International Course Educational Programme Production;

International Course Educational Programme Production (Radio/Telvision)
12 week course from
September 14th – December 4th, 2009
RNTC application deadline: 15th January 2009
Embassy NFP application deadline: 1st March 2009
NFP application deadline:1st April 2009
The deadline for non-fellowship applicants is July 1st, 2009

Further information please contact: liza.marsin@nesoindonesia.or.id

Course Aims
The course aims to strengthen the capacity of educational broadcasters
to design and produce attractive and effective educational programmes
and multimedia material for, with and by children, on issues to do
with children and development.

Rights of the child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a universally agreed set
of non-negotiable standards and obligations that has been ratified by
192 countries. It spells out the basic human rights that children
everywhere – without discrimination – have: the right to survival; the
right to develop to the fullest; the right to be protected from
harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and the right to
participate fully in family, cultural and social life. With these
rights comes the notion of the responsibility we have to create a
world in which our children can thrive and grow, and contribute to the
further development of our societies.

`Vessels to be filled”
Everyday reality is, however, much more grim. Many children see
themselves challenged by poverty, disease, violence, abuse, or
conflict – often related to the difficulties their families face due
to economic development and social disintegration. There are growing
demands on children to cope for themselves, to compete, and to measure
up to the expectations placed on them by family, friends and society.
In all of this there is a tendency to see children solely as victims
or, at best, as passive players on a stage they will only fully occupy
once they have become adults; to see them in the analogy of Plato as
`vessels to be filled’ rather than `fires to be lit.’

Participating in decision-making
Yet the fact is that children are more than capable of articulating
their own desires, needs, opinions, and of participating in the
decision-making which will shape their lives in the immediate and in
the longer term.
What is more, a society which does not understand this is denying its
own potential, and is the poorer for it.
For people working in the broadcast media this has important
implications, not least because today an increasingly important part
of childhood and of the experiences of children as they grow into
adults is what is learned through radio, television and the internet.

Challenge for broadcasters
The challenge for broadcasters and educators alike is to make
educational programmes and materials, whether they be entertaining and
educative in a general way or more closely linked to formal learning,
which engage and involve children in the way they learn about the
world, and encourage their active participation; programmes made not
just for children, but also by and with children.

Educational formats
Participants will be exposed to a variety of educational formats
targeting children, with special attention being given to the
complementary use of media (radio, television, internet, print) to
achieve educational objectives.
A target audience approach will be used with participants having to
define and formulate appropriate educational objectives for the
relevant age and target group. They will learn to produce effective
educational radio and television programmes and internet materials to
achieve those objectives, as well as consider ways to measure their
success or failure. In this process attention will be given to the
opportunities and the challenges presented by collaboration between
broadcasters and those outside the media with specialised knowledge
and an interest in or influence on the education of children and young
people.

Hands-on
As well as attending sessions devoted to reinforcing and developing
their knowledge and skills in the field of educational programme
research and production, participants will be sent out on programme
assignments and working visits to appropriate locations in the
Netherlands. In course sessions and assignments emphasis will be
placed on broadening the participants’ understanding of development
issues relevant to children and young people in their societies and of
how these can be treated in educational broadcasting and on the internet.
Throughout the course the participants will use professional broadcast
recording and editing facilities and equipment, as well produce their
written work on computers linked to the internet for research and
email. Where appropriate participants from radio and from television
will work together.

Requirements
Applicants should be mid-career programme-makers working in the field
of educational broadcasting. They should have, as a minimum, secondary
education/professional education or training in media and a good
command of the course language: English (written and spoken).