Media Center for Children and Youth - Moldova
In 2003, the Chisinau Municipal Department for the Protection of Children's Rights opened a media centre in an effort to create an open and friendly space for disadvantaged children and youth in the Telecentru district of Chisinau, Moldova. The Center features a radio studio where young people can design and produce their own programmes. Through this radio project and associated community activities, the Center works to:
- Enable adolescents and youth to have free access to age-appropriate information
- Give young people the opportunities and tools to freely express their opinions, affirm their own views, and actively participate in issues that affect them
- Raise awareness about the specific problems children and youth encounter and promote a positive image of young people in society
- Create a safe space for children and adolescents that provides facilities for learning and leisure.
Communication Strategies
The Center's radio project is based on the idea that models should not be imposed on young journalists; rather, they should be taught to use specific instruments and technologies to make themselves heard. All the creative and technological processes of the studio are managed and realised only by children.
The studio started its activity in March 2003 with a 3-month training course in radio journalism for 60 youth aged 16-18. Three coordinators and a group of 8 professional journalists led the course, which taught the participants how to speak into a microphone speaking, how to produce a piece of news, how to conduct an interview, how to arrange and produce a radio programme using computer software, and how a dictaphone works.
After the young journalists decided on the studio logo, title, and jingle to accompany all the materials produced, programme production began in June 2003. The programmes feature news/information and magazine-type interview sessions. They focus on young people's perspectives, happenings in the youth community, interviews with remarkable people, and the like. To cite one example, in June 2004 the young journalists launched a weekly 45-minute radio programme for teenagers called "Paratrasnet" ("Lightning Rod") in cooperation with Antena C Radio. Aiming to prevent HIV/AIDS among youth, it addresses issues related to health, sexuality, and interpersonal communication. The moderated broadcast is live and interactive, with phone calls and in-studio discussions, and includes an episode of the radio drama "Girls and Boys" In each episode, the main character, Niky, and her friends have to make small but important decisions (to say "Yes" or "No" to peer pressure in specific situations, to accept or not a kiss, a drink, etc.) There is a behavioural dilemma at the end of each series; young people in the studio and listeners discuss the decisions to be made by the character and argue on-air about the next steps. Listeners are then asked to vote for one of the options by email or to send letters to the station.
The Center will also serve as a resource centre and press club for young journalists from other similar centres in the area. It will host the meetings of the Center of Young Journalists of Moldova, which brings together representatives of 34 school newspapers.
The Center also hosts activities for children in the community. It offers recreation, information, group activities, life skills education, social assistance and counseling, and training courses in different fields. The idea is to provide an oasis for children from vulnerable families who cannot enjoy toys or learning opportunities at home. The Center tries to offer recreational activities that include educational elements based on children's rights, that stimulate creativity, and that foster personality development.
Interest groups were identified based on a questionnaire provided to schools in the Telecentru district. Depending on their age and interests, children meet to learn techniques for operating a computer, to take art classes, to do karaoke, to make puppets, and to play games. In addition to a computer room and game room, a library includes encyclopedias for children, dictionaries, classical literature, and periodicals. A social worker at the Center provides counseling for children in difficult circumstances, referring those with more serious issues to other providers.
A future plan is to involve a group of young volunteers in the activities of the Center. They will offer the children and youth training and classes in children's rights and life skills (such as communication, health education, and risk avoidance).
The studio started its activity in March 2003 with a 3-month training course in radio journalism for 60 youth aged 16-18. Three coordinators and a group of 8 professional journalists led the course, which taught the participants how to speak into a microphone speaking, how to produce a piece of news, how to conduct an interview, how to arrange and produce a radio programme using computer software, and how a dictaphone works.
After the young journalists decided on the studio logo, title, and jingle to accompany all the materials produced, programme production began in June 2003. The programmes feature news/information and magazine-type interview sessions. They focus on young people's perspectives, happenings in the youth community, interviews with remarkable people, and the like. To cite one example, in June 2004 the young journalists launched a weekly 45-minute radio programme for teenagers called "Paratrasnet" ("Lightning Rod") in cooperation with Antena C Radio. Aiming to prevent HIV/AIDS among youth, it addresses issues related to health, sexuality, and interpersonal communication. The moderated broadcast is live and interactive, with phone calls and in-studio discussions, and includes an episode of the radio drama "Girls and Boys" In each episode, the main character, Niky, and her friends have to make small but important decisions (to say "Yes" or "No" to peer pressure in specific situations, to accept or not a kiss, a drink, etc.) There is a behavioural dilemma at the end of each series; young people in the studio and listeners discuss the decisions to be made by the character and argue on-air about the next steps. Listeners are then asked to vote for one of the options by email or to send letters to the station.
The Center will also serve as a resource centre and press club for young journalists from other similar centres in the area. It will host the meetings of the Center of Young Journalists of Moldova, which brings together representatives of 34 school newspapers.
The Center also hosts activities for children in the community. It offers recreation, information, group activities, life skills education, social assistance and counseling, and training courses in different fields. The idea is to provide an oasis for children from vulnerable families who cannot enjoy toys or learning opportunities at home. The Center tries to offer recreational activities that include educational elements based on children's rights, that stimulate creativity, and that foster personality development.
Interest groups were identified based on a questionnaire provided to schools in the Telecentru district. Depending on their age and interests, children meet to learn techniques for operating a computer, to take art classes, to do karaoke, to make puppets, and to play games. In addition to a computer room and game room, a library includes encyclopedias for children, dictionaries, classical literature, and periodicals. A social worker at the Center provides counseling for children in difficult circumstances, referring those with more serious issues to other providers.
A future plan is to involve a group of young volunteers in the activities of the Center. They will offer the children and youth training and classes in children's rights and life skills (such as communication, health education, and risk avoidance).
Development Issues
Children, Youth, Media, Sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Rights, Life Skills Education.
Key Points
The Media Center for Children and Youth is part of a larger programme to launch youth-friendly community centres in Moldova. The Network of Youth Regional Centers, created by UNICEF in collaboration with national and local authorities and with the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands, also includes The National Youth Resource Center (NYRC) (click here for a programme description). In the next 2 years, similar centres will be created in Balti, Soroca, Ungheni, and Cahul. The main task of the centres will be to inform youth about issues of major importance for their age, with a special emphasis on high-risk groups and disadvantaged youth.
Partners
The Chisinau Municipal Department for the Protection of Children's Rights, with financial support by UNICEF Moldova and the Government of the Netherlands.
Sources
Postings by Violeta Cojocaru (UNICEF Moldova) forwarded to the Young People's Media Network on April 9 2003 and June 9 2004 (click here for the archives).
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