The Media and Children's Rights Manual


Posted on 11-22-2009	Translate this page

The Media and Children’s Rights booklet has been revised in 2005 and produced by MediaWise on behalf of UNICEF. The original edition was commissioned in 1999 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the CRC in over 20 countries and has shaped training programs for journalists around the world.

It is based on the practical experience of working journalists and includes story ideas drawn from issues raised by the UNCRC and checklists to ensure that media professionals acknowledge children rights in their working practices. The booklet is designed to strengthen journalists’ understanding of children’s rights and suggest ways in which the issue can generate news stories and features for the media as well as being useful in developing accurate and positive coverage of children.

The handbook outlines two milestones for children’s rights since the first edition: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), signed up to by 191 member states of the United Nations, and A World Fit for Children, the declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to provide criteria against which to measure the policies and achievements of governments and others concerned with the welfare of children. It also contains International Federation of Journalists guidelines and over 60 useful international contacts for journalists seeking facts, figures, quotes and advice about children’s rights, including the website www.unicef.org/magic containing Media Activities and Good Idea by, with and for Children, which MediaWise helped to devise. Learn More Download the document