The Alliance for Children and Television

For 35 years, the Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) in Canada has been working to make sure that Canadian children are receiving the best entertainment possible. That mandate was on display June 3, with the organization’s 2009 Awards of Excellence Gala at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

 The event presented a total of 13 awards, including a grand prize for the most outstanding production to hit the small screen in the past two years, along with awards for emerging talent, lifetime achievement and best original cross-platform content tied to a children’s television program. The winners were selected by a jury of Canadian and international experts, including Maya Götz from Prix Jeunesse and David Kleeman from the American Center for Children and Media.

The Gala, hosted by Degrassi’s Stacie Mistysyn, together with Daniel Cook (This is Daniel Cook) and Rachel Marcus (Booky), will feature a presentation from Sheridan College students, in order to celebrate emerging talent in the industry. ACT also presented a special Emerging Talent Award to Christin Simms of Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Another executive receiving a special honor at the Gala is Patricia Ellingson, the creative head of children’s media content and programming at TV Ontario, who took home the Outstanding Achievement Award. "We always recognize the special contribution of people who have been so important in the kids’ programming industry," says Caroline Fortier, the executive director of ACT. "Patricia Ellingson has been very active and instrumental in building the TVO kids’ brand and making sure that kids in English Canada will get the best educational programs possible."

For Ellingson, her programming strategy at TVO is simply: "To help kids succeed! We’ve all read the research: the first five years of a child’s life are critical in terms of a child’s ability to learn, to trust, to get along with others and to develop a strong sense of self. There’s also ample evidence that says educational television helps prepare kids for school and especially in critical areas like developing their emotional and social skills. We are very aware that some 40 percent of all Canadian children arrive at school unfit to learn. This is a staggering statistic and one that is top of mind when we make our decisions about which programs to produce and acquire."

It is that commitment to "educational values," Ellingson says, that sets TVO kids’ fare apart from other children’s services. "We are committed to helping kids get ready for school and to succeed. Of course it goes without saying everything must be entertaining or kids won’t watch it. Our Early Learning block hosted by Gisele is completely linked to the Ontario Kindergarten Program and is designed to help prepare kids and parents for their entry into school. As the only live children’s after-school block we are fortunate to be able to speak directly to kids every day and give them a voice allowing them connect with us on air and online. Our audience can speak directly to our hosts about issues and topics that are concerning them and to offer advice that can help others."

Ellingson certainly enjoys the role she has been able to play in the children’s programming industry in Canada. When asked what she enjoys most about her work, she responds: "Creating something that makes a difference in the lives of kids and families. Whether it gets them to get active in their community; makes them want to pick up a book; inspires them to get involved; or makes them think outside of box, it’s so satisfying knowing the work we do connects in such a positive way."

She is also proud of the achievements made by ACT over the years. "The Alliance has helped to create a cohesive community that includes a very eclectic mix of broadcasters, independent producers and multiplatform producers. It’s important to have an organization like the Alliance, whose purpose is to unite the production and broadcast communities, so they can work together on important issues that effect children’s television.  It’s also important to celebrate and shine a light on some of the best our industry has to offer. There isn’t any other group that celebrates and honors the work of the children’s television community in the way the ACT does."

While recognizing the achievements in Canadian content is certainly an important mandate at ACT, there are several other areas the organization is involved in. "We aim to positively affect Canadian children’s lives by using three main things: advocacy, recognition and training, to enrich the screen-based media," Fortier explains. "I would add to that research, which is one thing we’re doing a little bit more of."

Indeed, ACT is about to embark on the largest study to date of Canadian youth programming, with the financial assistance of CTVglobemedia, through the tangible benefits from CTVglobemedia’s acquisition of CHUM. "It’s a two-phase analysis," Fortier says. "We’re going to be looking at the key components of kids’ programming—the context, the characters and actions—and relating this to societal issues like ecology and the environment. We’re also going to be looking at the importance of new media, new delivery platforms."

The first phase of the report will be linked to a broader worldwide study, being conducted by the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television in Germany, called Children’s Television Worldwide: Gender Representation. The second phase, Fortier says, will explore the "impact that Canadian programming has on the values and identity of Canadian children. The first phase will be released in November 2009 in Toronto for our Children, Youth and Media Conference. The final results will be known in the spring of 2010. Then we will engage in phase two. This will bring us to 2012."

In addition to research activities, ACT has also ramped up its lobbying activities, Fortier says. "We’re trying to raise the profile of kids’ programming, making sure that with all the changes going on in this field, kids will not be forgotten. This is something we’re going to pursue even more in the next few years."

The times certainly call for it, given the fiscal and financial constraints on kids’ programming in Canada and around the world.  "In the last five, six, seven years, as the 2007 edition of The Case for Kids Programming study on children and youth audio-visual production in Canada has shown, there has been falling production volume in kids’ programming, falling budgets, falling level of public funding within the Canadian Television Fund. And now we’re seeing falling ad revenues. This is becoming a big concern for us. It does impact on our capacity to be able to create those programs that will reflect our values and our sense of being Canadian."

A second edition of this study is being prepared for the Canadian Film & Television Production Association (CFTPA) in association with ACT and the Shaw Rocket Fund and will be released during the Banff World Television Festival on June 9.

Fortier continues: "We’ve been [making kids’ programming] in Canada for over 50 years. We’ve had international recognition. We’re seen as being able to produce great programming, possibly because of our specific Canadian values like tolerance, openness, inclusiveness, and possibly a somewhat less commercially driven approach. Also, we do have a diversity of community, of cultures. There are new kids coming to Canada from all over the world. We believe that one of our greatest tools for educating them is television. Broadcast and online combined have huge reach into these communities and can help instill cultural values and what it is to be Canadian. This is why it’s so important for us to remain able to provide the most diversity, a variety of relevant, meaningful and educational shows for all ages and platforms."