{"id":36212,"date":"2017-11-07T13:03:45","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T13:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/unicef-hosts-innovative-workshop-to-develop\/"},"modified":"2017-11-07T15:02:21","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T15:02:21","slug":"unicef-hosts-innovative-workshop-to-develop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/unicef-hosts-innovative-workshop-to-develop\/","title":{"rendered":"UNICEF hosts innovative workshop to develop inclusive, child-friendly communication materials for ECD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The long week workshop started on Monday will engage subject matter experts in early childhood development (ECD) and communication, academia, media, animators, illustrators, graphic designers, singers, and people with disabilities to create age-appropriate and child-friendly content and materials in their respective fields.<\/p>\n<p>Early childhood development (ECD) is an important area of focus. Evidence shows that 80% of a child\u2019s brain develops between the ages of 0 and 3 years. <\/p>\n<p>The Government of Rwanda have demonstrated the commitment to ECD through a revision of the National ECD Policy, and ECD has been prioritised in development plans like the National Strategy for Transformation. UNICEF continues to be the Government\u2019s main partner for developing and implementing ECD programmes.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this commitment, there remains a lack of age-appropriate communication content and material for young children in Rwanda. This content, such as songs, illustrations, television and radio programmes, is critical for engaging children at a young age and encouraging early learning and discovery. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdequate stimulation in the early years of life is essential so children can achieve their full development potential,\u201d said Dr. Anita Asiimwe, the National Coordinator for Early Childhood Development.<\/p>\n<p>An important component of the workshop, and an on-going priority of UNICEF programming, is promoting inclusiveness for children with disabilities. Children and adults with disabilities will participate in the workshop in all aspects of production, sessions will be translated into sign language, and presentations given with closed captioning.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop was planned as part of the anniversary celebrations for Itetero, Rwanda\u2019s first radio programme for and by children. <\/p>\n<p>In October 2015, UNICEF partnered with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) and Imbuto Foundation to create Itetero, meaning \u201cchildren\u2019s nurturing space\u201d in Kinyarwanda. Itetero now airs every week on Radio Rwanda, teaching children Rwandan cultural values and improving their cognitive development through stories and drama sketches.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur Asiimwe, Director General of RBA, hopes that Itetero will serve as an excellent example during this week\u2019s workshop of the child-friendly content UNICEF, RBA and MIGEPROF hope to see more of in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very proud of Iteteroand the positive engagement we have seen from our listeners so far,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are even planning to move Itetero television, which will engage even more children and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The six-day workshop will be fully interactive, with presentations and activities capitalising on the experience of partners such as Mashirika Creative and Performing Arts Group and Search for Common Ground. Workshop participants will create real examples of child-friendly communication materials as a catalyst for expanded projects and ideas.   <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe commend the Government of Rwanda for their ongoing commitment to ECD, and we are proud to work with RBA as a leader in creating age-appropriate communication material for children,\u201d said Ted Maly, UNICEF Representative. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are excited to see the materials and content produced as a result of this workshop,\u201dMaly added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-22506 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1-1.jpg\" alt=\"The first day of the workshop saw different attendees with the need of promoting inclusiveness for children with disabilities.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-22505 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1-5-2.jpg\" alt=\"The six-day workshop will be fully interactive, with presentations and activities capitalising on the experience of partners\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-22504 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1-4-2.jpg\" alt=\"Presentations and illustrations were also encouraged during the workshop\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-22508 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1-3-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-22507 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/1-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) and Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), is hosting a six-day workshop for communication and early childhood development professionals in Rwanda. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-36212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36212"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=36212"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=36212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}