DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 418 442 CS 509 808

TITLE Expanding Possibilities of Periodicals for Children in Asia

and the Pacific. Report of the 1997 Training Course onProduction of Periodicals for Children (Tokyo, October 1-15,

1997) .

INSTITUTION Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO, Tokyo (Japan).

PUB DATE 1997-10-00

NOTE 86p.; Produced by the Asia-Pacific Cooperative Programme for

Reading Promotion and Book Development.

PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports General

(140)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS *Childhood Interests; *Cultural Context; Foreign Countries;

Marketing; Newspapers; *Periodicals; Picture Books;*Production Techniques; *Publishing Industry; Reading

Materials

IDENTIFIERS *Asia Pacific Region; Asian Culture; *Childrens Magazines

ABSTRACTFollowing the proceedings of the training course on

children's periodicals held in 1997 in Tokyo, this report contains the

following articles: (1) "Children's Life and Magazines" (Jiro Saito); (2)

"Periodical Picture Books to Develop Reading Skills of Children" (Tadashi

Matsui); (3) "How to Produce Attractive Educational Magazines for Children"

(Jacqueline Kergueno); (4) "Successful Promotion of Children's Magazines and

the Roles of Supplements" (Editorial Members of Shogakukan Inc.); (5)

"Digitalization of Magazine Publishing and Its Application" (Tsuyoshi Tamura

and Takeo Miyake); and (6) "The Roles and Needs of Newspapers for Children

and Youth" (Masatoshi Onoda). The report then addresses the present situation

of periodical publishing for children in Asia and the Pacific, providing

information on the following countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China,

Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan,

Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand,

Vietnam, Fiji, and Tonga. Appendixes contain general information, a list of

participants, the program schedule, a list of lecturers, and a list of

secretariat members. (NKA)

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Tokyo, 1-15 October 1997

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

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1

BEST COPY AVM AIZ

Expanding Possibilities of

Periodicals for Childrenin Asia and the Pacific

Report of the 1997 Training Course on Production of Periodicals for Children

Tokyo, 1-15 October 1997

Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)

Asia-Pacific Cooperative Programme for ReadingPromotion and Book Development (APPREB)

in cooperation with UNESCO

published bythe Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)

6, Fukuromachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162 Japanphone: (+81-3)3269-4435, fax:(+81-3)3269-4510

printed byTaito Printing Co. Ltd., Tokyo

© Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), 1997

PREFACE

The 1997 Training Course on Production of Periodicals for Children wasorganized from 1 to 15 October 1997 in Tokyo by the Asia/Pacific CulturalCentre for UNESCO (ACCU) with assistance from UNESCO under APPREB(Asia-Pacific Cooperative Programme for Reading Promotion and BookDevelopment) and with the cooperation of the Japanese National Commissionfor UNESCO, the Japan Book Publishers Association, the Japan MagazinePublishers Association, the Japanese Board on Books for Young People, andthe Japan Foundation.

In most countries in the world today, children being driven away fromreading is one of the social problems. It is therefore important to find out howto produce and provide various kinds of reading matter that capture the mindsof children and help their intellectual development. Periodicals for childrenhave played an important role in getting children accustomed to reading andin providing them with entertainment and useful information, though not muchattention has been paid to them so far.

The 1997 training course successfully highlighted the needs, roles andpossibilities of periodicals for children through lectures and discussions onproducing high quality and attractive magazines, as well as exchange ofinformation and experience among 22 participants from 21 countries in Asiaand the Pacific, which provided a precious and informative report on thepublishing situation of periodicals for children in the region.

I should like to express my deepest appreciation to the prominent expertsand organizations who kindly gave lectures and provided generous supportfor the organization of the course. I would also like to appreciate the eagerefforts of the participants who actively participated in the discussions whichmade the course most efficient and successful. It is my sincere hope that thisreport will benefit many such people who are making continuous efforts todevelop periodicals and other publications for children in Asian and the Pacificregion.

Tetsuo MisumiDirector-GeneralAsia/Pacific Cultural Centre forUNESCO

CONTENTSExpanding Possibilities of Periodicals for Children in Asia and the Pacific

Proceedings 7

Part 1: The Roles and Development of Periodicals for Children

1. Children's Life and Magazines

by Jiro Saito 13

2. Periodical Picture Books to Develop Reading Skills of Children

by Tadashi Matsui 17

3. How to Produce Attractive Educational Magazines for Children

by Jacqueline Kergueno 21

4. Successful Promotion of Children's Magazines and the Roles of Supplements

by Editorial Members of Shogakukan Inc. 27

5. Digitalization of Magazine Publishing and Its Application

by Tsuyoshi Tamura and Takeo Miyake 32

6. The Roles and Needs of Newspapers for Children and Youth

by Masatoshi Onoda 36

Part 2: Present Situation of Periodical Publishing for Children in Asia and the Pacific 39

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives,Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji and Tonga

Appendix

1. General Information 83

2. List of Participants 84

3. Programme Schedule 86

4. List of Lecturers 87

5. List of Secretariat Members 88

6

PROCEEDINGS

Background

The 1997 Training Course on Production of Periodicals for Children inAsia and the Pacific took place from 1 15 October 1997 in Tokyo incooperation with UNESCO, the Japanese National Commission forUNESCO, the Japan Book Publishers Association, the Japan MagazinePublishers Association, the Japanese Board on Books for Young People,and the Japan Foundation.

When TV and other media are increasingly capturing the attention ofchildren these days, there is an urgent and worldwide need to develop basicreading and writing skills of children by providing them with high qualityreading matter effectively and efficiently. Magazines and other kinds ofperiodicals for children that have formats and marketing style different frombooks are able to play a crucial role in promoting literacy and reading habitsamong children in the region. Therefore the training course aimed athighlighting the roles and possibilities of periodical publishing for children,and providing a forum for magazine publishers and the others concerned toshare information and experience and to discuss practical methods to producehigh quality periodicals for children.

Exchange of Information among the Participants

22 participants from 21 UNESCO Member States in Asian and the Pacificregion, who are publishers or editors of magazines/papers for children aswell as educators, reported on the general situation of periodical publishingin their countries. According to the participants, 17 countries out of 21have some magazines for children at present including those published bygovernments and one aid agency. And itseems that in 6 countries periodicalpublishing for children is quite active withmore than 10 publishers in this field.

As periodical publishing requiresconsiderable monetary and humanresources and continuity, quite unlike bookpublishing, getting enough funds is one ofthe biggest headaches of magazinepublishers if they are not funded bygovernments or big parent companies.And in the case of children's magazines,publishers cannot expect much from

77

Children's magazines that the participants are engaged in

Visit to Shogakukan Inc., apublisher of children's magazines

advertising sales and sponsorship, which aresometimes main sources of income for generalmagazines for adults. Therefore it is a difficulttask for them to provide children with attractivecolourful magazines at affordable prices.

The participants feel that not only the lack ofreading habits among children, but also the lackof awareness about the importance ofpublications for children in the society is alsoone of the obstacles they are facing. It is difficultfor them to fmd good writers and artists to workfor children's books. Also parents are not willingto pay for high quality but high priced books. Inspite of all the above problems, it should be

mentioned that most of the editors who participated in the course have keenconcerns over how to convey morals and values to children, eliminate anydiscriminatory presentation, and to keep good gender balance in theirmagazines.

The educators from countries without any periodicals for childrenexpressed their strong concern over the roles of children's magazines indeveloping children's reading skills and also practical ways to publish them.

Lectures

In order to examine the possibilities and to discuss about various issuesrelated to publishing periodicals for children from different approaches,eminent publishers and experts from Japan and France were invited to thetraining course. Through lectures, they shared their experiences, effectivemethods and ideas with the participants.

In his introductory lecture, Mr. Jiro Saito, writer on children andeducation, raised the question "what do children expect from a magazine?"There has always been a contradiction between entertaining and educationalelements in children's magazines as they have to appeal to both childrenand adults. Introducing a successful case of a comic magazine, he insistedthat a publisher should listen to readers' voices very carefully and comeface to face with them sincerely, as interactivity plays the most crucial rolein children's magazines.

It is a worldwide problem for publishers that more and more childrenare being deterred from reading. Mr. Tadashi Matsui, experienced publisherof children's books, warned that even if parents can afford to provide booksfor their children, they won't do so if there is no reading habit in the family.He advocated the reevaluation of the power of spoken words and readingbooks aloud for children.

Ms. Jacqueline Kergueno has developed quality educational magazinesfor children at the Bayard Presse, France, as well as in many other countriesconducting production teams. She explained how carefully concept and

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structure of a magazine should be developed on the basis of clear-cut policiesand research, so that it can maintain high quality in content, illustrationsand design, and help children's educational development.

The editorial members of children's magazines of Shogakukan Inc.,Japan, introduced various methods to entertain children and to promotereaders' active participation, such as utilizing comic strips, nurturing popularcharacters and running campaigns. They especially stressed thatsupplements, such as paper crafts that are carefully designed, will be ableto fascinate children and expand the possibilities of magazines.

The science magazines of Gakken Co., Japan, have unique features ofaccompanying educational kits and a direct sales system for supplementingscience education at schools. Their eager digitalization of the magazineproduction process and publishing information allows more efficiency andlower production costs as well as re-use of data for the experimental "on-line magazine" on the internet homepage.

Quite a few newspaper companies have separate papers for children orpages for children in newspapers. Children's papers require lowerproduction costs than magazines and are able to reach children often throughthe distribution routes of their parent papers. The presentation of Mr.Masatoshi Onoda of Mainichi Newspapers, Japan, highlighted the crucialrole of children's papers in getting children accustomed to reading andinterested in social issues.

Workshop Sessions

Under the guidance of Ms. Jacqueline Kergueno and the editorialmembers of Shogakukan Inc., the participants practiced parts of actualmagazine development work in two groups.

Under the guidance of Ms. Kergueno, each participant developed a planand a dummy of a children's magazine, following the steps in starting anew magazine. Through identifying who would be the readers and whatkind of services they would like to providethrough a magazine, they developed ideas andmade dummies.

The group guided by the editorial members ofShogakukan Inc. focused on the use of comicsand supplements in a children's magazine tointerest readers. The participants worked onpreparing comic stories to teach simple arithmeticas well as preparing coming notices forsupplements in an amusing way.

Discussions for the Improvement of PeriodicalPublishing for Children

Through the above sessions, as well asThe workshopworkshop session of producing dummy magazines

9

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discussions that some of the participants had independently, many ideasand suggestions to improve periodical publishing for children came up. Toconclude the training course, the participants discussed possible solutionsand ideas to deal with the main problems and issues of production andpromotion of periodicals for children as well as reading promotion amongchildren. Some of them are mentioned below.

ProductionThere is a lack of good writers and illustrators to work for publications

for children. Tapping journalists, teachers and students, carrying notices inmagazines and organizing contests are suggested ways to identify newtalents. Other ideas included developing DTP systems, adoptingsupplements, discussions with parents and readers and so on. One of themost interesting ideas was "1-piece paper magazine" that would reduceproduction costs and enable wider distribution. Joint production betweencountries was also proposed.

PromotionFor promoting a magazine, tapping different businesses and media such

as TV, getting recommendations from concerned Ministries and organizingseminars for parents were suggested.

Reading PromotionThere is a need to create a network of publishers, parents, teachers and

governments for reading promotion, to help children be ready to face theworld. Publishers can interest children in reading by utilizing comics,

organizing reading workshops and so on.

A participant discussing the importance of readingpromotion

iii

There were also some suggestions to ACCUand UNESCO. They are; to promote globalawareness of reading among children and adults;to organize follow-up programmes/workshopswith the same participants; to develop an effectivemechanism for monitoring follow-up activities tosee what participants achieved after the course.

The participants agreed that every one of themshould make efforts at their work place to achievethe above goals utilizing and adopting ideas andmethods introduced in the course programmes, andto exchange experience and information regularly,

so that the achievements of the course will be enhanced and sustained long-term through the cooperation of the participants and organizations in theregion.

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The Robs and Develppment ofPeriodicals for Children

11

Children's Life and MagazinesJiro Saito

Writer on Children's Culture

"Useful" and "Entertaining"

What do children expect from a magazine?A copy of "Useful and Entertaining" has oftenbeen used to promote children's magazines inJapan. Entertainment is an essential factor toattract children, but a magazine with nothingbut entertainment does not sell, because it is theparents who pay for it. Parents do not want tospend money just to entertain their children;they expect something useful from a children'smagazine to make them more intelligent orsocially appreciated. Practicality as well asentertainment was effective in persuading thegeneral public to buy magazines, justifying thesubscription fee when printed matter was ratherexpensive.

So, have these two elements of usefulnessand entertainment actually been compatible asexpected? What children really enjoy issometimes ridiculous or trivial from the pointof view of adults. On the other hand, whatparents think excellent or educational issometimes boring or preachy for children. Sothere is always a contradiction. If magazinepublishing is your business, you should includesomething that appeals to parents so that theywill pay for it, at the same time providingamusement for children. Of course, the idealmagazine will entertain children and appealequally to adults. However, unfortunately, I havenot found many such successful cases in thehistory of magazine publishing for children inJapan.

13

Pioneering Educational Magazine forChildren

About 80 years ago, when publishing ofchildren's magazines started in Japan, mostfamilies had little reading matter for children.The pioneers of children's magazines at thattime, therefore, were not out to make a profitby publishing them, but eagerly wished todevelop children's intelligence and sensibilityby providing them with high quality readingmaterials.

One representative example of that kind ofeducation-oriented magazine for children inearly days is Akai Tori (Red Bird) published in1914. This magazine founded by a famouswriter carried poems and writings by childrenas well as contributions from other famouswriters. Because of the nature of the magazine,it was eagerly welcomed by school teachers whosupported the publisher's aim to enrichchildren's minds by providing them with qualityliterature and art. The magazine publisher wroteto those supportive teachers and promoted themagazine through them. Although the magazinewas intended for children, it was mainlyteachers who bought the magazine and read itto their pupils. That was how children'smagazines started in Japan.

Although the intention to develop children'sminds was highly commendable, such aneducational approach alone could not capturetheir hearts. Akai Tori was dissolved at lastbecause of financial difficulty. Reflecting uponthe experience of such educational magazines,Shonen Kurabu (Boy's Club) was founded in

1918. It was not intended to raise the intellectuallevel of children to the extent that adults expect,but tried to provide what children themselvesfound interesting and attractive. Of course suchmagazines were not distributed through schoolteachers, but purchased by parents at bookstores.

General Interest Magazines up against theWall

In the post-war period when militarizedchildren's magazines were abandoned, thepublishers tried to produce magazines that wereattractive and interesting to children, rather thantry to educate them. It does not mean that thepublishers tried to serve solely children'sinterests, but that they tried to combine theelements of "Usefulness" and "Entertainment"into children's magazines again, resulting in anew type of magazine aimed at various schoollevels.

These magazines that were closely relatedwith school curricula were successfully acceptedat that time because they helped children do theirhomework and also amused them with storiesand comics. However nowadays, this kind ofgrade-targeted magazine cannot enjoy such bigsales, because it is actually getting difficult tocover everything in a single magazine, when thesocial environment around children is becomingmore complicated and there are a lot ofcompetitive media such as TV and games.

When a household can afford to buy only onemagazine for children, one that can covermultiple aspects including education,knowledge, social studies and entertainment,may appeal both to parents and children, if it issuccessfully compiled. But when children'slives get complicated and the amount ofknowledge they should have increases, morecontent becomes necessary for each item ofinformation. For instance, study pages of amagazine do not help children anymore in verycompetitive study situations at schools. Neitherdo comic strips in a magazine satisfy theirreaders because there are many other comic

books and TV programmes that are full ofamusements. Children require more and moreinformation and their concerns are broader, theyare less and less satisfied with the amount ofinformation provided by a single magazine. Itis quite a hard time for general interestmagazines to survive.

Another problem they are facing is genderedinterests. Although magazines for children aretargeted at both boys and girls, actually theyhave different interests and different cultures,even if they look like one "children's culture"from the perspective of adults. It is not easy tocover the interests of both boys and girls in amagazine anymore.

Listen to Children - The Case of Shonen Jump

Adults would like to provide the childrenthey love with "useful" materials. But if suchmaterials don't make children happy andexcited, they won't work, and the children mayeven be hurt if you force them. Parents easilybelieve that they are right because they love theirchildren, but this love is a risky thing that maybe rough on them. If you wish to providechildren with something that you think good,you have to propose it to them and ask for theiropinion. Therefore, publishing especially forchildren should be interactive.

The most successful magazine for childrenin Japan is a comic magazine called ShonenJump (Boys' Jump) that sells 5 million copies aweek. Though I am not fully praising themagazine, the biggest reason for its incrediblegrowth in the market is that they have carefullylistened to the voice of their readers.

In each copy of Shonen Jump, a postcard isinserted, which is a questionnaire to ask readerstheir favourite comics carried in the magazine.By returning the cards, children can apply forbonuses. The feedback gained by thesepostcards is immediately reflected in themagazine. If children like a particular comicvery much, it is carried for a long period of time;on the other hand, even a famous artist's work

is dropped from the magazine if it gets lowgrades.

The postcard is utilized not only as apopularity survey of articles, but also to findout children's interests, concerns and needs,asking questions such as "which sports do youlike most?" "what do you want to buy now?""what do you think about bullying at schools?"and so on. This method, which has beenemployed since the foundation of Shonen Jumpand is now utilized by many other competitors,was an epoch-making innovation in magazinepublishing in Japan.

Children are not attracted just by the bonusesgiven for answering the questionnaire. It is asystem that they can trust, because it directlyreflects their opinions. They intuitively knowthat the magazine editors are seriously andeagerly trying to get their opinions, which is anice surprise for them. Children are tired ofbeing told what to do and ordered around byadults, what they really want is for adults tolisten to them. You have to carefully listen toyour readers' voice. Such an interactive systembetween publisher and readers is crucial for achildren's magazine.

One of the biggest problems that Japanesechildren face is bullying at schools, whichsometimes leads to the suicide of victims. TheShonen Jump has taken up this issue and carrieda comic story about bullying, that tells how crueland wrong bullying others is, from theperspective of the victims. When the magazineasked for a response to the comic from thereaders, thousands of letters were received,which were compiled and published in bookform.

The magazine also once carried a comic titled"Gen, the Barefoot Boy", on the atomic bombin Hiroshima, which was highly appreciated asa masterpiece. Even though Shonen Jump maylook like a loud and useless comic magazinejust for pampering children, it has enough gutsto take up such crucial and urgent issues forchildren when necessary.

You should never underestimate the sense

A page spread of Shonen Jump

of judgment children have. Children are notattracted just by superficial entertainingelements, but by the power of a magazine thatcreates such entertainment.

The Power that Comics Have

The Shonen Jump holds a comic contest inwhich many late teens participate. The winnersget awards, not only prize money, but trainingto be a professional comic artists. In this waythe magazine is cultivating a big pool of youngtalent. Of course the experience and sense ofjudgment of elders are very important inmagazine making, but you should try to haveyoung people as editors, writers and artistsbecause they are closer to the target readers.And in the case of comics, young talents evenin their teens can start working as professionals,unlike in other media. That makes the barrierbetween creators and readers very low, whichis, I believe, one of the reasons that comicsattract children so much.

Do you think that children should only betaught good things? Comics are the mediummost easily understood by children but they mayalso convey things that you do not like to showthem, such as violence, sex and crime. I thinkthat children should know bad things as well asgood things because the world consists of both

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good and bad elements. Upon knowing thingsbad, they should be able to learn why they arewrong.

Parents and teachers do not want to tellchildren bad things, but a magazine can act as asupplementary medium to orthodox mediabetween children and adults. I don't believe thattelling children about crimes makes themcriminals. Trust their sense of judgment, andyour expression will expand. I am not sayingthat everything is permissible in children'smagazines. You should know the positivepower as well as risks inherent in comics, andtry to cultivate immunity to evil and a sense ofjudgment in children on the basis of trust andgood relationship with them.

Speak to Children Sincerely and Directly

There ARE times when you have to tellchildren about ethics, values, social issues andobligations that may not be welcomed by them.You will be requested to use appropriate waysto convey these ideas in an interesting manner,not preach them. But I believe that you shouldtell what you sincerely believe directly andstraightforwardly to children.

You should not worry too much about losingyour readers for saying that, because childrentrust adults who tell them the truth and expresstheir sincere belief. Children are tired of adultswho speak from social position and authority,saying "As parents", "As teachers" orsometimes, "Society thinks..." or "The Statewants...". But you should say to children, just"I think..." on your own responsibility. The truthdoes not exist in such positions, but in honestyand the sincerity of the individuals who speak,I believe.

Every child gets through a period of lookingfor heroes that he/she can look up to and followafter. An important quality of such heroes isthat they have to be found by childrenthemselves, not sent by other adults. Theseheroes are often those who are looked down onby society, but for a child, they may be persons

of fantastic quality no matter what society says.Children want to be independent from parentsand establish their own culture.

Therefore, a children's magazine should notjust repeat what parents and teachers say tothem. It should provide them with differentview points and thoughts from those of parentsand teachers, and most importantly, you as apublisher should tell children what you yourselfbelieve directly to their eyes and to their hearts.To do so, you have to consider how to conveyyour message to them in interesting and easilyunderstandable ways.

How Should Children's Magazines be Read?

Is a children's magazine something to be readonce by a child and thrown away after that? Ithink it is something to be circulated amongseveral children and enjoyed over and over. Bysharing and exchanging magazines, childrenwill be able to nurture friendship and socialbehavior. Unfortunately, these days Japanesechildren are reluctant to take the trouble oflending and borrowing magazines from eachother, and would rather just spend money tohave copies for themselves.

As a magazine publisher, you may like eachchild to have a copy for her/himself. But bygetting them to talk about articles, a magazinecan be a tool for better communication betweenchildren. I hope magazine publishers willrecognize such functions of magazines.

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Periodical Pictur ooks to DevelopReading Skills of Children

Mr. Tadashi MatsuiAdvisor to Fukuinkan Shoten, Publishers Inc.

The Development of Children's PictureMagazines in Japan and Fukuinkan's MonthlyPicture Books

The history of picture book publication inJapan dates from the 16th century. Publishingof picture books illustrated with hand-paintedwood block prints began in the 17th century,and in the 18th and the 19th century, many titlesproduced by ukiyoe artists were read by womenand children from the merchant class.

Striking developments occurred in children'spublishing with the establishment of the moderneducation system after the Meiji Restoration in1868. The publishing industry was influencedby new printing technology and by thepublishing culture of Europe and America.Publication of monthly picture magazines forchildren became very popular around the timeof the First World War, and many high qualitymagazines and periodical picture books werepublished by pioneers (see Annex).

The Fukuinkan Shoten began publication ofKodomo no Tomo (Children's Companion), amonthly illustrated story book in 1956, aimingat fostering the habit of reading in children.These illustrated story books are in theinexpensive, easy-to-purchase paperback form.They are distributed monthly to each householdon an annual subscription base, not throughbookstores but mainly through kindergartensand nursery schools. Illustrated stories from this

17

monthly series which were particularly highlyacclaimed were subsequently republished inhard cover, reaching many readers.

Rather than being for children themselvesto read, our picture books are designed to beread aloud by parents, teachers, librarians etc.,so that children, through audio and visualstimulation may deepen their experience withlanguage, and taste the pleasure that literaturecan give. The books were intended to fosterchildren's love for literature and their desire tolearn to read, thereby aiding in the developmentof their reading skills. They were also aimed atstrengthening family life and reinforcingchildren's emotional security by getting parentsto read aloud to their children.

What are Picture Books?

A picture book consists of illustrations andtexts. With the help of these two fundamentalelements, a picture book story is recreated inthe mind of a child. A child, even though he/she cannot read texts, "reads" illustrations.Actually children do not just look atillustrations, but read the words in them.

When elders read texts for a child, the wordshe/she hears and the words he/she sees throughillustrations are integrated in his/her mind, andgive life to the image of the picture bookrecreated in his/her mind. And in his/her mind,the still pictures of the book are lively and

Annex: Major Children's Picture Magazines in Japan in the 20th Century

1914: Kodomo no Tomo (Children'sCompanion) published by Fujin no Tomo

Motoko Hani, one of Japan's first femalejournalists, promoted women's movement fora new lifestyle aimed at emancipation. 'Kodomono Tomo', a picture magazine for children, wasfounded by her to promote progressiveeducation in the home and to give women aconcrete guide for educating their children,emphasizing the recognition of each child as aunique individual. The tone was anti-feudalisticwith a strong liberal and rationalist base, mostlikely influenced by such progressive womenthinkers as Sweden's Ellen Key. Publicationceased in 1943.

1922: Kodomo no Kuni (Children's World)published by Tokyo-sha

An avant-garde magazine stronglyinfluenced by liberalism and the modern art ofthe post-war 1920s, The magazine gave art toppriority. The high level content incorporated newtrends in literature, including the creativemovement to nurture children's emotions andsensitivity through literature. The quality of itsillustrations was likewise superb, adopting thelatest nouveau art and art deco styles thensweeping Europe, while at the same timepromoting the beauty of the traditional ukiyoestyle. This magazine developed appreciationfor beauty in both adults and children alike,determined the direction of illustrated children'sbooks in Japan thereafter, and nurtured manyup-and-coming illustrators. It ceasedpublication in 1944.

1922: Shogakukan's educational magazineseries

The aim of Shogakukan's educationalmagazine series, begun in 1922, was to supportchildren in their adjustment to group life inkindergartens and schools and it offeredpertinent information in an entertaining mannerto support children's studies. Content wasselected on the basis of two keywords,'interesting' and 'useful', and was specificallydesigned for each age level from kindergarten

to grade 6. It enjoyed a wide circulation throughbookstores.1927: Kinderbook by Flebel-kan

This monthly picture book was published asan educational material in response to therevision of the law concerning kindergartens bythe Ministry of Education in 1926 to include theobservation of nature and living creatures aspart of the curriculum. Its high quality contentaccompanied by precise illustrations openednew territory in the field of educational picturebooks for preschool children. It was sold notthrough book stores but rather by a new andvery successful marketing method. The bookswere directly distributed to the children throughthe kindergartens and nursery schools andpayment was collected by the latter as part ofthe educational fees for each child.

