The Dutch news media association NDP Nieuswmedia has been designated the first "Center of Youth Engagement Excellence" by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for its innovative and strong programme that has been introducing young people to news for nearly 40 years.
The "Center of Youth Engagement Excellence" designation honors newspaper associations that have a deep, long-term commitment and devote resources to news literacy and youth engagement, and the Dutch association has been at the forefront of this work.
"One of our core values is assuring that new generations understand how news works and appreciate the importance of press freedom," said Dr Aralynn McMane, Executive Director for Youth Engagement and News Literacy for WAN-IFRA. "The education programme run by the Netherlands association has consistently done important work in this area for more than a generation and continues to innovate with a strong commitment to the future, and we are very pleased to grant them this designation."
NDP Nieuwsmedia received the designation for its "Nieuws in de klas" programme (News in the classroom), which began in 1976 with a nationwide programme that taught teachers how to use print editions as supplemental texts in all kinds of classes, from language to history and even mathematics. Today, Nieuws in de klas offers a cutting-edge "Digital News Collage" experience as well as multi-platform access to a multitude of services that emphasize the important role of news in education and connects the classroom environment with the outside world.
Nieuws in de klas also has been able to help other countries get started in this work, notably in Macedonia through a project with the European Journalism Center.