A total of 10 journalists from Assam have been awarded with Media Fellowship Award selected by a high-level jury as UNICEF Assam-Cotton University Media Fellows, supported by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Assam.
The selected journalists underwent a training programme held in Guwahati city, on issues of malnutrition, child protection and gender. The training programme was conducted by Cotton University with the technical support from UNICEF Assam.
Ten journalists (print and TV) who received the fellowships, represent different media houses. With a challenge to address the hitting issues of malnutrition and violence against children, the selected media fellows are now tasked to write ground zero stories over a period of 75 days covering the topic while traveling high-burden districts to do justice to their stories as well as the society as a whole.
During the training programme, sessions were facilitated by a number of experts. Director of Research and Policy Advocacy CRY India, Shri. Subhendu Bhattacharjee highlighted the role of media in advocating with policymakers on children’s rights. Shri. Jitu Dutta, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Kamrup Metro highlighted the changing trends of violence against children in Assam.
Educationist and child specialist Dr. Narayan Sharma spoke on different issues regarding malnutrition and how it affects the overall development and growth of children during later years. Senior journalists including Shri. Mrinal Talukdar and Ratnadip Choudhury; and Chief Reporter of Dainik Asom, Shri Jiten Choudhury took sessions on issues related to creating space in daily reporting on child rights, and on how to use technology for better reporting.
The issue of child rights whether it be the coherent issue on basic food nutrition required or the daily crimes carried out against children, are both interrelated as snatching the basic need of food and forcing a kid into malnutrition is equivalent to crime. The media fellows are being tasked with a consequential issue but it will help the society in the long run as their hypothesis and ground work will help the concerned department in spreading
awareness in the society through a new light.