This type of publishing and marketing activitymeant that high quality picture books weredistributed monthly to every household withchildren throughout Japan, creating a strongbond between child care in the home andpicture books, and resulting in a dramaticincrease in the awareness of their importance.

1956: Kodomo no Tomo (Child'sCompanion) published by FukuinkanShoten

Although the distribution of picturemagazines directly related to child care wasspectacular, the publication of illustrated storybooks that foster the habit of reading in childrenwas inadequate. In response, Fukuinkan beganpublication of Kodomo no Tomo, a monthlyillustrated story book. This publicationmaintained the successful monthly distributionmainly through kindergartens and nurseryschools and the paperback form of theeducational magazines, but the content waschildren's stories. This was the beginning of thepresent thriving picture book industry in Japan.

18-- 17

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When an adult reads a picture book for a child, still pictures are lively moving in his/her mind. (A picture book of Fukuinkan)

moving, in a way that is almost impossible foradults to understand.

Sometimes I test picture books before theirpublication by asking my editors to read outtexts for me while I look at the illustrations. Bydoing this, an experienced editor can know iftexts and illustrations are relevantly matched.Illustrations are not just explanations of textsand texts are not just a complement toillustrations. The relationship of illustrations andtexts in a picture book is so delicate and theyhave to support each other. It is not easy forany adult or child to have such a lively readingexperience of picture books when he/she readsby himself.

The Importance of Reading Picture Books toChildren

Listening to folk tales passed down fromgeneration to generation through oral traditionis such a wonderful experience for a child.Words spoken by parents and other peoplearound a child play a significant role in a child'saccumulation of vocabulary, his/her growing-up and human development. In the modernworld, however, such experience of spokenwords is becoming poorer and poorer. Parentsthese days have less opportunity and ability totell traditional folktales to their children.Therefore, it is quite important for parents,

-19-BEST COPY AVAILABLE

teachers and other adults to read picture booksfor children. Although TV makes the soundsof the human voice, it does not have the powerto enrich the minds and emotions of children inthe same way as words spoken directly. Beingtogether with someone he/she loves and sharingthe universe of the words with them is a greatjoy for a child. When I ask young fathers whythey read picture books aloud for their children,they say it's because their parents read booksfor them when they were young, and that wassuch fun. These fathers are now giving the joyto their children, that they once had.

Literacy and Reading

Although literacy education is veryimportant, that alone does not develop readingskills or reading habits. Only when a child hasthe capability to enter the universe of wordsusing the ability to read letters, can he enjoyreading books. And that capability to freelyenter the universe of the words is obtained onlythrough the experience of listening to the spokenwords, such as folktales and picture bookstories.

Although the literacy rate in Japan is nearly100%, only 50% of adults read books. Literacyit simply does not necessarily lead to reading.In education in Japan, many efforts have beenmade to put knowledge and information into

la

the heads of children. But knowledge andinformation have no power to develop the mindsof children if they do not understand how touse them. I believe that literacy educationshould be oriented to "love towards words".

For Stable Publishing Activities

When I started in the publishing business,my ideals of publishing activities were those ofIwanami and Misuzu, who consistentlyproduced many high quality books. Wonderingwhy that was possible for them, I decided it wasbecause they had such a good relationship withtheir readers, who supported them based onstrong trust in the quality of their products.

So I started visiting lots of kindergartens,nursery schools and mothers' groups to explainto them our intentions and about the good pointsof our publications, and asked for theirunderstanding and support, because I wasconfident of the quality of the products I wasmaking. All the books I brought with me weresold out immediately and our sales jumped.Having direct contact with readers also gave mechances to know their needs and to conductmarket research. In this way, we graduallysucceeded in establishing a solid and loyalreadership for the Fukuinkan Shoten.

Also besides publishing a brochure on "Howto Provide Picture Books for Children" forparents, I promoted reading among childrenthrough lectures and speeches, organizingseminars and writing articles.

The Roles of Editors

It is very important for an editor to directlymeet readers and customers and to know theirresponses and what they want. An editor shouldnot just meet the existing needs of customers,but try to dig out the hidden needs and wants ofthe people. Therefore he/she should be verykeen and knowledgeable about the condition ofthe present society, in order to draw talentedwriters and illustrators. Motivating artists and

writers to create good works for children'sbooks is also one of the most important roles ofeditors.

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How to Produce Attractive EducationalMagazines for Children

Ms. Jacqueline KerguenoInternational Editorial Manager,

Bayard Presse International

1. Policies for Production of QualityEducational Children's Magazines ofBayard Presse

The Bayard Presse, a catholic publishinghouse in France, started publishing children'smagazines in 1966 with the successful launchof "Pomme d'Api (Red Apple)" that is targetedat 3-to-6 year-old children. Based on MariaMontessori's pedagogy, the magazineconsidered children not as mini-adults but ashuman beings, and intended to help themdevelop receptive minds and autonomy byproviding them with best quality readingmaterials. It was followed year after year by newpublications to cater for different age groupsand to meet the social needs.

At present in 1997, we publish 17 magazinesfor children and young people from 1 to 20 yearsold, and they include different content such asliterature, non-fiction and languages. Localversions of these titles are published in 25countries in Europe, South America, Africa andAsia.

We have been publishing quality educationalmagazines for children with quality contents(texts, illustrations, photographs) and theformats (paper, printing and binding) of books,as well as the best attributes of magazines:freshness, topicality and continuity. Themagazines are not entertainment-oriented buthave educational objectives such as;

to help children improve their reading skillsand gain new knowledgeto stimulate their curiosity and creativity,to broaden their horizons.

Being educational magazines, they are notteaching materials to be used at classrooms butare meant to be read at home. The magazinesaim also at giving children pleasure and makingit fun to learn, helping them to build theirconfidence, as well as acting as a medium tohelp parents and children share quality timetogether.

2. Some Points to be Considered in Makinga Magazine

Children Deserve the BestOne of our basic assumptions is that children

deserve the best quality. We are working withthe best authors, illustrators and photographersworldwide to appeal better to the child's mind.It is also a way to introduce children to literatureand art, and to expose them to a variety of artisticstyles (unlike comics or TV cartoons, whichtend to use a limited number of standardizedgraphic styles ).

At present in France, the importance ofchildren's books is well recognized and parentsand teachers are ready to pay rather a high pricefor our magazines which assure the same qualityas the best books offer. However, 30 years agowhen we started the business, the situation was

21 20

very different. We had to start by educatingparents how important it is to provide the bestquality publications for children. To tell themhow to use the magazines, we attached aseparate volume in each issue for the parents.

It was also very difficult to find goodillustrators to work for us, because most of themwere working in advertising. But step by step,we convinced them that providing children withtop quality art work is very important. Nowwe are working with about 2,500 of the bestillustrators and writers in the world. We havealso tried to train and encourage illustrators towork for children and helped to developillustrators' departments in art schools in France.

Stimulating Children's InterestA magazine is not an encyclopedia which

aims at giving readers as much information aspossible; rather, it should be something to helpchildren to discover the world and think aboutit. Our magazines try to stimulate readers'interests in the world, society and themselves,and encourage them to get more informationby themselves from libraries or other sources ifthey are interested in magazine articles.

"Je Bouquine (I Love Reading)" is aliterature magazine to introduce good literatureincluding fiction, reportage, poetry and storylines of TV programmes and movies to youngpeople, and to help them to keep reading. Wefind from research that many teenagers often

Children's magazines of Bayard Presse

stop reading because they don't know what toread. In this magazine, we utilize the methodof comic strips with high quality illustrationsto introduce some literary masterpieces and theirauthors. We encourage readers to go to a libraryand to read through the book by themselves.This magazine is quite successful with about100,000 readers and is highly appreciated byteachers and librarians as a useful step towardsquality reading.

Knowing Children's PsychologyIn a children's magazine, there should always

be a character that a child can identify with. Inorder to better accommodate the target-agedchildren, we have to know their comprehensionability, cultural background and psychologicalmaturity. Using the same materials, presentationof texts and illustrations may be differentaccording to the level of the target readers. Notonly do the staff discuss with researchers aboutpsychology, pedagogy, sociology andphilosophy, but they are trained in teams inpsychology and encouraged to meet directlytarget-aged children to determine if the preparedstories and materials are suitable for them.

In order to help artists communicate betterwith readers, we take necessary steps and timeto explain and discuss with them about thearticles before they produce art work for them.We have to think about the most appropriateways of presentation according to thepsychological level of the readers. This isespecially important in the case of stories andpoems about metaphysical issues such as love,life, death and so on. We know that even a smallchild is interested in and able to understand suchmetaphysical issues very deeply, and that goodart works are able to help children to developtheir spirituality.

You also have to be very careful about pagelayout, so that pictures are well linked with textsand other pictures, otherwise a child cannotunderstand the theme comfortably.

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2

c0000coo°

Bayard Presse's carefully designed magazine pages reflect children's psychology

DistributionThe magazines of Bayard Presse are mainly

sold by subscription. A subscription helps toestablish a strong relationship with the children.Also, for a child, receiving a magazinepersonally addressed at home is a rewardingexperience.

Values and Political CorrectnessWe attach importance to the fundamental

rights of children, love, family, education, andno discrimination according to sex or race. Weare also very careful to inform and commentabout the state of the world in a positive way,as children have no responsibility to share. Inmaking a magazine for children, you have toconsider how to respect values and politicalcorrectness as well as how to define the limitsof expression.

The Bayard Presse has some guidelines asfollows:

to ban any form of racial or sexualdiscrimination and try to balance the choiceof boys or girls as main characters in stories,to respect the sense of modesty and decency,to avoid anything which could offend peopleof different religions,

never to glorify violence, while stopping shortof making it taboo.As for stories with "frightening" characters

such as witches, monsters or giants, we thinkthat they are part of our cultural heritage. Manypsychologists or psychiatrists, such as Bruno

Bettelheim, explain how important it is to helpchildren to express and control their fears.

3. How to Start a Magazine

1) Identify Social Needs and Philosophy of theMagazineYou have to know what kind of social needs

there are and identify what the magazine willoffer on the basis of your philosophy. Forexample, when we started a magazine for 3 -7-year -old children, we found that many motherswere going out to work and also thatMontessori's new ideas about children'seducation were stirring people's interest. Therewas a need for something to help young parentsto better educate their children at home. If youknow the social needs well, a magazine to meetthe needs will be well accepted.

2) Know Your ReadersYou should know precisely who your readers

will be, considering many aspects such as agerange,psychology, cultural background,religion(s), family values, school level,readingskills,fun for them, as well as their favouritepastime, things that they are afraid of, and soon (see next page).

To get this information, we often do focusgroup tests and use questionnaires for parentsand teachers. Having such information, aproduction team develops the basic lines of themagazine to interest the target group.

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Starting a Magazine

I. Concept Developing

Step 1: Have a very clear objective

e.g. social needs: (France) Working parentswere seen to be spending very little time withtheir children. This led to the production ofmagazines for 2-4 year olds, something tohelp strengthen family ties.

Step 2: Conduct a survey on your targetreaders to find out:

1. What age group are you targeting?2. Where do they live?3. What is their economic status?4. What is their educational level ... primary/

secondary/kindergarten?5. What is their cultural background?6. Do they have access to books/magazines/

newspaper/TV/radio?7. What are their hobbies?8. What are they interested in?9. What are their dreams?10. What kind of problems do they have?11. What kind of things make them happy/

unhappy?12. Where do they spend most of their time?13. Who are the most important people in their

lives?14.What are the main problems in the

environment they live in?15. Generally, how have they developed

psychologically?

(One example)Age target: 7-12 years oldLiving in urban areas/citiesEconomic status: middle class + lower middleclassThey go to public and private schools. Theylike comics, watching cartoons and children'sTV shows. They do not really listen to radio.They like street games and playing with otherkids. They like junk food and toy promotions.They hate vegetables. They do no like beingforced by their parents to take afternoon naps.They talk about new video-games, arcade

games, exchanging playing cards, TVprogrammes, other kids. They do not liketeachers. They are also occasionally mystifiedby teenagers.Being accepted by their parents is important

Step 3: Analyze the result of the survey

Start your awareness programme byinforming the sponsors of the result of yoursurvey and how your magazine can help toaddress the needs. Use statistics and beinfluential in your approach.

Step 4: Decide on the type of service yourmagazine will offer, and start planning

a. educationalb. entertainment

II. Planning

Step 1: Decide on the size and number ofpages you'll need (*pages to be in multiple of 8)

Step 2: Prepare a storyboard

1 2 3 4 5(odd number on right of all pages and

even number on left of all pages)

Step 3: Plan a visual layout that(1) encourages good rhythm(2) alternates serious with less seriousreadings(3) allows for edutainment

Step 4: Prepare a dummy

Give special consideration to(1) Front cover:- Choose a suitable title/a good baseline/and

a logo.- Make your message clear on the cover. It

should stand out strongly so readers can

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see it clearly.(2) Inside portion:- Have a logo for each different section of the

magazine, e.g. comic strip, game, story, etc./each section to have its own logo for easyreference by the readers.

- This is to be consistent in all your otherpublications.

(3) Back cover:- Working as far as possible to make it a

summary of the different messages youoffer in the content of your magazine.

III. Promotion Strategies

1. SchoolsTeachers/Parent Teachers Association/Ministry of Education

2. Partnership1) With other ministries/organizations2) Business community3) Women's/Mothers' club

3. Advertising1) Posters2) Newspapers3) Displaying at fairs4) Launching5) Radio Broadcast6) Television7) Distributing catalogues

4. Promotion through the mail (letters)

In the workshop sessions, the parpcipantepractised the steps of starting a magazinefrom identifying readers to making dummymagazines.

s ergueno gives adViai tosiparficiant

isPre' Sentotion' of

dumrriy'magazines

5. Encouraging subscriptions + offering prizes

6. Organizing competitions

7. Using readers to invite new readers

8. Promoting at workshops

3) Organizing and Training a Production TeamYou should have members with creativity,

knowledge about children's psychology,pedagogical skills, highly cultural backgroundand, hopefully, high artistic sense in yourproduction team or train them.

4) Create the Basic Structure of the MagazineThe team works on white papers to decide

the structure, items included, design, picturesand many other things about the magazine, andmake a dummy of it, pasting cut-outs from otherpublished magazines.

25

5) Pilot TestThen we make a pilot issue that is prepared

in the same way as the real magazine, but printedout from a computer to reduce printing costs.We test the pilot issue to know if the materialinterests the target-aged children and if parentsand teachers would support it. Repeatedlyanalyzing the result, we modify the pilot.

6) Preparation of the First IssueWe produce the first issue of the magazine

after evaluating the results of the test pilot issue.

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Planete jeunes, the first magazine for young peoplein French-speaking Africa

7) Planning for the Coming IssuesEach issue is prepared after careful and

precise planning of the coming issues by theteam, which is made on the basis of thephilosophy of the project. Each person in theteam has to prepare one or several items for thenext issues. They could ask some help fromfreelance people.

8) PromotionIn the case of our magazines, we spend about

25% of the budget on promotion. It is difficultto allocate such a large amount of money whenyou start a magazine, but that is unavoidable ifyou do not have a free network to make yourmagazine well known. What we do is advertise2 or 3 magazines together in a leaflet or in anewspaper, so that the promotion costs can beshared. Advertising together with books mayalso be possible. We often advertise ourmagazines in a group newspaper or inmagazines for seniors and attach coupons forsubscription. When sending invitation lettersby mail, you have to get appropriate addresslists and sometimes pay for them.

We also organize mothers who appreciate ourmagazines highly to work for promotion on apart-time and commission basis, which is verysuccessful. Other methods of promotion includemaking partnerships with different businesses,participating in conferences and seminars forteachers and educators.

4. From the Experience of Launching a

Magazine for Young People in Africa

Over the last 30 years, I have organized a lotof seminars and workshops on developingchildren's magazines in France as well as inother countries. While organizing a workshopin Mali in cooperation with UNESCO, Ministryof Development of France and IBBY, I talkedwith 30 participants from 14 French-speakingAfrican countries and found that there was agreat need for magazines for teenagers in thesecountries. As the participants were veryinterested in copublishing such a magazine, wefirst made a pilot issue at the workshop and laterimproved it. Then I contacted the Ministry ofDevelopment and Ministry of Culture of France,UNESCO, UNICEF and lots of otherassociations, as well as private companies whowould like to invest in Africa, to get enoughfunds from them to make it possible to providecopies inexpensively. After successfullyobtaining funds, I trained a person in eachcountry to manage the magazine and preparedfor the first issue with that small team.

As there was no such magazine in thesecountries, the magazine was received quite well.It also helped the local people to create acommercial network. Though I had to persuadethe sponsors to keep funding, especially in thefirst two years, the magazine now sells 50,000copies in 14 countries, and we are confident thatthere are many more readers because one copyis read by at least 15 - 20 young people.

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2 5

Successful Pro on of Children'sMagazines and the Roles of Supplements

Editorial StaffShogakukan Inc.

1. School-grade-wide Magazines ofShogakukan

Shogakukan has been publishing 6 magazinetitles that are targeted to each elementary schoolgrade (Grade 1-6, age 7 to 12), as well as titlesfor those under age 7, for about 75 years. Theyare distributed monthly through wholesaledistributors to bookstores.

The magazines are comprised of learning andentertaining elements, and these two elementsare not clearly divided but integrated as"edutainment", as the ad copy says "entertainingand useful". For example, comic stories areoften combined with riddles or mazes, orchildren can apply for a bonus only aftercalculating. When talking about "learning", wedo not want to limit it to school studies only butwould like to include various information andfacts about life as well, in a very attractive way,because we believe that something that reallyinterests children gives power to learn and tolive. Therefore entertaining and learningelements are offered in our magazines asessential information in children's life. We alsotry to relate the magazines to other mediaeffectively, so that children will expand theirinterests and play to other areas, not just receiveinformation the magazine gives.

Magazine StructureThe magazines consist of the following

elements: (1) learning and studies; (2) lifeinformation; (3) entertainment ( such as storiesand comics); (4) contributions from readers andother articles that readers participate in and (5)supplements.

In order to, convey to readers that themagazine contains lots of attractive material,covers are designed to present many charactersand items in a rather crowded and busy manner.Rather thick paper in several colours is usedfor each issue, for the same purpose.

Editorial WorkProduction process of a monthly issue is as

follows:(1) Planning meetings

rr

-27-26

Shogaku-2-nensei, one of Shogakukan's children'smagazines

An editor playing a game with children before writing about it

(2) Preparation of a notice for forthcoming title(3) Preparation of storyboards and pagination

much attention is paid to visualization.(4) Collecting materials and data for articles,

meetings with people concerned, and askingwriters for articles

(5) Preparation of manuscripts and sending themto printers

(6) Proofreading and making corrections

Results of the questionnaire from the readersis quite important in planning. Questionsinclude "Which article do you like most?","What present do you want to have atChristmas?" "Do you use a PC at home?" andso on. Readers' responses to these questions arevery effective in finding out what children wantand in making plans based on that.

As editors of a children's magazine, we keepit in mind to respect the perspective of children.When writing on a topic, an editor should firstexperience and try it out by him/herself, so thathe/she can visualize the topic from the child'spoint of view. Also in dealing with populargames and play among children, editors should

play with children and then write stories. It doesnot mean, however, that an editor should givereaders just what they want. It is quite importantthat each editor has a clear idea what he/sheshould like to convey and share with childrenthrough the magazine, such as the joy ofcreation.

2. Effects of Supplements

Why Supplements?A unique point about children's magazines

of Shogakukan is that each issue has severalsupplements. In most cases they include papercraft kits that children themselves work on, aswell as stickers, separate volumes and others.Our readers are very fond of supplementsaccording to the monthly questionnaire, andtheir strong support for supplements is one ofthe reasons for the success of our magazines.They are not just a free give-away from thepublisher, but have many positive effects whichworth taking the time and money.

Supplements as Information SoftwareAlthough these supplements are just made

of cheap paper, children find them very valuablebecause the information they convey is closelyrelated to articles and comic stories carried inthe magazine. Supplements play an importantpart in the magazine which gives a three-dimensional image and expanse to the articles.Also it has been one of the media that alwaysreflects and breeds children's cultural fads.

Information sometimes gives a new meaningto a piece of paper. The 'Pokemon-stamp',being very simple and cheap, succeeded increating a new hobby, to collect a series of thestamps, and it became a great fad.

Extending Time for Readers to be with theMagazine

Compared with regular magazines, readerscan spend more time with a magazine that hassupplementary kits.

28

27

Educational EffectsEach paper craft is carefully designed to

develop children's creativity and constructiveability by following the instructions

Readers will learn to follow the instructions,and experience the happiness ofaccomplishment when the kit is finished, so itwill be a good craft-making material.

A Good Supplement is not only for OneGeneration.

It promotes communication between parentsand children through making and playing withthe supplement.

A good supplement will create a memory sothat the readers may be motivated to buy it fortheir children when they become parents.

The Flow of the Supplement ProductionThe production of a supplementary kit

requires long planning and cooperation frommany affiliated people.

1) Planning: the detailed planning must bestarted 5 months ahead of its sales.

2) Prototype: ask a professional supplementarykit maker to make a prototype called 'whitedummy'. Examine it by moving and playing.

3) Meeting: hold a presentation meeting withyour manager and others. Show them howthe supplementary kit works and get their

In order to make a paper craft as a supplement,editors repeatedly examine the dummy.

approval.4) Cost calculation: a complicated calculation

will be necessary to include the cost ofspecial appliances.

5) Preparation of manuscripts and corrections:a designer will make a layout according tothe blueprint from the planner. Assemble asmany times as possible before the finalprinting and make corrections accordinglythrough actually playing with it .

6) Advance notice: put its picture on themagazine a month ahead of time foradvertising purposes. This is one of thereason why the production process ofsupplementary kits is quite fast.

7) Instructions for assembling: put in themagazine to which the supplementary kit isattached. Compile through many assemblingtests so that they are easily understandableto children.

8) Aftercare: accept telephone calls fromreaders to help them complete the kit.

What is a Good Supplement?Attractive characters are utilized for the shape,movement, and meaning

Things that are a fad or up-to-date have strongsupport.Simple and clear, answers instinctive wantsand needs of childrenNo similar ones are available through any other

29

media0 A dynamic and attractive one which has a big

effect at advance noticeEasy to make and hard to breakLow costHigh safety

Effects of supplements at advance noticeTelling the interesting things about the kit atadvance notice (advertisement) motivates thereaders to buy the next issue, and will have agreat effect on the sales. It is one of the tasks ofthe editors to prepare the advance notice, onactually playing with and understanding the kitthoroughly. It is also advisable to use visual-effective pictures and layout, and to ensure thatthere are no similar ones available on themarket.

It is not difficult to attach a supplementarykit to your magazine once you understand whatthe supplement is all about. There are numerousideas for simple, low-cost supplements indifferent forms, with different targets andcontents, as long as production cost anddistribution allows. We hope thatsupplementary kits, one of the children'sculture, will become popular throughout theworld.

3. Fostering a Popular Magazine Character

So many popular characters were created

from cartoons, TV programmes, movies, gamesand other media in the past. Most of them soondisappeared and not many characters staypopular for a long time like Mickey Mouse orSnoopy. Doraemon, a very popular characterfrom our magazines, is one of the successfulcases. He is a cat-shaped robot from the futureand makes children's dreams come true withhis super science. Born about years ago,Doraemon became quite popular in Japan, andTV programmes, movies and many kinds ofgoods are produced featuring him.

Shogakukan has tried to develop himgradually so that he could be a long-life popularcharacter, not just a flash in the pan. It is noteasy to minimize booms and to keep a constantand continuous popularity for Doraemon,especially after the original creator passed away.We use various opportunities and media to keephis presence constant among children andparents and to deepen and broaden his images.

4. Campaigns and Events

Interactivity between publisher and readersis quite important in the case of children'smagazines. We conduct campaigns onmagazines as well as events in which readerscan participate. Some of them are shown below.Featuring the magazines' popular character,Doraemon, we made special products for thecampaigns, for example, a huge hot air balloon

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Children's favourite characters help them study30C

Workshop to make enjoyable study pageusing comic characters

Some Examples of Doraemon Campaigns of Shogakukan

1987 Doraemon Festival for the 21st Century(Production of a Doraemon-shaped timecapsule containing works of children. Itcounts down days left until 2001)

Apr.

May

Jun.

Jul.

Oct.

Dec.

1988

Invitation of the name suggestions of thetime capsule100,000 cards received."My Dream in the 21st Century" Contestchildren send illustrated postcards abouttheir dreams to be realized in the 21stCenturyInvitation of readers to be reporters for thespace camp in US"My Family" Photo Contest (pictures of thereaders' families)Announcement of the selected name of thecapsuleOrganization of the capsule closingceremony and concertAnnouncement of a Doraemon movie

Doraemon Dream Balloon Festival(Production of a huge hot air balloon shapedlike Doraemon)

Doraemon-shaped solar balloon producedfor the 1988 Campaign

all over Japan such as elementary schools,schools for handicapped, etc.

Apr. Invitation of nicknames for the balloonMay Production of UNICEF-sponsored

postcards of the Doraemon balloon

1992 Doraemon Solar Festival (Production of aDoraemon-shaped solar car)

Jun. Invitation of readers to be reporters at thecamp in Colorado, US

Apr. Invitation of name suggestions for thesolar car

Jul. Announcement of the selected name of the May Participation in 10 car racesballoon -Aug. Participation and demonstration at about

Aug. Carrying the articles on the balloon 10 exhibitions on ecology and lowDec. Starting campaign for a Doraemon movie pollution cars

Participation in a world balloon contest Aug. 93 Participation in a 3,000 km car race inJan. Touring of the balloon to about 50 places Australia

in 1988 and a solar car in 1992. We carriedserial articles on the scientific facts about thesolar car and hot air balloon as well as on theevents they participated in. Eventually, theywere very popular among children all over Japanand also welcomed at various events in whichthey participated. The member magazines ofShogakukan made money together to cover theproduction cost and invited other companies tosponsor the campaigns.

Organizing such events and campaigns costs

31

a lot, but has great effects in promoting thecharacter, making verified articles, invitingactive participation of the readers, and also inunifying editorial staff and enhancing thevitality of the magazines inside and outside ofthe company. Various campaigns can bepossible even if you do not have such a popularcharacter or a big budget. Campaigns can startwith a small idea or a postcard from a reader, ifyou would like to accommodate children'sdreams and to promote their participation.

