The conference on the ILO Pilot Research Project, in collaboration of UNICEF, on Children Working in Artistic and Cultural Activities was held at Rixos Grand Ankara Hotel on 13 December 2011. Present at the conference were RTÜK President Davut Dursun; Ali Kemal Sayın, General Director of Labour; Şebnem Sönmez, Secretary General of the Union Actors; TESİYAP President Erdal Tuşunel and Müge Ulusoy as the representative of casting agencies.
After opening speeches, the report of the pilot project prepared by Ms Serap Güre Şenalp and Assoc. Prof. İbrahim Diken was introduced. The report highlighted the following as priority measures:
- prohibiting night work of children,
- determining working periods according to age intervals and by putting daily, weekly and yearly limits,
- allocating special spaces and rooms in environments where children are present and in addition to acting coach, employing pedagogues to monitor child development,
- arranging child-specific contracts instead of standard ones while engaging child actors, and
- introducing relevant supervisory mechanisms to fully and correctly implement regulations to be prepared.
Brief information about the pilot project on children working in artistic and cultural activities:
While combating worst forms of child labour, the ILO Office in Turkey brings the most visible group of working children and their working conditions to the agenda. In Turkey, children engaged in artistic and cultural activities are employed without any regulation in relation to their working conditions despite references contained in the Report of the Committee of Experts on the Implementation of ILO Conventions and Recommendations and in the European Council Directive 94/33 issued on 22 June 1994.
Implementation of the Project:
ILO and UNICEF Offices in Turkey assigned two consultants on working conditions and child development issues, respectively.
Project duration: September 2011-December 2011
Phases in the project:
- Fieldwork: Carried out in Ankara, İstanbul and Eskişehir from September to December 2011. Fieldwork included visits to and observations in filming sets and interviews with directors, adult and child actors, producers, families of child actors and representatives of casting agencies, trade union and relevant government organizations.
- Technical workshop: It took place on 1 November 2011 with the participation of over 35 experts from the field and relevant governmental organizations. During the workshop, findings of the field survey were discussed to learn from the experience of participants and receive their feedback.
- Final report: The final report of the pilot project was prepared in the light of opinions gathered in the workshop. The report presents the findings of the fieldwork and includes some recommendations for future. The draft final report was shared with workshop participants to solicit their opinions.
Final conference: It took place on 13 December 2011. During the conference, the final report was presented to provide the ground for discussing necessary arrangements and regulations to improve the working conditions of children engaged in artistic and cultural activities.
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