MUMBAI: Philippine broadcaster ABS - CBN Channel 2 has won the 2005 year's ABU Casbaa Unicef Child Rights Award for an episode of their current affairs series Correspondent titled Juvenile Injustice.
The Child Rights Award, established in 2001, is given each year in recognition of the best television programming on a child rights issue produced in the Asia-Pacific region.
It recognises the efforts of broadcasters in pursuing both the production of top quality children's programming and better news coverage of children's issues.
"We salute broadcasters of the Asia Pacific who participated in this year's award process and who continue to demonstrate their commitment to producing quality television for and about children," said Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies.
Juvenile Injustice, an in-depth hour-long documentary, sheds light on the harsh reality facing young juveniles left languishing in over crowded prisons and detained with adults while awaiting their sentences. By documenting the story of four young detainees and also exploring efforts underway in the Philippines to reform the juvenile justice system, the exposé demonstrates the urgent need to do more to speed up this process.
Karen Davila, the producer of Juvenile Injustice and representing ABS-CBN Channel 2, was presented with the award during a gala presentation at the Casbaa 2005 Ball in Hong Kong.
The entry competed with 50 programmes from 10 countries including Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore.
"The Child Rights Award is an important part of what must be an ongoing effort to strengthen the commitment and capacity of broadcasters in Asia and the Pacific to continue to produce quality programming on children's issues that educate, inform and break down stereotypes," said Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union secretary-general David Astley.
The winning entry was selected by a panel of jurors made up of distinguished television producers and industry representatives including; Bhutan Broadcasting head of children, youth and women programming Kesang Chuki Dorjee, Radio Television Malaysia's Norliza Mohd Ali, Nickelodeon Asia senior vice president/general manager Catherine Nebauer, BBC's Michael Peschardt, Jeanne Hallacy, a producer and documentary filmmaker from Asia Works in Bangkok and Amar Keshar Simha, an independent producer from Pakistan.
"This year's entries cover a wide range of child rights issues from the rights of indigenous children to the plight of children living on the streets. They illustrate the power of television to communicate and educate an audience on the situation of children with compassion, intelligence and insight," said Unicef Regional East Asia and the Pacific's office regional communication advisor Madeline Eisner.
The top ten finalists in this year's competition were:
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Da Zhaward Maurman (Swara) produced by Samara Minallah (Pakistan)
In-Depth 60 Minutes - Caught Between Tragedy & Hope: Reformatory school children produced by Korean Broadcasting System (Republic of Korea)
I-Witness: The GMA Documentaries "Batak" (Child Drug Pusher) produced by GMA Network, INC, (Philippines)
Kabataan News Network (Youth News Network), produced by Probe Media Foundation, Inc. (Philippines)
Segah At Nusantara produced by Mahaka Visual (Indonesia)
Sunday Report: Big Head Babies produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (Hong Kong)
Surat Sahabat: Daman Anak Dayak Ngaju (Letter from a Friend: Daman, child of Dayak Ngaju) produced by Trans TV (Indonesia)
Talk with Your Baby - SOS from the babies who don't smile produced by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (Japan)
The 300 Meters Adventure - produced by Shizuoka Broadcasting System (Japan)