30

italization of gazine Publishinand Its Application

Mr. Tsuyoshi Tamura and Mr. Takeo MiyakeGakken Co.

1. The Roles of Kagaku (Science), A ScienceEducational Material for Children

A Magazine as Educational MaterialKagaku (Science) consists of 6 monthly

science magazines targeting children ofdifferent school grades, from 6 to 12 years old.Aimed at supplementing science education inschools, the magazines carry learning guidesand other articles based on the schoolcurriculum. The most unique point about themagazines is that they accompanysupplementary science kits for experiments athome. The magazines are delivered directly tosubscribers together with the supplementary kitsthrough our own direct sales network, whichallows us free planning of various kinds of

The Kagaku magazine and science kit

materials because there are no restrictions setby distributors or bookstores.

The magazine was first published in 1963when school supplies were quite inadequatebecause of material scarcity in the society.Science lessons consisted of nothing more thanthe teacher standing at the podium and showingan experiment to the pupils. So the idea was toprovide packaged science kits so that even ifpupils could not touch and handle scientificmaterials at school, they could do so on theirown at home and thus learn through personal"hands-on" experience how interesting scienceis. At the time, the magazines were sold atschools as the best science educationalmaterials, but in 1972, the present system ofdirect home sales was established. Sales tookoff in the ten years after the inception of Kagakufor each grade, reaching as high as 4,000,000copies in total a month. Kagaku was so highlyappreciated that Gakken was once called a"private Ministry of Education" in a specialmagazine feature.

When the science kits were first developed,the priority was, how to educate childrenthrough the kits rather than suit the needs andperceptions of children. The materials producedat that time included "Moon globe" which wasdeveloped in line with the Apollo Plan,"Warming water from the Sun's heat" kit,"Experimental ant-rearing case", "Acid-alkaliexperiments set", "Sunlight camera", etc.

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31

As the society has become affluent, materialslike magnets and thermometers for simplescience experiments do not entertain present-day-children any more. The editorial policy hasevolved to offer play and fun elements to thereaders rather than study. As the study-orientedcontents or the photos and illustrations directlyconnected to the subject are not welcomed bychildren, a cartoon style of presentation hasbecome prevalent. The latest kits such as "Zoomvideo camera type telescope", "Soap bubble-making toy", "FM chat microphone", "Vacuumcleaner dinosaur" convey the flavour of today'sproducts.

While it is important to know basicprinciples, in this age of rapid technologicalprogress, it is also essential to offer the mostup-to-date science. In preparing kits, we areadopting new materials such as shape memoryalloys, liquid crystals, solar batteries, magneticfluids, photochromic high molecular polymers,and so on.

However, since the inception of Kagaku, the

5 I

idea of paying attention to children's "why" and"how" and educating them to be creative, hasnever changed. In the world around us today,the need to solve problems of the globalenvironment, energy, food supply, and othersbecomes ever more pressing. Furthermore, agolden age of multimedia, using the worldwidedigital network and personal computers, isdawning before us. We think that it is our taskto prepare individuals superbly equipped withthe scientific knowledge , creativity, andanalytical ability to deal with these problems,to be truly international, through providing themwith good materials.

2. Digitalization of Editorial Work of Kagakuand Its Applications

The Current Status of DTP (Desk TopPublishing) in Gakken Co.

The use of DTP in the production of Kagaku,initially employed only for the common material

Introduction of DTP in Producing Kagaku Magazines

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33

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Electronic

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LAN at "KAGAKU" Editorial Department

among the titles, has spread step by step. Overthe past three years, DTP system has beenemployed in production of 70 percent of all titlesand 100 percent of Kagaku for 4 to 6 graders.

The preparation of two Macintosh machinesfor DTP for each title is now underway. Alsointernal LAN within each department thatconnect Windows machines used for data input,colour printers, the company-wide LAN, andthe BBS for receiving and sending manuscriptsand other machines, has been established usingethernet.

Advantages of DTPThe efficiency of editorial and publicationprocesses is increased.Film making and other production costs arereduced.Editorial staff can monitor and check everystage of the production process and easily

"Scientific Information"

make corrections.Publishing data can be re-used.

Especially, use of internal LAN (local areanetwork) has lots of advantages in increasingwork efficiency as stated below.

Printers, modems, etc., can be shared amongnearby machines (ten computers use onlythree printers and three modems.)Through preparation of a data base ofdocuments and manuscripts, information suchas data on educational resources and readers'questions can be used in common.Receipt and transmission of manuscripts isfacilitated by networking writers and filmmakers.Information is easily exchanged and sharedthrough e-mail and electronic bulletin boards.As a DTP environment that accepts differenttypes of machines is prepared, communication

-34- 35

among work stations becomes easier.

Problems of DTPObtaining and training of staff who arecapable of utilizing DTPRe-allocating responsibilitiesKeeping up with new technology

3. An Experiment toward the Future of DTP

As well as eagerly introducing DTP and LANinto the work process, the Gakken Co. hasstarted experiments for future development ofDTP and for the application of its data andtechniques. Internet became popular in Japantwo years ago and the government is planningto provide all schools with internet facilities bythe year 2001. Educational materials obtainedthrough internet are very much needed. InMarch 1996, we started " Gakken Science Kids"which is an experimental on-line magazine toconnect children, parents, schools and educationpersonnel with the internet.

Unlike printed magazines, on-line magazinesallow up-to-the-minute speed, interactivity andsearchability. Also it can be a highlyinternational medium with links and, possibly,use of multiple languages. The data preparedfor the printed magazine Kagaku is utilized formaking the on-line magazine.

For developing on-line magazines as abusiness, there are some problems to be solvedsuch as charging system, copyright issues anddeveloping social infrastructure.

Main Features of Gakken Science KidsSpecial Features

Interactive quizzes and games about scientificfacts and experiments based on the articles ofKagaku magazine.

"Hyper Science - Dial 110"Answers to frequently asked questions bychildren can be searched, backed by a data baseof upwards of 700,000 items assembled byGakken over many years.

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"All-Japan Science Information Centre"A meeting place for schools that have homepages or are connected to the internet.

"Wai Wai Planet"A forum where kids all over Japan can speakfreely and communicate with each other oninternet.

"All-Japan Science Sites Guide"A nationwide data base of zoos and museumswhere children can enjoy science."This is the Editorial Department of

Kagaku"A page connected to Kagaku magazines for 1-6graders. Readers' correspondence, publicationcontents, supplements previews can be foundhere.

In addition, plans for a "NationwideChildren's Cooperative Acid Rain ResearchProject", an "Overseas Elementary SchoolExchange Event", and more are underpreparation.

34

The Roles and Ns of Newsp parsfor Children and Youth

Mr. Masatoshi OnodaEditor-in-Assistant

Mainichi Shogakusei ShimbunThe Mainichi Newspapers

Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a Newspaperfor Elementary School Children

Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun (MSS), oneof the best-known children's newspapers, has acirculation of approximately 350,000. It ispublished by Mainichi Newspapers, whichpublishes Mainichi Shimbun, Japan's oldestdaily newspaper, founded 125 years ago.Mainichi Shimbun is delivered nationally andhas a circulation of approximately 4,000,000,the third largest of the daily newspapers.

A distinctive feature of the Japanesenewspaper industry is its delivery system: thenewspaper is delivered by the delivery agent toeach household or workplace. In the same way,MSS is published every morning and deliveredto each household or school by the people whodeliver Mainichi Shimbun. Elementary schoolpupils can, time permitting, read their paperevery morning before going to school, just astheir parents do.

Type of Readership

Although MSS is a paper for elementaryschool children, there is a considerabledifference from age 6 to age 12 in physical andmental development and in area of study.Therefore 9 to 12-year-old children are targeted.

Affiliated newspapers such as the KodomoShimbun for under-7-year-old children and the

Chugakusei Shimbun for junior high schoolstudents, also exist.

While elementary school pupils form themain readership, the newspaper is also oftenread by their parents, particularly the motherwho, traditionally in Japanese society, is verydeeply involved in her children's education.Some schools subscribe to and display thenewspaper and also make it available in theschool library. Therefore its readership isthought to be much greater than its circulation.

Basic Editorial Policies

The news media which are published by theMainichi Newspapers are well-respected as"quality papers" and therefore, even forchildren, we aim to produce a high-qualitynewspaper. We hope to accustom children toreading newspapers from a young age,producing adults who read newspapers throughour various publications aimed at various agegroups.

The background to this is the socialphenomenon of society's separation fromnewspapers and the printed word. In 1994 theJapanese Ministry of Education announced that,based on the results of a survey of 6,400elementary, junior and senior high schoolstudents, 3rd grade elementary school studentsread, on average, ten books every month andthat 40% of junior and senior high school

36

students read no books at all. In comparison,the average number of comic books read byelementary and junior high school students was10.9 and by senior high school students, 7.9.Junior and senior high school students read fourtimes as many comic books as printed books.

The decrease in the number of people readingnewspapers is also a serious problem. Lookingat results of a survey on people's pastime carriedout every five years targeting 90,000 peopleover the age of 10, and comparing the 1970and 1990 results, we find that, in 1970, 11% of10 to 15-year-olds read a newspaper; whereasin 1990, this figure dropped to 6%. Comparingwith other age groups over the same period, itcan be seen that only the number of youngreaders decreased:

age group 1970 199016 to 19-year -olds 43% 19%20 to 29-year-olds 60% 35%30 to 39-year-olds 67% 55%40 to 49-year-olds 61% 66%50 to 59-year-olds 52% 67%60 to 69-year-olds 52% 70%

As a direct result of these findings,newspaper companies came up with a businessstrategy of continuity and relevancy in theirvarious publications to accustom children tonewspapers from an early age, and throughnewspapers to the printed word, therebymaintaining newspapers and the media of print.While this can be seen as a business strategyfor commercial enterprise, there is also a feelingof a social mission to protect the culture of theprinted word.

How the Newspaper is Made

The Students' Newspapers Office, one of thesections of the Mainichi Newspapers, iscomprised of three editorial departments forKodomo Shimbun for preschool children, MSSfor elementary school children and theChugakusei Shimbun for junior high school

37

students.The MSS Editorial Department consists of

of the Editor, the Assistant Editor, four coveragewriters and five editorial staff (including a copy-editor).

Everything from news coverage to pagelayout is carried out by this editorial departmentin exactly the same way as a regular newspaperand printed by the Printing Department of theMainichi Newspapers. When specialistknowledge of a particular field is required, weask a non-staff writer to produce the article, justas a regular newspaper would.

And since we are a part of the MainichiNewspapers, we can, when required, make useof their experienced journalists and cameramen.Therefore the problem of paying a lot formanuscripts or copyright does not arise. Articlesprinted in Mainichi Shimbun may, if necessary,be rewritten to be easily understood by childrenand reprinted. Here too there is no problem withcopyright laws.

The Kind of Articles Printed

1) Elementary Schools as the Basic SourceThe elementary school supplies the basic

material various fun things happening atelementary schools are reported on, things thatwill hold the readers' interest and perhapsencourage them to do the same things at theirschools. New lesson and school events' trialsare also introduced as the newspaper is also readby elementary school teachers and parents, andsuch articles may help in lesson planning orhome study.

A distinctive feature of Japanese newspaperswhich are published nationally is that they havetheir own independent news network. With theexception of foreign news, they do not dependon news wired by news agencies. In the sameway MSS has its own news network.Information is gathered from school teachersby our writers. We also contact teachers' studygroups and research organizations and whennews of new lesson trials or trends is received,

36

we send writers to cover the story.

2) Events that Elementary School childrenParticipate inVarious events in which elementary school

pupils, or pupils and their parents, can take part,are held and their enjoyment reported on. Thearticle becomes a great memory for the featuredstudent.

3) Children's InterestsGames and items, popular at home and at

school and anything else of interest toelementary school students are covered.

4) News as Basic ElementsAlthough there are many magazines with

quality paper and many colours, we, as apublisher of quality papers, are able to providechildren with current news promptly by dailyprinting, as parents and teachers expect.Therefore articles in the regular newspaperwhich may be of interest to children, themeswhich children and parents can read and thinkabout together, news which can be used as partof school lessons and reports of educationaladministration or industry trends are chosen bythe Editorial Department, re-written and printed.Reporters at the Mainichi Shimbun are alsoasked to write specifically for MSS. In the eventof major news breaking, MSS writers cover thestory themselves. Every day a corner devotedto explaining current terms used not only byMSS but also in TV news or regular newspapersis included.

According to a survey conducted in August1995, 68% of high school students who intendedto go on to college read a newspaper every day,while 19% read sometimes, 8% replied two orthree times a week and 5% hardly read anewspaper at all. Their reasons given for readinga newspaper indicated that students not onlyread newspapers for their interests or concernover articles, but also utilize them as majorresources for getting knowledge and to preparefor entrance examinations.

While elementary and junior high schoolstudents do not exactly follow this trend, socialor current problems increasingly come up inentrance exams for private junior high schoolsthese days. Media such as MSS, where currentnews is printed, help these children, therebybroadening the type of readership.

5) Readers' ParticipationMore than anything, news or topics have to

be reported from the reader's viewpoint.Elementary school students know themselvesbetter than adults think they do. While it isnaturally impossible for elementary schoolstudents to cover stories as a regular reporteron a daily basis, we are trying to increase theiropportunities to participate in various aspectsof newspaper-making. So we organize volunteerMSS writers or "correspondents" from ourreaders. Anyone, no matter where they live inJapan, can take part.

The Editorial Department sends out aquestionnaire, asking about school life or familyor local matters and the replies are collated.Writers are also asked to report on things theyhave enjoyed or found worthwhile at school orat home. Photographs taken by elementaryschool students are also used. Writers are alsosometimes asked to cover a story just like realreporters. Accompanied by one of our editorialwriters, they may visit a newly built museumor an event for elementary school students andwrite an article about this. Of course they arehelped by our staff.

Readers' participation is also actively soughtin the readers' column and readers' pictures,illustrations and opinions are welcomed. Thereis also a pen-friend column to help childrenmake friends.

38

PresentSjtuatio0 ofPeriodicals p;(.10,1,i1),i;ng fOir Children

hl,Aia/F5a-difiC

BANGLADESHMr. Hasnain Sabih NayakExecutive Editor, TOITOMBOOR

Demographic data (in million)No. of Children 68.31No. of Children in urban areas 12.49No. of Children in rural areas 55.82No. of Literate Children 16.86

No. of Illiterate Children 51.45

a. Background

Most of the publishers or people related tochildren's publications do not have the backgroundof dealing with children. So, sometimes theirapproach of the publication remains limited withintheir own imagination and they are to fulfill theirresponsibilities without much accountability. Thefirst phenomenon is more frequent with the privatepublishers while the latter is with the govt. and semi-govt. organizations. Besides, either they do not havethe experience to deal with the physical and abstractfactors of the children or they ignore it deliberately.

In Toitomboor's case the Chief Adviser and theEditor were one of founder members of FULKI(Flame in English), the first children's aptitudeschool in Bangladesh founded back in 1976. Mostof the members of Toitomboor family including thewriter of this report were either its students orinvolved in its running or tuned with the concept.

b. Approach

From the very beginning TOITOMBOOR hasbeen working with the following approaches whichmay be seen absent in other children's publicationsof the country.

b.1 Future CitizenTo infuse the idea into the reader's mind that the

world is one and we are to become citizens of thatworld. In line with that idea, although very modestly,

TOITOMBOOR has started a web page in the Internetfor which TOITOMBOOR has invitedTOITOMBOOR Online Representative (TOR) fromall over the world.

b.2 Positive Outlook towards LifeTo imbue the readers to lead their life with a

positive outlook. The life is not a bed of roses ofcourse, yet a person can obviously handle mattersamicably only when he/she is not a pessimist. It takesa great deal of learning and training during theirgrowth.

b.3 Goodwill among PeopleTo learn to sympathize with the people without

conflict and war between the races, religions, andcountries.

b.4 Friendly to NatureTo learn about man's interaction with Nature and

Environment, to learn to love animals; How we canmake this world better by knowing more and moreabout Environment and Nature.

b.5 Beneficial for SocietyTo emphasize and highlight those issues and

activities which will be beneficial for society.

b.6 Conducive to Human DevelopmentTo put forward the skills and qualities by which

one can develop one's personal being to do thingsin life.

b.7 Develop readership and new writers as wellMost of the publications go for renowned and

established writers who are not, most of the time,children's writers at all. Sometimes their writing doesnot match the objectives of the publication.

TOITOMBOOR rather goes for new and youngwriters who can be easily briefed withTOITOMBOOR's aims and objectives. Besides, itso happened that many of the young readers are nowwriting different articles for TOITOMBOOR which

NOTE

1. These reports are prepared by the participants for the course, not official reports of respective countries.

2. The reports are edited by ACCU.

3. At the end of each report, figures on publishing situation of periodicals for children as well as general magazines are provided by

the participants. Some figures are estimated. (In these figures, 'children' means those under age 18.)

41

39

are fairly good in quality.

c. Text

c.1An Impersonal Teaching/Advisory AttitudeMost of the publications maintain a sort of

newspaper-like impersonal style in text formationand text presentation while some others present anadvisory style. Most children do not like advisorystyle, nor they like an indirect manner.

TOITOMBOOR has been rather trying to becomea Friend, Philosopher and Guide to its young readers.

c.2Moral ValuesWriting for children is not that easy as one has to

always think of social and moral values, ideas,virtues and vices etc. intangible attributes whilewriting. The risk is very high that an article if notproperly laid out can very easily misguide thechildren readers, as they are yet to grow judgment.Regarding item selection, sometimes somemagazines do not go deep into the matter whether itwill heighten the morale of the children.

c.3 FantasyVery few writers are there who bring the children

into a world of fantasy with their writing. Sometimesthey borrow foreign fantasy-plots, foreign settingswhich do not talk of the respective soil. So the youngreaders usually do not have a 'we feeling' whilereading and it seems an alien writing to them.

c.4Lucid LanguageOther than a handful few writing rhymes for the

children, most of the writers frequently write foradults and casually write for the children. So the verylanguage, way of writing and the terminologies usedare not 'easy to read' for the children.

d. Get up

d.1 ColorfulnessA magazine's being colorful in its overall get up

seems to be directly proportional to its cost. Inhandling this factor, almost all the publications facethe same crisis dearth of fund.

d.2 IllustrationIllustrators for children's publications are also

numbered. Since the payback from the children's

publication is not very encouraging, there are not somany people concentrating on children's illustration.Children have to be able to differentiate horse frommule or ass, eagle from falcon etc. from theillustrations. But many of the illustrations do notrepresent or highlight the salient features or markedattributes of things properly.

d.3 CoverSome covers are so faceless that, would not the

logo and name be there, it could go for any kind ofadult publication or the like.

According to some of the readers, some coverssuch as TOITOMBOOR's are too characteristic. Thechildren who have crossed puberty level feelashamed to carry it as its cover bears kiddish lookalthough they know that the magazine containsinside materials for almost all the ages.

The readers demand colorful cover which againis controlled by the cost factor.

e. Readers' Participation

e.1 CompetitionsIn almost all the children's publications published

by private organizations usually have a number ofcompetitions in each issue in which the winners getprizes in cash or in kinds sometimes. But in the govt.publications, competitions are rarely seen and theymerely care for reader's response.

TOITOMBOOR not only arranges different typesof competitions in each issue which bring outthe dormant qualities in the children so far remainedunexplored. Two of TOITOMBOOR's uniquecompetitions were: 1. a group competition to bringout a hand-written magazine and 2. a groupcompetition for eradicating illiteracy among schooldrop-out children.

Besides, TOITOMBOOR has been maintaininga competition called Kathgara (Court Rails inEnglish) where readers participate to point out themistakes in each issue and learn the twists and turnsof different languages used such as Bangla, Englishand so on. This is not only to encourage reader'sparticipation, but also to teach the young readers tohave the courage to admit their mistakes and errors.

e.2 SurveyTOITOMBOOR conducts a regular quarterly

survey in which the young readers give their opinion

42

40

about the writing they liked most and theadvertisement they liked most.

f. Price

f.1 ColorAs color increases, the cost also increases. But

all concerned desire to have children's publicationwith lots of colors which most of the time cannot beentertained due to fund constraint.

f.2 SponsorSponsorship lessens the price of the publication

to a great extent. In Bangladesh, it is very difficultto get sponsor for a page or two in a children'smagazine. Rather it is easier to get an advertisementfor adult magazines. Besides, scopewise children'spublication has a limitation. It just cannot have anyadvertisement even if it will have a great financialbenefit out of it.

With TOITOMBOOR running 6 years since itsinception, it was seen that although theadvertisements of tobacco companies, contraceptivecompanies were easily available, it was not withinthe scope although by now TOITOMBOOR hasbecome good marketing tool as it is read by almostall members of the families.

Regarding sponsored page, TOITOMBOOR haspioneered educative advertisements in which storiesabout water, oral rehydration, environment, dentalhealth etc. are presented which have been acclaimedby the readers.

f.3 Demand-Affordability-Price RelationshipThe overall scenario of children's publication

remains in a strange conflicting situation. If thedemands of the buyers for a quality publication is tobe met, the price goes beyond their affordabilitythreshold. And because of the price if the sales godown, the price gets even higher making the wholething non-viable and non-feasible.

Besides, as in the developing countries, thedisparity between the urban and rural people is veryhigh the price becomes unaffordable for the ruralfamilies. So a very big portion of the prospectivetarget readers is left out of the publications forchildren.

Among the urban parents who can afford to buybooks, a strange mentality has been observed. Whenthey go to the bookshops, many of them are ready

43

to buy voluminous novels for themselves while theyvery frequently start bargaining with the price orcome up with the notion that publication for childrenshould be very colorful and attractive without anyprice-like. As a result, as sometimes demandcustomizes and carves supply, some very poorquality publication for children are sold in the marketwhich are cheap of course, not economical. So manyof the parents are sometimes taking care of the price-factors but mostly not to the purpose.

The price difference between the govt.publication and private publication is quite markable.As govt. publication is subsidized, usually the priceis much lower. Yet the private publication sells betteras most of the govt. publications are sub-standard interms of text, get up etc. This proves that not onlyprice, quality also matters. Besides, the govt.publications sometimes do not care for the paper-reader relationship. Most of the time their attitudeis: they just had to do it, so they did it. But for theprivate publishers retaining the readers is a veryimportant objective to achieve.

g. Distribution

g.1 SubscriptionMost of the children's publications have two

categories of subscription : Yearly and Half-yearly.As the subscription money is received before thepublication is delivered, the number of copies to beprinted for subscription can be planned well ahead.Besides, the subscription money can act as a goodsource of financial strength.

Usually copies of magazines are sent to thesubscribers through registered post which takes 7-10 days to reach different places inside and outsideBangladesh.

Regarding this, Toitomboor has arranged to sendthe copies to its subscribers in Dhaka andsurrounding areas through courier which broughtdown the time to 1-2 days.

g.2 HawkersMagazines are distributed to the different

Hawker's points in Dhaka city early in the morningand to different hawker's chains in other districtsthrough courier. Usually the hawkers take 40%commission on the printed price. But the salesproceeding is received after not less than 2 months.So, returnwise this means is not very viable other

41

than the display facility at different hawker's pointsannouncing that the magazine is still in publicationand circulation as well.

g.3 Off TakeWhatever quantity is given to the hawkers, the

Off-take or unsold copies returned is nearly 40%.This is one of the reasons TOITOMBOOR

depends very little on the hawkers as the 40% of thegiven quantity becomes outdated and loses theappeal by the time it is returned. It just maintains aminimum display with the hawkers, rather it utilizesits resources for making new yearly and half-yearlysubscribers.

g.4 Redistribution for Further PromotionThe unsold copies are redistributed to those

children who are not acquainted withTOITOMBOOR. This helps expanding the marketand the client base as well.

g.5 Complementary Distribution for PromotionFor getting sponsor, articles and good exposure

in the society, a good number of copies aredistributed to a lot of key persons in different reputedorganizations and institutions.

h. Marketing Techniques

h.1 CompetitionsMost of the Children's publications excepting the

ones published by govt. organizations arrangedifferent competitions as marketing technique forincreasing sales.

As mentioned before, TOITOMBOOR alsomaintains the same trend regarding the matter.

h.2 Subscriber's Benefit CardToitomboor has started issuing a Laminated

Subscriber's Benefit Card with the photograph ofthe subscriber to its yearly subscribers. With thiscard, the subscribers will be entitled to get certainfacilities/rebates at certain points selected byToitomboor. Besides, when the subscription isrenewed against this card, TOITOMBOOR will give13 issues instead of 12 issues against regular yearlysubscription.

i. Rivals or Competitors

i.1 Audio-visual MediaPublication for children mainly has to compete

with TV, TV Game, Video Game, Multimedia PCetc. audio-visual media in the urban areas. Althoughpublication has more lasting effect than TV andpublications can be gone through time and again,children cannot ignore all those sound effects, comicstrips, fables. But it is limiting the imagination andcreativity of the children or they imagine or thinkonly in the direction of TV serials and programs.Printed publication has got an edge over TV out ofall the audio-visual media as TV is an open mediaand children sometimes watch programs which werenot meant for them. But in printed publication itemscan be customized only for children and juvenilereaders.

Taking this thing as a positive factor,TOITOMBOOR has been carving out its materialsfor its target readers.

i.2 SchoolIn the urban areas, children in the affluent class

remain very busy with their studies all day long. Sothey are sometimes reluctant or unable to look forany extra-curricular activities like reading books &publications meant for them. Most of the parents inthe urban areas are too much concerned with theirchildren's school-results. They sometimes sort ofpressurize there children to become the first boy/girl in the class forgetting the truth that humanqualities do not lie in or always belong to the firstboy/girl in the class.

j. Govt. Cooperation

Very often the govt. fails to understand that anyspending made for children's publication is a kindof investment which will be giving dividend in thelong run in the days to come. Following are some ofthe probable means govt. can use. It must be kept inmind that govt. should not try to do it all by itselfrather it should try to create a congenial atmosphereso that more people get interested to go for children'spublication.

j.1 Paper at subsidized priceRegarding Children's Publication, the govt. does

not have any regulation to give locally manufacturedpaper at a subsidized price. Or govt. can allow thechildren's publishers to import paper with less duty

44

which keeps the price of the paper within reach ofthe publishers.

j.2 AdvertisementsGovt. can encourage the state-owned enterprises

to give advertisements to the children's publicationsor can offer some business incentive to theorganizations which give advertisements to thechildren's publications.

j.3 State Owned Media Usage at a Rebate RateGovt. can encourage the state-owned Media to

allow the children's publications to giveadvertisements at a rebate rate or govt. can sharethe advertisement cost with the children's publishersto a certain extent. This will act as a good incentivefor the children's publishers to go for children'spublication.

j.4Reduced Postage for the Children'sPublicationGovt. can instruct the postal department to take

reduced postage charge from those publicationswhich are registered as children's periodicals.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published

magazines: 12, newspapers: nil, others: 20

No. of children's periodical publisherstotal: 12 (government: 4, private: 8)

*In Bangladesh almost all of the leading dailies, be it in Bangle

or in English, keep a weekly section for the children or young

readers. In this report this category has been included in 'other

kinds of periodicals'. these papers usually dedicate 1-2 pages

for this purpose.

