‘Media and Child Rights’
A seminar in collaboration with UNICEF December 8, 2018
The Asian College of Journalism in collaboration with UNICEF conducted a seminar on ‘Media and Child Rights’ on December 8, 2018. There were two panel discussions on the topics of ‘Challenges of reporting on children during disaster management’ and ‘Media’s silence on child malnutrition’.
The first panel discussed the increased vulnerability faced by children after disasters such as trafficking, school dropout and child marriage, and the need for psycho-social support, led and sustained by the community. They also emphasized on the need for specialization among journalists to cover disaster situations.
The second panel discussion titled ‘Media’s silence on child malnutrition’ discussed why children’s issues, such as malnutrition, were not adequately covered or discussed in-depth by the media. The panelists emphasized on the media’s role to use specific opportunities to talk more on issues of child nutrition, such as the recent noon meal scam, and substantiate stories with necessary facts and details. It was noted that the media must provide political heft to children’s issues by analyzing promises in election manifestoes and budgets.
