Turning hope into action

The Week Junior Show

The Week Junior Show explores a variety of global news stories and community-driven initiatives. The episode features an in-depth interview

Key takeaways

• The proposed EU Kids Act aims to restrict social media access for children under 13 to improve online safety.
• Kalpana Arias uses the 'Glitch' platform to gamify urban gardening and connect young people with nature.

Main topics

• EU Online Safety Rules
• Guerrilla Gardening

Notable quotes

Action is a verb. Hope is a verb. And you have to take action.

Conclusion

The episode provides an empowering look at how local actions and new r

Transcript preview

Speaker 7 (0:00) Sorry to butt in here, but I make a podcast called Judge Bex, and I've got a feeling it's exactly what you need. That argument that's been rumbling on for weeks? The one where everyone's sure they're right and nobody will back down? That's not an argument anymore. That's a court case. And every case needs a judge, which is handy, because I've got a law degree, a gavel, and absolutely no patience for nonsense. Take a listen. Here's what happened in the latest episode. Speaker 8 (0:25) This is Judge Bex. The cases and people are all real. Judge Beck's judgments are final. Speaker 5 (0:32) That does sound better than something Speaker 3 (0:35) that, yeah, is more big and scary. You told me they're not that big. Is that right? Speaker 7 (0:39) Yeah, but they can go to two metres. Speaker 3 (0:41) OK, you didn't tell me that. Speaker 7 (0:43) I was looking at Frankie's homework and I just wanted to check whether you could answer one of the questions that I saw. Jack has seven eighths of a chocolate bar. He eats four eighths of the chocolate bar. So what fraction is left? Speaker 5 (0:59) One eighth. No. Speaker 7 (1:03) Two. Do you think it's two? I really don't have a clue. Speaker 8 (1:07) Get ready to enter the court of Judge Bex. Speaker 7 (1:11) If you like that, there's more available right now wherever you're listening to this. Just search Judge Bex. Speaker 7 (1:22) Hello and welcome to the Week Junior show. I'm Bex and I'm joined by writers Eve and Joe from the Week Junior, the magazine making sense of the world for 8 to 14 year olds. This week, the team will be talking about new online safety rules in the European Union, a scheme to encourage people to read in Singapore and whether e-scooters should be banned. It's also a special episode because we're taking part in the Be Hope podcast takeover. And we'll be speaking Speaker 1 (1:47) to nature campaigner Kalpana Arias a little bit later about her work to bring a bit more hope into the world. Now, make sure you're listening closely because at the end of this episode, we'll be asking Speaker 7 (1:57) you a question about what you've heard. And if you answer it correctly, you could win a prize. But more on that later. Now, the weather is starting to feel a little bit autumnal this week. So I was wondering, what is everybody's favorite thing about autumn, please, Eve? Speaker 4 (2:10) I would say autumn for me is very much crochet season because there's this, you know, the nights are getting darker. So it's quite nice to get a bit cosy on the sofa and crochet something in front of a film. I can say this because my niece is too young to listen, but I'm making her a blanket for Christmas, which I haven't started yet. So I better hurry up. But yes, she's not. even yet too. So she won't be listening to this podcast or knowing, but that's my goal. Maybe I'll update everyone in our Christmas episode on whether or not I finished it in time. Speaker 1 (2:50) I'll be making a note of that in my diary. I'll be like, did Eve finish the crochet? That's a really Speaker 7 (2:56) wholesome thing to say. That's lovely. Okay. Yeah. Because the nights are kind of drawing in a little bit. So a little bit more time to sit and be cozy on the sofa. Jo, how about you? Speaker 3 (3:04) Something I really, really, really like about autumn is the air. So, you know, it's quite simple, but you know, those days when it's cold and it's also sunny and you go on a morning walk and the air feels really clear and crisp and you take a deep breath and it feels lovely. It always makes me feel really excited for the day and just kind of happy to be out and about and alive, you know, you know, really gets me in a good mood. Speaker 7 (3:27) Yeah, I know that feeling when the air is just like, it's a shop and it feels like you're... you're woken Speaker 1 (3:32) up a little bit. Yeah, two very good answers. Mine feels very boring in comparison, guys. Mine is the changing of flavours. So people start adding more flavours to things. I'm talking gingerbread and I'm talking in particular pumpkin, obviously. I just like a little bit more spice, I think, in, let's face it, sweet treats. So yeah, I just, I want some more pumpkins in my life and hopefully, fingers crossed, this year for the first time ever. I might get to go pumpkin picking. I've never done it before. And I think that might be on the cards. Anyway, if you want to tell us your favourite thing about autumn, Speaker 7 (4:05) send an email to hello at theweekjunior.co.uk or leave a voice note at funkidslive.com slash theweekjunior. Just Speaker 1 (4:12) grab a grown-up, look for that big red button and record your voice. Then, if your voice note is played out next week... you could win a Week Junior Roving Reporter badge. Now, last week, we asked listeners for some fun ideas for new apple names. This was awesome. We got a message here from Sophia. Speaker 5 (4:28) Hello, my name's Sophia, and if I had to name an apple, I would call it Gildifyer Apple, because Gildy is the name of one of the creatures in my favourite book, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and is golden and quite sweet. So I think that it's a good name for an apple. I really love your show and I listened every week. Bye. Speaker 7 (4:49) Oh, Sophia, thank you. That is a very thoughtful one. I like the idea of tying in apples to books. That's a great shout. Thank you for that. We also had a message