Children’s Media Conference 2020 Online
What's Happening In CMC 2020?
By Greg Childs
Director, CMF
and
Diana Hinshelwood
Newsletter Editor, CMF Executive Group
Lockdown may have stopped us gathering in Sheffield for CMC 2020, but with an on-line conference and an all-star line-up, July's conference is still the hot ticket. CMC 2020 On-line is happening from 6th -10th July and the website has full details of what's on offer. Here are just a couple of highlights to show you what to expect from CMC 2020 On-line.
The Opening CMC Question Time: Right Now and What's Next has some amazing speakers lined up, including Children's Media Foundation Patron Russell T Davies, 
Baroness Beeban Kidron and Tracy Brabin MP, Shadow Minister for the Cultural Industries. These big hitters are also enthusiastic supporters of CMF and it promises to be a lively and important debate. Please don't miss out on hearing their thoughts on the future of Media as we emerge from the pandemic - and the opportunity to make your own thoughts and feelings known to those who can influence the debate. The event is being produced by CMF Events Co-Ordinator Nikki Stearman, and the Executive Producer is CMF Board Chair Anna Home.
Inclusivity is a prominent strand at CMC, strongly supported by CMF and the conference will open with a Keynote panel discussion on Black Lives Matter. CMF Director Greg Childs is the Executive Producer. It dovetails with the CMC theme "Right Here Right Now" - which is all about the need for immediate and practical action on many issues - not least diversity on and off screen which includes gender, race, and disability. Given the events of this summer and the Black Lives Matter campaign, it is obviously an important theme high on the list of everyone's priorities.
The strand is a series of videos offering practical examples of how people made changes in attitudes, representation or access and it’s CMC’s intention from now on how to “stop the talking and show more of the doing” so that people can consider and emulate good practice. The strand is executive produced by Olivia Dickinson CMF Exec Group representative for Diversity and Inclusion. One of the videos was produced for CMF Digital rep Cecilia Weiss.
As always, it's good to have some light relief from all the talking, so although there's no Pizza Express or Showroom Bar, there will be Karaoke on the evening of Thursday 9th July.
The benefit of lockdown and online delivery means that voices can still be heard loud and clear, whether in the Karaoke or in the questions and chats that CMC is setting up. So let's hear yours for the children's audience!
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