How we can lead the way in promoting positivity

Entitled “See Me / Dyma Fi”, the campaign focuses on encouraging responsible and balanced images of young people in the media, while empowering children and young people to share positive news about themselves and others.

The campaign encourages broadcasters, councils and charities to work together to look at ways to overcome the negative stereotypes that exist. Celebrating the achievements of children and young people is at the forefront of the campaign, so we can show the positive contribution that young people make every day in their home, school, college, work and community lives.

I still remember the words of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child when they questioned the UK in 2009 about the portrayal of young people in the media. One of the committee members asked why the UK dislikes its children so much. She was referring to the negative media reports in the UK that used terms like “yob”, “animal” and “feral” regularly in its headlines to describe young people.

I remember listening to her line of questioning and thinking that if her view was shared by others, then the international children’s rights community must have a pretty low opinion of the UK.

Last week at one of Europe’s largest youth festivals, the National Urdd Eisteddfod, we launched a major digital project with the Welsh language broadcaster S4C, aimed at righting that wrong. We shall be inviting the young people of Wales to film a day in their lives for a project called DymaFi.tv. On Saturday, 22 June, we will ask young people aged between 13 and 18 to film their day.

Reversing the negativity
Anything that gives a voice to Wales’ young people has a crucial role to play. It is time for us to put a stop to the negative labels that children and young people in Wales are faced with every single day. It is time to represent them in a responsible and balanced way in all the work that we do and if this campaign builds a head of steam, perhaps Wales can become an example to other countries in the UK and across the world.

I’m delighted that S4C has responded in such a creative and exciting way to these issues by giving young people the opportunity to learn and develop filming skills in order to share their own stories in their own words. My aim is to enable Wales to be a country where children and young people are respected, valued, listened to and supported to lead safe and happy lives. We need to celebrate the positive aspects of growing up and I’m encouraging young people to share their stories and make the most of this wonderful opportunity. 

The films the young people produce will be shown on the DymaFi.tv website, along with film clips giving advice on filmmaking without going to great expense or trouble.

The film clips will be combined to create a DymaFi.tv film broadcast on S4C in November to coincide with Universal Children’s Day.

At the next UK reporting, it would be great if we could say to the UN Committee that we heard what they said last time and that great efforts have been made across the UK to portray our young people in a more positive and realistic way.

Keith Towler is the children's commissioner for Wales