Everybody is listening to us
A World Vision-supported project enables children to develop journalism skills which they use to produce a radio show and promote positive social values, turning these kids into role models.
Small hands quickly rise up in the air. It seems like everyone wants to get an assignment. Teacher Tatjana Jevtic is going through sweet pains as she tries to decide who will prepare stories for the next edition of the children’s radio show.
A knock on the door stops the discussion for a while and the teacher leaves the classroom to see who it is. She returns with a small boy, whose father came to school just to ask the teacher if his son can participate in the workshops too. This doesn’t surprise Tatjana. “At the beginning, 30 children were expected to participate in the workshops, but every week more and more children came. It seems we have a good reputation,” she says seriously.
The workshops these children are participating in is part of the wider project “Everybody is listening to us”, aimed to promote positive social values amongst children by preparing weekly educational radio shows at local radio station in Jahorina Area Development Programme. The project was created by the organization ‘Klub Ideja’ as a response to the over-saturation of Bosnian media with violence, scandals and other programme content that is not adjusted to children’s ages and needs. Competing for more listeners, shows and other media programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina often have no educational values and leave children with the wrong role models to follow. “We want to use media, as the most powerful weapon in the world, for children’s needs,” says Tatjana.
Many of the children hold notebooks in their hands with materials they prepared at home. Ana has a notebook full of interesting facts from all spheres of life that she prepared for the show. “Did you know that dolphins sleep with only half of the brain working?” she read excitedly from her notebook. Other children in the classroom did interviews with renowned public figures in their communities. Some of the interviewed were also karate students of Karate Club Romania who work with children with special needs, another World Vision-supported project.
Nine-year old Petar is in the classroom too. He loves to read and write. “This is great experience,” says Petar seriously adding that, although he was on TV to announce the start of the radio show, he never felt nervous.
The project consists of workshops for primary school students where they are taught basic journalism skills and where they prepare content for their radio show. The radio show is aired every Sunday on a local radio station and lasts around half an hour. The radio hosts are also children from the school and the whole show is entirely produced by children.
At the beginning of the workshops, children were shy, most of them wanting to prepare materials for the radio show, but not willing to host it on air. But, as time passed, children quickly changed their minds and were eager to take their turn at hosting.
The radio show’s symbolic title “Nas svi slusaju” (or translated to English “Everybody is listening to us”) is a way to attract the attention of listeners. “We want everybody to listen to us; we want children’s needs and their voice to be heard as well,” explains Tatjana.
All radio shows can be listened to here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYqhjjViUaQ