Children are partners at International Youth Conference

“I made lots of new friends and learnt so much from other children about maintaining and developing youth activities. It was my dream come true!” said Nguyen Tran - a Vietnam Participant.

Children's 'Doco Crew'

Along with children from India and the Philippines, two teenage girls from Plan Vietnam’s Young Media Club participated in a Children as Partners international youth conference in Melbourne, Australia in November 2003.

Hosted by Plan Australia, the 3-day event focused on child participation and attracted over 200 people from various development, government and youth organisations. The children spoke about what child participation means in their countries, and how they campaign for child rights to help adults better understand its importance.

The two Vietnamese girls spoke about their Young Media Club, giving examples of how the club uses forums, exchange visits, newspaper articles, radio and TV programs to educate leaders in Vietnam about child rights and participation. This unique conference provided a once-in-a-life time opportunity for the children, who told us:

"We young people were able to speak for ourselves, and exchange ideas and stories with children from other countries."

To teach children the power of media as a communications tool, professionals worked with the children to form a 'doco crew' (TV crew). The children produced daily news bulletins, feature stories and a documentary reflecting their views about the conference itself. The ideas, energy and enthusiasm of the children made the conference a unique learning experience for adults and children alike.