BAR, 16 June 2019 – The famous Montenegrin basketball player and NBA star, Nikola Vučević, has joined the media literacy campaign “Let’s Choose What We Watch”, being conducted by UNICEF and the Agency for Electronic Media of Montenegro since last year.
On this occasion, Vučević reflected on the worrying data from a survey conducted within the campaign, which showed that one in every two children in Montenegro did not attend a single sport event in the past year, as well as that children aged 12–17 had, on average, eight hours of screen time a day.
I decided to support the ‘Let’s Choose What We Watch’ campaign because, as an athlete and someone who, as a child, grew up in sports grounds, I know how important sport is for the development of children. The problem of excessive screen time is present not only in Montenegro – it is a global issue – and I think it is a great thing that UNICEF has launched this campaign and I wholeheartedly support it.
Nikola Vučević, the famous Montenegrin basketball player and NBA star
This is the goal of the camp I am organizing – for children to socialise, meet new friends, and gain experiences they will always remember. I myself have, for example, made all my closest friends through sports, from my youngest days, and I consider it the greatest asset one can have.
Nikola Vučević, the famous Montenegrin basketball player and NBA star
On this occasion, Vučević had a special message for the private sector as well.
I will take this opportunity to invite the private sector to support sports clubs in providing children with adequate conditions to practice sports. I think that would be a great thing, because the young people of Montenegro are the future of Montenegro.
Nikola Vučević, the famous Montenegrin basketball player and NBA star
Young basketball players from all Montenegrin municipalities have been attending the camp in Bar for three days now. In a conversation with young reporters from the media literacy campaign, they told their peers that it was a much better feeling to play basketball offline – on the court – than to do it online, through video games.
I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn from NBA players at this camp. The fact that I play basketball means a lot to me. I have gained a lot of friends, learned what a team game means, and my message to everyone is to take the ball instead of a computer and to go to the court.
Dimitrije Milić, a young basketball player from Bijelo Polje
A young basketball player from Bar, Petar Kosović, who participated in the camp organized by Nikola Vučević last year as well, stressed that he had gained invaluable life experiences by doing so.
Basketball is an interesting, dynamic sport and, trust me, it is much more enjoyable to shoot the hoops with your friends for two hours than to spend the same amount of time sitting in an armchair with your mobile phone.
Petar Kosović, a young basketball player from Bar
UNICEF volunteer – young reporter Danilo Bulatović was also pleased with the opportunity to meet Nikola Vučević.
Given that I have been playing basketball for years, it was an honour for me to see a top athlete such as Nikola Vučević finding time to devote to the children and young people of Montenegro and to support our campaign. I consider him a great role model for young people and I believe that his voice will reach the parents and children of Montenegro and encourage them to attend sports events and practice sports.
Danilo Bulatović, UNICEF volunteer – young reporter
The media literacy campaign “Let’s Choose What We Watch” was launched in February 2018. So far, one in every two citizens of Montenegro has heard about it. The campaign aims to encourage the development of media literacy among children and parents, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the media to create high-quality media content with children and young people, and to report ethically on all aspects of the rights of the child in Montenegro.
