UNICEF Winners

I was one of the judges on this competition. A lot of the stuff was indeed very creative and inspiring. Luckily, they have not fallen into the terrible trap facing many western broadcasters - routine.

UNICEF and OneWorld Radio announce the winners of "Children's Lives, Children's Voices", their annual competition for the best radio produced by, for, and with children. Children from the Democratic Republic of Congo and children from El Salvador are the big winners, with children from Afghanistan and Burundi running a close second place.

Listen to the winners and to all the entries at the OneWorld Radio site.

There were two categories in the competition: features up to 5 minutes long and spots up to 60 seconds long.

The winner in the features category is Sisi Watoto (We, The Children), by
Search for Common Ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Presented by children aged 16 and 17, the programme gives a voice to Congo's children affected by war in that nation.

The runner-up in the features category is Shahrak Atfal (Children's City), by
Internews Afghanistan. Produced by children aged 7 to 13, it is set in an
ideal imagined city, and features an interactive radio, an invisible parrot,
and a flying carpet.

The winner in the spots category is a radio campaign by Radio UPA in El
Salvador. It covers six basic children's rights: education, participation,
environment, the right to be heard, not to be abused, and access to HIV/AIDS
information.

The runner-up in the spots category is a call for peace from Studio Ijambo in Burundi. It was produced with primary school children in Bujumbura during a time of high tension prior to the handover of power from a Tutsi President to a Hutu President.

Besides entries from the winners, the contest brought entries from countries on every continent including: South Africa, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Venezuela, Ukraine, Colombia, Germany, Mali, Peru, Australia, Mexico, Belize, Mongolia, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, United States.