The Dark Side of Chocolate is a documentary film by Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano about the continued allegations of trafficking of children and child labor in the international cocoa industry. Co-sponsors for this event include Global Exchange, DC Fair Trade Network, Virginia to Stop Modern Slavery, and others. Panel discussion including Tim Newman from …

Dark Side of Chocolate Screening Read More »

The award-winning film Black Swan featuring Natalie Portman fell foul of censors in Barbados earlier this year. Though a ban on the film which features a lesbian relationship was eventually lifted, the incident highlights the issue of social acceptability, reports Shako Gibson, a 25-year-old Barbadian. Lately there has been quite a lot of talk surrounding …

Correspondence: Barbados is too conservative for my tastes Read More »

An alarming number of young people are succumbing to the worldwide epidemic of negative body image, says Janine Wan, 15, a Correspondent based in Melbourne, Australia. At the same time there are efforts to counteract the harmful messages about so-called ideal bodies. On the 10th of May 2013, it was announced that the Positive Body Image …

“Negative messages hurt the right to self esteem" Read More »

The media plays a powerful role in the way we view each other internationally, writes Denise Juvane, 21, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Mozambique now living in England. But should the media ensure that those perceptions are fair?  Throughout this academic year, ‘media and international relations’ has been one of, if not my favourite, module. I’ve …

“Will media portray a true picture of the world?” Read More »

Many think of Africa as a poor and backward continent, writes Denise Juvane, 21, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Mozambique now living in England, who argues those narrow perceptions are based on one-sided media messages.  A couple of days ago I was listening to one of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s influential speeches and it got me thinking …

“Exploring the world's perception of Africa” Read More »

Scotland’s recent vote on independence was closely watched in the Caribbean, writes Ryan Bachoo, 25, a Commonwealth orrespondent from Trinidad and Tobago, but he argues that news coverage of the historic vote revealed bias in the media. So Scotland stayed. And my draft of this version of the prodigal son leaving home is now in …

"Scotland’s vote reveals issues with the media" Read More »

News media focused on disaster and scandal can have a strong impact on the outlook of young people writes Carl Konadu, coordinator of the Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development and Peace working group, a network supported by the Commonwealth Youth Programme.  The media’s negative portrayal of the world is of extreme importance in our society today. …

"Media negativity creates hurdle for youth attitudes" Read More »

Tragic news has put Nigeria in the headlines recently, but Prince Joshua Oyeniyi, 26, a Correspondent from Nigeria, reports that young leaders are placing the country on the map for positive reasons. These days, the rate at which information is spread to the rest of the world from one little village can be shocking. Now …

"Putting Nigeria on the map for a good reason" Read More »

India’s media is breaking new ground as it grows, but Harmanan Singh, 18, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Mumbai in India, argues that commercialism should not jeopardise journalism standards. “India wants an answer!” bellows an effervescent, bespectacled news presenter, Arnab Goswami. For the past couple of minutes, he has dashed out an unprecedented war of words with …

"Indian media: the juggernaut and all in between" Read More »

The media says proposed amalgamation will strengthen public broadcasting, but Hsin-Yi Lo, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Melbourne, Australia, argues there are severe implications for democracy when media ownership is concentrated and diversity is limited. In late February, Mark Scott of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation questioned if Australia really needs two public broadcasters. He contests there isn’t …

“Proposed merger threatens media diversity” Read More »