Titled “Impact of the Media on Children and Youth,” this year’s conference boasts a lineup of some two hundred presentations by media and child protection professionals. In tandem with plenary sessions, topics will also be addressed in three separate sections, showcasing media contents’ education-development-play segments, media consumers, and institutions, respectively.

NMHH Director-General Dr. Janka Börcs-Aranyos is to open the conference, with ICSS President Péter Edvi as presiding chair. Speakers include Associate Professor Petra Aczél of Corvinus University, who will discuss the world of supernow; psychologist Annamária Tari, who will explore whether digital generations will have a different view of knowledge; and Blikk deputy editor-in-chief Norbert Gedei who will present on the role of tabloids in the protection of children topic. A detailed conference schedule is available online at the gyermekmento.hu Web page. The organisers will also publish conference presentations and research studies in book form.

Eight NMHH staff members are presenting at the conference: Media Council member András Koltay, on the future of child protection in media law; Media Council member Ágnes Vass, on media law aspects of the reality show; media and infocommunications commissioner Edina Kastory on the characteristics of media violence and how to safeguard against it; communications director Zsuzsanna Batta-Takách, on media-shaped self-image. Programme analyst Eszter Baranyai will present an overview of teens’ television viewing habits; market researcher Eszter Bakonyi of children’s attitudes to using the Internet; programme analyst Gábor Puhl of prevalence of parental supervision of television viewing; educational consultant Edina Sipos of the accomplishments to date of the NMHH Magic Valley Centre.

The protection of children has been a top NMHH priority for years. The Authority operates, among others, an Internet Hotline service, the Magic Valley Media Literacy Education Centre, publishes a media education package for teachers and parents, promotes media awareness via video shorts, provides filtering software via the Authority Web site and, embracing the same values, sponsors the current media conference as well.