Media & Children 5th World Summit

The 5th World Summit will be held in 2007 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Vision & Purpose

The vision of the hosts of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children in South Africa in 2007, is to produce a global and interactive conference to discuss and debate issues around children and media, with tangible, workable and sustainable outcomes.

Purpose of the summit

The 5th World Summit on Media for Children will showcase the diversity of the global children’s media environment with a focus on developing countries’ achievements. The common purpose is to ensure that a multiplicity of children’s voices is heard. It will provide a platform for debate, a forum for discussion, the participation in interactive sessions, and an opportunity to share best practices.

The extent of Africa’s media environment will be on show, but it will also be a World Summit relying on the spirit of ubuntu - “I am because you are” - to share global needs, situations and possibilities.

Today, interactive multimedia technologies provide us with new ways to draw upon children's natural impulses. These new media encompass an abundance of materials including text, voice, music, graphics, photos, animation, and video. But they provide more than abundance – by bringing all these media together means that we can expand vastly the range of learning experiences to open up the social and natural worlds to a wide audience.

Goals & Objectives

The 5th World Summit on Media for Children’s underlying goals and objectives are in line with the objectives of the World Summit Foundation on Media for Children, the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the priorities outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• To meet the objectives of the World Summit Foundation in raising the status of children’s programming both within the region, across the continent and around the world.
• To draw to the attention of key players in media globally the importance of children’s media issues.
• To encourage continental and global collaboration on the production of programme content.
• To provide opportunities to share expertise and ideas for future quality children’s programming.
• To generate interest in the Summit not just in the immediate region (i.e. South Africa) but across the entire continent of Africa, to extend its relevance beyond the host nation.
• To ensure that it is a World Summit with a programme and content of relevance and interest to delegates worldwide – a voice that is led by Africa, but is informed by the world.
• To ensure that media plays an active role in the social development of youth, with a focus on HIV and AIDS.
• To explore opportunities within the multi -media environment and unlock developmental potential and business opportunities.
• To initiate debate and discussions to formulate a global children’s media policy and guiding principles around children’s media issues in both developed and developing countries.
• To review, evaluate and take forward discussions from previous Summits on charters and declarations on children’s media.