uman Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik marked the start of a week dedicated to children on Monday with a call for actions that would prevent children from being helplessly exposed to media forces.

In a joint statement with the children support organisation ZPMS, which organises the week held as an extension to International Children's Day, ombudsman dr. Cebasek - Travnik said that children were often left to themselves when faced with media communication.

Elaborating on this year's slogan for the week, "Media for a More Beautiful Childhood", the ombudsman stressed that children could not evaluate media messages appropriately and recognise the dangers they might involve.

Children know today that the media are a window into different worlds. However, unkind or even hostile messages reach children through these windows. Children have a harder time understanding that the media do not only reflect but also create the world, dr. Cebasek - Travnik told the press in Ljubljana.

Thus, she and the ZPMS called on adults to help children find the right paths through the world of information. Only this way will the children be able to independently recognise instances of hate speech, violation of privacy and dignity, violence and abuse in the family as well as in the media.