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 400

Number of publishers: 380

BANGLADESHMr. Lutfor Rahman RitonEditor, Chotoder Kagaz

The Present situation in Bangladesh inpublication of books and periodicals for children isnot so commendable. The service of the Governmentin this sector is very little. Most of the works arebeing done by some of our children-loving personsindividually and privately. Practically there is no

45

patronage from the Government.Bangladesh is a densely populated country

having a population to the tune of 130 million. Butmost of them are poor and do not have sufficientfood and proper education. When the family is poor,naturally the children will be poor. The childrenbeing poor are unable to have the text book and assuch question of purchasing any books/magazinesor periodicals or any other interested item does notarise to them. I would like to keep aside the problemsof these ill-fated children and present the situationof publishing periodicals for children and problemsthereof less than 13% of 130 million people ofBangladesh read dailies per day. Moreover, there areonly a few news papers have circulation over100,000 copies per day. This is the reality. Naturallythe circulation of a periodical for children is muchmore less. Only six is the number to indicate theregularly published periodicals for children inBangladesh. Practically no periodical has acirculation over 10,000. Most of them has acirculation in between 3,000 to 5,000.

We get a very little advertisement in periodicalsfor children. The number is not mentionable. Eventhe advertisement for chocolate, toffee, biscuit, milketc. is being published in the papers for adult. Themanufactures and distributors of these products arenot interested in publishing their ads in theperiodicals for children. Because, the buyers of theproducts are not the children, but their guardians.But the periodicals can not exist without revenuefrom advertisements. Even being a prominent writerfor children (Have authored 40 books) and an editorof eminent periodical for children and being widelyknown to all shades of people, I myself get little adfor the periodical. The product owners come up withan excuse that the readers of my periodical arechildren and they can not buy their products, thechildren do not have the money. So they say, "Sorry,we can not hamper our business. So please do notdisturb us". I do try to make them understand andsay, the children of today will be the adults oftomorrow. So, they will be the purchaser of theirproducts by time. By this way I try to soften theirhard mind in passing over some 'ad' for myperiodical. But the same procedure can not be appliedall the times to any body.

It is a fact that the readers of the periodicals forchildren are children but only their guardians canpurchase it for them and as such we have to look out

43

for their guardians or the adult section of the people.We can not focus our two eyes only for the children.If we keep one eye to them we are to keep anothereye to their guardians. Conscious guardians are veryrare in our country. They do not hesitate to buy morethan one of political magazines, cine-magazines,sports-magazines or crime-magazines. But for theirchildren, they do not have the habit of purchasing acopy of periodical for children by Taka 15 (30 cents)only. This is an expenditure outside their budget.They are as interested in purchasing a pornographyas disinterested in purchasing a periodical forchildren.

The periodicals for adults can go without beingcoloured and pictorial. But the periodicals forchildren must shine brilliantly to attract the children.As such, the cost of production becomes higher andthe price has to be fixed higher resulting fall ofbuyers. Any other published items for children otherthan periodicals have the same fate of high cost. Thebooks for children have to be illustrated nicely bydrawings and colourful picturesresulting the priceat a higher level. So, in this field, the buyer is alsoless. In our country, the books of the most popularwriter for children are not being printed for morethan 5,000 copies.

There is price hike all over the world in booksand magazines and as such the educating books andperiodicals requires relieve subsidy from thegovernment . But in our country, there is no subsidyfor the same. For this reason, some of the guardianseven being interested can not purchase the same forhigh cost. Moreover, there is no separate distributionsystem in practice in our country for magazines andperiodicals for children. Through the HawkersAssociation for dailies, the periodicals for childrenare being distributed. If we send a copy by post, itmay not reach its destination. Such is the state ofpoor postal services in our country.

In India, the government assist and subsidize thepublication of books of knowledge and theperiodicals for children in any Indian language.Bangla is also a language of publications in India.Thus the price being low books/periodicals publishedin Bangla by Indian publishers have flooded intomarket of Bangladesh due to 'open market economy'being the rule of the day. The cost of a particularsize of periodical/book is less in India and as such itattracts the buyers in Bangladesh and it sells likehot cakes. This has resulted a cause of concern in

publication industry in Bangladesh. A guardianwould be induced to buy a copy of Anandamelapublished in India at the same cost to purchase acopy of Chhotoder Kagoj or copy of a similarperiodical published in Bangladesh. This remark hasnothing to fan the anti-Indian feelings but to statethe reality. If the government of Bangladesh doesnot come forward with a helping hand, thepublication of books for children in Bangladesh willsurely be at a stake in near future. We have thepresence of rare talents in our country to grace thelearning world of the children. The notable writersare there. The notable illustrators are there. With deepsense of loving, they are doing their job for thechildren. But the cost management is very difficultand it results less number of production of pictorialperiodicals for children. It may be mentioned herethat the reading habit of the children in our countryis very good. They do want to read good books,magazines, periodicals etc. but the presence of thecheap comics of lower standard in the market ofBangladesh is drawing them apart. These comics arebeing published in Bangla by Indian publishers. Letme express my candid opinion on reading of thesecheap comics. This is in contradiction to reading ofgood books and periodicals. So, I personally opposepublication of cheap comics for children.

Moreover TV, videos, sky network have beendestroying good habit of reading. To take on toreading has an extra effort, which is absent perseein case of enjoying TV show. This 'idiot box' isforcing our children lazily at home and is obstructingdevelopment of a creative mind. I myself am relatedto TV programs. Beside composition of two TVserials for children I have composed, directed andpresented a number of programs. Thereby I havemarked that the children are more interested inwatching TV programs than reading books,magazines or periodicals. Like other countries,politicians of our country are also not honest. TheMinisters deliver talks for the cause of children butdo not come forward in real works. They say,children of today are the citizens of tomorrow etc.But the children get their lectures only and not anynecessary practical assistance. They say more thanthey work. Children are the target of their speechonly.

In this connection, I recall one incident of lastyear in commemoration of first anniversary ofpublication of my periodical, Chowder Kagoj. Our

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Prime Minister Shikh Hasina was present as the chiefguest of honour. She herself promised a lot for thecause of children of Bangladesh in the occasion. Buteven after lapse of one year, nothing has seen thelight of the day. Thus is the working of ourministries reflecting words, words and words butnot works. They are only interested in deliveringspeech for development' of Children. In fine, let medeliver this message that the problems of publicationof books and periodicals for children in our countryis very acute. Without the positive assistance andsubsidy from the government, it would not bepossible to publish any item for children inBangladesh. There are several donor countries forBangladesh in different sectors. If some of themcome forward for the cause of publication of booksand periodicals for children in Bangladesh, then itwill be possible to keep the publication in force.What we are doing personally and privately, isinsufficient to meet the demand of the children andit is really impossible to continue privately andpersonally to bear such huge cost of production.

I think, children of today are the citizens of theworld of tomorrow. So, to make and to have a happyand prosperous world, we must develop further thepublication for the children and make them easilyavailable. To time with the world today, we mustmake our all out efforts for steady progress in havinga beautiful world and the children are the best beauty.

Figures1) Periodicals for children

Number of titles published magazines:6No. of children's periodical publishers

total: 6 (government: 3, private: 3)

2) General magazine publishing

Total number of magazines: 60

Number of publishers: 50

BHUTANMr. Kinzang LhendupCurriculum Officer, English UnitCurriculum & Professional Support Section,Education Division

There are a few periodicals published in Bhutan.Each of those titles are very much subject orientedand are focused to its limited section of population.The frequency of distributions although scheduledand planned actually do not happen because of

47

various unavoidable circumstances.By the fact that each of these titles are written,

edited and published by different divisions andorganizations, these issues usually find their waysto the members of its own organizations and a fewfrom outside their sector for whom it is intended.Therefore the introduction of periodicals specificallydesigned for children is something remaining to beventured.

The most common features that I have observedon all these periodicals are ;(1) not published as scheduled earlier / not meeting

dateline(2) poor quality(3) unattractive(4) typographical errors(5) limited copies for distribution

Problems

1. WritingNot many Bhutanese are writers and writing

certainly is not everybody's bread & butter. Henceit is very rare and difficult to get articles written byBhutanese. It is only with the compulsive activityenforced upon responsible individuals when we canget a desired article or write up.

2. EducatingIt's always different to find an editor best suited

for the purpose, based upon the requirement to getthe periodical ready to be printed, there are variousnumbers of functions to be carried out by differenteditors like;

(a) acquiring editor(b) managing editor(c) line editor(d) copy editor(e) production editor & also(f) proof readers

It's difficult to catch few people acquiring theskills to carry out all these functions. And becauseof lack of financial constraint it is not possible tohave individual specific editor dealing in specialarea. Hence it takes a long time before the periodicalis ready for publishing.

Besides the job of editing, there are numerousother works which further delays printing such asmanaging resources, illustrating, typesetting, writing

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indexes and bibliographical references etc.

3. DistributionWith limited resources only a limited number of

copies are printed. Besides, due to poor transportfacility, it takes a long time to reach to the hands ofthe readers. Therefore, it is quite discouraging forthe publishers to know that the so much effort thatthey have put in is almost wasted. And what more,Bhutanese are poor readers and hence we wonderwhether the periodicals that we distributed is reador not.

Kuensel!

It is the only newspaper in the country which ispublished and circulated every week and, about300,000 copies are printed every time & it's ownedby a corporation. It is intended for the general public.Kuensel is published in two languages, English andDzongkha (our national language).

It covers a wide variety of news andadvertisements. It also includes a number of literarywritings such as poems, stories, jokes, quizzes,puzzles and many more. It is quite an establishedcorporation and so even the quality of paper used isvery good.

Children's Books Published and Used

Other than textbooks the education division hasso far published about 45 reading materials inEnglish and almost the double number in Dzonkha.The stories are interesting relating to Bhutanesecontext and illustrators are superb. But the qualityof these books are very poor. Ranging from 6-15thousand of copies are printed and circulated everyyear. These books needs to be sent to schools latestby the 2nd week of December so as to reach on timefor the next academic session which begins on the10th day of the 3rd month. You might nowunderstand how difficult it is to transport from oneplace to another.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published

nil (many schools publish their annual school magazines)

No. of children's periodical publishers

few governmental organizations

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 6

Number of publishers: 6

CAMBODIAMr. Nang RavuthPublications ClerkUNESCO Office in Cambodia

After the election 1993 which was organized bythe UN, Cambodia has developed some ofpublication activities such as magazines, newsletters, and bulletins (approximately 21). Most ofthese are made for general people, except one forchildren.

Many of publishers are the persons from NGO's.Some persons from private companies and a fewfrom the ministries. But generally the ministries haveno fund to raise the magazine. For example, theMinistry of Education now is concerned withtextbook production and teacher guide training forprimary and secondary school. This can go by thefund from European Union, UNICEF, andUNESCO. The non-formal Education Departmentis going to produce reading materials under thestrong support from Japan. There are somemagazines which have been contacted to the AsiaFoundation but now the political situation isrestrictive. Many articles that were carried in somemagazines covered: the research on corruptions,democracy, human rights, women activities andcooperation and peace. The magazine namedPopular is a special one in Cambodia. Its articlesare on: popular personalities, news, environment,children's rights, sentimental story, health, culture,religion, tourism, science, etc.

Mom and Mab the Only Magazine for Childrenin Cambodia

Redd Barna (Save the Children Norway) assist.the Ministry of Education to improve primaryeducation in Cambodia.The project is to distributeMom and Mab to the children in the Redd Barna-supported school clusters, and to children targetedin the health and community development projects.Mom and Mab is also sold to other organizations.So far the magazine has been used in schools,libraries, day-care-centers, youth groups andpediatric clinics.

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Established in 1995, Mom and Mab is a quarterlymagazine for children between the age of seven andeleven. Its stories, cartoons, puzzles, and riddles areeducational and entertaining, focusing onCambodian tradition and values. The primaryobjective of the magazine is literacy, to reinforcethe capacity of reading and to develop the taste forreading among children. Secondly, the contents ofthe magazine are a source of valuable informationfor children. The puzzles and riddles stimulateobservation and cultivate curiosity. The more factualsection, "I Would Like to Know" and the "SciencePage" give ideas and further knowledge andcomprehension about a number of topics, rangingfrom mosquito bites and dinosaurs to how to makea kite.

All cartoons and tales in Mom and Mab have aneducational message or a moral, dealing withsubjects such as tradition, environment, and humanrelations.

"Grandparent stories" as well as the tales andfables, take the reader back in time, in order toenhance the awareness about Cambodian customsand culture, traditional values and attitudes.

"Children from different countries" is anothersection, which gives readers a glimpse of other partsof the world through little stories by children fromabroad.

Since its beginning the magazine project hasbeen funded by Norwegian secondary schoolsstudents through the unique Operation Day's work.However, in order to reach more children and tosecure the sustainability of the project, Mom andMab intends to operate independently from ReddBarna within a few years.

Figures1) Periodicals for children

Number of titles published magazine: 1.

No. of children's periodical publishers NGO:1

2) General magazine publishing

Total number of magazines: 21

Number of publishers: 20

CHINAMr. Miao WeiArt EditorChina Juvenile & Children Publishing

There are 3 hundred million children in China.- 49

Even some of them do not have enough money toattend school in some areas, great majority ofchildren are in good circumstances and receivinggood education. Especially those living in cities areenjoying the best living and educational conditionsunder the present economy circumstances in China.

Chinese people have been influenced deeply bythe philosophy mind of Ru for thousands of years,that made them attach importance to courtesy andeducation. They paid much attention to educationand hope their sons and daughters may study andgain much knowledge and skills so that they can beremarkable talents in the future. So today in China,young parents pay lots of money and energy toeducate their children. This is the reason why booksand periodicals for children have such a large marketin China. Periodicals that have substantial content,much information and amusement, and fresh andoriginal design are warmly welcomed by childrenand their parents.

The China government has set up professionalpublishing houses in every province to producebooks and periodicals for children. Representativeones are: China Children Publishing House, JiangsuChildren Publishing House and Zhejiang ChildrenPublishing House etc. Above mentioned publishinghouses publish most of books and periodicals forchildren in China. Each of them gains over onehundred million yuan (RMB) as business volume ayear. Generally, several periodicals are published atthe same time in those publishing houses. Eachperiodical has its own independent editorial staff.Some periodicals have a history over 40 years andtheir readership consists of 2-3 generation. The totalfigure of books they have published reaches millions.

But lately, the economy reform led intensecompetitions in the market of periodicals for childrenin China. More and more new periodicals areproduced and the position of periodicals are poundedcontinuously. The publishing amount of someperiodicals has fallen and the falling range may be50% at the most. Facing this situation and to urgereaders to stay on, periodicals have improved theirwork one after another. They set up more fresh andfashionable columns instead of old ones, improveddecoration styles and readjust prices. They workedhard in making their own characteristic so that theycould keep or even extend the publishing volume.

At present, the periodicals for children in Chinahave substantial content in all. Those periodicals are

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classified by age groups: for babies, toddlers, pre-school children, primary school students, juniormiddle school students, senior middle schoolstudents. They include Baby Pictorial, Toddlerpictorial, Little Friend, China Children, MiddleSchool Student, Overspeed Storm and so on. Theage ranges of the readers of these pictorials are clear.The main methods in editing these pictorials are: 1.investigate readers; 2. ask professors, experiencedartists and editors of every column to analyze theresult and discuss about it. After the columns andthe subject matters are generally determined, theeditors will demonstrate it further with the decorationdesigners and printing workers, and publishingworkers. Then they decide on the columns andcontributions finally. At the same time, thedecoration design, ways of binding and printing, andeven the price is determined. Because the nationalincome of China is falling behind the developedcountries, books and periodicals in China are alsocheaper. But cheaper price always leads to lowquality of paper and printing. So in China, the paperand the printing of periodicals for children are notgood enough.

Next, I will introduce a comic magazine namedOverspeed Storm, which was founded by myself.Its readership mainly consists of high grade studentsin primary school and in junior middle school. Thereare about 15 periodicals with similar nature asOverspeed Storm. Their standards are 1/16K, 48-64pages. Most of the contents are created by youngcaricature artists. And some of the columns introducethe works of caricature artists of foreign countries.The number of copies printed is 30,000-50,000. Eachcopy sells 5-6 yuan (RMB), means $0.7-$0.8.

Analyzing and studying those comic periodicalsin Chinese market, we thought it is the time topublish one with more pages, large pictures, betterpaper and printing, because it can meet the needs ofpresent readers. More expensive price should beaccepted, too. So we invited the most popularcaricature artists, the designer with fresh and originalideas. We selected high quality paper and printingfactory. We publicized in newspaper and on TV. Andat last, we published the periodical. The feedbacktold us that the readers had accepted it including itsprice. ($2 a copy). As soon as Overspeed Stormappeared on the market, it called other comicsperiodicals' attention. While Overspeed Stormstepped further on the market, other periodicals

imitated its design style one after another, increasingpages and raising price. It improved the general levelof Chinese comics periodicals. From this we canlearn that Chinese readers' consuming level is risingcontinuously, and that they will choose the highquality ones even if they are more expensive.

But how to lead readers pay more money to buya real worthy periodical is a important problem tobe faced with. There is a not good convention inChinese publishing circles. Large-scaleadvertisements for books and periodicals are rare.Readers have little knowledge about mostperiodicals. So it is hard for them to choose one.And they are even harder to exchange on strike aresponsive chord with the periodicals. It is wellknown that only after readers really like a periodical,they subscribe it for a long time. The reasons abovemake the publishing volume increase slowly, or evengo down. On the other hand, there are also someimportant reasons affecting the development ofChinese periodicals, such as the columns with nofresh idea, no good written and picture works, poorquality printing work, etc. At the same time, many.editors of children's periodicals have problems suchas old-fashioned knowledge, lack of knowledgeabout children's mentality, and no sense to newthings.

In my opinion, there are the following needs forthe development of periodicals for children in China:

1. To make very scientific investigation and studyabout children periodicals market. Editing andpublishing work ought to meet with the requestof market.

2. To take part in the exchange activities in the world.Broadening visions and thought and increasingthe speed of information spreading. Only by doingthis, periodicals for children in China can catchup with the development of those in advancedcountries. It may need support from UNESCO.

3. The level of the editors needs to be improved.They ought to study children's mentality and tolearn how to edit the column welcomed bychildren.

4. Each periodical should train or invite excellentcreative persons to write and illustrate for it. Onlyhigh quality works can be the soul of a periodical.

5. The payment for an article or a picture should beincreased. At present, the payment of Chinesechildren periodicals is much lower than that of

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advanced countries. This condition makes lots ofgood artists lose their interest in periodicals forchildren. Only much higher payment will attractthe attention of good authors.

6. Use more advanced ways of production,especially in designing, plate making, andprinting.

7. Establishing our own publishing network andpromoting periodicals more widely by all kindsof ways. At the same time, arouse the enthusiasmof salespersons. I think that only after solving theabove problems periodicals for children in Chinacan come into a new stage, and reach a higherlevel.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published

magazines:110, newspapers:50, year books:40No. of children's periodical publishers

total: 29 (government: 29)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 800

Number of publishers: 565

INDONESIAMr. A. Eko PraptantoJournalist and Editor, Bobo Magazine

Bobo, Bridge and Hi Hi Ha HaEach time we (Bobo's reporter) meet or interview

someone, this conversation always appeared."Excuse me, Mister/Madame, I'm from Bobo

Magazine!""Haa? Bobo? Hihihi, are you really Bobo?

Children magazine that I've read when I was achild?"

"Exactly!""Ha ha ha! Bobo interview me? Are you

kidding?""Of course not!""Okay! Okay! So, hi hi hi, what can hi hi hi I do

hi ha for you, big guy!"

Although after interviewed he/she wassurprised and more serious, we always "understand"that "critical" situation. People think that child'smagazine business is not a serious problem. Similarto their thought about children: it is only theminiature of human, or uncompleted human.

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Bobo, from "ba bi bu" to Technobobo

1. A "ba bi bu"This is a history of Bobo magazine, the serious

business, and of course the serious story. Bobomagazine born in April, 14, 1973. (I was one ofBobo's readers too!). The first published of Bobocontained 16 pages. Even there was black and whitepages, most of pages were colour (Bobo is the firstchildren magazine with colouring pages!). Therewas no article in "baby" Bobo. The contains werecomics, short story, colouring, puzzle and playingwith alphabets. So, I also called "baby" Bobo wasthe "ba bi bu" magazine. "Bo bi bu" in English, is"ga ga ga", the baby talk. At that time, Bobo had50,000 copies each week!

The founding mother of Bobo had a motto:learning and playing, learning by playing. They thinkthat Indonesian children need "a friend" who couldgive "something" useful but entertain. In that time,they specialized this ages: 5 to 12!

The name of "Bobo" took by Dutch magazine.They sell its royalty. Bobo also the name of a littlerabbit, male, that's very smart and clever in Boboand his Family's comics. Bobo's comic alwaysappeared in Bobo magazine until now.

2. 1980's EraIn 1980's era, there was a phenomenon. Bobo

magazine's friends, Kuncung magazine, Tomtom,Siswa, and several others were collapse one by one,with many kinds of problems. So, in that decade,Bobo lived "lonely". Bobo had 150,000 copies eachweek.

3. TechnoboboOpen the 1990's era, Bobo change a lot of subject.

There was also reportage, sci-tech, profile, and tipsfor children. According the management (that countthe success from profit-non profit matter), this is the"success era" for Bobo. At that time, specially in1991, we sold 300,000 copies each week.

But after that, there was a lot of problem. Since1991, Indonesia have commercial TV station. Andin 1995, there was a "tv boom". This is theextraordinary new baby sitter for Indonesianchildren. Also, CD-rom, CD-interactive had smashedchild's market.

How about children magazine market? Yeah, in

this year, I do not know, many businesspersonsrealized that child's market was the potential market,of course, some of them invested their money to thiskind of business. So, there were Fantasi's Tabloid,Korcil, Bona's Tabloid, Putra Mentari's Magazine,Aku Anak Saleh magazine, Tablo's Tabloid, Hoplaa'sTabloid et cetera. Most of them published by the"Big Publisher" that also published the dailynewspapers.

Now, although Bobo still leads the market(250,000 copies), we have a lot of "friends" (themanagement called them "the competitor") In thisera, we call our magazine, the technobobo, becausewe have to apply the technology for our magazine.

Sailor Moon EraKamen Rider (1 year ago), Dora Emon, Power

Ranger, and now Sailor Moon R had smashedIndonesian children. Some researcher report that 32million of Indonesian children very depend ontelevision. And most of parents let them watchtelevision for a long time. I interviewed 50 parentsin random class. Most of them (32%) let their kidwatch tv after they do their homework, and most oftheir kid (35%) watches TV from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.Twenty percent, from 4 p.m until 8 p.m. Sadly theyalso love the sinetron (soap opera) at the prime timeprogram!

How about a children book?This is the comment of some expert about child's

book in Indonesia."There are always a preface and several `Kata

Sambutan' (foreword) from a government inIndonesia's children books, that is not necessary,"said Annie-Keuper Makkink, Dutch children's bookwriter.

"Most of children's books in Indonesia are verymoralized. The character have to be 'good person'and never doing a bad thing, loyal, etc. This is verycliché!" added Dr. Riris K. Sarumpaet, Ph.D.

"Publish children's book in Indonesia? Oh, thereis no benefit!. The Government tax is very expensive,and our children don't like reading a book!" saidone of Marketing Manager of "X" publisher.

With that comment, I think we already have apanorama of children's book in Indonesia.

A Bridge, not only haha hihi"TV is our new enemy!" said the management.

"They eat our 'advertising cake'!""My son is very sarcastic now! And he had no

politeness attitude!" said a friend of mine."After school, my son always go to his video-

game! And we can't stop him!" Said another parent!"Indonesian's schools, from kindergarten, to high

schools, especially in the elementary school, are stilldirecting the greater part of their attention to the taskof teaching obedience, and do very little or nothingat all to stimulate and guide our students to becomecreative individuals!" said Mochtar Buchori, thewriter. "Some schools and some teachers even spurnstudents with creative minds."

"Indonesian young parents are very specifichuman!" said the expert. "They only know thesubject of their daylife work. They do not know howto educate their children to face the modern situation.They only copy what their parent did to them whenthey were a child!"

"Indonesian students are under stress now!" saidDudy Hidayat, a researcher. "They have a lot of`mata pelajaran'(items of lesson), a lot of homework,task, extra lesson, et cetera. So, they have no time toread others!"

That crucial situation tells us something: thereare many gaps in Indonesia: children versus parents,traditional education versus modern education, andAudio-visual media versus us!

So, in our opinion, this situation needs something:a bridge! After a long talk, we decide to buildingthat kind of bridge. For example, we make arelationship with commercial tv, parents, school andsome company that have the children's product.

As we already know, child's magazine businessis very serious and difficult business! So, we are notin "ha ha hi hi" business area!

Edutainment magazineWe still apply the motto of our founding mother.

Learning and playing, learning by playing. Inmodern language, this is a kind of edutainmentmagazine.

Bobo has 15 rubric. There are:1) Comics strips2) Short stories and legends: Each week, there are

at least 3 short stories and legends. The storiescome from free-lance writers. The stories musthave a moral but not moralized.

3) Bobosiana: This is the editorial of Bobo.

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4) How are you, Bo?: This is the letters from thereaders. They can ask, express their angry abouttheir daylife, make a critic, etc.

