As calls for increased social responsibility echo through the halls of Kidscreen Summit—and within the TV community at large—BBC Children’s and Sky Kids have joined forces in the name of Project Hope, a new content campaign designed to promote global kindness and tolerance.
BBC’s Alison Stewart and Sky Kids’ Lucy Murphy are searching for global children’s broadcasters and media companies to join the initiative, the aim of which is to co-produce and finance a series of short films and idents under the Project Hope banner.
Broadcasting partners will co-fund the films, which will air simultaneously worldwide. There’s also a pledge to create legacy outreach materials that can be used by schools.
The first films will be screened this December at the Children’s Global Media Summit in Manchester, UK.
A number of global broadcasters have already pledged their support for the cause, but Stewart and Murphy hope to find additional partners at this week’s Kidscreen Summit. The four-day event kicked off with a resaerch-driven keynote from Harvard professor Dr. Richard Weissbourd on the very topic of instilling tolerance among kids.
The initiative on the part of the pubcaster and pay-TV operator also comes in the wake of Brexit, and as kids’ exposure to global events—like the refugee crisis and racial bullying—has been heightened through access to smartphones and social media outlets.