Thessaloniki Declaration on the 3rd World Summit on Media for Children:
Commitment for the Future

The participants in the "3rd World Summit on Media for Children", international, governmental and non-governmental organizations, decision-makers, members of the audiovisual industry representing all media sectors, researchers and children, reaffirm that the right to communicate, participate and be informed, is an essential human right of the children, reflected in the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

The respect for human dignity and the right to democratic participation in media for children demand integrated policies at the global, regional, national and local levels. To ensure the rights of children, communication process should be pluralistic, multicultural and should guarantee freedom and diversity of opinion and expression.

Taking into consideration:

  1. The existing national regulations, regional and international conventions, charters, declarations and recommendations which address the question of children and audiovisual media, especially the International Charter on Media for Children;
  2. The importance of engaging media as partners in actions to achieve the rights of children, and the social responsibility of the media in an interdependent and globalized world, particularly in addressing the needs of education, promoting life skills and bridging the digital divide;
  3. The growing expressions of concern towards the impact on children of media programs containing violence, consumerism, gender and ethnic stereotyping;
  4. The need to preserve cultural diversity in a rapidly globalized world;
  5. The need for urgent and coordinated action among the media actors, in view of the rapid evolutions of technology.

We agree to work for the:
Encouragement and support of quality local content production, to be distributed through all media to reach all educational levels, for communication and cooperation among students, schools and different educational systems. The systematic synergies between both "central and regional", "local and global", within a positive framework for the preservation and promotion of languages and cultural practices;

Adoption of convergent regulations and monitoring their application through observatories focused on children and media, on advertising and Internet harmful content, with reference to the specific local media environment, with special focus on protection from violence, pornography, pedophilia and racism;

Involvement of the audiovisual industry in seminars for professionals, in the framework of an international, intercultural strategy (flying trainers), for structural developments to deliver quality children's audiovisual media;

Acknowledgment and promotion of research about children and media, in order to enact policies and to contribute to specific program strategies;

Promotion of the issue "children and media" as a high priority, in the agenda of international, regional and national organizations for children.

In the light of the above, participants agree to undertake actions in the spirit of a "shared responsibility" among parents, governments and international organizations, civil society, media industry, research and educational institutions.

- Thessaloniki, 26th March 2001