5) Test Your Imagination: One reader gives aproblem, and other readers (in a couple of week),have to answer it seriously or not. For example:"If all of ants in the world become a lion, what'sgoing on?"

6) You Have to Know: This is a brief reportage.7) Knowledge: Actual knowledge: technology,

science, environment, etc.8) Reportage: Long and deep reportage.9) My Favourite Book: Readers write a short report

about their favourite book.10) Profile: Interview with celebrities, expert, good

students, etc.11) Our pages: This is their pages. They could write

a very short story, poem, humour, or painting.12) Ensiklobobo: They can ask anything.

Ensiklobobo is abbreviation of Bobo'sEnsiclopedy.

13) Our TV Station: Article about the most favouritetv program each week.

14) Puzzle15) Our English Page

We are still Searching the "Children Language"!Dr. Riris K. Toha Sarumpaet, Indonesian

children's book expert said to us, "You all have adifficult problem for publishing the childrenmagazine. You will get older and older, but youhave to talk and write in 'child's language'! I thinkthis is very, very difficult for you. So, you have onlyone solution, I think, you have to be a child whenyou are writing. And of course, you have to searchingthat kind of language!"

Yes, this is the serious problem for us. "To be achild", "write as a child talking'. So, every week,each of Bobo' reporters has to go to school, childrenplaying area and other places just to talk and hearthem!

In the other time, each 3 month, we rechargeourselves by inviting the children's expert.

At least, we continue our experiments and oursearching in writing as a child.

Seminars: The Answer for ParentsThank's God that until now, parents trust Bobo.

They trust that Bobo magazine is still "safe" for theirchild. (Many magazine/tabloid in Indonesia that very

53

audio-visual minded). So, to make parents feel moresafely, we organize many seminar each year. In thisseminar, we invite the children's expert so thatparents can ask anything they do not know abouttheir children.

Bonus: Magazine is also a ToyBonus is also important for selling Bobo. Each

month we give a bonus. For example, we givepencils, sticker, hero's card, short story bulletin, etc.When we give a bonus, the sales always increaseabout 20,000 30,000 copies. Bonuses alwaysanswer the demands of readers who do not likereading the article. (In Indonesia there are a little bitreader that buys a magazine just for prestige. "I alsohave this magazine!") We think that magazine isalso a toy.

How to Distribute BoboOur "Big Mother" is PT Gramedia, the publisher

that publish Kompas Daily newspaper (they said itis the biggest paper in Indonesia), Surya Daily,Banjarmasin Post Daily, Sriwijaya Post Daily andabout 10 other daily newspaper. PT Gramedia alsohave 10 magazines. For distributing our newspapersand magazines, we have a network agency in everybig town in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bandung,Palembang, Medan, Surabaya, Balikpapan andUjung Pandang). Each agency has a lot of sub-agency that devise in many branch sub-agencies.This is the first way of Bobo's distribution. We alsomake presentations in schools each year so that thestudents can subscribe Bobo through their schools.

This is another situation. When we go to pressconference and other reporters know that we are fromBobo, they always do "hihihi".

Usually, one of them asked, "Are you fromBobo?"

And the other added, "I like Bobo. EspeciallyBobo with Gadis!"

After that, usually, "hahaha" forum!Why? Bobo in Indonesian language also mean

"sleep" And there is also Gadis Magazine, the teenmagazine. Gadis means "girl".

Figures1) Periodicals for children

Number of titles published

magazines:15, tabloids:10, newspapers supplementary:10(weekly)

No. of children's periodical publishers private: 102) General magazine publishing

Total number of magazines: 203Number of publishers: approx.80

LAOSMr. Chanpheng PhasonthiAssistant Editor, VAIDEK MagazineMinistry of Information and Culture

General SituationLaos has a population about 4.5 millions. About

40 percent is illiterate and majority of them live inrural areas.

There are a few magazines and newspapers forchildren in Laos and most of reading materials forchildren are text books used at public and privateschools.

Looking back the publications in Laos 9 or 10years ago, especially for newspapers and magazines,there were only a half number of publishers of thepresent. Now there are 40 publishers in Laos, butperiodicals for children are published by only 3organizations.

However, some magazines for adults that dealwith political, economic, social, science and othermatters, have some columns to carry stories forchildren as well as introducing children's activities.These magazines include Lao Women Newspaper,the Lao Youth Newspaper, Vannasinh Magazine andso on. Most of all are under the governmental media,and the biggest ones among them are situated inVientiane prefecture.

There are the following periodicals for childrenin Laos:1. The Education Newspaper under the Ministry ofEducation2. The Yaovasonlao (for children organization), anewspaper run by a mass governmental organization3. The VAIDEK magazine which is a monthlymagazine launched under approval of the Ministryof Information and Culture in March 1992. Theboard of editors of Vannasinh Magazine haspublished this magazine with writers for children asa forum to promote literature among Lao children.It serves as a source of knowledge to studentsthrough short stories, poems, folktales, painting,information on natural science, social science and

culture.

2. DifficultiesDue to the cruel and long war, Laos is one of the

countries which lack of budget for publication ofnewspapers and magazines. All printing equipmentand materials are imported from abroad and it makespublishing materials expensive. Even though wereceive a few budget from government and financialsupport from individuals and international non-governmental organizations, they are not enough forcontinuous promotion, production and salesactivities.

The public transportation is still difficult.Especially in the remote areas, moving betweenvillages and regions takes time because of lack oftransport facility.

Promotion of reading habits, writing and otheractivities among children are conductedcontinuously only in big cities and well facilitatedareas.

Financial investment for children is still lowcompared to the other sections because it is morerisky. As a result, there are only non-privatenewspapers or magazines in Laos.

3. Expected Way OutThere are needs to:

- Improve the quality of production and layout ofsome newspapers to interest young readers and toincrease the quantity and printing in natural colour.

- Improve the contents of stories and articles columnswhich are interesting and useful to children.

- Increase circulation and Improve relationship withreaders at schools in municipalities over thecountry.

4. Children's BooksAs well as newspapers and magazines, the

number of books published increases every year inLao P.D.R.. 21 titles (52,500 copies) of children'sbooks that includes many good and useful storieswere printed in 1996.

MALAYSIA

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Ms. Che Amelia binti KassimEditor of KuntumStar Publications (M) Berhad

Malaysia, with a population of about 21 million,is a multi-racial country who prides at the successof multi-racialism in all its respects. Certain policiesof the country are particularly tailored in such a wayas to sustain this success, and one of these policiesis that related to language, hence its publication.Thereby Bahasa Malaysia is the national language.The main language of publication will therefore bein the national language, although there also thrivein the country publications in other languages,especially English and the other two main languagesof the population, i.e. Chinese and Tamil.

The principal racial groups which make up theMalaysians are the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Inaddition, other numerically significant groups arethe indigenous races of Sarawak and Sabah,comprising, among others, the Dayaks, Kadazans,Bajaus, Melanaus and Muruts. In addition, there isalso a significant number of indigenous aboriginalpeople of Peninsular Malaysia. Based on a 1992population Survey, the figures are as follows:

Peninsular MalaysiaMalays, BumiputeraChineseIndiansOthersSabahSarawakOverall Total

* 1992 Estimatesand others 11,602,400

5,418,9001,427,500

97,4001,590,0001,749,000

21,885,200

Out of the above figures the age distribution forchildren are as follows:

9 years and below 4,577,687 25.7%10-19 3,811,768 21.4%

From the above figures, we can conclude thatMalaysia has a large population of children.

In Malaysian book industry, "children" meansthose aged below 12 while those above 12 areconsidered as the young adolescent. Thus, publishingof magazines for these two groups are of differentnature.

One would think that publishing of periodicalsor magazines for children in Malaysia is a big andlucrative business, since their population is large!But in actual fact, this is not so. We do face a numberof problems.

Just in last August, for instance, a surveycommissioned by the Education Ministry discovered

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that although 93 per cent of the population is literate,the emphasis should not only be on promotingliteracy, but more towards encouraging a selectivereading habit.

The survey noted that despite the nation havinga high literacy rate, a rather worrying factor is theconsiderable gap between those who have the abilityto read and those who actually practice reading.

The survey showed that although the readingability is 91% for rural folk, only 84% among themactually put their ability to use. The femalepopulation of the country has a reading ability rateof 90%, and out of that, only 83% practice readinghabit. In addition, reading habit decreases as agecatches up. As Malaysians grow older, fewer actuallyread despite having the ability to do so.

In terms of language proficiency among theliterate, almost three out of four Malaysians aged10 years and above can read Bahasa Malaysia, beingthe national language, well. One out of four can readEnglish well, and the same applies for Mandarin.About 15,010 of those who can read do so in Jawiand 6,010 can read in Tamil.

For children aged between five and nine years,only 50% half practice reading. However, themajority prefer reading comics and books. Childrenshow a greater preference for knowledge books(53%) over fiction. This is mainly due to the factthat they read their schoolbooks, which they arerequired to do.

Studies also showed that while the nationexperiences growth and an increase in the numberof institutions of higher learning and graduates, thisincrease is not reflected in the number of titles inthe market.

A 1997 study on the book industry, showed thatthe number of titles published in 1995 was 6,000compared with 1,205 titles in 1985. Although in1996, the numbers increase to 11,000 and while thesenumbers are encouraging, it is not convincingenough. And 70% of the books published in themarket are books with educational titles such as textbooks and reference books, meant for schools.

Based on the above reasons, we can deduce thatthe publishing industry is not a very lucrativebusiness in Malaysia. Not many businessmen inMalaysia want to venture into it, unless they getprojects that are funded or sponsored by thegovernment. Magazine publications are usually doneby bigger and established publishing companies

whose main publications are usually the dailynewspaper, a more lucrative business.

There have not been a single study yet inMalaysia regarding publishing of periodicals forchildren in Malaysia. However, from my personalobservation, children's magazines in Malaysia ispicking up very well. But these successful children'smagazines are published either by the governmentagency or the companies which have their ownnewspapers.

This situation is contributed by the fact that mostparents are easily influenced by anything that isendorsed by the government. That is why forinstance, Dewan Pelajar, a children's magazinepublished by Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, a literarygovernment agency, is the most successfulmagazines, in terms of distribution, which figuresat 80,000 monthly.

The media-own companies which publishchildren's magazines are also successful due to easyaccess of publicity. The good example is Kuntum ofwhich I am the Editor. Kuntum is published by STARPublications, which published STAR a leadingEnglish newspaper in Malaysia. The figures thoughnot fantastic i.e. at 40,000 copies, is considered agood figure in Malaysia!

As of 1996, there are about 6 magazines(monthly), and 1 newspaper for the children that arepublished in Malaysia. Hence, in the country,although there are about 260 publishers, there areonly 7 periodicals published, i.e. 6 by private firmsand 1 by the government

There are many kinds of magazines for childrenthat are published in Malaysia. Most popular aremainly comics, we even have Doeromon, in BahasaMalaysia version. There are also science andeducational magazines. In terms of sales, comics dobetter than the rest of periodicals. But overall, it isalways the combination of educational andentertainment values that make up the publications.

As for distribution in Malaysia, it is all dependson the respective companies to adopt their ownmeans of marketing. Normally, what the publishersdo is to appoint their own salesmen which go directto schools, or those which have the good networkingwith chain of bookshops' owners. Some appointvendors who also service the schools and bookshops.

Only of late, newspapers and magazines (theeducational) are considered as of important readingmaterials. With the launching of Newspapers-In-

Classrooms for example, the newspapers havebecome powerful medium of literacy instructionbecause of its multi-dimensional features whichnaturally call for a multiple-skills approach ofreading. Furthermore, these skills can be developedthrough interesting and meaningful readingactivities. These magazines adapt themselves to theneeds of the school syllabuses. Nowadays magazinesare also being taken as seriously as the newspapers.Some teachers have already used some of the articlesfrom the magazines for their teaching.

Malaysia has never been lack of good authors.Some of them do publish quality books. But theirbooks do not necessarily sell well as there is lack ofgood response from the public.

Realizing all these problems, the government aswell as the private sectors had had numerous ongoingcampaigns these five years to promote the readinghabit among the Malaysians. The National Library,for example, is always buzzing with readingactivities throughout the year. The national readingmonth held in August recently is just one of the manyexamples. So is the Kuala Lumpur InternationalBook Fair, which was held for at least 2 weeksduration. Universiti Malaya is actively involved inthis project, working hand-in-hand with the NationalLibrary promoting reading habit in remote areas.

Recently, a workshop was conducted in Serting,Negeri Sembilan, where women were given trainingon how to become facilitators to encourage theirchildren to read. Several land development schemesaround the country have also benefited from theefforts of both governmental and privateorganization to create a fully literate Society. Theseefforts were prompted by the realization that readingcan start at an early age.

Other organizations are also aware of the needto promote reading. For instance, in Penang amongothers, they have a "Read to Me" project by theRotary Club; "Youth Speaks for the Nation" anannual elocution contest organized by the Jaycees;Braille Reading Competition for the visuallyimpaired organized by NCBM; as well as readingactivities organized on a regular basis by thechildren's Library.

On a serious note, the government is consideringthe setting up of a "publication trust fund" to promoteand encourage the publication of more qualityreading material, as mentioned recently by Malaysiadeputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

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He said he would try to find a way to include theproposal under the 1998 budget. The point to note isthat with all these efforts, to make reading not anend in itself, there is certainly a bright prospects forchildren's periodicals in the near future.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (those aged under 12) (as of 1996)

Number of titles published magazines:6, newspapers:1

No. of children's periodical publishers

total: 7 (governmental: 1, private:6)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1996)*Total number of magazines: 272

Number of publishers: 260

*new titles published and received under the Deposit of Library

Materials Act, 1986 by National Library of Malaysia

MALDIVESMs. Aishath AniyaAssistant Curriculum DeveloperEducational Development Centre

The population of Maldives is about 249,281 andabout 25% of them live in Male. About 47% of thepopulation is under 15 years of age. The nationallanguage is Dhivehi. The country's literacy ratestands at 98% (1990). The English langUage iswidely used as it is the medium of instruction in allMale' schools and in all the secondary schools inthe country.

Periodicals in MaldivesThe first newspaper in the history of the Maldives

was a hand-written paper called hulhevi handhuissued in 1930. The first magazine called Al-Islaahwas published in 1933. With the intention ofproviding news of the Second World War, thegovernment started printing foreign news for the firsttime in a newspaper called Sarukaaruge Khabaruin 1943, The first daily started in 1952 by the nameViyafaari Miadhu. At present there are 12newspapers and 54 magazines registered in thecountry. Out of these, Male' has nine newspapersand 48 magazines. The rest of the printed media isbased in the other Atolls, which have threenewspapers and six magazines registered in sixAtolls. Although there are few magazines andnewspapers in the Atolls, there are nine printingpresses in seven atolls. Therefore, there is quite goodpotential in the print media sector.

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Children's Publications in MaldivesThe first magazine published for children was

called Children's Magazine. Information related toit is not available. This was followed by anotherperiodical called Meyvaa issued on 23rd May 1973.In 1975, another periodical by the name of Mu lawas published. This was shortly followed by others:Hiyama, Moorithi, Hiyaa, Kokaa, KudakudhingeKotharu, Savaa and Koveli. Most of these periodicalsstopped after several issues while none of these hasbeen issued regularly on a permanent basis. The firstcomic ever published was a story in Kokaa, basedon 38 illustrations.

Only about sixteen children's periodicals arepublished at present. Ten of which are annualmagazines prepared by the literary committees ofdifferent schools. Out of the private ones, anewspaper by the name of koveli started out as afortnightly but after three issues was changed to aquarterly publication. Kokaa is a periodical basedon various topics, while Kudakudhinge Kotharu isbased thematically; both of these are printed off -setin flat colours. The fourth one, Meyvaa, is incirculation again after about ten years. This magazinemainly concentrates on translated stories. None ofthem possess any coloured illustrations.

Main Constraints in Publishing Periodicals1. Lack of proper means of transport and

communication limits the target audience to theisland for which the magazine is published. Onlythe children in Male', can have access to thepublications made in Male'.

2. The limited audience constrains the market of theperiodicals, which makes it impossible to coverthe costs of publishing. A maximum of about20,000 copies of a publication is known to be sold.

3. The costs of printing a periodical of satisfactoryquality is very high.

4. A periodical has to be registered with thegovernment along with the printers who will printit. This gives the printers the opportunity todominate the periodical in such ways asdetermining the price and quality at which theywill print the periodical.

5, Article contributions to periodicals come onlyfrom the islands which are within the circulationrange of the periodical.

6. The available local periodicals is not of animpressive quality compared to the foreign

periodicals.7. Lack of public awareness of the importance of

publishing children's periodicals.8. Lack of finance for new parties interested in

publishing periodicals.

Future Prospects1. The development in sea and air transport will create

opportunities for a larger circulation formagazines, periodicals. etc. Awareness can becreated through improved communication andtransport in the country.

2. The use of e-mail and the internet will enabledifferent publishers to reach an even greateraudience, within the whole country, and in fact,even outside the country. The factors mentionedboth here and in the above point will enable awider range of authors from different areas tocontribute to various publications.

3, Better presses will enable the printing of variousmaterials in colour.

4. The establishment of more publishers will lead tobetter prices, since there will be more mediationthrough market forces.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published magazines:14, newspapers:1

No. of children's periodical publisherstotal: 12 (governmental:10, private:2)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 48Number of publishers: 40

MONGOLIAMs. Jamba SunjidmaaSub Editor of Golden TaleChildren's Book Partnership

1. Background

60% of the population of Mongolia is childrenand adolescents between the ages 0-18. We,Mongolians, say "Children are our bright future".But to make this proverb a reality, we have to providethem with enlightenment and information in the formof books and periodicals of contemporary qualityand standards.

Children's periodicals appeared after MongolianPeople's Revolution (1921) concurrently with the

setting up of the first Mongolian children'sorganization, "Mongolian Pioneers' Organization"in 1926. Since then, until 1990, there were 4 mainchildren periodicals. All children periodicals wereassociated with certain children's organizations andall were subsidized by the Government. Circulationof these periodicals ranged from 10,000 to 20,000with most of the copies being distributed tosubscribers both in cities and in provinces. Therewas only one Children's Newspapers and BooksPublishing Office in Mongolia, and it was subsidizedby the Government. Until 1990, there were published20-30 kinds of' children's books except of textbooksa year.

Since 1990, all subsidies from Government havebeen cut due to the difficulties brought about by theprocess of transition from a planned economy andsingle-party rule to a market economy and multi-party democracy. The publication of all abovementioned children's periodicals were stoppedduring first few years of transition period. Besides,Children's Book and Press Publishing Office wasclosed down as a result of lack of financial supportfrom government. During the past seven years,publication of new children's periodicals, adjustedto requirements of the transition period, but still richin content and high in quality, could not beaccomplished. There are still problems hamperingpublication of children's periodicals which attractchildren. Despite all the difficulties of the transitionperiod, a few children's periodicals have successfullybeen published.

2. Clarification

Before 1990Before transition, all children's magazines and

newspapers were associated with certain children'sorganizations and received financial backing fromthe Government. Major children's periodicals were:

Zalgamjlagch (New Generation): First everMongolian children's periodical, appeared in 1926when Mongolian Pioneers' Organization wasestablished. It was published every two months.Target group were children aged 10-16.

Pioneerin unen (Pioneers' Truth): newspaper wasthe second children's periodical, first appeared asan independent publication in 1944. Prior to that,there was just a space in Zaluuchuudyn unen (Truthof the Youth) newspaper which included short

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stories, news and information for children.Pioneerin Unen, published 3 times a week, remainedthe main newspaper for Mongolian children until1990. Its target group was children aged between10-16. Magazine Ojuntulkhuur (Key of Wisdom) forchildren between the ages 4-8, was published 6 timesa year; as was magazine Pioneerin Uderdagch(Leader of Pioneer).

After 1990Major children's periodicals which appeared

during the transition period are the following:

1. Bi Bi Bi (III) weekly children's newspaperStarted in 1995. The reason why the newspaper

was named Bi Bi Bi which means I, I, I in English,is because every child answered I, I, I, when she/hewas asked "Who wants....?". Main focus of thenewspaper is education and entertainment. Targetgroup is children aged between 7-18. Circulation isaround 10,000 copies as of September 1997. Themagazine is both sold at the newsstands anddistributed to subscribers. Owned by the MongolNews company, the magazine has 5 staff members.The editor-in-chief is J. Dashdondog, who is also apublisher of Unaga magazine and managing directorof "Golden Tale" Children's Book Partnership.

2. Golden Tale children's periodical bookAfter the closure of Children's Book Publishing

Office, publication of children's books andmagazines almost came to a halt. Just a fewpublishers produced books or magazines, but then,again, these could not become of a regular nature.In 1996 Golden Tale Children's Book Partnershipwas established to provide children on a regular basiswith interesting books. The only staff of the companyis composed of Managing director and sub-editor.

The reason why we call our Partnership GoldenTale is because childhood is as wonderful as a goldentale. Main objective of Golden Tale is to provideMongolian children with books of high quality artand literature. Main focus of the periodical book isliterature.

There are four main ingredients of Golden Talebooks: a) Mongolian National story or fairy tale; b)A selected story of the world famous children'swriters; c) A selected story from the works ofMongolian children's writers; and d) Mongolianancient literature. It is published twice a month

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regularly. Each issue has 25 pages with colorpictures. The target group is children aged 7 to 12.Distribution is both by subscription to children bothin provinces and cities and by sale in bookshops. Itis also included in list of children booksrecommended by Ministry of Enlightenment.

Within the framework of the Golden Talepartnership, "Children, Book, Painter" Art CreationUnion was established. The Union has 19 memberswho are all children aged between 13-19. Thesechildren draw the pictures for the periodical booksof Golden Tale. The members of the Union arecontributing to the development of art work inchildren's books.

3. Unaga (Foal) magazineIt was first published for Mongolian children in

and out of the country in 1994 by the initiative ofMongolian National Children's Writers' Union. Whyis it called "Foal" ? A Mongolian proverb says thatJust like how horse will run can be foreseen at thetime it is a foal, what will become of a man may becan be judged in his childhood". The magazineincludes national stories, tales and best stories byMongolian children's writers. The magazine ispublished in Mongolian traditional script withEnglish explanation. It has 48 pages and colorpictures. The magazine is distributed throughout theworld including Mongolia and Inner MongoliaAutonomous Region of China, Kalmyk AutonomousRepublic and Autonomous public of Buriat in Russiaas well as USA, Italy, France. Foal is used as asupplementary textbook by teachers of Mongolianlanguage at secondary schools.

4. OthersAlongside the above mentioned periodicals, some

other children's magazines and newspapers arepublished as well, but not on regular basis. Theseare Kholchyg zalgamjlagch, Mazaalal (Gobi bear)A ,B, Chiny zurag (our picture), etc.

3. Problems

1. Transition period left its scar on the children'spublication just as in the other fields of life. As aresult of the high rates of inflation, cost of printingbooks rises almost daily and discourages a lot ofpublishers from taking on such tasks as publishingbooks for children.

2. The economic difficulties experienced inMongolia also leaves parents with littleopportunities to buy books and periodicals fortheir children as the constantly rising prices takea heavy toll from the family budget and familieshave to spend a lot just to survive.

3. The government of Mongolia has to focus onmajor problems such as alleviation of poverty,achieving stability in the national economy, etc.Therefore, the state does not regard the publicationfor children as a matter of priority and thereforedoes not hurry to set guidelines for such activities.

4. There is no printing house which can print highquality children's periodicals.

5. Donor organizations as well as the nationalgovernment regard the children's publications asa secondary issue while the priority is given toproviding food to children. So we have childrenwhose nutritional needs are satisfied while theirintellectual needs are deferred.

Figures1) periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles publishedmagazines:3, newspapers:2, periodical book:1

No. of children's periodical publisherstotal: 5 (governmental:4, private:1)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)Total number of magazines: 15

Number of publishers: 15

MYANMARMr. Soe Myint ThanEditor of Shwe Thway JournalSarpay Beikman Board

IntroductionIn Myanmar, children's literature is booming not

only in quantity and but also in quality. However,publications for children need to be distributed,saving cost of production. In Myanmar most of thepublishers of children's literature, without expectingfrom this business as much profit as from that ofother publications, take pains to present beneficialworks to children. It is hoped that there may beproduction facilities or systems to distribute booksfor children at reasonable prices. Editors who workfor the publishing houses of children's literature alsoshould acquire the knowledge to improve the currentsituation of publishing the works of children's

literature.

Weekly JournalIn Myanmar, average circulation of the

publications for children has been rising in the 1990s.There are three weekly journals, namely Shwe ThwayJournal (circulation 130,000 copies), Ta-Taing-Hmwe (20,000 copies) Shway Pyone (10,000 copies).Shwe Thway Journal published by Sarpay BeikmanBoard, Printing and Publishing Enterprise has twelvefour-coloured pages that are attractive to readers. Itis a bi-lingual journal, a great help to children instudying English. The other weekly journals consistof only four pages in four colours and ten pages intwo colours. The price of each journal is within thereach of children readers. Sarpay Beikman has beenpublishing the Shwe Thway Journal since January1969. The Ta-Taing-Hmwe published by awellknown young cartoonist Swe Min and ShwinPyone published by a veteran cartoonist U Ba Galayhave come up in 1997.

Monthly journalsThe most popular monthly journals for children

are Moe Thawk Pan and Teza published by MyawadiPublishing House. Each of them has a circulation of20,000 copies. Moe Thawk Pan is a bilingual journal.Many other monthly journals have been publishedfor two or three years. The Pa-Lok-Toke Journal(20,000 copies) published by Today Media Groupis the most successful among the new publications.The journal gives some modern knowledge tochildren, even ABC of computer operating. The Pu-tu-tu-lay, Kalay-thuta, Kalay-journal, MingalarMaung-Mae and Yadanar Pan-Khin are alsochildren's favorite journals. This shows that thepublications of children's literature are in gooddemand in Myanmar.

Comic Books and Story BooksNearly a hundred comic books or story-books

for children are published each month. The best-known cartoonists are Swe Min Da Nu Byu, MinZaw, Aw Pi Kyei. Tin Aung Ni, 'chit Tun, Nay Zaw,Maung Wunna and Maung Maung. Their worksstand at the top of the bestseller list of children'sliterature. Story books, mostly Myanmar versionsof the stories of other countries, attract children.

