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The Voice of Youth Media Project was created through
a partnership between the Center for Media, Education
and Technology (CMET) and the International League
for Human Rights (ILHR) based on a shared philosophy
that media is the most effective tool for engaging
youth in civic dialogue and for young people to
tell stories about their experiences and communities
and advocate for their human rights, while simultaneously
fostering their identities as peacemakers, productive
citizens and potential future journalists. The
project was launched in July 2005 and to date
it has trained over 20 youth journalists, ranging
in age from 16 to 22, as on-air announcers, producers,
news writers, radio production technicians and
researchers. Topics covered in our radio programming
include: child marriage, drug abuse, violence,
the nursing school newpapers vendors strikes,
the impact of war on youth and the International
Day of Youth celebrations.
In March of 1991,
a war began in Sierra Leone that would last nearly
a decade until the United Nations Observer Mission
in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), with the assistance
of the West African Peacekeeping Forces (ECOMOG)
succeeded in restoring peace to the country. The
most striking aspect of the war in Sierra Leone
is the degree to which children were targeted;
an estimated 25,000 children were abducted from
their homes and in many cases they were forced
to witness the killing of parents, friends and
neighbors. Sometimes, they were forced to participate
or face death themselves if they refused.
By encouraging
youth to actively participate in the development
of their society and providing them a space to
express themselves, inform others, educate and
entertain, the process and the product of this
project has already had an immediate, tangible
impact (News).
Youth Journalists are earning the confidence and
respect of their peers and adults on the local
level, while simultaneously ensuring that policymakers
and community leaders take their concerns and
aspirations into account. Listen to some of the
radio programs and hear for yourself why Voice
of Youth is taking the country by storm!
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