Gauthier Delomez 11:29 a.m., March 24, 2022

The youngest and teenagers are confronted with a lot of information about the war in Ukraine, via social networks and the media.

In the program "Culture media", the editor-in-chief of "Okapi" explains how the Bayard-Jeunesse group adapts its editorial line vis-à-vis the age of readers to enable them to understand the situation.

INTERVIEW

If the war in Ukraine is a serious subject, the youngest have access to all kinds of information through the news media and social networks.

It is to provide them with all the keys to understanding that the titles of the Bayard-Jeunesse group adapt their editorial line, according to the age of the readers.

On the occasion of the press and media week at school, Jean-Yves Dana, the editor-in-chief of

Okapi

, a magazine aimed at 10-14 year olds, explained how the title addresses the Ukrainian crisis.

>> Find Philippe Vandel and Culture-Médias every day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Europe 1 as well as in replay and podcast here

"Put words on what is happening"

At the beginning of the Russian invasion, which took place during the school holidays,

Okapi

first published a large article on the internet entitled "Ukraine: why this war?".

"It's a paper that was necessary to start the work, to put words on what is happening and do it as quickly as possible," says Jean-Yves Dana in the

Culture media program

.

In this article, the magazine tried to explain the history of Ukraine, the dispute with Russia, the state of mind of Vladimir Putin, and the risks for Europeans and Ukrainians.

Articles in a children's environment for 7-11 year olds

Okapi

accompanies his articles with questions from readers, boxes and keywords to know such as the Soviet Union, nuclear deterrence or Donbass.

The Astrapi

magazine 

, which is aimed at 7-11 year olds, does not use the word "war".

The title of the article is "What's happening in Ukraine?".

Jean-Yves Dana details the reflection: "We are in the primary school years. [The children] heard that there was something with Ukraine, which is extremely distant for them. So we have a small map that shows the country in a childish, symbolic environment. The goal is for them to have the shortest possible text, which cannot be precise but which gives them the basic elements so that they understand that there is something something serious is happening."

>> READ ALSO

- How "Le Petit Quotidien" explains the war in Ukraine to 6-10 year olds

Why it is necessary to explain the dangerousness of the situation to teenagers

As for

Okapi

, the title offers its teenage readers more structured articles, with photos.

And Jean-Yves Dana is not afraid to use words that reveal the dangerous nature of the situation.

"With teenagers, it is all the more important to recognize that they themselves can quickly lock themselves into fallacious reasoning", indicates the editor-in-chief.

"It's a generation that massively uses social networks and their phones to get information," continues Jean-Yves Dana.

The editor of

Okapi

recalls that according to a study by News Guard, it takes 40 minutes on the TikTok network to find misappropriated information about Ukraine.

The teenagers spend there "1h30 a day, so we see how important it is to have a speech that is well framed", concludes Jean-Yves Dana.