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AFRICA CHARTER ON CHILDREN'S BROADCASTING

Preamble

We, the delegates of the Africa Summit on Children and Broadcasting, Accra Ghana 8-12 October 1997, affirm and accept the internationally adopted Children's Television Charter that was accepted in Munich on 29 May 1995. In addition, we amend the SADC Children's Broadcasting Charter (June 1996) to read as the Africa Charter on Children's Broadcasting.

Without detracting from the International Children’s Television Charter, we further adopt in line with the said Charter and in the spirit of the said Charter, our Africa Charter on Children?s Broadcasting, which takes into consideration the needs and wants of children in our region.

  1. Children should have programmes of high quality, made specifically for them and which do not exploit them at any stage of the production process. These programmes, in addition to entertaining, should allow children to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential.
     
  2. Whilst recognising that children's broadcasting will be funded
    through various mechanisms including advertising, sponsorship and merchandising, children should be protected from commercial exploitation.

     
  3. Whilst endorsing the child's right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion, and protection against economic exploitation, children must be ensured equitable access to programmes, and whenever possible, to the production of programmes.
     
  4. Children should hear, see and express themselves, their culture, their language and their life experiences, through the electronic media that affirm their sense of self, community and place.
     
  5. Children's programmes should create opportunities for learning and empowerment to promote and support the child's right to education and development. Children’s programmes should promote an awareness and appreciation of other cultures in parallel with the child's own cultural background. To facilitate this there should be ongoing research into the child audience, including the child's needs and wants.
     
  6. Children's programmes should be wide ranging in genre and content, but should not include gratuitous scenes, and sounds of violence and sex through any audio or visual medium.
     
  7. Children's programmes should be aired in regular time slots at times when children are available to listen and view, and/or be distributed via other widely accessible media or technologies.
     
  8. Sufficient resources, technical, financial and other, must be made available to make these programmes to the highest possible standards, and in order to achieve quality, setting codes and standards for children’s broadcasting must be formulated and developed through a diverse range of groupings.
     
  9. In compliance with the UN policy of co-operation between states in the international community, the Africa Children’s Broadcasting Charter recognises all international covenants, conventions, treaties, charters and agreements adopted by all international organisations including the OAU and the UN affecting children, but with particular reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.


11 October 1997
Accra, Ghana
 
    
 
CHILD DELEGATES - IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS
 
 Summary Points presented by child delegates:

  1. We felt that at least 2 or 3 children should represent each of the African countries at the Second World Summit on Children and Television.
  2. At the World Summit:
  1. Children should give opinions and views on what they want to see and hear.
  2. Ideas should be taken from what we have done here and presented here at the Africa summit.
  3. We should learn from each other.
  4. We should encourage and have debates and bring all our ideas together.
  5. We should discuss the charter with all the child delegates and see what additions they’d like to make.
  1. We felt that those of us here should go back to our various regions and ask the children what they think and what they’d like to see and hear and report back.
  2. We would like to set up a communications network for children on these issues and our representatives for this are: Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Accepted and endorsed by all participating delegates from:
    Ghana
    Nigeria
    Kenya
    Uganda
    Gambia
    Namibia
    Mozambique
    Zambia
    South Africa
African Children's Charter: a welcome step to securing the rights of Africa's children

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, 29 November 1999. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children's Charter), within days of the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children.

 

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