BROADCASTING FORUM FOR AFRICAN CHILDREN

The first All Africa Forum on Children and Broadcasting opened in Accra last night. The five day forum will provide an opportunity for the participants to identify common challenges and strategies confronting them and share experiences about programming for children. It will also enable them to identify means of developing guidelines that are more relevant to the continents rich cultural heritage and addressing the needs of African children. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Dr.. Ivy Matsepse-Casaburri, said the forum is an opportunity for broadcasters to bring the history and cultural heritage of their communities, their way of life and the environment to children though programmes for children and by children. She said it is sad that technological development is delivering information and entertainment to African children in a way that can best be described as a global enslaught. Dr.. Matsepse-Casaburri therefore called on those in charge of Africa's broadcasting stations and the cultural industries to help find a solution to this. The Chairperson of the Ghana National Commission on children, Mrs.. Alberta Quartey who welcomed the participants hoped that they would come out with concrete solutions to the problems of children through the production of effective programmes in the media. End