"Child Friendly Media" Workshop in Aqaba Emphasizes Media's Role in Supporting and Advocating Child Rights Issues
The "Child Friendly Media" Workshop concluded today, Saturday, September 21, 2024, in Aqaba, Jordan. It was organized by the Jordanian National Council for Family Affairs and the Arab Council for Childhood and Development (ACCD), in cooperation with the League of Arab States (LAS), the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND), the Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD), and Plan International Jordan.
The three-day Workshop saw the participation of 45 Jordanian media professionals. Discussions covered various issues, including children's rights, children and digitalization, children and the climate crisis, and early childhood development. Additionally, the Professional Guidelines for Arab Media Addressing the Issues of Child Rights were presented, along with the Guidebook for Correcting Negative Expressions and Images Circulating around Children in the Arab Media. Participants expressed their commitment to adhering to these, stemming from their professional responsibility and aiming to achieve child friendly media.
The Workshop's conclusion included the distribution of certificates to participants, who affirmed the crucial role of media in advocating for and supporting child rights. They stressed the necessity for media's role to be integrated with that of upbringing institutions, especially the family. They also called for a qualitative development in media coverage of child rights issues, in line with the tremendous advancements in digital media. Participants urged prioritizing child rights issues, especially for children in crises and emergencies, and highlighted the importance of providing appropriate Arabic digital content for children. Furthermore, they recommended integrating digital media literacy into school curricula to enable children to protect their privacy and safely interact with media platforms, in addition to continuing such workshops that contribute to developing media professionals' capabilities in addressing and handling children's rights issues.
It is worth noting that this Workshop is part of a series of workshops targeting media professionals, which have been implemented in 14 Arab countries, within the framework of the “Media Observatory for the Arab Child Rights” Project. This Project is one of the strategic initiatives of the ACCD in cooperation with LAS and AGFUND.
Date: September 21, 2024
