Africa's Child - Africa

The series looks at the present and future of Africa through the eyes of children. A cast of 10 children, in total, describe in their own words what it is like to grow up in Africa at the beginning of the twenty-first century. "Although it does touch on the continent's harsher realities, this series introduces children to a positive view of life in Africa."

The programme is child-centred. "Africa's Child aims to encourage young viewers to feel they have made personal, emotional contact with other children of Africa". Each programme focuses on one child, whose dubbed-over 'voice' narrates the story, with no adult narrator presence. When there is interaction between a child and others sub-titles are used, but only on a minimal basis. The children use a hand-held camera to record their lives.

The children featured come from diverse backgrounds - rich and poor, urban and rural - and a range of religious, cultural and language communities. They live in sites of contrasting geographical interest, including the Sahara Desert, the rainforest, the Nile, and the Great Rift Valley. "Aspects of the continent's rich and diverse history are also touched upon, although the emphasis is very much on life in modern Africa, from the Islamic culture of Cairo and Zanzibar to the townships of South Africa and the cities and villages of the sub-Sahara."

Children.