Participants at Kids Press Club want to become journalists in future

The participating kids declared their future plans at a press conference, marking the conclusion of the three-week long Kids Press Club at Dubai Press Club premises. Not only did the kids spoke about their experiences at the program, but also fielded questions from the media with wit and confidence.

While their preferences in terms of print media and visual media differed, the kids were near unanimous in expressing a well considered decision to continuously hone their journalistic skills in the formative years so they will be equal to the task once they are ready for a career. To that effect, some of them had participated in the program last year as well.

"I would like to work in the visual media since I am better at presenting news than at writing it," said Shivani Jawa, aged 12. She was happy when told that being in the visual media she would be able to break news faster than her colleagues in the print media.

But the inevitable wait for his moment of glory did not deter Haroon Saleem, 14 year old, a bit from his passionate commitment to the written word. "I am fine with Shivani preceding me in breaking the news. I will still prefer print media because I love to write. Of course, I will be able to present a more detailed picture the next morning since I have enough time at my disposal," he quipped, clarifying, however, that he felt no envy toward his counterpart at the visual media.

For Baraa Saad, aged 12, journalism is not his top priority, but the next best option after the study of medicine. But if he ends up in journalism, he will not think twice before rushing to dangerous war zones in search of news, because " I like dangers. Braving dangers will allow me to tell the truth to people. The discharge of my duty may entail risks and dangers, but ultimately I will be able to tell the people what they have to know."

Haroon seconded him saying the previous day's interaction with the chief editor of a newspaper had removed all his fears about being in the line of fire in the discharge of his duties.

For Eldrick Yuji R.S. Los Banos, aged 10, his interest in Kids Press Club was triggered by his eagerness to appreciate what his parents did for a living; his father is a PR professional and his mother a broadcast journalist. But now having been initiated into the world of media, he finds himself drawn rather deep into it and might consider working as a journalist in his home country, the Philippines. For Mahreen Khan, participation at the Kids Press Club for two consecutive years have opened her mind to exciting new possibilities; she is keen to maintain her interest in the media, though her first career option will be elsewhere.

For Arohi Rajguru, she liked the experience immensely, but thinks it is rather premature to make up her mind on a career at this point. "My hand writing is perfectly messy for a doctor's prescription and my bedroom is an untidy chaos needing engineering aptitude to live in, but I still have a long way to go before I decide my career," she says, adding that she had participated in radio shows and games shows on TV earlier.

Unanimously declaring that the summer media training held by the Dubai Press Club was worth the while, the children said they could now make better sense of the news that they read in the papers and watch on TV. In addition to the initiation to the world of news, the program was also supplemented with a variety of related activities, including a photography workshop, movie making workshop and visits to a number of media organizations.

"Our objective was to expose the kids to the entire range of things that constituted the world of media. The program was designed in a way that generated curiosity in the minds of the kids to know the media industry in all its diversity. We are delighted to see that a majority of them left Dubai Press Club, genuinely expressing interest in becoming journalists in future. As a media development organization, we are as much concerned about the media infrastructure in the region as we are about the need for adequate human resources," pointed out Maryam Bin Fahad, Executive Director, Dubai Press Club.

Dubai Press Club officials distributed certificates of participation at the end of the Press Conference. A number of parents also came to see their children speak to the press.