Prize for Children's Literature

Sarpay Beikman awards the Prize forManuscripts of Children's Literature. The prize-winning works are printed and distributed throughthe Sarpay Beikman Book Club, of which thenumber of the members is about 20.000.

ConclusionMost of the materials which is necessary for

publishing children's books are imported. As adeveloping country, Myanmar has been in need ofhard currency to invest in publishing children'sliterature. At present, few publication for childrencan be free distributed. The higher cost of printingis another problem in this field. Thus, only withregional or international cooperation, publishers andeditors can come over such obstacles. Trainingeditorial staff of children's literature is also essential,especially in the field of desktop publishing ofchildren's literature. As a matter of fact, it is mostimportant to publish children's literature of goodquality at reasonable prices.

NEPALMr. Kamal PokhrelEditor/Publisher, MUKUL

1. BackgroundNepal, one of the least developed countries in

the world, has a population of 18.4 million, of which39.6% are literate. While there are 21,692 schools(5,185 are private) throughout the country, grossenrollment ratio is 80.8 (Boys: 95.6. Girls 65. 1).

People of different castes and ethnicity live inNepal (Over 30). Ethnicity is one of the foremostfactors influencing school enrollment, as some ethnicgroups strongly believe in not educating theirdaughters. Instead, sons are treated as importantmembers of a family, and therefore sent to schoolsin almost all cases.

Nepali is the medium of instruction atgovernment schools while private schools havechosen English for this purpose. Nepali is taught assecond language in private schools and English hasthe second language status in government schools.Similarity in government and private schools is thatthey expect their students to be equally good at boththe languages.

Government schools in Nepal follow textbooks,all of which are published by Janak Education

materials Center (JEMC), a government runcorporation, and approved by the CurriculumDevelopment Center (CDC) of the Ministry ofEducation. In private schools, books, which areprescribed as the reference materials by CDC andpublished by other private companies, are taught inaddition to those published by JEMC. In this sense,private school students get more exposure toresources for knowledge than their governmentschool counterparts. This could be a reason for bettermatriculation results in private schools than ingovernment ones.

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2. Publishing SituationSince private schools encourage textbooks which

intend to provide more examples, a few publishinghouses have realized the existence of a good marketof books for children. Ekata Prakashan, for example,publishes Mathematics Series for primary tosecondary level students. These books have moreexamples than those published by JEMC, and moreimportantly, they are written in English, the mediumof instruction at private schools.

The scenario is totally different when it comesto publishing periodicals for children. There are only10 children's magazines being published comparedto-more than 2000 other kinds of newspapers andmagazines (political ones have majority). Thesemagazines cover various topics like literature, art,science, education, etc.

The above statistics suggest that publishing ofperiodicals for children is being neglected. Myexperiences as the publisher of MUKUL, a children'smagazine of its kind, and personal communicationwith other publishers have made me realize how poorthe readership of such periodicals is. Children donot prefer to read; instead, they enjoy watchingprograms on TV, most of them are not meant forthem. This bitter but true picture does not encourageone to take up this business.

3. Distribution SystemsOut of the ten periodicals published for children,

MUNA (`Bud' in English) has perhaps the bestsystem of distribution. Published by a governmentrun corporation that also publishes two dailies, thismagazine is targeted at children of below 12 yearsof age and expected to fall within the reach of everychild of this age. Since the corporation has the largestdistribution network in the country, it has become

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almost successful in this endeavor.Coming to private sector, the distribution network

is not strong enough to make their products reachmost of the children. Almost all privately runpublishing houses engaged in this business seem notto be capable of having their own distributionsystems, as it involves a huge amount of investment.They have to rely on individuals to distribute theirproducts; they normally have a small zone fordistribution. As such, they have to deal with manyindividual distributors, which often turns out to be adifficult task.

Our experience is also not encouraging. Only onepercent of the first issue of our magazine was soldthrough individual distributors. The second issue isalso showing similar trend. While all our efforts aredirected to provide maximum number of childrenwith a copy of MUKUL, improper distributionsystem has led to us being failure in our endeavors.The problem has been identified and we are tryingto get the solutions too.

4. ProblemsAt a time when satellite television channels are

attracting large number of children towards theirprograms (most of them are not meant for children,in fact), it has virtually become a big problem to putthem into the habit of reading. The practice ofchoosing TV against magazine and periodicals isgrowing day by day and children seem to forget theimportance of readership.

While publishers wish to provide children withquality reading materials, children's opting for non-reading pastimes has made their (publishers') job abit difficult. First, their (children's) participation(since they do not prefer to read) is poor Second,production of quality materials is very expensive andwithout desired number of sales it is quite difficultto survive. Although advertisers and sponsors areavailable they also go for the largest sellingnewspapers/magazines (especially film-basedmagazines). And above all, publishers like us do notaccept the advertisements that will have negativeimpact on children (such as ads of liquors, cigarettes,etc.,)

These have stood as the foremost barriers to oursurvival. Yet, the response from seniors (esp,journalists, schoolteachers and parents) hasencouraged us to move ahead with our vision andmission.

5. NeedsNot many extracurricular reading materials are

available in Nepal. Although the present situationdoes not encourage one to go for this business, itseems one's duty to provide children, the future ofthe nation, with such readings. Readings that helpcultivate their ideas, foster their creativity and buildtheir characters. As all of us know, reading can notbe replaced by anything else.

6. The Last WordPublishing periodicals for children is something

very solid contribution to nation's development. Iftoday's children are empowered with knowledge,tomorrow gets automatically secured. Knowledgedoes not come through textbooks alone.Extracurricular readership is equally important.

Nepal, being the second poorest country in theworld, has to go a long way in publishing suchperiodicals. Any support in this regard is, therefore,highly appreciated. Help children get the magazinesthey want and see your commitment to support themgrowing on their smiles.

References:1. Statistical Pocket Book, Central Bureau of Statistics,

Kathmandu. Nepal, 19962. Educational Statistics of Nepal, Ministry of Education,

Kathmandu, Nepal, 19953. List of newspapers published from Nepal, Ministry of

information, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1997

Figures

1) Periodicals for children (as of 1996)

Number of titles published magazines:10, newspapers:nilNo. of children's periodical publishers

total: 10 (governmental:1, private:9)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1996)Total number of magazines: 2,046*

Number of publishers: 2,030

*Total number of registered in Dept. of Information

PAKISTANMs. Nuzhat Amin MalikAssistant Director, National Book Foundation

At the time of creation of the country, there werefew children magazines being published in nationallanguage. There was low literacy rate prevailing atthat time. Even the education facilities particularly

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at the primary school level were far beyond the reachof most of the population particularly in the ruralareas. Similarly means of communications were notdeveloped at all except in the case of major cities ofthe country. With the passage of the time the needfor magazines for children were being felt at alllevels of the society. Gradually sufficient numberof magazines were brought out from all major citiesof the country, in the national language Urdu. Detailsare given in the Annexure. However, there is onlyone magazine in the Regional language even today.This area requires special attention.

Pakistan has 130 million population. About 65%live in the rural area. According to an estimate, 45million out of 130 million are children. Those of theprimary school age group are around 25 million. Thechildren in the rural area do not have 100% accessto the magazines. There is thus a strong need toprovide them a magazine at highly affordable price.

The supplementary reading material for childrenis also being provided by the daily newspapers whohave allocated specific pages for them every week.The circulation of the newspapers is at a higher scaleas compared to the magazines. The readers do nothave to incur extra expenditure also as the subscriberof the newspapers get those pages for children freeof cost. As such the newspapers are playing a vitalrole in creating interest of the children in reading.

Difficulties in PublishingThe following are the major difficulties in

producing the magazines:i) Lack of properly trained editing staff.ii) Inadequate modern printing and binding

facilities.iii)Much reliance on manual labour like

calligraphy, etc.iv) Lack of organized distribution system which

could ensure sufficient sale of the magazines.v) Lack of illustration material which could

attract children of the low age group.vi) High prices due to expensive printing and

publishing material beyond the reach of acommon man.

Magazines and special children editions ofnewspapers have proven their usefulness now in thedevelopment of the child personality. It has now beenestablished that prescribed curricula is not sufficientto groom the personality of the child in the desired

manner. The element of dis-interest among childrenin the curricula books is quite obvious. They requirematerial of their own interest rather than the onethrusted upon them either by the parents or by theteachers. The books of curricula is a perforce choiceof the children. Strictly speaking even thenewspapers containing pages for children are alsonot according to their choice as the newspaper isselected by their parents and the children have toperforce read pages meant for them if they so desire.

The electronic media has brought dramaticchanges in the society all over the world. It wasinitially noticed that the children have started loosinginterest in reading books. Their interest diverted fromgames and books to the TV and other relatedprogrammes. Gradually it has been observed thatdespite significant development in the electronicmedia their interest in the supplementary readingmaterial could not be lost. However, the areas oftheir interest keep on changing. Folk tales, horrorstories, suspense stories, comics etc. were introducedto them by different authors from time to time whichbecame highly popular. Now science fictions havecrossed the popularity of the rest of the categories.It may be appreciated that the choice of the readingmaterial should be of the children and not of theadults. The later can, however, suggest without anycompulsion on the former.

In Pakistan the option to be exercised by thechildren in the selection of supplementary readingmaterial is partially left to the children. In rest of thecases the parents make selections for them. Thistrend is gradually changing. The magazines now inthe market contain useful, colourful and rich materialand of varied interest. The information in suchmagazines brings the child closer to the globalculture. It also keeps them informed of thedevelopments taking place around the worldespecially concerning their age group. The higherinterest in the reading of magazines could develop abetter attitude and behaviour of the child in order tobecome a useful citizen making positivecontributions for the society. This reading materialis also a source of broader vision of the child withclear comprehension of the issues faced by him. Thedevelopment of the confidence in him and themanner in which the problems are to be tackled canbe learnt through the supplementary reading materialand not only through curriculum.

In Pakistan there is a need to publish more and

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more children magazines sharing the experience andknowledge of other countries who have attained ahigher level of competence in the field. Mutualinteraction and sharing of knowledge will improvethe quality and standard of the existing magazinesas there is a common culture and traditions in thecountries of the region. Similarly the lay out andediting fields require necessary experience and skillwhich could be shared with other countries. At thesame time the interest in reading in the countries ofthe region can be of paramount importance for sucha magazine.

There is a need to increase the demand forchildren's books by lowering the prices of children'sbooks and improving the contents of books bycovering subjects like science, general knowledge,latest technology etc. and improving the get-up ofchildren's books using colour print, better qualitypaper, better binding and attractive title covers.Comics, short stories, books on national heroes areinteresting for children. Training courses for thewriters of juvenile literature shall also be beneficialfor the cause of promoting the children literature.

Desktop publishing (DTP) is playing animportant role for improved publications ofperiodicals. There is need of proper training of thepersonnels engaged in publishing. In view of theimportance of DTP, National Book Foundation isconstantly requesting the ACCU to organize trainingcourse on DTP in Pakistan which will help inimproving the skills of the personnels engaged in

publishing. Attention is to be paid to the format (size,shape, design of the pages, illustrations, bibliographyquality of paper and binding). Training of writers,editors, designers, illustrators, production specialists,publishers, distributors, etc. is also essential. Thesecourses may cover composing and binding whichare two weak sectors requiring special attention.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published

Approximately 100 Periodicals (including magazines, digests

and newspapers)

No. of children's periodical publisherstotal: 60 (government: 2, private: 58)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 60

Number of publishers: 60

PAPUA NEW GUINEAMr. Jim JujumoCurriculum Officer, Curriculum DevelopmentDivision, Department of Education

Number of Periodicals for ChildrenSince the early 70's periodicals for children in

Papua New Guinea had been virtually non-existentuntil 1996. One called New Nation was a magazinein four colours produced by an inter-denominationalchurch organization on a commercial basis but closeddown ten years ago for money reasons. There are

Annexure: Some Children Magazines in Pakistan

Urdu (National language)No. Title

(where published)1. Taleemo-o-Tarbiat (Education & Training)2. Bachon Ki Duniya (Children World)3. Phool (Flower)4. Zaheen (Intelligent)5. Bachon Ka Bagh (Children Garden)6. Jugnoo (Fire fly)7. Paigham Digest (Message Digest)8. School Times9. Kosar (It is a name)10. Choti Dunya (Small World)11. Taleemo-o-Taalum (Education)12. Noor (Light)13. Hamdard Naunehal (Friend of Children)14. Chanda (Moon)15. Khazana (Treasure)16. School Digest17. Lot Pot (A character in Folk Tales)

City Price(Pak Rs)

Lahore 15Lahore 15Lahore 15LahoreLahoreLahore 15LahoreLahoreLahoreLahore 15Lahore 15LahoreKarachiKarachi 15Karachi 15KarachiKarachi

18. Anokhi Kahanian (Unique stories)19. Ankh Macholi (Hide & Seek)20. Bachon Ka Risala (Children's Digest)21. Saathi (Companion)22. Tot Batot (A character in Folk Tales)23. Child Star24. Khush Bakht (Good Fortune)25. Bachon Ki Baji (Children's sister)26. Chand Nagar (Moon's World)27. Masoom (innocent)28. Dost (Friend)29. Nai Chiragh (New Light)30. Bachon Ka Akhbar (Children's Newspaper)Quetta31. Mujahid (Muslim Soldier) Peshawar 10

Sindhi (Regional language)1. Gul Phul (Flower & Fruits)

The print run of each magazine ranges from 10000 to 50000per issue.

Karachi 15KarachiKarachiKarachiKarachi 40KarachiKarachiFaisalabadFaisalabadIslamabad 15IslamabadIslamabad

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school supplements once a week, in one of our dailynewspapers Other than that, children can only readbooks published overseas and imported to be usedin PNG schools.

It can not be stated for sure factors thatcontributed to the absence of such an importantresource for learning in schools in the period priorto 1996. Some of the reasons may have been lack offoresight by educators and planners in seeing thisfundamental need especially in the early learningstages for children. It could also have been due tohindrances such as the high cost of producing anddistributing the periodicals to individual school,given the very difficult task of getting the periodicalsout into very remote schools which are onlyaccessible by foot and canoes. It may not haveattracted any commercial interest to produce anyperiodicals as the book buying market is very small;though the school supply market is quite big. Nowwe have the school journals.

PNG School Journals

HistorySeeing the lack of reading materials in schools

in PNG especially at primary and lower secondarylevel the New Zealand and Papua New GuineaGovernments agreed in 1992 to establish a SchoolJournals Project aimed at producing four issues ofjournals for schools in PNG. Under the Project NewZealand paid the costs of hiring consultants fromNew Zealand and Australia to train Papua NewGuineans to write for children in a series ofworkshops. Writings selected from the writers wereused to produce the first and second issues of thePNG School Journals in 1996. The reception hasbeen overwhelming and spontaneous congratulatoryletters have been received from both students andteachers from around the country. Production ofjournals for 1997 had been rather slow, but withtraining the curriculum officer is receiving for thedesigning of the journals we are hopeful of a speedierpace of production with the ensuing issues.

Problems and NeedsOur experience in producing the PNG School

Journals has thrown some light into what anyprospective publisher will anticipate while trying topublish periodicals for children.

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Cost of PrintingThe cost of printing is very high in this country.

This will render the unit price to any periodical toohigh and the sales can be dismal when the incomeof many families are meager and basic to be able toafford anything other than food. This may have beenthe most discouraging factor. PNG School Journalsseems secure for as long as New Zealand is meetingmost of the printing and distribution costs under theJournals Project (Project will wind down in June,1998). After that we will be less assured given theadverse cash flow problems all PNG governmentdepartments seems to be experiencing constantly.

Distribution of Journals to SchoolsBecause PNG School Journals was produced by

the Department of Education it was sent to schools(20 copies per school) free. The department had tomeet the cost of freighting the journals to as far asthe provincial education offices in each of the 20respective provinces. Getting the journals from thereto individual schools had been a mixed result. Manyschool could not get their journals in time or neverat all due to their remote locations. This is a problemthat will continue to confront the Department for along time to come.

Fees for ContributorsHaving the money available to pay the freelance

writers for their contributions is another area ofconcern. There aren't many good writers out thereand the few good ones we have are an asset to thewhole process. When there is no money available topay the contributors on the spot it presents us therisk of losing them for good because they arediscouraged.

Training in Book/PeriodicalDesigning training of personnel involved in the

designing and production of the school journal hasbeen seen as an important need in light of the slowprogress made so far on issues currently underproduction. Training received under such schemesoffered by ACCU will go a long way in achievingthe aims and objectives of producing quality journalsfor the children of PNG and the Pacific.

SummaryThere has been few periodicals published for the

children in PNG by any agencies or mostly profit-

6a

oriented private enterprises due to less favourableconditions. It seems the only body likely to attemptto produce any form of literary publications forchildren in PNG will be the Education Department .

Our fear, however, is where the School Journals isplaced on the priority list of the Department as theycould be forced to cut funding to certain activitiesdue to financial shortfalls, and we might be amongthe first to go.

FiguresPeriodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published: nil

The Department of Education publishes PNG School Journals.

PHILIPPINESMs. Natasha B. VizcarraEditor of Junior InquirerPhilippine Daily Inquirer

When I started my research for this report, I couldonly nameoff the top of my headabout fivechildren's periodicals produced in the Philippines.But after a lot of phone calls, some leg work andnumerous interviews, I discovered we had actually38 children's periodicals. And there may be morebecause I did my research only in Manila. Whoknows, some editors out there in Visayas andMindanaothe Philippine's two other mainislandsmight be checking the proofs of some othermagazines for kids right this very moment.

I think my initial ignorance is a good gauge ofthe Filipino public's awareness of the existence ofperiodicals for children. Our National Library, whichis a major disappointment in all aspects anyway, didnot even have a comprehensive collection in it'sserials section and the last time they updated theirserials list was ten years ago. One well-fundedlibrary, the Filipinas Heritage Library which alsohouses the Library of the CongressionalRepresentative, only had one children's magazinein their collection. And the "1996 Advertising, Media& Public Relations Directory of the Philippines"only listed two.

Despite that, children's magazines still thrive. Afew noteworthy, though, ones have died because ofpoor marketing and because a lot of Filipino familiescan barely earn enough to buy food and some otherswould rather spend their money on "educational

reading material" for their children, like the nextschool year's required text books. But a lot ofmagazines have managed to thrive and survive.Some are kept afloat by people or organizations withgood intentions and some are buoyed by people whowant to make a profit.

There is one thing I noticed about the people andorganizations behind these magazines, and that isthe fact that they thrive individually and not as acommunity. Most go about their business, vaguelyaware of the others and not knowing they face thesame problems and have the same needs.

This report then, is an attempt to place all of themin one picture and to make them aware of each other.Let us now take a look at all the people behind these38 magazines as a community whose members canhelp each other grow and make the industry strongerand purposeful.

Magazine GroupsThere are four major groups of children's

magazines published in the Philippines. First, thereare the educational magazines, the largest group ofall. These magazines cover elementary and highschool Mathematics; Science; Social Studies;Current Events; English Language and Literature;Filipino Language and Literature and Music and-Physical Education and have separate editions forall grades and year levels. Sounds like an excitingarray of subjects, right? Sadly, not all educationalmagazines present these topics in an engagingmanner. At most, they read just like shorter versionsof dry Philippine textbooks. But these magazineshave the best distribution system: they are sent andsold directly to schools. School officials evaluatethem and when a publication is chosen, it becomescompulsory reading for students for an agreednumber of semesters or years. Appendix 1 is a listof major educational magazines for children in thePhilippines. The content of these types of magazinesfollow the school curricula set by the Departmentof Education, Culture and Sports.

Then there are the magazines which have amixture of topics and articles in one issue. Thesemagazines almost always contain feature stories,short fiction and poetry for kids, comics, trivia andsome games or pencil and paper activities. Somemagazines of this type, like Sarrangola started outexperimenting with different kinds of distributionsystems: they tried selling directly to schools, sold

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Appendix 1: Major Educational MagazinesName of Publication Subject Target Ages Publisher

1 Abracadabra Eng. Language and Literature 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.2 Alitaptap (Firefly) Social Studies 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.3 Arithmetica Math 9-12 Dane Publishing4 Batu-Balani (Magnet) Science 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.5 Budyong (Conch shell) Fil. Language and Literature 7-13 Dane Publishing6 Buhawi (Whirlwind) Physical Education & Music 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.7 Corn-Act Eng. Language and Literature 7-16 Dane Publishing8 Damayan (Caring for others) Social Studies 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.9 Hagibis (Fast runner) Physical Education & Music 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.10 Kaluskos (Scraping sound) Fil. Language and Literature 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.11 Kid's World Science 5 6 Dane Publishing12 Magica Eng. Language and Literature 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.13 Math Talino (Intelligent) Math 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.14 Salaguinto (Ladybug) Science 7-12 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.15 Sci-Tech Science 7-16 Dane Publishing16 Tambuli (Calling horn) Fil. Language and Literature 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.17 Tatsulok (Triangle) Math 13-16 Diwa Scholastic Press, Inc.18 Vita Mathematica Math 13-16 Dane Publishing19 Young Leader Math 7-16 Dane Publishing

their magazines in bookstores, had them displayedon newsstands and sent them to subscribers throughthe mail.

But the magazines always got lost in the mail ornever arrived at all and were ignored at thenewsstands and bookstores. Thus, most mixedcontent magazines have focused on direct sales toschools to minimize loses and some are distributedfree with a newspaper and rely on advertisementsfor financial support. And other magazines, simplydidn't survive. Yet, in terms of content, mixedcontent magazines are the most interesting andentertaining to read. There are a lot more illustrationsand colors for young readers and a lot more lightarticles for older kids. Plus, these magazines do nothave the textbook aura that educational magazinesseem to suffer from.

There aren't many comic books specificallyproduced for kids. Most comic strips in thePhilippines are a hodgepodge of kiddie, adult andyuppie humor. Most of them are by foreign artistsand when you say comics, the immediate thing thatcomes to mind are the comics pages of majornational news dailies. There are comic books butmost of them cater to lonely housewives or boredhousehelp.

For kids there is Manila Bulletin's "Disney Time"which comes with the newspaper every Sunday andthe Philippine Star's comics special which comesout on Saturday. There is also the comic book "Bata-Batuta" published by Graphic Arts and Services.

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Most noteworthy is the comic book "FunnyKomiks", which I grew up with.

"Bata-Batuta" and "Funny Komiks" definitelyhave an edge over the first two mentioned becausethey use a kind of conversational Filipino calledTaglish, which is a mixture of English, Tagalog andother provincial dialects depending on the cartooncharacter's origin. "Bata-Batuta" and "FunnyKomiks" also make use of the talents of Filipinowriters and artists. The style may be un-schooledbut most artists and writers definitely know the Pinoysense of humor.

Entertainment magazines for young peoplemostly cater to teens. One, called Funfare, is quiteinteresting and can be popular because it deals withlocal and foreign movies and movie stars. But therest are just teen versions of the numerous adultgossip magazines and have no redeeming valuewhatsoever. Articles in these gossip magazinesusually don't contain honest to goodness facts andreliable quotes and are mostly written to tickle ateeners curiosity about local movie stars enough tomake her watch their films. Some even containpictures of scantily-clad starlets. Are these forchildren? Maybe not in our opinion, but they do fallwithin the below 18 age bracket and are part of thepicture.

A Litany and a Wish-List All in OneThe biggest hurdle all these publications face is

marketing and distribution. It's really actually a

Appendix 2: Magazines with Mixed ContentsName of Publication Publisher Target Distribution1 Barkada (Gang) Communication Foundation for Asia ages 13 16 School Subs./Bookstores2 Butterflies Readings, Inc. ages 7 - 12 School Subscription3 Hekasis Readings, Inc. ages 5 - 6 School Subscription4 Junior Inquirer Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. ages 6 -14 Free w/ daily5 Kaibigan (Friend) Twin Hearts Management Systems, Inc. ages 7 -12 School Subscription6 Pambata (For Kids) Communication Foundation for Asia ages 7 - 12 School Subs./Bookstores7 Saranggola (Kite) Cosmopolitan Publishing ages 6 -12 School Subscription8 Youngster Society of St. Paul ages 7-16 School Subs./Bookstores

choice between selling directly to schools,distributing the publication for free and relying onads or, in the case of the entertainment magazines,selling extremely popular stories in the news stands.It is not a good idea to send publications out throughmail in the Philippines. They get lost. Agnes DizonPascua, former editor of Saranggola and now theover-all editor of Dane Publishing's curriculum-based magazines for kids, said there was a case whena child who had a year's subscription did not evenreceive a single issue.

On the brighter side of things, Pascua said therehave been more new children's magazines showingup lately and that this is sure sign of growth in thepublic's interest in these types of publications. I thinkthis is also a sign that more organizations arerealizing the importance of these magazines. Thateducation and enrichment does not only come fromschools. It also comes from publications thatspecifically concentrate on children's interests andmirror their hopes and dreams.

Pascua and Budyong editor Susie Baclagon-Borrero, however, observed that parents and teachersalso need to be coaxed out of the notion thatchildren's magazines that do not read like textbooksare just a waste of money.

I agree with them. And I think one goodillustration of this attitude is through this brief story:I was browsing through some children's books in astore when a child saw a very beautiful Filipinopicture book called Kablay. He immediately satdown on the floor to read it, ignoring all the otherbooks in front of him. Then his father came, pickedhim up and put the book back in the shelf. "Not that,son," he said. "Let's get something better. Somethingthat will make you read better and learn a lot." Andthen they proceeded to the text book section of thestore.

Of course, Filipino parents mean well. Most justdon't have enough money to buy kids their very own

"leisure" readings. Most Filipino families can't evenafford to buy books for kids. Though this may bethe case, I think what Pascua and Borrero want tostress is that parents should also trust their children'stastes and that children's magazines and books thatare not required by the school are good too.

Aside from being cheaper the books, children'smagazines also help kids keep up to date on theirinterests, whether this be on science, literature orschool news. Educational, curriculum-basedmagazines also have an edge over textbooks becausethey are up-to-date.

