Youth participating in Think Before You LOL media literacy and
sensitisation workshop. Photo: MISA Namibia images, 2013.

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 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.

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.

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.

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