here from Ellen. Speaker 5 (4:58) Hi, The Week Junior. My name is Ellen and I'm nine years old. If I would choose a name for an apple, it would be Juicy Lucy. Bye. I love your show. Speaker 1 (5:07) Straight to the point. I love a rhyme. Juicy Lucy. And then if you were Lucy eating a Juicy Lucy apple, you'd be like absolutely thrilled, wouldn't you? Right, then we also had this one from Luke, Nicholas and Peter together. Speaker 5 (5:19) We listened to the Wee Goonie in the car and we thought of a name for it. It's called Mummy Munch. Mummy Munch! Speaker 5 (5:33) One of Speaker 1 (5:33) the most enthusiastic voice notes we've ever had. Was that mummy munch, Eve, do we think? It was. It was. It sounds tasty. I liked at the end, they said it there as if they were mummies. That was amazing. Thank you so much to Sophia, Ellen, Luke, Nicholas and Peter. What a dream of apples. I will be eating all of those in future. And also, thank you for saying you love the show. Always a flattering thing to hear. Now, if you want your voice to feature on next week's podcast, all you've got to do is Speaker 7 (6:02) send us a voice note. So go to funkidslive.com slash theweekjunior and tell us your favourite thing about autumn. Now, let's turn our attention to the latest magazine and talk about what's been in the news headlines this week. Eve, what have you seen? Speaker 4 (6:19) So the European Commission has proposed a new set of rules to improve online safety for children. And the European Commission creates laws for the European Union, which is a group of 27 countries that work and trade together, but it doesn't include the UK. And this new set of rules will be called the EU Kids Act. And under the rules, children living in EU countries who are younger than 13 would be completely banned from social media. And children aged 13 to 14 could access social media platforms using mini accounts, which would be set up by their parents or guardians. And the mini accounts would allow them to see content that is age appropriate, but there would also be a time limit of just one hour a day. And then children aged 15 and over can set up their own social media accounts. But under the rules, platforms must be safe by design, which means that they can't show harmful content to children. or allow unwanted contact or have addictive features such as infinite scroll. These proposals do still need to be approved before they come into effect, but it would apply to platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, online games and AI chatbots, which according to a survey by Internet Matters, children use AI chatbots to help with schoolwork, seek advice or talk to as a friend. The European Commission said that online platforms must prove they are safe to use for children, or they could be charged fines of up to 6 % of the money that they make every year. And the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the rules will put parents back in the driving seat, giving them the tools to help their children navigate a safer online world. And you can read more about these new rules and the other countries that have rules on social media on page four of the magazine in our big news section. Speaker 7 (8:07) Oh, there's a lot there to think about, Yves. Thank you. The infinite scroll is one thing I know hooks me in for a lot longer. So yeah, I guess these rules are quite important. Joe, what's another story you've seen in the news this week? Speaker 3 (8:18) It's Speaker 7 (8:19) a Speaker 3 (8:19) story that we've covered on our Around the World pages, and it's about Singapore launching an interesting scheme to encourage people to read more. So under the scheme, people can be paid for reading sessions by logging them on a government website. Now, people who are avid readers should beware this isn't a way to make yourself millions. The actual financial incentive is quite small, with people having to log 50 daily reading sessions to earn one Singapore dollar, which is about 59p. However, it's hoped that even a little reward will encourage people to pick up books, and the initial reading target is actually quite small. People are only being asked to read for at least 15 minutes a day. Speaker 1 (8:59) Oh, okay. I could do that. I could get some extra cash on the side. I read already. So maybe I should get involved in that if I can. Thank you very much, Jo. Now moving on, it's time for our favourite part of the show. This is Real or Rubbish, the part of the show where I hear a story, I have to guess if it's true or false. And the answer will be revealed at the end of the show. So Jo, I think it's your turn. What do you have for me this week? Speaker 3 (9:24) Yeah, it's about the hottest new trend. So in Japan, people have been eating cup noodles without adding water to them first. Several videos posted online show foodies sprinkling flavor sachets onto dry blocks of noodles before tucking into a crunchy snack. Fans of the trend say that eating them without water makes them the perfect food for when you're on the go and that you soon get used to the texture and flavor. Others say they'd rather have sandwiches and crisps in their lunchboxes. What do you think, Bex? Is this real or have we thrown a cup full of lies in there? Speaker 1 (10:01) I like that a lot. Right. Okay. Oh, goodness me. So first of all, evil like this, because I always have something to link back to it. My friend's been in Japan this week. Speaker 1 (10:15) He hasn't reported back to me about the noodle situation there. If only he had, maybe I would have a definitive answer for this. So I should have had more noodle conversations with him. Clearly we weren't talking about the right stuff. So, but Joe, have you ever had like a pot noodle or a cup of noodle? And before you put the water in, have you seen how absolutely rock solid it is? Speaker 3 (10:38) Yeah, I mean, it's not really rock solid, though, is it? I mean, have you ever, like, I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. Have you ever not had, like, a little piece fall off and just tried it just out of curiosity?