Pushing the Preschool Envelope at CMC
Priorities for Preschool In An Age Of Change
Co-Founder, Kids Industries
Speaker, Moderator and Member of the Advisory Committee for CMC
The work that goes on behind the scenes at The Children's Media Conference is phenomenal. A world-class programme doesn't just materialise overnight. The advisory committee, which I am super-proud to sit on, works hard throughout the year to get things just right. In fact, our first meeting for CMC 2020 is on Monday 15th July… just ten days after the 2019 edition ended.
It was in a committee meeting in March this year that it became apparent that there hadn’t been a fully dedicated preschool session for seven years. I am continually inspired by the work the British children’s media industry creates for preschoolers; I didn't give it a second thought when a volunteer exec producer was requested.
This session was about celebrating innovation in pre-school in a shifting landscape, with the unflinching objective to inform and inspire all those with a love of preschool content - from the big internationals with budgets to match to the smaller indies with a cast-iron will and the determination to succeed.
And this is the very point of CMC for me. Since the very first Showcomotion (as it was called then) in 2004, where I spoke to the entire congregation of 190 people, the event has been about education and inspiration. The CMC has always been and always will be about how this amazing industry can help itself to grow stronger and more relevant.
And today, Greg Childs, Kathy Loizou, Jacqui Wells and Lauren Bartles make sure over 1200 people come to Sheffield and leave knowing things they didn't when they arrived and make connections they may well have for many years to come. I think that the children’s media industry is probably one of the most generous, collegiate and exciting in the world and I am very, very happy to be a part of it.
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