Indian children win One World Media Award

July 2003 -

Mini-documentaries by Indian children have won the 2003 One World Media Award in the category Special Achievements. Children from disadvantaged areas and depressed situations in India have made videos about the problems they have to deal with each day. There are documentaries about child prostitution, child labour, living in a garbage dump, and living in the smoke and fumes from a hazardous industry. The films were made by children, but are intended for an adult public. The video program is called ’Children have something to say’. Three of the young filmmakers, teenagers from one of the poorest slums in New Delhi, accepted the prize during a festive ceremony in London.

The documentaries were created as part of the Plan Nederland project - the former ‘Foster Parents Plan’. This organisation’s objective is to help children who live in poverty. Providing information to educators in developing countries is one component of the program. Plan Nederland uses all available media to do this: puppet shows, street theatre, children’s newspapers, radio programs and video films. The children themselves can explain the problems they have to deal with; for example, they created the prize winning video programs themselves. Plan Nederland’s philosophy is that the most pressing issues and the most taboo subjects can be discussed.

The One World Broadcasting Trust, which awards the prizes annually, was set up in 1987 by the broadcasters ITV and the BBC. The foundation supports all types of media whose purpose is to provide a multi-faceted and in-depth image of developing countries.

Annemiek Leclaire