ACTF News

In April, ACTF CEO Jenny Buckland and Head of Content Bernadette O’Mahony travelled to Taiwan at the invitation of The Fubon Educational and Cultural Foundation to participate in the Momo Mini Kids TV Wonderland Conference & Festival and talk about the Australian approach to locally produced children’s television. The purpose of the invitation was to start a conversation in Taiwan about the production of local programs for Taiwanese children.

The Fubon Educational and Cultural Foundation (the Fubon Foundation) devotes itself to children’s and youth rights, as well as media literacy education. “By doing this we’re creating a better environment for healthy cultural industries as well as helping children forge a stronger sense of self.” Fubon contributes content to the Momo Mini Kids online TV platform in Taiwan and has licensed quality content from around the world (including the ACTF) for the platform. The organisation has also established the Momo Mini Incubator in order to spur the creation of more locally produced film and television projects that meet the needs of Taiwanese children.

The Fubon Foundation is a great admirer of ACTF supported shows, having previously licensed Little Lunch, The Inbestigators, Bushwhacked and First Day for exhibition to children in Taiwan, and has recently added Crazy Fun Park and Barrumbi Kids to its library of Australian shows. (The children of Taiwan must be very thoroughly versed in Australian culture as a result!)

At the request of the organisers, Jenny Buckland delivered a keynote address at the conference opening on the subject Why Are Children’s Programs Essential To A Nation: An Australian Perspective. In her address, Jenny described the history and rationale for supporting locally produced children’s programs, the positive benefits of these shows and the fact that Australian children’s television is now a deeply embedded feature of Australian culture. Nevertheless, Jenny argued that advocacy for locally produced children’s programs is always required, otherwise the gains you make melt away because children’s shows have to compete with primetime adult programming for commissioning and resources.

This presentation was attended by Mr Shih Che, the Minister of Culture, as well as the Chairperson of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Director General of the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, the President of the Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation and members of the Legislature.

The opening session was followed by several panel sessions, workshops and screenings for screen industry professionals over the next few days, with lots of interest in the quality of children’s television production in Australia, how that content is produced and financed, where the content is screened in Australia and around the world, and how it is used for educational purposes.

The general public also came along to festival screenings, and it was wonderful to see how much the “Lost Property Box” episode of Little Lunch entertained and resonated with Taiwanese children and their parents. It seems that losing things at school is a universal experience!

The ACTF belongs to a worldwide family of children’s television professionals who share their knowledge with each other, and it was terrific to go behind the scenes and share our experience with the screen industry in Taiwan.