In the area of needs, most editors and publishersI interviewed also identified a need for seminars onchildren's writing. Pascua said most of their writersare teachers and though they know their subjectswell, their works still have to be edited heavily to bereadable to their target readers. Rene Taneza, one ofthe editors of Youngster, said even editors shouldtake refresher courses on grammar and editing.Veronica Pulumbarit, editor of Saranggola, said itwould be useful if editors and writers alike attendseminars on children's writing, values, education,art for children, child psychology and other relatedtopics. Amada Javellana, vice president of DiwaScholastic Press, Inc., added that there shouldalready be a recognized "industry" among writersfor educational publications and that there shouldbe more university courses and subjects for such aprofession.

The following is a list of the other problemsencountered in the production of children'speriodicals in the Philippines. The correspondingneeds also follow.

For Educational Magazines:Parents and teachers want their publications to

be so saturated with information. Their idea of a goodmagazine is something that reads like a text book.According to Pascua, this stifles the editor's and the

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writer's prerogative to make the magazine morecreative and entertaining. "If we don't follow theirtastes, our circulation suffers," Pascua said.

> There is a need for dialogues between parents,teachers and editors.

Some teachers demand that publications writemore detailed and "complete" teachers' guides andpublish more activities. "I think this is just lazinesson their part," Borrero said. "They don't want tothink any more."> There is a need for dialogues between themagazine staff and teachers.

School teachers and even parents are usuallyconservative when it comes to education and can'tseem to trust the child's ability to absorb andunderstand sensitive issues like understandingsociety's attitudes on homosexuals, according toBorrero and Pascua.> Perhaps the answer here is still to tackle suchissues but to write about them in a careful way, anon-sensational way.

There should be more articles on Philippineethnic groups and other aspects of Philippine heritagethat are being neglected by publications, accordingto Borrero.) It is the editors' and writers' responsibility toassess the magazine periodically and to find outwhich issues have not been touched upon yet.Perhaps editors and writers of the differentmagazines should mingle and interact with eachother and seek feed back. Also, perhaps a consciousdecision to prioritize Philippine heritage topicsshould be made by the editor. Some publications seekfeedback on content from readers and some hireconsultants.

There is a lack of sources of news on local

Appendix 3: Comic Books

developments on Science and Literature andinternational developments on Science, Math andSocial Studies, according to Pascua.) I think this can be solved by linking with theDepartment of Science and Technology and bymonitoring the newspapers every single day.

The price of paper is too much, according toJavellana.> She says, there should be more support fromgovernment. The removal of tariffs on theimportation of paper should help.

For Magazines with Mixed Contents:Ads sometimes take up too much space. And

there is always tension between a magazine'seditorial staff and advertising staff, according toPascua.> The editorial and advertising sections of a paperprobably need to agree on a certain ratio betweenads and articles. Perhaps an expectation checkshould be made to make sure both sides understandeach other's concerns.

According to Pascua and Pulumbarit, children'smagazines don't sell well in books stores and newsstands. They also get lost in the mail.> Either circulate it free with a newspaper, deliverdirectly or sell directly to schools. Or launch anaggressive information campaign if you still wantto sell in stores or by subscription.

It is very hard to look for local school-based news.> There is a need to train student writers andcorrespondents.

It is hard to sell ads because clients prefer to placeads in the dailies. Their reason: parents hold the pursestrings.> There is a need for more creative and aggressive

Name of Publication1 Bata Batuta2 Funny Comics3 Gospel Comics4 Jesus5 Manila Bulletin Comics6 Phil. Star Comics Page7 Pik Pak Boom

PublisherGraphic Arts & ServicesAtlas PublishingCommunication Foundation for AsiaCommunication Foundation for AsiaManila BulletinPhilippine StarSociety of St. Paul

LanguageTaglishTaglishEnglish/FilipinoEnglish/FilipinoEnglishEnglishEnglish/Filipino

Target6 to 166 to 167 -165 - 6children & adultschildren & adults7 -12

DistributionSold in newsstandsSold in newsstandsSchool Subs./BookstoresSchool Subs./BookstoresFree w/ newspaperFree w/ newspaperSchool Subs./Bookstores

Appendix 4: Entertainment MagazinesName of Publication Publisher Language Frequency1 Blitz Sonic Triangle Publishing Filipino 12xyear

2 SuperTeen Sonic Triangle Publishing Filipino 12xyear

3 Funfare Graphic Arts & Services Filipino 48xyear

Contentshowbiz gossipshowbiz gossipFeatures on foreign and local movies

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marketing executivesDeadlines.

> The need for full-time writers and illustrators orearlier deadlines

Some editors need cultural orientation. Thecontent of their magazines are too western. This wasobserved by Pascua, Borrero and yours truly.> Feedback. Seminars for editors. Conferencesamong editors and writers.

Damaris Parra, editor of Kaibigan, says it's hardto address the full range of one's target audience.For example, if you have a 6-12 target readership,you'd always have to find something simple enoughfor a 6-year-old and something interesting enoughfor a 12-year-old.--> Separate the magazine into sections for each agegroup or constant assessment.

Nick Melgar, editor of Pambata and I worryabout kids sending in plagiarized works.0 Editors should read a lot, have access to a goodlibrary, or should be able to get in touch with othereditors of other magazines to verify that a work isoriginal.

Salaries are low.> This is a major problem, yes, but really hard toaddress. Everyone's wages are tied with the country'seconomy. The best thing to do for now is to makethe paper as profitable as possible withoutsacrificing content or to get a second job.

For Comics:Often some cartoons are too western or the

characters have western features but speak Tagaloganyway.> Start consciousness-raising among editors andartists. Or have comic book artists join AngIlustrador ng Kabataan, a very good organizationfor illustrators for kids books.

Weekly comic books always need to keep up withchildren's current interests, according to Bata-Batutaeditor Emily Mendoza.0 She solves this problem by always talking to kidsand reading up.

For Entertainment Magazines:According to 011ie Roble Samaniego, editor in

chief of Funfare, their main concern is making suretheir feature stories and news are not stale. He saysit's very hard to get "scoops" on local entertainmentnews when the publication is a weekly.

Most teen showbiz magazines publish photos ofscantily-clad girls and brainless gossip articles.> They should receive feedback from parents andteachers and young readers themselves.

Figures1) periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published magazines:37, newspapers:1No. of children's periodical publishers

total: 13 (govemmental:0, private:11, religious:1, foundation:1)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)Total number of magazines: 155

Number of publishers: 120

REP. OF KOREAMr. Junku KwonAssistant ManagerJihak Publishing Company

With publication of more than 26,000 new titlesannually and estimated sales of 3 billion US dollars,Korea has become the one of the leading top tencountries in terms of circulation in 1990s. Thedramatic growth of Korean publishing industry isoften compared with miracle of the Korean economy.

Periodical IndustryThe Korean publishing industry has enjoyed a

considerable success in increasing variety andimproving quality of the periodicals since the Koreanstudents studying in Japan had launched TheFriendly Society in 1886, leading opinion and lifeof the people.

The characteristics of periodicals have gonethrough changes together with the Korean society.In the very early days, the most of magazines werepublished for enlightening the society before theLiberation of Korea in 1945. After the Liberation,literary magazines emerged and in 1960 and 70s,magazines dealing with literature, humanity, currentaffairs led the industry. Recently, computer,amusement, game and fashion magazines are themajority in the market.

The fact that only 2,000 periodicals are publishedin a year while 10,000 magazines are registeredshows that many companies are facing difficultiestoday. Many publishers cannot meet deadline, andconsiderable number of magazines are switchingfrom monthly to quarterly or even annual

blic i

-70- 6 8'

Keen competitions among publishers is also aproblem. For instance, some companies providegifts which are sometimes even more expensive thanthe magazines. Above all, the biggest problem thatthe Korean magazine industry currently facing is thatliterary, humanity, and specialty magazines areinferior in strength in the market. Due to the rapidprogress of the internet, internet magazines areexpected to have influence on the size of the market.

Periodicals for ChildrenAs Koreans are famous for their passion for

education, the periodical business for children isexpected to enjoy success. But only few companiespublish periodicals for children and their presencein the market is minimal compared to the other typesof periodicals such as computer, game and fashionmagazines. Furthermore, most of the periodicalsmainly feature the role of parents for educating theirchildren.

As long as there is passion for education in Korea,there are "the Haksupji" (study magazines) in theKorean market. Many children in Korea subscribeone or two Haksupji. The Haksupji industry hasbeen experiencing rapid growth since early 1980 as.a result of passion for education. Haksupji forchildren are usually published weekly, and designedto learn how to spell and basic arithmetic at homefor primary school students. Haksupji forelementary, junior and high school student aredifferent from that for primary school students.Haksupji for elementary, junior and high schoolstudents are to supplement students' class work andto play the role of private tutors to answer anyquestions students may have. Besides the Haksupjifor children and amusement magazines for youth,there are only few magazines for children in Korea.While the Haksupji are so successful as the bestmaterials to prepare class work and college entranceexams, "true" magazines/periodicals for children hasmade no progress in the market.

Periodicals Published by Jihak PublishingCompany

In order to meet the needs of children for differenttypes of periodicals, Jihak Publishing Companyintroduced the monthly Tokseopyuongsol for highschool students in April 1991. The monthlyTokseopyungsol for junior high school students andThe monthly Myongsasol were introduced in January

and April 1994 respectively. These magazines aresubscribed by approximately 100,000 readersincluding adults. The magazines were so widelyaccepted by children that it shrank the market.

The monthly Tokseopyungsol which has a uniquefeature to enlighten children's spirit has two basictypes according to the readers' age. The magazineincludes students' study guide, fine piece ofliterature, cultivation, and useful information ofschool days. The Myungsasol is designed forpreparing for writing exam which is a partialrequirement for college entrance. The editorial staffselect good articles very carefully and give adirection and idea to the readers to understand anarticle easily.

ConclusionAs stated above, there is lack of "true" periodical

market while Haksupji are quite successful due toKorean parents' passion for education. As a result,it is not easy for students to find a spare time to readmagazines. To market and activate periodicals forchildren in Korea, reforming the education systemshould be reconsidered.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published

magazines:98, newspapers:24, others:13No. of children's periodical publishers

governmental:13, private:72

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)Total number of magazines: 1,209

Number of publishers: 800

SRI LANKAMr. Rajendra KulasingheAssistant Editor of VidusaraUpali Newspaper Ltd.

Weekly Newspapers for ChildrenThere are about 20 newspapers for children in

our country. A special feature among the majorityof these newspapers is that these are contributed insuch a manner as to provide assistance to studiesinside the classroom.

There is very little demand in Sri Lanka for thenewspapers that feed the child's likes and dislikespertaining to the inherent qualities of the child. Thishas been a result of the existing competitive

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education system. It has become the wish of everyparent to see his child excelling at the examinations.Thus the parents seem to fear to introduce the childto any activities that may deter him from theclassroom syllabus, through the weekly newspapers.

The above mentioned newspapers meet theeducational needs of children from the lowerkindergarten to the advanced level grade. Five ofthe 20 newspapers published for the child whoattends the nursery, while nine newspapers are forchildren between the ages of 5 and 11. Four of thenewspapers are for children between the ages of 12and 16. However there are no newspapers availableto contribute towards the students between the agesof 16 to 18. Only two of the newspapers cover theage limits between 10 and 18.

These newspapers are published by twelvepublishing houses or private individuals. In thiscategory there is one particular institution whichpublishes five types of newspapers for children.

There are only 2 or 3 permanent staff membersworking with most of the editorial boards. Almostall the writers contribute to the newspapers whilebeing employed elsewhere. Because of employinga few permanent staff members in the boards ofeditorials it has contributed to reduce theexpenditure.

Computer technology is used either completelyor partly in the process of page making for children'snewspapers in Sri Lanka. The newspapers arepublished either in tabloid or A4 size paper. Allnewspapers for small children are published in A4side paper. It is also the practice of most of thesenewspapers to offer a supplement of a sticker,colorful picture or a colorful cover.

The circulation of these newspapers are betweenthe range of 10,000 and 60,000. The price is betweenRs. 8 and 12 (US$ 0.13 0.20). Distribution is carriedout mainly through sales agents. The agents stayingaround the publishing houses collect the papers fromthe office while outstation copies are delivered eitherthrough private or public means of transport.

Children's BooksBook publishers claim that there is a very high

demand for children's books in Sri Lanka. Accordingto their experience they have a high regard thatchildren's books carry a wide demand as high asthat for novels.

Generally the price of a children's book would

be in the range of Rs. 25 to 100 (US$ 0.43 1.72).The amount of pages would be less than 48. Due tothe high costs of printing the publishing of colourfulbooks have become minimized in our country.

There are some publishers in Sri Lanka who couldbear the painting costs of books as a means ofproviding a relief to the writers. Still in such asituation the writer would only be entitled to 10percent of the income. However the critics have nofaith on the contents of children's books althoughthey have good sales. Many of these critics claimthat the books contain only an attractive exterior andnot a quality interior.

ProblemsParents' pressure on the children is to read

newspapers which have an educational value.Therefore they (children) don't get a chance inreading newspapers according to their choice. Thishas also led to a decrease of interest in the writertowards writing children's articles to attract them.

According to the current educational system,children do not get the ability to produce goodliterary works, and thereby when they become adultstoo they will not be able to produce any goodcreations. Meanwhile, most of this children havebeen taken away from reading by the televisionchannels too.

There is no proper recognition for children'sbooks authors and article writers. The salaries paidto them, the subsidies provided for painting, furthertraining are also not satisfactory.

NeedsA human being can only once in his entire life to

enjoy the wonders of childhood. The child hashowever, lost that one chance of enjoying hischildhood to the fullest within the existing socialstructure.

A child needs education. But these are a numberof other aspects which need to form and cultivatehim besides education. They are for example; theability to appreciate works of literature and art, thebuilding of self respect and self confidence, theunderstanding of the need for peaceful co-existencewith his neighbour and generosity. However themajority of children's publications in the countrydo not provide towards these needs. And publicationstoo with the knowledge of such a situation seem tobe avoiding publications containing such material.

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It is indeed a timely need to look into means ofchanging the scenario. It will be necessary to makea change in the parents attitudes as well.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published newspapers:20No. of children's periodical publishers private:12

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)Total number of magazines: 30Number of publishers: 30

THAILANDMs. Pranee PrabripooEducational OfficerBook Development Centre

Most Thai people have no habit of reading exceptthose who are well educated because the majorityof the people cannot afford to buy books and otherreading materials. The children in cities may be ableto read magazines at school libraries, but those inremote areas have little chance. Most of the materialsthey read are textbooks or comic cartoons donatedor given away from city.

As periodicals are ephemeral material by theirnature, they need a certain number of readers.Publishing periodicals can not be carried out wellwithout support from other business in Thailand.Most periodicals are published by big publishingcompanies such as Nanmee Books, Matichon News,Nation News.

The oldest magazine is Baby, a comic magazine.Go Genius is a monthly magazine which won thefirst prize from the office of Prime Minister during1994-1995 includes mathematics, science, Englishand Thai language, stories, game, health, nature onearth. Swan Dok (Children's Gardens), a bi-weeklymagazine, won the first prize twice from Ministryof Education and includes stories, game, culture andpuzzle.

The Book Development Centre develops booksfor children and the general public, in order topromote reading habits and knowledge. The Centreis also responsible for the production of ThaiInstitute's periodicals. This publication has beendistributed to schools over the country and used byboth teachers and students.

There are the following needs to developpublishing periodicals for children;

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To improve quality to be more attractive andreadable.To promote the production of the magazines foryoung readers.To promote reading habits among Thai children.To gain knowledge, techniques and experience inmagazine production.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published magazines:7, newspapers: 3No. of children's periodical publishers private:4

VIETNAM

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Mr. Pham Cong LuanAssistant ManagerRepresentative Office in Ho Chi Minh CityThieu Nien Tien Phong Newspaper

In Vietnam, all kinds of books and periodicalsfor children are published by the governmentaleditorial office and the State Publishing House. Inthe past, despite the difficult economic situation inthe wartime and the post-war years children's booksand newspapers were always given priority to bepublished with quality paper and at very low price.

Nowadays, children's books and newspapers aremore plentiful and more beautifully printed withappropriate prices. They are distributed more widely,not only through governmental routes but alsothrough private distributors, so that they reachchildren everywhere in the country: schools, home,cities, remote islands and even mountainous areas.

Children's periodicals in Vietnam are divided into3 kinds according to the targeted children's age:Children (from 5 to 8 years old ); Adolescent (from9 to 14 years old ); Youth before mature age (from15 to 18 years old ). There are 3 editorial officespublishing children periodicals in Vietnam including2 State ones covering the whole country and a localone.

Magazines Published by the State for ChildrenNationwide

I) Thieu Nien Tien Phong & Hoa Hoc Tro editorialofficeThis organization belongs directly to Central HoChi Minh Youth Communist Group and publishes

the following publications for children:

The Thieu Nien Tien Phong Magazine (YoungPioneers)For 9-14 years old, 20 pages, 4 colors, circulation:150,000 copies, first published in June 1954.

The magazine is published twice a week. TheTuesday issue is education-oriented while the Fridayissue is entertainment-oriented. Major articlesinclude introduction of children who are good inspecific fields, movements of the Young PioneerDetachment's activities, science, hygiene and health,and so on. There are also columns for children toreflect on their lives by means of literature.

Many competitions are annually organized by themagazine in various fields such as health studies,protecting environment, children's rights and letterwriting. It also organizes the national sportcompetition called "The Prize of the Young PioneerMagazine" as well as some competitions in a largescale with participation of a lot of children. Some ofthe competitions organized in the past include"Return to historic Dien Bien Phu" in 1994 withparticipation of more than 1.5 million children and"We make a study of Laws" in 1996 with nearly 3million children.

The magazine encourages and trains giftedchildren in the fields of art and literature, undertakingThe Young Vietnamese Talent Fund's programs. Outof the circulation of 150,000 copies, the governmentbuys 50,000 copies to offer the children in ethnicregions or rural villages and islands.

Hoa Hoc Tro Magazine (The Flowers of School-life)For 15 to 18 years old, started publication on 1stOctober 1991 as the first national magazine forthis age group, 36 pages, circulation: 70,000 copies

This magazine was warmly received by 45,000students soon after its publication. It encouragesstudents' participation and 70% of articles is madewith contribution of readers. It has a Pen Club with100 members who are talented in writing.

Some major columns include:Weekly talk: set a central problem of the week.Report about adolescent's life at home, at school,and in society.New writings: poems and short stories.

Face of the week: youth who has brilliantachievements.Broaden horizon: daily scientific problems andcurrent events.Other columns deal with sports, fashion, beauty,medicine and funny columns.Particularly, "Thuong Tholmg Sister" who answersreader's questions sincerely, and "Chanh VanBrother" who gives humorous and skillful answersto the questions are highly admired by theadolescents.

Thieu nhi dan toc (Ethnic Adolescent)For 7 to 17 years old, published monthly forchildren who live in remote villages and islandsand minority-populated regions, circulation:100000 copies, content: poems, stories and talesabout traditions and customs of the minority-populated peoples.

The magazine encourages preservation of theoriginal culture of each people, criticizes backwardbad habits and propagandizes civilized life-style. Itcreates friendly understanding between the peoples.The government buys 100% of the copies to offerthe ethnic children.

2) Nhi Dong Magazine editorial officeThis editorial office directly belongs to theCentral Ho Chi Minh Youth Communist Group.

Nhi Dong Magazine (Children)For 6-8 years old, content: besides comics and

tales, there are short articles about children's learningactivities in school, exercise and recreation columns.

Local Magazines

1) Muc Tim Magazine editorial officeThe editorial office directly belongs to Ho ChiMinh City Youth Communist Group.

Khan Quang Do MagazineFor 10-14 years old, published weekly, circulation:about 18,000 copies

Content and major columns are similar to theYoung Pioneer Magazine, but most of the news isabout children's life in HCM city.

Muc Tim MagazineFor 15-18 years old , published weekly, circulation:

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about 6000 copies.Content and major columns are similar to the

Flowers of School Life but they are mainly aboutpupils' activities in HCM city.

2) Nhi Dong MagazineFor 5-8 years old, circulation: 40,000 copies, majorin comics and funny columns.

Problems and Needs

DistributionDistribution of children's periodicals is mainly

through the Central Press Publishing Companywhich directly belongs to the General Directorateof Post and Telecommunications, and private agentswho distribute to newsstands of the regions.

The Central Press Publishing Company usesmany means of transportation to send magazines andnewspapers everywhere, even to remote regions,high lands and islands. Though the system hascontributed to distribution of children's publicationsduring the past decades, it also has somedisadvantages as follows;

Children in rural villages can read magazines attheir school libraries only if they are still going toschool.

Due to their duty of handling many kinds ofpublications and ineffective organization, the systemcannot respond to the children's needs.

While the magazines are soon delivered to cities,distribution to villages usually takes several days.Distribution through private agents who handlesmaller number of magazines is faster than the postalsystem, though they focus on publications for adultswith larger amount of customers and highercommission.

Readers in different regions have different habits.The readers in the Northern region usually subscribemagazines at post offices for a long-term while theSouthern readers like to buy at retail newsstands.

Therefore, the editorial offices and the presspublishing organizations must work more creativelyin distributing magazines. We send magazines toschools so that pupils can buy them at break time.However this kind of distribution cannot work insummer holidays.

Content and Form ImprovementChoosing the appropriate words for children's

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magazines is a complex problem. The magazinesmust touch upon diverse questions of children's lifeskillfully and appropriately so that the children's life-awareness does not become one-sided and distored.

The writing style must be fresh, standardized andrich in images. However, it is necessary for thewriters to have writing skill and teaching ability, andespecially, love towards children to do this difficultwork.

It is not easy to teach children spiritual valuessuch as patriotism and national tradition preservationin magazines when children nowadays areinfluenced by practical life-style of the marketeconomy.

Periodicals and books for children in Vietnamare not beautiful enough. The number of coloredpages is small, and the presentation is not attractiveand backward. The reason is that the level ofprofessional skill is rather low and we lack of foreigntechniques. The printing equipment is old andbackward, too. However, as the Vietnamese livingstandard is rather low, if we improve the form, theprice will rise and children will not be able to affordto buy. In general, the contents and forms of themagazines should be improved more and more, butit is very difficult to achieve this in a short time.

On the other hand, children's books andmagazines are facing fierce competition with videofilms and foreign picture books, which are publishedweekly with a circulation more than 100,000 copiesand are very attractive to children. These competitorsalso affects the children's reading skills very much.

The team of reporters for children's periodicalsshould also be considered. They must be people whoreally love children and have interest in children'seducation. Sometimes editors of children'smagazines must accept the lower income than whenworking for adult magazines with high profit fromadvertisement.

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published magazines:8No. of children's periodical publishers

total: 4 (govemmental:4)

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 8

Number of publishers: 4

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Ms. Tuipulotu VugakotoSenior Education Officer, CurriculumDevelopment Unit, Ministry of Education

Locating publishing houses in Fiji is not aproblem for there are quite a good number of themaround. These are those that are individually owned,those that are owned by private organizations antthere are those that are owned by the government.Each of these publishers perform their functions intheir own different ways but not many of them haveventured into producing high quality magazines orperiodicals that would help to promote reading forchildren in the country. However, this does notnecessarily mean that children in Fiji are not exposedto magazines and periodicals. Magazines andperiodicals as well as other reading materials arefound in abundance in our local bookshops but, mostof these are imported materials which most childrenin Fiji may not be able to identify themselves with.It is our hope however, that sometime in the verynear future that people will realize the need toventure into this very important project especiallyif they care about the children who are Fiji's future.

Presently, the Ministry of Education with itslimited budget is doing its best to promote "love"for reading amongst the school aged children throughits "Book Based" literacy programme. Thisprogramme has had some impact on the children'sattitude towards reading-and because of this theproduction of more reading materials for thisprogramme has been the top priority of the Ministryof Education in this past two years. Also, throughthe Language Department in schools, the Ministryhas been supporting and encouraging the productionof school based magazines. This involves theformation of magazine committee in differentschools. these committees may have a compositionof teachers, students, and parents. The committeeshold meetings and make plans on what to include intheir production.They look for sponsors and do whatever elsespecially required for the production of theirmagazine and even organize their sales anddistributions. These magazines are normally sold atprices that children can afford and children alwayslook forward to taking one home at the end of theyear. They love to exchange their magazines withtheir friends from other schools. This is in itself

publishing in a very small scale and perhaps , withproper guidance and follow-up training forindividuals that may want to take up publishingseriously, this can be a starting point for futurepublishers.

There has been tremendous awareness andpromotions on the importance of reading throughvarious activities of the Ministry. Several workers'workshops had been conducted to help teachers andwriters to develop and improve their writing skillsand ideas. A lot of story-writing and art competitionshad been organized to promote creative work andhelp boost the production of books. But, producingquality magazines and periodicals will requireexpertise and therefore demands advanced trainingfor any person who wishes to venture into it. Muchwould we love to produce what our children need interms of magazines and periodicals but we find itimpossible because of our limitations. Our"smallness" has placed us in a position to alwaysseek for assistance from our "Bigger brothers andsisters" so right now Fiji badly needs trainingworkshops to be conducted in Fiji to prepare peopleto be able to produce high quality magazines andperiodicals that will attract children who have a verystrong background of oral tradition who now havethe access to such things as television and stereos.

TONGADr. Lia Latu MakaActing Chief Education OfficerCurriculum Development and Publishing UnitMinistry of Education,

Reading PromotionIn most secondary schools in Tonga, the focus

on the preparation of students to be literate was, andis largely, still confined to the traditional 'skills'paradigm. Reference to reading in the Language aimsof education is as 'knowledge' to do with vocabularyand oral proficiency, and as 'skills' for fluency. Italso discriminates in that for some students only willthere be "development of further skills in thoseaspects of English language necessary for highereducation." (Tonga Ministry of Education, 1981,P.53). This 15 year old set of aims lacks specificreading guidelines and is aciomatic of the state ofreading in Tongan classrooms for the past decades.Even if it is the reality that only a few can pursue

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higher education, the mere inclusion of the phraseis prohibitory and works to suggest that only a fewcan achieve high level skills of reading and highereducation. The present revised syllabus however,provides a flexible framework that allows for a rangeof texts and meaning explorations and hits is quiteconversant with the importance placed on Englishby the government and the general public as a whole.Current materials approaches that take into account,latest research finding on reading, readingprogrammes, and second language acquisition.Periodicals and media resources are popular featuresof the contents of those developments.

