Andrew Brown, Chief of Communication and Advocacy of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office for China, speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Li He)
BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The media plays an important role in promoting the protection of children's rights, said Andrew Brown, Chief of Communication and Advocacy of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office for China.
Speaking exclusively to Xinhua on Monday, Brown said UNICEF looks forward to strengthening cooperation with Chinese media to tell more stories about China's efforts in promoting the protection of children's rights around the world.
He added that UNICEF and the media have a shared interest as well as a shared responsibility in telling children's stories.
According to Brown, in recent years, UNICEF has conducted in-depth cooperation with Chinese media to explore different areas of China in order to report on programs for children, such as pilot programs focused on enhancing children's education, health and nutrition.
UNICEF's work with media partners aims to "raise the voice of children themselves so that they actually have an opportunity to express their own opinions," Brown said, adding that such efforts have achieved positive results in promoting the protection of children's rights, especially in China.
As a UNICEF representative, Brown will be attending the upcoming fifth World Media Summit scheduled in early December.
"It's a great opportunity for us to talk about children's rights in the media and to encourage more media to tell children's stories," Brown said.
He added that he is ready to exchange opinions or views with media organizations from around the world to identify new ways of telling children's stories and bringing issues related to children to the public's attention.
UNICEF signed a memorandum of understanding with Xinhua News Agency in 2009. This year, the two sides renewed the memorandum again.
"We really look forward to continuing the partnership with Xinhua and growing it," Brown said, adding that he hopes to further strengthen cooperation with more Chinese media including Xinhua in the future.
As China makes continuous contributions to promoting global common development, UNICEF is willing to work with Chinese media to find out how the projects supported by China are helping children in countries across Africa and Asia, Brown said.
"We want to document these successes and try to actually expand them to more children, more countries," he added. ■
