In the midst of the highly mediatised activity at State House to commemorate Universal Children’s Day, Cyril Dina, an S5 student from English River Secondary School was also making history by becoming the first child to present the news in Seychelles. The event held under the theme – Children’s voices matter was organised by the National Council for Children (NCC) in collaboration with Télésesel.
‘We wanted to give children a voice in the media on that day, as a means to show that children are talented, have opinions and can really help bring changes in our country if we give them a chance to do so,’ Mrs Sharon Meriton-Jean, the Manager of Communication and Events at NCC.
Before going on screen, Dina worked with the crew of Télésesel to learn to manipulate the different equipment on set. He also assisted in preparing the introduction for each story, before finally recording the news alongside another presenter. ‘It was fun! I had to practise a few times before feeling confident enough. I did make a few mistakes during the recording, but it was ok,’ says Cyril Dina, who turned 17 years a few days prior to the event.
Another media outlet that also gave children a voice on Universal Children’s Day was the Radio section of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Throughout Saturday, children aged between 14 to 16 entertained the audience live on Radyo Sesel and Paradise FM. One of the students was Lannah Constance from Plaisance Secondary School, who was co-host in one of the programs on Paradise FM. ‘I hope that these activities show that there are good children out there who has a positive outlook on life, with dreams and aspirations, and plenty to say on different topics,’ she stated after the three-hour show.