NIAMEY (Niger), 19 November 2020 – Ahead of the World Children’s Day, November 20, children take over key roles in media to make their voices heard and shine a light on issues affecting them. They will assume the role of journalists and reporters to advocate for their rights and express their support to their peers, especially those who are still deprived of their fundamental rights.
This year, World Children’s Day is taking place during one of the most unique and challenging moments in world’s history. The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the deep inequalities in societies; children are missing out on basic healthcare, cut off from education, and left without protection.
All over the week, children in Niger will produce series of media reports on topics they themselves have chosen with a special focus on how together we can reimagine a better future for Niger’s children.
Several national media, print and audiovisual, have joined this initiative. These include the state-owned TV and Radio ORTN, the private TV stations Tambara, Ténéré and Bonferey and Le Sahel, Le Matinal, La Roue de l’Histoire, La Nation, Actu Niger and Niamey Soir online and printed newspapers.
“It is fundamental to listen to children and young people. They will be living with the impact of this pandemic and must be included in decisions that affect their future” says Ilaria Carnevali, UNICEF Representative a.i.
“Children have a unique and unparalleled ability to reimagine a more equal, just and sustainable world. Children will never accept that we should return to ‘normal’ after the pandemic, because for too many of them ‘normal’ was good enough” she explains.
In countries facing humanitarian crises like Niger, the COVID-19 outbreak is creating significant additional pressure on an already overburdened health and social service delivery systems and exacerbating vulnerabilities in affected populations. Hard-won progress in advancing children’s rights has been threatened.
“Kids Takeovers shouldn’t just be a stunt or photo-op. Takeovers provide children and young people with a chance to explore their rights and to gain a better understanding of how decisions are made. It is also an opportunity to voice their concerns and propose solutions that are meaningfully listened to and implemented by adults and decision makers,” concludes Ilaria Carnevali.
This initiative has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the United Nations CERF, the Government of Japan, the Government of Italy, the German Cooperation (BMZ), the Global Partnership for Education, The World Bank Group and USAID
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For more information, please contact:
Lalaina F. Andriamasinoro, +227 8006 6018, [email protected], UNICEF Niger
Binta Saley Souley, +227 9039 1928, [email protected], UNICEF Niger
