Youth participating in Think Before You LOL media literacy and sensitisation workshop. Photo: MISA Namibia images, 2013. The winners of the 2013 Regional Children’s Reporting Award, accepting their certificates and prizes in Lusaka, Zambia. Photo: MISA Regional Secretariat images, 2013. Children’s group discussions Group discussions were held with children between the ages of 12 and 18 years on how they feel they are currently represented in the media and what kind of spaces they would like to see created for them to voice their opinions and be heard. Identifying mentors MISA identified Muvi TV, in Zambia, as a mentor for other media practitioners on best practices for reporting on children’s rights and issues. As their first event, the TV station hosted a tour for journalists and other media workers, demonstrating how they mainstream children’s reporting in their daily work and how they involve children in generating content and in the production process. Regional Children’s Reporting Awards In November 2013, MISA and Save the Children International announced the winners of the 2013 Regional Children’s Reporting Awards, during a ceremony hosted by MISA Zambia in Lusaka. 30 The Zambian Minister for Information and Broadcasting Services, Mwansa Kapeya, presented the awards and used the occasion to urge media to highlight successes and positive stories about youth development, rather than presenting children as victims. The 2013 judging panel was pleased to note an increase in the number of journalists reporting on children›s successes and we hope to see even more entries in the 2014 awards and more examples of responsible and inclusive reporting on children’s rights and issues throughout 2014. The award for best Print Feature was awarded to Bobby Kabango of Malawi for his investigative piece, Marriages keep Balaka girls out of school, published in Malawian newspaper Nation on Sunday. The Radio Documentary award went to Malawian journalist Chikondi Mphande for her story, Culture compromising children’s right to education. The award for Print News went to Sithembile Hlatshwayo of Swaziland, for her story, 15-year-old virgin discovers he is HIV+, appearing in the Times of Swaziland. Think B4 You LOL youth weekend against genderbased violence In November 2013, MISA Namibia partnered with Child Line / Life Line and Sister Namibia (a Namibian feminist and women’s rights organisation) to hold the Think Before You LOL Weekend (LOL Weekend). The LOL Weekend was a two-day media literacy and sensitisation workshop with children and youth on the topic of gender messages in the media. The workshop was attended by 37 youth between the ages of 13 and 28, including two media representatives covering youth issues. The sessions included a mixture of presentations and interactive activities and by the end of the workshop, the youth had developed key messages targeted at media houses, the public, men, women, musicians, authors and other artists about how they should represent gender issues in their work. These messages were used by MISA Namibia in public service announcements and promotional materials during the 2013 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign. As a result of the workshop, MISA and its partners established the Youth Media Action Group - a core group of youth advocates who meet to discuss gender issues in the media and develop action plans for addressing the portrayal of gender based violence in the media and the arts. Youth recording her thoughts and reflections on the Think Before You LOL Weekend of Action Against Gender Based Violence. Photo: MISA Namibia images, 2013. The final award, in the category of Photography, went to Wallace Mawire from Zimbabwe for his photo essay titled, Social Cohesion: integrating children living with albinism into society. 31