Collaborating with Young Journalists’ Clubs to Drive Social Impact through Journalism and Advocacy Initiatives in schools and communities

World Vision Zambia's Child Protection Technical Programme has been working with various Children, Adolescent, and Young People's (CAY) clubs in the schools and communities; key among them are young journalists’ clubs.

Currently, World Vision Zambia has been working with 2,042 young journalists (920 girls and 1,122 boys) from 102 young journalist clubs across 29 area programmes. Within these clubs, the CAYs' skills in basic journalism and life skills (Communication, negotiation and assertiveness) are built.

Members of these clubs actively contribute by writing stories derived from their school and community environments and conducting interviews with peers, teachers, community members, and civic and traditional leaders. Notably, young journalists have been featured on local radio stations, including national television, addressing critical issues such as gender-based violence (GBV), early marriages, child labour, climate change and other issues that affect them. Their impactful contributions extend to significant events like International Children's Day, Day of an African Child and other national and international marked days to give them a platform to speak on the issues that affect them.

The young journalist clubs collaborate with the children’s councils by gathering and sharing information such as school governance, education policies, and school projects. They also work closely with the children’s parliament through participating in the governance process and advocacy of children’s needs at the community and district level structures.  The children were also allowed to engage civic leaders at the African Union coordinating summit; this enabled them to engage African leaders on their rights and governance process, including their protection at the regional level.

Under IMPACT +, the young journalist has helped solicit resources for the Community Service Learning project (CSLP) from government funding sources called the Community Development Fund (CDF).  The clubs have supported the marketing of products that are produced by IMPACT+ club members, such as crafts, door mats, and agricultural produce, including advocating for smart agricultural ways which are climate-friendly.

Through the local-level advocacy groups called Community Voice and Action (CVA), young journalists have been participating in advocating the government for laws and policies that protect the rights of children; one notable law that was passed with the influence of the children is the Children’s Code Act of 2022, which protects children from abuse and exploitation.

The clubs are managed by the government under the Ministry of Education; the ministry has developed terms of reference for how the clubs should operate, working closely with WV Zambia; the clubs are trained using the Communication for Development C4D model. C4D  enables communities, especially children and youth, to become the empowered subjects, storytellers, and change agents of their development.  In order to effectively establish and strengthen Young Journalist Clubs, World Vision Zambia has collaborated with Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) under the Government Ministry of Communication and Information and private media outlets in the districts that focus on child rights to amplify their voices on issues that affect their wellbeing.

Through young journalists, World Vision has provided a meaningful space for children to improve their participation skills, raise awareness about pressing societal issues that affect them and their communities and enhance the quality of community voice as they capture and share contextual issues.