The future of children’s television

5 February 2007

NEWI is to host the first in a series of digital media events to be held across Wales, organised by the Digital Media Consortia.  The event which will take place on Thursday 8th February will focus on children’s television. 

With concern growing about the fitness and eating habits of children today, kids’ TV is increasingly being used to get important messages across about the dangers of unhealthy living and to encourage healthier diets and more physical exercise. Magnus Scheving, a self-confessed fitness fanatic from Iceland, has been successfully using television to educate children about exercise.   Magnús Scheving is the creator, producer and star of the successful TV show LazyTown and will be the keynote speaker at the event.

The bright, funky looking show captures the attention of its young viewers and teaches them about the importance of physical exercise and healthy lifestyle choices. LazyTown has been shown in 102 countries, it is currently one of Cbeebies most popular programmes and has been credited by the Icelandic Health Minister for putting a stop to a 10 year rise in childhood obesity in the country.  The innovative format of the show combines computer generated imagery with puppetry and acting which give it a fresh look and makes it stand out from other children’s programmes.   

The event aims to explore the creative production and philosophy of children’s programming and other media.  Martin Japheth, Project Manager for the Consortia is thrilled to have a world renowned speaker travelling to Wrexham for the first event.  He said, “Magnus will talk about how the underlying ethics and philosophy of the programme is reflected in the design of the characters, stories and activities.  He promises to be a fascinating speaker and the event will be of interest to anyone involved in the development of digital material for children. “

Also speaking at the event will be NEWI lecturers Desdemonna McCannon and Jim Walker who will give a talk on the use of characters in advertising.  

‘Creating Screen Based Materials for Children’ will be held at NEWI in the Nick Whitehead Theatre from 10.00am to 12.30pm, anyone interested in attending should register online at www.digitalmediaconsortia.com  or for further information contact Anne Hughes on 01978 293495.