib
Communications & Partnerships Officer
UNICEF Gulf Area Office
Dubai
Phone: (971) 4 3600781
Mobile: (971) 50 6562753
E-mail: zhabib@unicef.org
© Press Release 2007
