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A public meeting on the impact of media violence on children,
with special emphasis on television, is being organised
by the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) in Delhi
on Wednesday.
The
meeting, say the organisers, is the culmination of a nine-month
research project conducted by CFAR with support from Unicef,
Unesco and Ford Foundation. A field study on media viewing
habits of children was carried out in five cities - Delhi,
Lucknow, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad - with children
between the ages of six and twelve who belonged to different
socio-economic groups.
The study, undertaken between January and July 2001, has
thrown up some serious concerns with regard to children's
responses to media violence, concerns which need to be addressed
by a wide range of people: parents, teachers, psychologists,
child right activists, the government and the entertainment
industry.
These concerns include:
The amount of television children watch both in terms
of time spent on TV and range of programmes they watch
What "hooks" them to television
Their most vivid recollections of television
Their
responses to different types of media violence: horror
and the supernatural, graphic physical violence, family
drama conflicts and even cartoon violence.
The interactive relationship between reel and real violence
in their lives
The findings of the study will be presented along with certain
recommendations which will seek to address the main issues
at the meet. The public hearing will endeavour to bring
together people representing different interest groups to
help formulate a blueprint for action which can be faithfully
implemented, say the organisers.
Among those expected to participate in the day long sessions
are Times of India senior features editor Kaveree Bamzai,
Bheeshma International proprietor Mukesh Khanna, Zee ideation
head Vinta Nanda, Sabe TV CEO Markand Adhikari, Star creative
director Deepak Segal, DD director general SY Qureshi, Unicef's
Geeta Athreya and Children's Film Society of India chairperson
Sai Paranjapye.
Click here to read the highlights of the
CFAR study "Impact of media violence on children"
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