Despite all these recent developments, readingpractice in general, as suggested earlier, is stillconfined acquiring textual knowledge, orientedtowards traditional structural modes of accuracy andgrammar, and aimed at acquiring an elitist, culturallegacy of values and protocols. This is largelyattributed to ingrained habit gained over years ofteaching audial/structural approaches, and from anexamination system that still leans heavily on a skillsparadigm kind of assessment, and on booksconsidered as 'cultural classics'. It excludes the typesof readings and texts that appeal to young studentsand which are the most accessible and highlyinfluential as reading materials in Tonga texts suchas the bible comics/cartoons, romances, popularfiction, periodicals such as fashion magazines, localnewspapers advertisements and media texts (video/TV texts). The inclusion of these texts as standardreading materials in schools provides more scopeand range for critical analysis and as incentives forreading than is the present practice which focusespredominantly on prose.

There is not much variation among schools inthe reading programmes that they adopt. Someschools, as a result of the initiatives of overseasteacher volunteers and committed teachers, use aSustained or DEAR reading programme rangingfrom 10-30 minutes. Some incorporate reading intotheir library/English classes with book reviews as asequel, whilst for the majority, reading is based ontraditional multiple-choice/short answerscomprehension tasks. Most of the readingprogrammes adopted by some schools however, arepoorly planned, administered and submitted tonegligence. Support facilities in terms of schoollibraries are poorly stocked and lack proper storagespace for books and periodicals. Most of the stocked

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books and periodicals are obsolete and inaccessiblein terms of interest and level.

General Supply and Availability of Periodicalsand Books

There is a general shortage of reading materialsfor children in Tonga, and at present, there is nospecific periodical for children. There are TENperiodicals published in the country. Of the ten, twoare weekly general newspapers, tow are monthlychurch newspapers, two are weekly newsprint forfarmers and legal readers; and two are glossy typemagazines one on general news and the other fortravel and tourism. All these have a generalreadership target of age 10 and above. According tothe publishers, one of the major issues for printingmagazines is the lack of printing infrastructure(hardware and high tech software) and funding (e.g.advertising support) to promote the printing ofmagazines for children. The majority of theprinteries in the Kingdom lack trained printers,illustrators and graphic artists, and computeroperators. There is only one qualified person whoservices and repair the 5 printeries in the Kingdom.General magazines such as the limes International,Pacific News magazines and other regionalnewspapers are available via only one bookshop inthe Kingdom but they are very costly. There are nospecific overseas periodicals available in thebookstores for children. In the latest reading survey(Maka, 1997), there are only 3 operating bookshopsin the Kingdom and all are in the mainlandTongatapu. Two of those bookshops function moreas stationary suppliers than as book stockists.Reading materials that are sold are inadequate,expensive and inappropriate for the varied readingneeds of Tongan children.

There is only one public library in the mainlandbut is often inaccessible to the public as there is noregular librarian to keep it open. Of the outer islands,only one has a library but lacks funds for bookspurchase and has no permanent, qualified librarian.

Publishers and Printing FacilitiesThere are about 5 printing presses in the

Kingdom. Of the five, only one is specificallyinvolved with printing reading materials for children

the Ministry of Education's publishing Unit whichact both as publisher (for Tonga Ministry ofEducation) and printer. The Unit is involved at the

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moment with a project of publishing readingmaterials in the vernacular and English for ages 516 using both books and school journal format. Oneof the major constraints for the operation of the unitis the lack of qualified graphic artists/illustrators,printer (it only has one operating offset printer) andother support printing equipment and consumablesto produce high quality, attractive reading materialsfor children. The staff at the Curriculum Unit haveamassed an amazing quantity of local stories/poems/plays for children, some of which arc of a qualityfor worldwide translation in terms of storyline,appeal and language. However, the main problem islimited trained staff and technical support such asdesktop facilities and computer software to makesuch stories appealing to readers. Moreover, the unithas no trained personnel in editorial work to editmaterials. The Unit has secured some high-poweredMacintosh machines with some softwareapplications which can be used to design and layoutbooks (e.g. Aldus PageMaker 4.2, Aldus PageMaker5, Adobe Photoshop, Aldus Freehand and Intelli-draw).

Of the 7 publishers in the Kingdom, 4 produce amonthly newspaper of a specialized nature(religious) -mainly to do with informationdissemination of their respective denominations. Ofthe rest, 2 produce weekly general news while oneproduces the only quality news magazine in thekingdom which is now a quarterly issueaccompanied by a travel supplement.

As contextualised earlier, there is a general lackof reading materials per se for Tongan children, andin terms of periodicals, there is no specific one. Allexisting periodicals have a general readership butthey are more biased to the reading interests of adultsthan for children.

According to the survey earlier referred to, thereis a need for more reading materials in the vernacular,and in terms of age groups, specific needs wereidentified: (1) for junior and high school students(ages 11 19)

magazines (16.6%) came in priority for the type ofreading materials they would like to be in their schoollibrary, followed by adventure stories (9.9%),cartoons/comics (8.8%) and current referencematerials (6%) among others.- the most popular suggestion to publishers/writersto make a book more interesting to read is to: makeit short, interesting and simple (23%), add pictures

(21.4%), make it funny (13.5%) as well as make itimaginative and creative (11.9%).

Of their favourite reading materials, magazinesto do with music, sports, movies come first in thelist (17.3%), followed by biblical stories (10.5%),fairy tales, folklore and legends (9%) 'and crime/mystery/horror (9%) and subsequently comics/cartoons (6.8%). In terms of what usual), discouragesthem to read, boring content is top in the list (18.9%),followed by difficult language (18%) and mockeryfrom friends/classmates (11.5%). Likewise for thequery for those who think that they are not goodreaders, their main reasons are the difficulty of thelanguage (30.4%), followed by lack of access tobooks and poor reading habit (14.3%), and inabilityto stay on a book for long (12.5%), with the latterpresumably due to boring content.

In general, magazines, newspapers, comics andcartoons are the most popular reading materials thatemerge as the type of readings for children underthis age group.

(2) for Primary school children (ages 5-12),reading materials with pictures/illustrations arcfound to be the most readable across the age bands(5-12 yrs), with a preference for hard cover booksand stories that have a global content.

Steps Taken by the Curriculum Development andPublishing Unit of the Tonga Ministry ofEducation (TMOE) Following the Report

The TMOE, following recommendations fromthe report has started a project aimed at publishingreading materials both in the vernacular and inEnglish for primary and secondary school children.One phase of the project - which is involved withpublishing already existing materials (reprinting andprinting of new ones) is already underway. Thesecond phase is involved with running writingcompetitions and plans are already in shape in thehope that a variety of reading materials will becollected for all walks of life. It is envisaged that atthe end of the project (to year 2000), a variety ofreading materials will be published.

Main Problems for Promoting Reading and thePublication of Periodicals for Children

lack of serious commitment from government interms of priority funding for the establishment,refurbishment and promotion of bookshops,libraries, printeries, publishing companies etc.

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- poor distribution network- limited printeries, existing ones are poorly

furnishedno ready access to printing consumables

- heavy duty/tax on printing equipmentno/limited high tech software and desktop printfacilitieslimited qualified printers, graphic artists,illustrators, computer operations, publishing staff,librariansno/limited qualified editors

- limited reading/writing promotions in schools andin the communityno technical/training support for writers andillustrators

Main Questions for Tonga1) How do we cultivate a ferocious hunger for booksamong Tongan children?

What are the strategies by which we can...a. cater for existing reading needs of our target

readership?b. create a hunger for reading?

2) If we start on periodicals (magazines forinstance), what are the precautions we need tomake in terms of editorial /publishing / printingprocedures?

3) Are there overseas firms/companies/organizations where we can secure low-costpaper and attendant printing consumables?

4) Are there overseas organization where we cansecure cheap printing arrangement?

5) What affordable software application and otherDTP facilities can we use to expedite as well asimprove interest and print quality?

6) A moral dilemma In terms of priority , do wegive a child what she/he deserves or what she/hecan afford?

Universal access (as of by rights) vs. Affordability

Figures1) Periodicals for children (as of 1997)

Number of titles published nil

2) General magazine publishing (as of 1997)

Total number of magazines: 5

Number of publishers: 4

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-General InforMatioilLOrganization

The 1997 Training Course on Production ofPeriodicals for Children 30th Training Course onBook Production in Asia and the Pacific will beorganized by the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre forUNESCO (ACCU) with assistance from UNESCOunder APPREB (Asia-Pacific CooperativeProgramme for Reading Promotion and BookDevelopment) and with the cooperation of theJapanese National Commission for UNESCO, theJapan Book Publishers Association, Japan MagazinePublishers Association, the Japanese Board on Booksfor Young People and the Japan Foundation.

Time and PlaceThe course will take place from 1 (Wednesday)

to 15 (Wednesday) October 1997 (for 15 days) atthe Japan Publishers Building (6, Fukuromachi,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japan).

BackgroundWhile TV and other new media have captured

the attention of children in recent years, improvingtheir basic reading and writing skills by providingthem with high quality reading matters has becomea worldwide concern. Magazines and other kindsof periodicals for children in various formats andmarketing styles are able to play a crucial role inpromoting literacy and reading habits amongchildren and in their intellectual development.

By focusing on how to produce high quality,attractive children's magazines and how tosuccessfully manage and market them, the coursesin 1997 and 1998 aim to identify possibilities andnew strategies for the development of readingmaterials for children and the promotion of readinghabits in Asia and the Pacific. In 1997, ACCUorganizes a training course mainly dealing withpractical knowledge and skills of producingperiodicals for children, inviting participants from22 Member States in Asia/Pacific.

Purposes1) To highlight the roles and possibilities of

publishing magazines and other kinds ofperiodicals for children in Asia and the Pacific.

2) To provide the participants with practicaltechniques and knowledge about production of

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magazines/periodicals for children.3) To provide the participants with an opportunity

to exchange information and experience onpublishing children's magazines/periodicals ineach country.

Course Programmes1) Lecture and Discussion

The roles and possibilities of periodicals forchildrenVarious types of periodicalsPlanning and researchEditing of magazines/periodicals for childrenDesigning of magazines/periodicals for childrenOthers

2) Exchange of InformationPresent situation of publishing periodicals forchildren in respective countriesProblems and needs in publishing them

3) Practical SessionProduction of magazines/periodicals for children

4) Observation visits to related companies/facilities

Participating CountriesBangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia*, China, India,Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives,Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua NewGuinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka,Thailand, Viet Nam, Fiji* and Tonga*.(*The expenses for the participataion are to be providedby the Japan Foundation.)

Qualifications of Participants1) They should presently and actually be engaged

in editing magazines and other kinds ofperiodicals for children. Persons who are notpresently engaged in editing periodicals forchildren, but plan to publish one, can also beaccepted. But they should have at least 3 yearsof editing experience. Priority will be given tothose who are presently engaged in editingperiodicals for children.

2) They should be able to understand lectures givenin English and participate in the discussions inEnglish.

3) They should be between 25 and 45 years old andin good health

4) They should be willing and able to conductpractical follow-up activities after the trainingcourse in their own country.

5) They should not have participated in any annualtraining course in Tokyo organized by ACCU in

the past (1968-1995).6) They must agree to observe the course schedule

strictly and entirely. Those who cannotparticipate in all programmes in the course willnot be accepted.

Application Procedure1) The National Commissions for UNESCO

desiring to send participants for this course arerequested to recommend three candidates bysubmitting Application Forms duly filled in byeach of the applicants. An Application Formshould be accompanied by a sample copy of theperiodical in which the applicant is engaged.

2) After examining Application Forms, ACCU, inconsultation with the Training CourseCommittee, will select one participant. (Oneparticipant who attend the course at his/her ownexpense is also selected, if any.)

3) ACCU will inform the participants themselvesof their acceptance, as well as the NationalCommissions for UNESCO concerned. TheGuide for Participants will then be sent with theinvitation letter for further action.

*It should be noted that all applications should besubmitted through the National Commissions forUNESCO concerned. Neither direct application fromindividuals nor application through bodies other thanthe UNESCO National Commissions concerned areacceptable.

Assignments for ParticipantsThe participants accepted by ACCU are requested

to write reports on the following topics.1) Practical data and report about publishing

situation of periodicals for children. (Detailedconditions of the report will be given in the Guidefor Participants.)

2) Problems and needs of publishing periodicals forchildren

Working LanguageThe working language of the course is English.

Simultaneous interpretation between Japanese andEnglish will be provided for lectures delivered inJapanese. An interpreter will accompanyparticipants during the observation tours. Alldocuments will be prepared in English.

CorrespondenceAll communication concerning the course should

be addressed to:

The Director-GeneralAsia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO6, Fukuromachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japantelephone: +81-3-3269-4445,4435facsimile: +81-3-3269-4510E-mail address: book@accu.or.jp

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BANGLADESHMr. Hasnain Sabih NayakExecutive Editor, TOITOMBOOR40/3, Naya Paltan (2nd Floor), InnerCircular (VIP) Road, Dhaka 1000Phone: 880-2-404825/9331888Fax: 880-2-9333854/836460E-mail: sabih@citechco.net

BANGLADESHMr. Lutfor Rahman RitonEditor, Chowder KagazAli Bhaban, 9 Dit Avenue, MotijheelC/A, Dhaka 1000Phone: 880-2-9552850

BHUTANMr. Kinzang LhendupCurriculum Officer, English Unit,Curriculum & Professional SupportSection, Education Division,ThimphuPhone: 975-2-22148/22627,Fax: 975-2-23550

CAMBODIAMr. Nang RavuthPublications Clerk, UNESCO Officein CambodiaP' O Box 29, #38, Samdech Sotherosby, Phnom PenhPhone: 855-23-426299/426726,Fax: 855-23-426163

CHINAMr. Miao WeiArt Editor of China Juvenile &Children Publishing House21, Dongsi Shi'er tiao, BeijingPhone: 86-10-64030154Fax: 86-10-64012262

ur

INDIAMs. Geeta DharmarajanExecutive Director, KathaA/3 Sarvodaya Enclave, AurobindoMarg, New Delhi 110 017Phone: 91-11-6521752Fax: 91-11-6514373E-mail: DELAAB05@glasd101.vsnl.net.in

INDONESIAMr. A. Eko PraptantoJournalist and Editor, Bobo Magazine22, Palmerah Selatan, Jakarta 10270Phone: 62-21-5483008 ext.3460,3461Fax: 62-21-5494035E-mail: bobonet@rad.net.id

LAOSMr. Chanpheng PhasonthiAssistant Editor, VAIDEK MagazineMinistry of Information and CultureP.O.Box 1631, VientianePhone: 856-21-212425Fax: 856-21-212408

MALAYSIAMs. Che Amelia binti KassimEditor of KuntumStar Publications (M) Berhad2nd Floor, Infmite Centre, Lot 1, Jalan13/6, 46200 Petaling Jaya, SelangorDarul EhsanPhone: 60-3-7581188Fax: 60-3-7547867

MALDIVESMs. Aishath AniyaAssistant Curriculum DeveloperEducational Development CentreSalaahuddeen Building, AmeeneeMagu, Male'Phone: 960-323242, 325541, 318852Fax: 960-323243

MONGOLIAMs. Jamba SunjidmaaSub Editor of Golden TaleChildren's Book PartnershipIkh Toiruu 11b, UlaanbaatarPhone: 976-1-310238

Fax: 976-1-313912E-mail: pressinst@magicnet.mm

MYANMARMr. Soe Myint ThanEditor of Shwe Thway JournalSarpay Beikman Board228, Thein Byu Street, YangonPhone: 95-1-283344

NEPALMr. Kamal PokhrelEditor/Publisher, MUKULP.O.Box 11466 KathmanduPhone: 977-1-472184Fax: 977-1-414155

PAKISTANMs. Nuzhat Amin MalikAssistant DirectorNational Book Foundation6 Mauve Area, Taleemi Chowk,G - 8/4, P.O.Box 1169, IslamabadPhone: 92-51-281015Fax: 92-51-264283E-mail: isbd01042@paknetl.ptc.pk

PAPUA NEW GUINEAMr. Jim JujumoCurriculum Officer, CurriculumDevelopment Division, Departmentof EducationP.O.Box 446, Waigani, NCDPhone: 675-3246418Fax: 675-3255902

PHILIPPINESMs. Natasha B. VizcarraEditor of Junior InquirerPhilippine Daily InquirerChino. Roces corner Yague &Mascardo Streets, Makati CityPhone: 63-2-8978808Fax: 63-2-8974793, 8974794E-mail: inquirer@cnl.net

REP. OF KOREAMr. Junku KwonAssistant Manager, Jihak PublishingCompany 180-20 Tongkyo-dong,Mapo-gu, SeoulPhone: 82-2-3305233

d>.

Fax: 82-2-3255835E-mail: junku@jihak.co.kr

SRI LANKAMr. Rajendra KulasingheAssistant Editor of VidusaraUpali Newspaper Ltd.223, Bloemendhal Road, Colombo 13Phone: 94-1-331687Fax: 94-1-448103/446851

THAILANDMs. Pranee PrabripooEducational OfficerBook Development CentreDept. of Curriculum and InstructionDevelopment, Ministry of Education,Dusit Bangkok 10300Phone: 66-2-2816185 ext.408Fax: 66-2-2803804

VIETNAMMr. Pham Cong LuanAssistant ManagerRepresentative Office in Ho Chi MinhCityThieu Nien Tien Phong Newspaper1 Cao Thang St., 3 Dist., Ho Chi Ming

As. CityPhone: 848-8392563Fax: 84-8-8392563

FIJIMs. Tuipulotu VugakotoSenior Education OfficerCurriculum Development Unit,Ministry of EducationMarela House, SuvaPhone: 679-306016, Fax: 679-305953

TONGADr. Lia Latu MakaActing Chief Education OfficerCurriculum Development andPublishing UnitP.O.Box 61, Ministry of Education,Nuku'AlofaPhone: 676-25556, Fax: 676-24617E-mail: liamaka@tongatapu.net.to

3i, ®P®rarer e Schedule1 October (Wed.)10:20 Registration11:00-13:30 Opening Ceremony & Welcome Party14:00-17:00 Course Orientation

2 October (Thu.)9:30-12:30 Introduction to the Course

"Children's Culture and TheirMagazines"by Jiro Saito, Writer on Children'sCulture

14:00-17:00 Presentation of the Participants'Reports (1)"Present Situation, Problems andNeeds of Publishing Periodicals forChildren in Asia and the Pacific"

3 October (Fri.)10:00-12:00 Visit to Kodansha Ltd.(Publisher)14:30-17:30 "How to Produce and Distribute High

Quality Reading Materials forChildren"by Mr. Tadashi Matsui, Advisor toFukuinkan Shoten Publishers

4 October (Sat.)9:30-12:30 Presentation of the Participants'

Reports (2)"Present Situation, Problems andNeeds of Publishing Periodicals forChildren in Asia and the Pacific"

14:00-17:00 Presentation of the Participants'Reports (continued)

5 October (Sun.) Holiday

6 October (Mon.)10:00 -12:30 Visit to Shogakukan Inc. (Publisher)13:30-17:30 "Entertainment and Learning General

Magazines for Children"by Editorial staff of Shogakukan Inc.

7 October (Tue.)9:30-12:30 "Production of Science Educational

Magazines and SupplementaryEducational Kits"

86

by Mr. Tadashi Tamura, ExeutiveDirector, Kagaku Editorial Dept.,Gakken Co. Ltd.

14:00-17:00 "Children's Magazines-Steps toDevelop Reading Skills"by Jacqueline Kergueno, InternationalEditorial Manager,Bayard Presse International, France

8 October (Wed.)9:30-12:30 "How to Produce Attractive

Magazines for Children"by Jacqueline Kergueno, InternationalEditorial Manager,Bayard Presse International, France

14:00-17:00 "The Roles and Needs of Newspapersfor Children and Youth"by Mr. Masatoshi Onoda, Editor-in-Assistant, Mainichi ShogakuseiShimbun, the Mainichi Newspapers

9 October (Thu.)9:30-12:30 Practical Workshop Sessions on

Producing Periodicals for ChildrenGroup works under the guidance of

1) Jacqueline Kergueno, InternationalEditorial Manager, Bayard PresseInternational, and2) Editorial staff of Shogakukan Inc.

14:00-17:00 Workshop Session (continued)

10 October (Fri.)9:30-12:30 Workshop Session (continued)14:00-17:00 Workshop Session (continued)

11 October (Sat.)9:30-12:30 Presentation and Evaluation of the

works

12 October (Sun.) Holiday

13 October (Mon.)9:30-12:00 Discussion by the Participants on

How to Publish High QualityPeriodicals for Children

afternoon Tour to Asakusa area

14 October (The.) Observation trip to Nikko

87

15 October (Wed.)10:00-11:00 Final Discussion11:15-11:45 Closing Ceremony12:00-14:00 Farewell Party

Mr. Jiro SaitoWriter on Children

Born in 1939. After graduating from HoseiUniversity, he was engaged in research on children'slife and culture at Children Research Institute. Nowhe is a freelance writer specializing in children, andhas written about 30 books including The Era ofShonen Jump and What Tezuka Osame Wished. Hewas an elementary school 4th grade pupil two yearsago!Address:4-6-1 Higashimachi, Iruma-shi, Saitama 358, JapanPhone & Fax: 81-429-621020

Mr. Tadashi MatsuiAdvisor to Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers

Born in 1926. Mr. Matsui established theFukuinkan Shoten Publishers with his father-in-lawin 1951 and since then has been leading the company,as editorial director until 1968, as President from1968 to 1985, and as Chairman from 1985 to 1997.He has been actively promoting reading amongchildren by giving lectures at many colleges andconferences, and by contributing to national andinternational institutions and organizations includingACCU, Japanese Board on Books for Young People(JBBY) and International Children's Library.Address (Fukuinkan Shoten):6-6-3 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113,

JapanPhone: 81-3-39422151, Fax: 81-3-39421401

Ms. Jacqueline KerguenoInternational Editorial Manager,Bayard Presse International, France

Ms. Kergueno studied at University ofPsychology and Literature in Paris and had specialtraining in journalism and communication. Since

83

1974, she has been engaged in conceiving andpublishing magazines for children and youth atBayard Presse France and launched magazines inFrance as editorial manager from 86 to 92. As theinternational editorial manager, she also launched34 magazines in 25 countries around the world,including titles published in 14 African countries.Ms. Kergueno has also been involved in InternationalBoard on Books for Young People (IBBY) activitiessince 1992.Address (Bayard Presse International):3, Rue Bayard 75393 Paris, FrancePhone: 33-1-44356783, Fax: 33-1-44356091

The Editorial Staff of Sshogakukan Inc.(contact: Mr. Uzawa)

Mr. Michihiko UzawaAssociate Manager, Editorial Division 8Address: 2-3-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo101-01, JapanPhone: 81-3-3230-5429, Fax: 81-3-3264-8576

Mr. Shigeo TanabeManaging Editor

Mr. Michiaki MotohashiEditor-in-Chief, The Shogaku 3-nenseiSports Publishing Division

Mr. Toshiki IshiiSenior Manager, Foreign Rights Division

Mr. Takashi HirayamaEditor-in-Chief, The Shogaku 1 -nensei

Mr. Masaki TokuyamaEditor of The Shogaku 2 -nensei

Mr. Kazuo MiuraEditor, The Shogaku 1-nensei

Mr. Masahiko ShioyaEditor, The Shogaku 1-nensei

The Speakers from Gakken Co. Ltd.(Contact: Mr. Tamura)

Mr. Tsuyoshi TamuraExecutive Editor, Kagaku Editorial Department

Address: 40-5, 4-Chome, Kami-Ikedai, Ohta-ku,Tokyo 145, JapanPhone: 81-3-3726-8250, Fax: 81-3-3726-8865

Mr. Masaharu FuwaChief Editor, R&D for Educational Materials

Mr. Takeo MiyakeEditorial Manager of Gonen no Kagaku (Science for5 graders) & Rokunen no Kagaku (Science for 6graders)Internet Project Leader

Mr. Masatoshi OnodaEditor-in-Assistant, Mainichi Shogakusei ShimbunThe Mainichi Newspapers

Mr. Onoda joined the Mainichi Newspapers in1981 and worked at local offices of the paper inseveral cities in Japan. Since 1996, he has beenengaged in editing Shogakusei Shimbun, a paper forelementary school children. Co-wrote Children'sLife Appearing in Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun.Address (Mainichi Newspapers):1-1-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-51,JapanPhone: 81-3-3212-0321, Fax: 81-3-3212-5141

Kazuo Suzuki

Tetsuo Misumi

Muneharu Kusaba

Takao Tajima

Misako Ohnuki

President

Director-General

Executive Director

Director, Book Developmentand Literacy PromotionDepartment

Head, Book DevelopmentSection

Hisako Motoyama Senior Programme Specialist

Mariko Sasaki

Chiho Ohashi

8884

Programme Specialist

Programme Specialist

Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)

Asia-Pacific Cooperative Programme for ReadingPromotion and Book Development (APPREB)in cooperation with UNESCO

e ACCLU Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCOJapan Publishers Building, No.6 Fukuromachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8484, JapanTelephone: +81-3-3269-4435 Facsimile: +81-3-3269-4510 Cable: ASCULCENTRE TOKYOE-mail; general@accu.or.jp URL: http://www.accu.or.jp

Reference:

ASBD98/40/2-4 31 March 1998

Subject: "Expanding Possibilities of Periodicals for Children in Asia and the

Pacific" - Report of the 1997 Training Course on Production ofPeriodicals for Children

Dear Sir/Madame,

First of all, I should like to thank you for your continued concern and

support to the book development programmes of ACCU. I am pleased to send

you herewith a copy of the above-mentioned report.

The 1997 Training Course aimed at highlighting the roles and possibilities

of periodicals for children through sharing information and experience of

production of various types of periodicals for children. I hope that this report. of

the course which includes lectures and the participants' reports would be useful

as a reference material for better production and promotion of children's

publications.

I should appreciate it very much if you would kindly send us yourcomments and suggestions on this report for future improvement. Also

acknowledgment of receipt by the enclosed card would be appreciated.

With my best regards.

Yours sincerely,

Muneharu Kusaba

Executive Director

(9/92)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

REPRODUCTION BASIS

ERIC

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Releaseform (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").