Kids' screen content in the spotlight at the Australian Children's Content Summit

The second Australian Children’s Content Summit (ACCS), held in Coffs Harbour in the last week of August, was a tremendous success, attended by 250 delegates from 10 countries.

The Hon. John Graham MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts, officially opened the Summit, setting a positive and optimistic tone for three days of insightful discussions around children’s content and its global business landscape. The Commonwealth Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke, sent an engaging video message, which was played ahead of the policy session, “Australian Children’s Content: To Be or Not to Be?” Minister Burke’s reference to one of his favourite Australian children’s dramas from 1973 – Catch Kandy – struck such a chord with delegates that it became a recurring phrase throughout the event. The policy session was expertly moderated by Senator Perin Davey, the Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate.

Other key highlights from the summit were:

• The Exclusive Content Pitch, which enabled delegates the opportunity to pitch to key buyers including the ABC, Disney Branded Television USA, BBC, PBS Kids, BBC Studios, and Nelvana
• The strong demonstration of the ABC’s commitment to children’s content with the announcement of four new shows and a strong turnout of the ABC team at the conference, enabling all delegates to meet and interact with the public broadcaster
• The announcement of the Online Kids IP Incubator initiative by the ACTF and Screen Australia
• The Buddy Up! Program, which fostered collaboration between early and advanced career professionals
• Representation from all Australian states through screen agencies and delegates
• Attendance by international delegations from countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Malaysia’s MDEC.

The ACCS is a wonderful opportunity for new and experienced practitioners to come together. It was striking to meet so many people seeking to create new children’s content who were inspired by the great Australian children’s content that they watched growing up: everyone had their own Catch Kandy moment, although for younger conference delegates that was more likely to have been Round the Twist, Blinky Bill or Dance Academy.

The challenge today is that the commissioning opportunities are limited and audiences are fragmented and chasing content across multiple platforms, where it is hard to find locally made shows. These challenges and more were debated and discussed at the Summit, and the international guests provided great advice to new players. The overall tone of the week, though, matched the values that imbue children’s content itself: there were many acts of kindness, lots of work got done, it was friendly and inclusive, and it was fun!