International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB), one of UNICEF’s most successful initiatives, will be celebrated on Sunday. Broadcasters across the world allow children to go on air and act as reporters, presenters and producers.
In India, national public service broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) organises programmes in the morning and afternoon. Children handle interviews, the music and phone-ins.
According to AIR Kolkata assistant station director Pradip Kumar Mishra, up to last year, AIR organised the shows while UNICEF sponsored gifts for the children and refreshments for both the children and the accompanying parent or parents. But this time, AIR will provide the gifts as well as the refreshments. Mishra said celebrities, who have appeared on the shows every year, won’t be on air this time as budgets have been cut down owing to the financial crisis.
The programmes are by and for kids.