Johanna Kaiser

WINDHOEK – On Saturday, September 28, which was International Right to Information Day, fesmedia Africa conducted a successful art workshop with children in Havana.

At the beginning of the workshop the children learnt playfully how important the right to information is and how this right affects their private lives. The concept of the individual right to information is strongly related to social participation and affects not only adults but also children.

The project is aimed to raise public awareness on the vital role freedom of information has for children and youngsters and to display the collective diversity of the nature of the information that is relevant to them.  Access to information is important for consolidating democracy and stimulating development in Namibia. It allows citizens to acquire knowledge and to make informed decisions about participating in the governmental and developmental processes in the country. The art workshop helped to promote this complex topic through a creative channel to stimulate their creativity and imagination. Especially for children, drawing and painting help to develop skills such as interpreting, critical thinking and how to make choices based on visual information.

fesmedia Africa is the media project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Africa. Their work seeks to promote the development of a free and open media landscape that enables people to become the driving force for their economic, social and political progress. “We therefore promote freedom of expression, freedom of information and media’s role of facilitating dialogue in society,” the organisation says.