New regional initiative promotes truly child-friendly television

Since we believe that the country’s young viewers are being very poorly served by television, we go out of our way to support moves toward truly “child-friendly” TV.

Most recently, we made sure to be all present and accounted for when the first Prix Jeunesse Southeast Asia conference and competition was held at the Manila Peninsula last month, headed by Elvira Go and AnakTV.

We felt proud that the regional event promoting good TV for kids was spearheaded by Filipinos, with nine other Asian countries enthusiastically participating in the landmark conference, which localizes the effect and impact of the original Prix Jeunesse endeavor, which is based in Europe.

With creative involvement now “mirrored” in Asia, many more children will be able to reap the benefits of television programs produced with them and their development specifically in mind.

The delegates from other Asian countries were similarly upbeat about the new initiative’s prospects, lauding its Filipino cofounders for their hard work, commitment and creativity.

Twenty finalist productions from all over the region vied for the top “best of” awards in various categories intended for different age groups.

We were able to view a number of the finalists, and rewardingly found them to be exceptional productions worthy of being considered and vetted for the top awards.

We also attended some talks by experts from other countries, who generously shared their decadeslong experience in communicating and connecting with the region’s youth by way of TV shows that made them care about science, the arts, becoming a good citizen, learning how to lead others, etc.

We fervently hope that the standards and touchstones established by the conference and competition will be sustained in local and regional TV people’s service to young viewers throughout the telecasting year.

TV network and channel managers are especially crucial in this regard, because they allot the number of programming hours and production support needed to make child-friendly TV a reality in this country and elsewhere.

We trust that participating in the conference opened these key decision makers’ eyes to the importance of good TV for children in personal development and nation-building—beyond the facile appearances and pat platitudes of lip service.

Truly, good TV for Filipino children can transform this country and its prospects, because it will open up our youths’ minds and hearts to their many possibilities and potentialities.

It can inspire and motivate them to become the best they can be—and the entire nation will benefit from their ardent ambition, because our collective future is theirs to make.

Our TV people are a key factor in the transformation, because it’s their programs that will show our country’s youth how best to create the future that we all deserve!