Sweden wins bid for 2010 World Summit on Media for Children

The 6th World Summit on Media for Children will be held in June 2010 in the city of Karlstad, Sweden.

The World Summit on Media for Children Foundation (WSMCF) announced today that the bid led by Director Per Lundgren on behalf of the City and University of Karlstad, Sweden had been successful in the contest to hold the next World Summit, supported by worldwide media organisations.

“Director Per Lundgren and his partners proposed a compelling and forward-thinking proposal. The 2010 Summit will be a seminal event.” said Dr Patricia Edgar AM, Chair of the WSMCF from Melbourne, Australia. “The world we live in is changing rapidly. Children are citizens of the world. All media platforms for them should have a depth and focus of educational commitment. Children are forging changes in the new media landscape as education and media production for them are being transformed by new technology The new media context for children requires risk taking both on the part of producers who should test new boundaries and on the part of educators guiding the young. As world leaders in children’s well-being1, Scandinavia will provide an ideal context for such initiatives”

The Summit Movement works to ensure the needs of children are met as an audience and as participants in media production. World Summits are held every three years and attended by media, technology, policy and education professionals dedicated to children’s services. Each Summit provides a unique and fertile environment for global networking and the sharing of ideas and information. World Summits which involve young people and adults are catalysts for communication, collaboration and international exchange.

Previous World Summits have been held in Melbourne (1995), London (1998), Thessaloniki (2001), Rio de Janeiro (2004) and Johannesburg (2007), supplemented by Regional Summits held in The Philippines (1996) and North America (2000).

“It’s both a pleasure and an honour for us to bring together media players from all over the world to a global agenda on creativity, critical thinking skills, quality in media and cultural diversity in Karlstad, Sweden” said Per Lundgren. “We look forward to welcoming the world to Karlstad”

Event: International Youth Symposium 29 October – 2 November

Entitled, “Youth Participation and Empowerment – Getting Beyond the Rhetoric and Slogans”, this international symposium seeks to bring together young people and youth policy and programme designers to share experiences, ideas and aspirations and to identify what motivates and sustains successful youth-designed and youth-led actions.

This Symposium seeks a balance of 75% youth activists (ages 15-30) and 25% youth policy and programme makers. The focus of the Symposium is to listen to the experiences and ideas of young people who have stepped up and have made a significant impact on their societies through their actions.

For more information on the symposium, please visit http://www.bankofideas.com.au/Goa

Guest writer: How do I start to play a role in the (u)niting of (n)ations?

This October the 62nd UN General Assembly gathers in New York. Every year some issues involving young people’s lives are discussed by political leaders from all over the world. This year, 2007, the agenda is “Young people in the global economy”.

On October the 4th I’m leaving on a jet plane!
But the journey has already begun; it started this spring when the Swedish Government elected me as one of the delegates to the UN General Assembly of 2007. This journey has so far been an amazing experience. My days are filled with political discussions regarding young people’s role and importance in global politics. It will, without doubt, be one of the most exciting events of my youth.

Every year some countries send young people as delegates or “youth delegates”, as some prefer to call them, to participate in the forming of the global documents involving young people. These countries are viewed by most as role models. But to be really honest with you – I think it’s just a small first step! What it really comes down to is the perspective of the appointment and the will to grant real influence or not. All since being elected the delegate of the Swedish Youth Organisations a slow chill has crawled through my spine, and not the good kind! Young people’s presence is way too often considered to be enough. It’s not!

Half the people in the world are children and youth. We have the right to participation, influence and power. Co-determination in society is our right and responsibility. The task of society is to see young people and create space for us on the basis of the resource we are and the even greater resource we could be. Our right and responsibility is to contribute here and now with our full potential, creativity and force. We are no more the future than middle-aged people are history.

Presence is not a synonym for participation, influence and power!
So, what is the first step towards participation, influence and power? Well, when I step into the UN building in October I have two weapons in my arsenal, two prioritized issues from the Swedish Youth Organisations – employment and leisure time. I know it sound simple, and maybe it is? But I think that the best effort any young person can do is to care. And not be afraid to show that we care! Regardless of the issue, a perspective from a young person and our organisations should matter. All of us young people must show politicians that we can contribute. If we do, how can politicians afford not listening to us?

Make sure to speak your mind – in issues from the school cafeteria to UN’s World program of action for youth. I think it’s the best thing you can do to help young people wherever they are!

Thank you for reading my thoughts on that I had on a rainy Tuesday night in July. If you want to continue following my journey you can do so on http://www.fndelegater.blogspot.com. Here you can track the UN delegates from the Swedish Youth Organisations struggle forward on making our voices heard and influencing the world.

Gabriel Ehrling
Delegate to the UN General Assembly 2007

gabriel.ehrling@lsu.se or +4673 580 66 96
Feel free to share your thoughts!