The first Unicef Regional Awards for Media on Child Rights held on February 25

Unicef regional director Ms. Sigrid Kaag thanked her Majesty Queen Rania al-Abdullah for attending and lending patronage to this event and emphasized the importance of media's role in covering issues related to children and adolescents and their rights, which was the purpose for choosing "adolescence" as the award subject for this year.

In her speech, Ms. Kaag said that adolescence was an age of transition, of questioning, of strong conviction and self-doubt; of make or break, an age of apparent contradictions which makes writing about them a special challenge.

Four awards were handed out:

- In the Television category the winner was Manal Salhya from Syria for her film "Al Muna'ataf" (The Turning Point), which tackles the challenges that face 4 female adolescents in Syria, given the absence of the necessary supervision from the parents, school and media in this very critical phase where their personalities are shaped.

- In the Radio Category the winner was Mr. Sameer Mohammad al-Mathkhaji from Yemen for his show "From the Children's Memories" which discusses critical issues such as children's rights, early marriages, HIV and AIDS, religious extremism and various other issues in a creative way that appeals to children. In the show children relate stories from their memories about people they know.

- For The Category of Printed Media, the winner was Abeer Salahudin from Egypt for her article issued in "Sabah al-Khair" Magazine which tackled the temptations that face adolescents such as smoking and drugs. In her article Abeer recommends involvement in volunteer work as a way to help adolescents avoid engaging in these practices and learn new life skills and engage in productive social and humanitarian activities instead.

- In the category of Electronic Media, Mohammad al-Jabri from Yemen clinched the award for a media investigation he conducted for IRIN, the Humanitarian News Service of the United Nations, on the subject of street children in Yemen. The story details a research launched by the Supreme board for Childhood and Motherhood affiliated with the Yemeni government, and presents the testimonies of children.

In addition, special awards were handed to Khaled Khlaif Koteish from Jordan, and Mahmoud Waddah al-Jaabari from the occupied Palestinian Territory. Both of them are 16 year old participants who produced their media projects without any official or financial support from any governmental or private entity. The Jury insisted on giving them special awards for their exceptional efforts.

The jury consisted of experts in Media, Unicef officials past and present, in addition to the famous Egyptian actor Mahmoud Kabil, Unicef's Goodwill Ambassador fro Middle-East and North Africa, who emphasized the importance of this award in strengthening the adolescents.'

relationship with Media. Mr. Kabil said:

"Media is a double-edges sword which should cover and promote issues related to children. It is important to recognize journalists who shed light on the reality of children, and recommend solutions to problems related to children in the Arab world."

After the ceremony, a debate was organized in which Mahmoud Kabil, Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, the winners and jury members participated, representatives of Media institutions also took part in the discussion. The session tackled the challenges of the coverage of adolescent issues by media.

This regional award was launched by Unicef this year for the first time to engage all media in highlighting children and adolescents' issues, promote their rights in the region, and portray the challenges and difficulties they face.

Unicef already is now accepting applications for the next Regional Award for Media in the Middle East and North Africa. The subject of this award is "promoting health and changing behaviors", and the deadline for applications is September 15, 2009.