Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was the host to the 7th World Summit on Media for Children (WSMC 2014) from 8 to 10 September 2014. This is the first time that the global summit on media in the development, education and wellbeing of children is taking place in Asia.
Vasuki Belavadi, Associate Professor, Department of Communication at University of Hyderabad (UoH) made a presentation of his work on Children As Media Producers (CAMP) at the. The Summit, held once in three years, was held this year in Malayasia.
Presenting CAMP at the workshop session “Media and Children’s Rights in the Digital Age” on September 08, 2014, Vasuki Belavadi said it was important to see children not just as passive receivers but as producers of information. CAMP uses media to empower children to express themselves and tell stories about the world from their perspective.
The World Summit on Media for Children is an initiative of Dr Patricia Edgar presented to a Round Table meeting hosted by PRIX JEUNESSE in May 1993. It was recognised that programming for children was changing and under threat in a variety of ways. Children’s programming could not remain a purely domestic issue or survive with the values and objectives that industry professionals believed should apply. A global forum for the exploration of the issues was essential and World Summits were born. The Summit this year focused on digital media and its impact on children of all ages.
The Summit is organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the World Summit on Media for Children Foundation and hosted by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).