WAN Takes Young Reader Programme to Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand, 31 March 2006--Newspaper journalists and teachers met in Bangkok this week to develop Thailand¹s newspapers in education program, as organizers of the meeting, including the World Association of Newspapers, investigate how to extend the program nationally.
The workshop re-united teachers and journalists who had first met at a similar workshop held in November 2004 to introduce the concept of using the newspaper as a teaching tool in classrooms.
³Those who were at the first workshop, many of them have taken some action,² says Jan Vincens Steen, manager of Norway¹s Newspapers in Education programme and a member of the Young Reader Committee of the World Association of Newspapers. He, along with the Press Development Institute of Thailand, helped organize the events under WAN¹s NIE Development Project, which is supported by the Norwegian paper manufacturer Norske Skog.
³The idea the first time was to bring teachers and journalist together from the same area even if it they did not know each other² so they might go back and start something together, Steen says. ³It was the main idea then and it is now.²
The formula seems to have paid off. Some teachers presented newspapers they helped students create, while at least one newspaper has started offering a monthly youth supplement.
³It¹s exciting to see newspaper people and teachers mixing together,² says Lynne Cahill, NIE manager of The West Australian newspaper who led workshops and provided practical tips for the 30 participants. ³It¹s a bonus for teachers to network instead of working in isolation.²
The Press Development Institute of Thailand has been discussing NIE's potential with the Thai Education Minister and local education authorities. Executive Director Chavarong Limpattamapanee says the next steps include completing an NIE manual and introducing a pilot project in Bangkok schools. In September 2006, Thailand is expected to host the second NIE regional roundtable, bringing together participants from around Asia.
The WAN Newspapers in Education project has developed a wide range of new programmes for using newspapers in education all over the world. Full information on the project, which has activities in more than 60 countries, can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/nie/home.php .
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
