At the invitation of The Youth Media & Communication Initiative (YMCI), an international organization dedicated to children and media, based in Nigeria, and Canada, in conjunction with the British Council and the National Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB), has extended an invitation to the Young People in the Media, the Gambia, to participate in the 1st Africa Media literacy conference to be held later this month, at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Abuja, Nigeria.

The conference is expected to center on the theme: "Media Literacy: A Tool for Youth Empowerment, National Development and Democratic Engagement."

The conference is the first of its kind to be held in the sub region, and it will focus on the importance of media education and its impact on children and the youth. It will also explore the role of young people, their needs and realities in light of today’s rapidly changing communication technology.

According Satang Nabaneh, the Gambian Child representative to the World Children’s Parliament, who is the Secretary General of Young People in the Media, The Gambia, the conference aims at providing a platform that will bring together key stakeholders working on education, children and the media, literacy; and communications for development and to develop policy documents that will facilitate the integration of media literacy into school curricula across Africa.

She noted that the conference would give voice to children and the youths, as to their perspectives and their rights through the development of a continental youth media programs.

The renowned Gambian child activist added that the conference would help to create the conditions that would promote sustainable media education in Africa. She however maintained that the role information plays in today’s world cannot be over-emphasized. Children and youth deprived of access to means of self-expression are being kept from developing the confidence and knowledge they need to compete in a rapidly changing information world.

Mr. Chido Onumah, Coordinator, Youth Media & Communication Initiative, highlighted the importance of Youth media program, which is saie  offer ways to change negative attitudes about children and youth in the media. He said that they also provide opportunities for young people to show their creative side and to nurture their roles as agents of social change.  He disclosed that The 1st Africa Media Literacy Conference would bring together youth media organizations from across Africa, arguing that it  should therefore be a great opportunity for theYoung People in the Media, Gambia (YPMG), to showcase their activities and learn from best practices in the area of children and media."

He further noted that Young People in the Media is the Gambia’s foremost youth media organization, and that this  conference would enhance its ability to help its members not just to understand the media but to gain access to various media to promote a more balanced image of young people -- and the positive roles they play in society.

Abdou Jatta, President of Young People in the Media, The Gambia, and a member of the Children’s Broadcasting Foundation for Africa,

said that conference would feature outstanding, innovative, local and international media leaders as speakers and resource persons, providing up-to-date, fresh approaches and perspectives to the growing media literacy field.

The Seasoned Gambian child activist added that the Gambian child and youth representatives to the conference are expected to make presentations, and learn to share good practices from sister countries.

He further said that one of  the expected  outcome of such a conference for YPM Gambia  will be to develop the  capabilities of  its members  and learn good practices from sister countries, "thus it  will further enhance our skills in the media which we will use to train the sister organizations we work with." Another key outcome, the youth leader went on, will be that YPM Gambia will strengthen the partnership between its and GRTS and will look on modalities to work closer.

Media Literacy, he continued, is a vital component for a healthy democratic community. Since we the young people and children are the future of the African continent, we want to be active citizens who will engage democratic processes rather than become passive observers. So we need the tools and confidence to understand the information explosion that surrounds us.

Jatta finally expressed gratitude and appreciation to the board of Directors to YPM under the able and dynamic leadership of Fatou Camara-Saidy, UNICEF, Worldview International Foundation, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the former Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament for their relentless and pro-active support towards YPM Gambia, since its inception.