Canadian One of 29 Young Reporters at Singapore 2010

Sackville, New Brunswick’s Emily Ridlington will travel to the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, as part of the International Olympic Committee’s Young Reporters Program for Singapore 2010. It runs August 14 to 26.

The Young Reporters were selected by the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees through a rigorous selection process. Representing each of the five continents, they are between the ages of 18 and 24 and are journalism students or have recently started their journalism career. Ridlington is a recent graduate of Carleton University, with a bachelor of journalism.

This initiative, developed as part of the Culture and Education Program, will provide the budding reporters with a cross-platform journalist-training program and on-the-job experience during the Youth Olympic Games. It encourages the Young Reporters to blog about Youth Olympic Games topics from their own regions in the run-up and during the first Youth Olympic Games.

The training and assignments during Games time will be driven by highly qualified and renowned professionals in the fields of broadcast and print journalism, social media and photography. Olympic partner Acer will also be providing the Young Reporters with a limited-edition laptop to support them in their assignments.

The exciting opportunity will allow young journalists to gain an Olympic experience with the chance to understand first-hand how media operates in an Olympic environment. The Culture and Education Program aims to educate, engage and influence young people in sport and the Olympic values, inspiring them to play an active role in their communities. The program also gives advice on careers in sport, social responsibilities and other lifestyle choices.