“We find wide consensus in Europe about the urgency of protecting children from TV. But new frontiers are coming up, risks connected for instance to the new mass media, such as the Internet, which we have to beware of, and for this reason we have to join efforts to look for answers that can measure up to the challenge”: Marcel Boulogne, manager of the Information Society of the European Commission, who attended in Rome yesterday a workshop about TV and children, explains the directives of the EU Executive Committee which is revising the “TV without frontiers” Directive. “The EU must have a harmonised regulatory framework: we must insist on self-regulation, we have to promote good practices, such as protected viewing times and the use of pictograms, i.e. symbols indicating whether a film, TV movie or entertainment show are suitable for children”. The European meeting of the Committees for the protection of children from TV compared experiences from different countries (France, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Ireland) and offered an exchange of opinions and “educational solutions”, which, according to psychologist Vera Slepoj, “are the first responsibility towards people who are growing up and soak up all the stimuli thay are given”. “But this is not enough – adds Boulogne -. In Europe there are deep cultural differences and now generational differences are coming to the fore as well: it is difficult, therefore, to determine what is tolerable and what is not in a country instead of another. One thing for sure, though, we have to protect children from unwarranted violence, sex scenes, attitudes that go against the shared values, by involving for instance teachers and, first of all, families”. (to be continued)
