BY THE REPORTER STAFF WRITER

The Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA) has won the regional International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award, which is given by UNICEF for outstanding commitment to the ICDB by television and radio broadcasters.

ERTA received the regional award for the broadcast of the first episode of the “Involve Me” series on March 7, 2010.

ERTA received the regional award at the ICDB 2010 awards ceremony dinner on November 2nd in New York for the youth series “Involve Me” which run for a little over three months.

In “Involve Me” children receive an intensive course in film production, and have 4 days to make a one-minute film of their own. The series draws great attention to children’s issues by depicting the lives and voices of children, and shares the films produced in the workshops through broadcast television. It inspires young people to express themselves and offers a platform for them to voice their thoughts. “Involve Me” was produced by the makers of the award winning children’s show “Tsehai Loves Learning” in cooperation with Save the Children, Denmark.

Watch Some of the Videos Here

Additionally, “Involve Me” was selected as a finalist in the best youth program category out of 72 productions globally at Japan Prize 2010, and was awarded the UNICEF Special Prize on October. This prize was awarded by the UNICEF office of Japan, independent of the ICDB awards. Whiz Kids Workshop has won prizes at Japan Prize for three consecutive years. The Japan Prize was established in 1965 by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The annual festival honors the top educational programs world-wide.

“This is a perfect example of private, public and government affiliated partnership. These productions were made possible through the financial support of Save the Children Denmark and the commitment to quality children’s broadcasting by ETV. I am happy to receive the Japan Prize on behalf of this partnership, and to see ETV awarded in New York for their commitment to the program,” said Bruktawit Tigabu, producer of “Involve Me” and co-founder of Whiz Kids Workshop.

Whiz Kids Workshop is an Ethiopian production company that focuses on serving children through educational media.

Watch Some of the Videos Here