Communications Regulatory Agency Media Literacy and Protection of Children Experiences of the Communications Regulatory Agency of BH Kemal Huseinović, Director General RIRM - MNRA Seminar on Media Literacy and Protection of Children Malaga, 25th June 2010

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 2 Content Media literacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina – approach to media literacy and state of play Activities of the Communications Regulatory Agency in the field of media literacy Planned/future activities Conclusions

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 3 Media literacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina BH society is still ethnically divided and has to deal with serious political, social and economic problems. There is no sufficient public discussion of issues related to media literacy and the academic community has taken little interest in the issue. In the field of media education there is no systematic approach aimed at increasing the level of media literacy with children and adults. Ministries of Education and Culture have entirely failed to act in this field.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 4 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy Following the current regulatory practice in Europe and the latest trends, Communications Regulatory Agency has taken on the task of promoting media literacy and raising awareness of responsible and safe use of all media services. European Commissions Communication A European approach to media literacy in the digital environment and other European Commissions and Council of Europe documents are guidelines for our work in this field.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 5 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy Conference on protection of children from inappropriate television content in November 2009 in cooperation with UNICEF and Save the Children.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 6 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy The main objectives of the conference were: to raise awareness of the importance of parental guidance; to discuss possible influence of media content on children with different interest groups such as TV producers, parents, teachers, psychologists; to initiate dicussion about possibilities and importance of protection of children in the new media environment.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 7 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy Following this conference, CRA conducted a short study by psychologists on the influence of television contents on children: how children watch and interpret TV programmes; different stages in the development of children and their ability to interpret audiovisual contents; scenes of violence, explicit sexuality and pornography and their impact on children; alienation and development of passive behavior; positive aspects of audiovisual media (informing and education).

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 8 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy Cooperation with the Ministry of Security of BH on the protection of children on the Internet participation in the Expert Group for creating a draft of the Action Plan for the improvement of the system for combating child pornography and other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation of children by means of information and communication technology. CRA gave suggestions related to the legal framework and possible activities within the information and awareness raising campaign (such as joining the Safer Internet Day Campaign, establishing a website for children and parents with information about the safe use of online services, production of a video clip).

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 9 Activities of CRA in the field of media literacy Cooperation with the Ministry of Security of BH on the media-related measure aimed at the prevention of juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency is one of the most discussed issues in the Bosnian society today. CRA took part in an Expert Group to create the Action Plan for prevention of juvenile delinquency. Following the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines) the CRA suggested different measures aimed at increasing the media literacy level of children and their involvment in the process of producing media contents.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 10 Activities of the CRA in the field of media literacy Cooperation with Prosecution of BH on the Internet safety and protection of children Participating at meetings regarding Internet safety and protection of children. Information sharing about current Internet regulation, possibilities of protection of children on the Internet and possible awareness raising measures.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 11 Future activities of the CRA in the field of media literacy Planned future activities of the CRA in the field of media literacy are: Creation of a special section about media literacy and protection of children and minors on the new website of the CRA. Development of a set of guidelines for television content rating in regard of their impact on children in cooperation with UNICEF BH.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 12 Future activities of the CRA in the field of media literacy Awareness raising campaign about possible impact of television contents on children including TV spot. Awareness raising campaign about Internet safety. Research in the field of media literacy - how media literacy level in BH be assessed.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 13 Conclusions Media literacy is essential in the new media environment where consumers are increasingly active and taking greater responsibility for their media consumption. Different stakeholders, such as competent ministries, regulator, industry, academic community and NGO sector have to get more involved and to cooperate in the improvement of the various levels of media literacy.

Communications Regulatory Agency Slide 14 Conclusions CRA as a regulator has taken on the task of promoting media literacy and raising awareness of responsible and safe use of all media services through different activities. In accordance with its mandate and available resources, CRA will continue to promote media literacy at various levels and to initiate and support activities aimed at increasing media literacy level.

Communications Regulatory Agency Thank You for Attention