Broadcasting Festival focuses on the African child with the Minister’s blessing

Minister of Communications, Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri will be attending the first Children's Broadcasting Festival (CBF) to be held in South Africa. This is a parallel event of Sithengi 2002 that will be held from 9 to 13 November 2002.

Children's Broadcasting Foundation for Africa (CBFA) has announced the Minister's attendance and the names of the world-renowned speakers who will be in attendance at this 4 day event being hosted by CBFA, Sithengi, UNICEF, the Department of Communications, SABC Education, Goethe Institute and Prix Jeunesse International.

There will be a series of workshops and various programs presented to children and youth (13-18) from different regions, backgrounds; cross gender and races. These audiences will be given opportunities to comment and vote on programs, interact with and meet a host of local and international speakers from the world of broadcasting. Some of the topics of discussion will be Edutainment, telling the story of the HIV AIDS Crisis, SABC presenting their policies on attracting young viewers as well as a hands on workshop on the art of filmmaking and 4th World Summit on Children in Media.

Firdoze Bulbulia, Chairperson of CBFA expressed her excitement by saying, "South Africa will be hosting some of the biggest names in the children's and youth Broadcasting industry during CBF. There will be industry opinion shapers such as Dr Patricia Arriaga of Once Ninos, Erling Ericsson of the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company, Sue Goldstein of Soul Buddyz, Marion Creely from the European Broadcasting Union's Youth Documentary Exchange program, Lauren Segal of Takalani Seasame and Christina Angelucci of RaiSat Ragazzi, Italy to name but a few."

Bulbulia explained, "The aim of the CBF will be to provide the critical platform on which children and youth will be able to view and discuss current children's and youth television programs so as to give input on what they would like to see. The producers of children's and youth programs will also have an opportunity to come together in a series of workshops that will be presented by local and international experts with a view to producing quality programs for all African children and youth."

This festival comes at an opportune time as the South African regulatory authorities are working towards encouraging a greater volume of relevant and suitable programming aimed at children and youth. However, the voices of children and the youth are required to inform this critical process. CBF aims to ensure that the target audiences of these programs will be given an opportunity to do so.