Montenegrin basketball player and NBA star Nikola Vučević joined the media literacy campaign "Choose what we watch" which has been carried out by UNICEF and the Electronic Media Agency since last year, UNICEF announced today.
The statement adds that on this occasion, Vučević recalled the worrying data from the research of this campaign, which show that every second child in Montenegro has not attended any sports event in recent years, as well as that children aged 12-17 spend an average of eight hours a day in front of screens.
"I decided to support the campaign "Let's choose what we watch", because as an athlete and a child who grew up on sports fields, I know how important sports are for children's development. It is not only in Montenegro, but throughout the world that the problem is recognized that children spend a lot of time in front of screens, and I think it's a great thing that UNICEF launched this campaign and I wholeheartedly support it," said Vučević.
UNICEF states that Vucevic is organizing a camp for young basketball players in Bar for the second year in a row.
"In this way, he wants to encourage the development of sports and sports activities for children and young people in Montenegro. He points out that it is crucial that parents guide their children to actively engage in sports, both for the sake of health and for the development of social skills," the announcement reads. UNICEF.
"That is also the goal of the camp I organize - for the children to socialize, to meet new friends, to gain experiences that they will remember forever. I, for example, have made all my closest friends through sports, from my youngest days, and I consider that the greatest wealth," said Vucevic.
On that occasion, Vučević also sent a special message to the private sector.
"I will use this opportunity to invite the private sector to help sports clubs to provide children with adequate conditions to be able to play sports. I think it would be a great thing, because the youth of Montenegro are the future of Montenegro," Vučević said.
Young basketball players from all Montenegrin municipalities have been at the camp in Bar for three days.
In a conversation with young reporters of the media literacy campaign, they told their peers that it feels much better to play basketball offline - on the court, than online - through games.
"I am honored that I had the opportunity to learn from NBA players at this camp. Playing basketball means a lot to me. I made a lot of friends, learned what team play means, and I would recommend everyone to take the ball instead of the computer and go out on the court." , says thirteen-year-old Dimitrije Milić, participant of the basketball camp from Bijelo Polje.
The young basketball player from Bar, Petar Kosović, who also participated in the camp organized by Nikola Vučević last year, points out that he gained invaluable life experiences that way.
"Basketball is an interesting, dynamic sport, and believe me, it's much nicer to shoot the ball with friends for two hours than to sit in an armchair and type on the phone for the same amount of time," says Kosović.
UNICEF volunteer, young reporter Danilo Bulatović is pleased that he had the opportunity to meet with Nikola Vučević.
"Given that I have been playing basketball for years, it was an honor to see a top athlete like Nikola Vučević find time to devote himself to the children and youth of Montenegro and support our campaign. I consider him a great role model for us young people and I believe that his voice will to reach the parents and children of Montenegro and encourage them to go to sports events and play sports," said Bulatović
UNICEF also announced that the media literacy campaign "Choose what we watch" was started in February 2018 and by now every second citizen of Montenegro has heard about it.
"The aim of the campaign is to encourage the development of media literacy of children and parents, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the media to create quality media content with children and young people and to report on all issues of children's rights in Montenegro in an ethically correct manner," the announcement concludes.
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