UNICEF, EBU Re-Team to Help Children in Need

November 21, 2008 World Screen

GENEVA/LEMESOS,
November 21: As the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest comes to a close
tomorrow, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and UNICEF have renewed their
cooperation for the upcoming event in a fundraising effort focused on helping
children.

UNICEF
will again serve as a co-production partner, providing editorial materials to
highlight the topic of "Water for All" throughout the show. The full
tele-voting revenue from the show will go to UNICEF in support of children in
need.

Celebrities
such as Robbie Williams, David Beckham and Whoopi Goldberg will address viewers
from across Europe to cast their vote in support of UNICEF. The show will also
feature Dutch UNICEF Ambassador Sipke Jan Bousema's recent visit to Gambia,
where UNICEF initiated a number of project to improve access to clean drinking
water.

"The Junior
Eurovision Song Contest is perceived as a high-standard family-entertainment
program across the participating countries," said Roger Keczkes, the
project leader of UNICEF International. "The event has a very positive
spirit: for one week, children from all over Europe join to perform their songs
and have fun together. It is a good setting for children from a wide range of
backgrounds to meet and interact socially. This is one of several aspects
creating an ideal fit between the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and
UNICEF."

"The EBU is proud to
welcome UNICEF again as a partner of the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song
Contest," added Bjørn Erichsen, the director of Eurovision TV. "We
are extremely happy to be working with UNICEF. In addition to building strong
bonds between artists in our show and children across Europe, we highlight the
outstanding work that UNICEF is doing internationally. This year we will focus
in particular on the need for access to clean and safe water."

The
sixth edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Lemesos,
Cyprus, on November 22, and will be broadcast live or deferred in 18 countries.

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski