UNICEF Announces Nominees for This Year's International Children's Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Awards

NEW YORK, 16 September 2008 – UNICEF today announced the nominees for the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Awards.  The awards are given by UNICEF for outstanding commitment to the ICDB by television and radio broadcasters. The winner of the 2008 ICDB Awards will be announced in at an awards ceremony dinner on 10 November 2008 in New York.   

The International Children’s Day of Broadcasting is celebrated by hundreds of broadcasters around the world.  The next ICDB will take place on 1 March 2009 with the theme “Unite for Children: Tune in to Kids!”

This year, the nominees each won a regional competition and now go on to compete for global honours. The nominees come from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru and the United Arab Emirates. They represent the best work produced in 2007 for the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting, as well as a commitment to youth participation in media.

“These visionary broadcasters have demonstrated creativity in their programming as concrete evidence of their commitment to getting young people’s voices heard,” says Stephen Cassidy, Chief of UNICEF’s Internet, Broadcast and Image Section.  “We are happy to see the increase in radio broadcasters this year, as we strive to recognize the audio medium with the same respect television has received, especially given the importance of radio in many of the world’s developing countries.”

Regional judging took place between June and August and entries were evaluated by teams of broadcasters, radio and television experts and communications specialists. The judges looked at content, execution and year-round youth participation.

The ICDB was launched in 1991 to encourage broadcasters worldwide to create awareness for children’s issues. Each December, these youth write, report, produce and present programs that allow them to reach a wide audience with their thoughts on the issues that affect them.

The ICDB Regional Prizes for television went to Channel I (Bangladesh, “The Winner”), CCTV (China, “On the Road”), KI.KA (Germany, “TRICKBOXX in Arabia”), Channels TV (Nigeria, “ICDB 2007 – The World We Want”), Asociacion Nacional de Television Red TV (Peru, “Napa”) and Spacetoons (UAE, “The World We Want”). The ICDB Regional Prizes for radio went to Angola National Radio (Angola, “The World We Want”), Radio MEC AM (Brazil, “Radio MEC no Dia Internacional da Crianca no Radio e na TV”), Radio Beijing Corp. (China, “Listen to Children, Listen to Nature”), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Ghana, “Curious Minds”), IRIB – Tehran Radio (Iran, “Hi Children.  Hi Tinv.”) and Equal Access Nepal (Nepal, “Chatting with my Best Friend”),

The 2007 ICDB Awards went to National Broadcasting of Thailand (NBT), ONUCI FM and Radio Mozambique.  NBT won for their program “From South to North, From East to West, Thailand ICDB-Unite for Children, Unite Against Aids” produced by Thai Youth News Center Association. ONUCI FM and Radio Mozambique shared the first ICDB Award for Radio Excellence for their programs “ICDB Special” and “Child to Child Radio Programme” respectively.

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About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information, please contact:

Karen Cirillo, UNICEF IBIS, 212 326 7506 kcirillo@unicef.org