Training on Child Sensitive Journalism to Journalists concludes in Koshi Province

The media plays an important role in bringing children’s issues into public attention and shaping how society understands their rights and experiences. Recognizing this role, Consortium-Nepal, in collaboration with Good Shepherd International Foundation Nepal, organized a two-day training on Child-Sensitive Journalism on 3–4 October 2026 in Biratnagar, Koshi Province, with the participation of journalists from across the province.

Led by Tarak Dhital, a child rights and media ethics expert and Advisor of Consortium-Nepal, the training created space for journalists to examine how children are portrayed in news and what responsible reporting on children requires. Discussions covered key areas including child rights, sensitivity while reporting on children’s issues, media ethics, agenda-setting and mediatization, the Journalists’ Code of Conduct, and the Child-Friendly Communication Directive, 2073.

Rather than focusing only on what journalists should report, the sessions encouraged participants to consider how children’s stories are told, whose voices are included, and what impact media coverage can have on children’s lives. Participants reflected on the need to protect children’s privacy and dignity while ensuring that reporting does not further expose them to harm, stigma, or discrimination.

The training also highlighted the importance of creating space for children to be represented as active rights holders and participants, rather than only as subjects of concern or beneficiaries of programmes. Child-sensitive journalism can help bring children’s experiences and perspectives into wider conversations on rights, governance, education, protection, and development.

By bringing together media professionals from Koshi Province, the training contributed to strengthening a network of journalists better equipped to approach children’s issues through a rights-based, ethical, and child-sensitive lens. It also reinforced the shared responsibility of media and child rights actors in creating a public environment where children are seen, heard, and represented with dignity.