Reaching Young Children Through MIFC

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Media Initiatives For Children use mass media, sometimes combined with school curricula, to produce measurable change in the attitudes and behaviors of young children living in areas of conflict. Children relate to animated characters that help them talk about their own feelings and experiences with other children in a familiar setting like a playground or park.

Each MIFC is created in a grassroots partnership with local organizations and thought leaders who have insight into the culture and conflict. Every MIFC undergoes the same rigorous development process, yet each one is unique in reflecting and addressing local needs and issues and is sensitive to the entrenched beliefs of the adult community.

With help from on-the-ground partners Pii can help children learn to:  

•  Be aware of others who are different from themselves

•  Understand what it feels like to be excluded

•  Be more willing to include others

While primarily focused on young children, MIFC also positively influence teachers, parents, older siblings, and other adults throughout the community. In this way, MIFC create a new dialogue for peace that begins with children and permeates entire communities.

Pii Rationale  

Every side in a conflict can explain in detail why “we're right and they're wrong.” Children adopt these arguments at a very early age, even though they probably don't understand their significance. Soon these attitudes and prejudices, innocently adopted by children, become core values that drive lifelong actions.

By learning tolerance and acceptance early in life, children have the opportunity to grow into adulthood without feeling the burden of prejudice. Preschool-age children not only understand differences between themselves and others, they learn the concept of “good versus bad.” Pii seeks to shape these young children's perceptions now and, as a result, influence their actions later in life. Children who learn to accept and respect others who are different from themselves on the playground take these core values into an increasingly “global village,” benefiting from the ability to accept and work with diverse others.