Participant Stories: Youth at Risk

  • South Asian Journalists train with ICFJ staff during a training session in Sri Lanka

  • Journalists learned to shoot and edit stories on multimedia devices like an Ipod Touch

  • Journalist Azzam Shakeel's documentary was primarily shot on an Ipod Touch using skills he picked up from ICFJ traning

  • Children can be at risk from dangers like human trafficking and the increase of drug-related crime in South Asia

The children who skate at society's margins fall victim to human trafficking, drug use, and labor abuse.

Reporters in Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka filed searing, up-close reports on a multitude of risks for youth in their countries. Stories about sex trade, drugs and corruption were just some of the topics that were reported. Out of these challenging topics came some truly remarkable work.

The journalists took part in the New Media, New Challenges: Best Practices workshop over a five day period in April 2012, and learned about multimedia news reporting and new technologies to advance journalism in their countries. Some of the skills they learned here were immediately incorporated into their work, Azzam Shakeel's documentary on child labor was shot 90 per cent on an iPod Touch.

Their peers, and other participants in the initiative filed stories on the impacts of climate change.