In a powerful keynote address at the 2018 Children’s Media Conference, screen director Beeban Kidron explains why we must fight for the rights of children and young people in a digital world. 

The Australian children’s television industry has been making a major contribution to Australia’s soft power diplomacy for more than three decades. Given the value of Australian children’s screen content to Australia’s soft power diplomacy efforts, we hope that there continues to be support for its creation and its ability to be showcased to the world.

I’m Charlie. I’m a high school student and a big kid at heart. I’ve always had a passion for children’s television and music, and I hope to one day enter this industry myself. So receiving the offer to spend a week at the ACTF was an exciting moment for me.

Last week’s Q&A high school special on ABC TV featured a panel of students from all across Australia, who tackled the issues of today with poise, thoughtfulness and grace. What the ACTF's Lily Pavlovic took away from this week’s Q&A was that teens want to be heard, and Australians want to hear what they have to say.

Amid recent and ongoing government reviews into the future of local screen content, uncertainty reigns on issues such as the impact of Netflix and other streaming services, the fate of local content quotas and funding for original local children’s TV more generally.

Hello — I’m Millie Holten, a third year screenwriting student at the Victorian College of the Arts. I recently completed a two week internship with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.