Making politics debatable and relevant to children without necessarily having to lock horns with partisan and bigoted political arguing was the focus of a study commissioned by the Commissioner for Children.

Children have to be protected from situations where they are used as props or as propaganda in political activities

Children and young people needed to be “protected” and “engaged proactively” in terms of political participation, particularly in electioneering.

According to the study, titled Minors in Advertising and During Election Campaigns, Malta’s system lacks “exhaustive media education” where children are not taught how to scrutinise and filter the media.

The study, by Andrew Azzopardi, probes the negative influences of advertising, particularly during an election campaign, while drawing up a set of guidelines on how children should be represented during such campaigns.

The study suggests that children have to be protected from situations where they are used as “props” or as propaganda in political partisan activities, especially during electioneering.

Negative representations of children in political advertisements, such as those of the 2011 divorce campaign, should be avoided, it found.

While children should be socialised into political thinking, the study recommends that they should be discouraged from attending public manifestations without due preparation from parents or guardians.

The study points out that Malta has no legislation defining political advertising.

There is nothing that stops or controls the participation of children in politics, a situation that becomes even more difficult when parents give their consent to their children’s involvement.

All too often, politicians use children to “adorn” their activities rather than actually getting them engaged in such events.

They tend to make decisions that affect the lives of children and young adults without consulting them.

“We seem to hold the opinion that politics is a ‘thing’ for grown-ups, when, in reality, politics, not the petty partisan type, is part and parcel of social life and children and young people should be involved, educated and consulted,” Dr Azzopardi notes.

In Malta, the political party is still very much a family legacy and crossing over or challenging party ideals is like confronting the family.

However, regardless of a parent’s political affiliation and viewpoint, “it is only fair to educate children and young people about the bigger picture, so they can grow to be well-versed and accomplished in making their own pronouncements”.

The study ends with a quote by Labour education spokesman Evarist Bartolo: “Politics has adopted the technique of advertising. Tribalism should not be cultivated among children. Comments such as ‘Viva Joseph’ and ‘Jaqq Gonzi’ are bad. We need to find ways of how the political parties may regulate themselves. We need to be careful not to eliminate humanity among children.”

The study’s main recommendations

• Political parties are to refrain from using children, particularly those under eight, in political campaigning unless the issues are evidently correlated to children.

• Children and young people’s images used in political ads are to be, as much as possible, retrieved from stock photos to avoid possible labelling, bullying and any other negative impact.

• The Press Act should be amended to include the setting up of a commission that will have the responsibility to oversee and monitor political party propaganda (billboard and other printed material as well as social media campaigning) involving children and young people.

• Political parties should have a children-friendly version of their political manifestos available in a number of accessible formats (including large print and audio).

• Political parties are also encouraged to meet with children and young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to discuss political programmes. The meetings should be consented to by the children themselves and their parents/guardians.

• The Institute of Maltese Journalists, in collaboration with the Commissioner for Children, should offer concept training to photographers, camerapersons, reporters and journalists on how children and young people should be embodied in the images they capture.

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