Screen Australia & ACTF Team for Digital IP Initiative

Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) have partnered for an initiative for kids’ content makers to develop IP for digital platforms such as YouTube, Roblox and FAST.

The program will feature three phases. The first will be an information webinar offering practical advice and skills to help applicants create a strong pitch to be eligible to attend the workshop. Up to eight teams will be chosen for the second phase—a three-month program involving an in-person workshop, online masterclasses and A$20,000. In phase three, the teams will be able to apply for further development or production funding.

During the second phase, after the initial in-person workshop and online masterclasses, a second in-person workshop will then be held at the end of the three months for teams to refine their pitch and then have the ability to apply for a second round of development funding.

More details on the application process, eligibility criteria and funding specifics will be available when the programs guidelines are published on the Screen Australia website on September 19.

“Australia has a proud history of creating memorable children’s content that resonates globally,” said Deirdre Brennan, CEO of Screen Australia. “As the screen landscape evolves, we need to support our creators to seize new opportunities, contributing to a sustainable ecosystem for the production of children’s content into the future. We are excited to work with our partner ACTF to drive culturally relevant and appropriate content for today’s children.”

Jenny Buckland, CEO of ACTF, added, “We ignore the digital platforms that children are gravitating toward at our peril, but success in these spaces requires a different mindset. What I love about this partnership with Screen Australia is that we’re encouraging the teams involved to experiment in a collaborative environment where we all learn and lift each other up. As well as supporting innovative new content from new and experienced players, I think the initiative will influence us and the way that we support content in the future, too.”