"What on earth does youth journalism have to do with development?"... this is the first question that was asked to Plan's child media program coordinator yesterday in an interview. As policy-makers and activists gather in Strasbourg for the European Development Days, Plan International has brought a team of 17 youth journalists to cover the event.
One of the oldest and largest development NGOs in the world, Plan International works in a variety of fields (child rights, education, water and sanitation, health), always placing children at the heart of its actions. Plan's child media program involves children and youth in 6.000 communities throughout West Africa. The programs, broadcast on local radio stations in 50 languages allow children and youth to express their views on issues that affect them and call upon local and national authorities to take action. In many cases, Plan's child media program managed to change the way adults and local authorities look at children and youth, resulting in positive changes for young people whose views are now increasingly taken into accounts.
So when people wonder what youth journalism has to do with development, we simply reply: everything. In order to make development sustainable, you do not only need to secure economic viability or cultural compatibility, you need to have new generations of empowered citizens who will take the future of their countries in their hands, denounce corruption, hold authorities accountable and participate in political decisions. We hope you will like this blog where you will find articles posted by Plan's youth journalists participating in the development days.