TV Kids Summer Festival to Shine a Light on Diversity & Representation

A session during the TV Kids Summer Festival will feature Lion Forge’s David Steward II, Big Bad Boo’s Shabnam Rezaei and Safi Ideas’ Wa’qaar Mirza discussing the importance of representation in kids’ programming.

Steward II is the CEO of Lion Forge Animation and a producer of the Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love. Rezaei is the co-founder and president of Big Bad Boo Studios. Mirza is the CEO and creative director of Safi Ideas. Together, the panelists will highlight the steps being taken to ensure that kids’ television reflects the lives of all children around the world.

The TV Kids Summer Festival, which is being held from June 7 to 10, will explore the challenges and opportunities facing the children’s content community today. The event, which is free to attend, will be streamed live and available on-demand on TVKidsFestival.com. (Missed our winter edition? Catch up on all the sessions here.)

Previously announced speakers include WarnerMedia’s Tom Ascheim, Disney’s Ayo Davis, Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz, Aardman’s Sean Clarke, M6’s Philippe Bony, YouTube’s Nadine Zylstra, 9 Story’s Vince Commisso, ZDF’s Nicole Keeb, Rai’s Luca Milano, BBC’s Sarah Muller, PBS’s Linda Simensky, DR’s Niels Lindberg, Total Drama Island creators Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, CAKE’s Ed Galton, WildBrain Spark’s Jon Gisby, Roku’s Ashley Hovey, Jetpack’s Dominic Gardiner, Xilam’s Charles Courcier, Sesame Workshop’s Ed Wells and Cookie Monster.

Look for more announcements in the coming weeks about key speakers and panels taking place during the TV Kids Summer Festival. Registration will open shortly.