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SUMMIT 2000 COORDINATING ORGANIZATION: |
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CONTACT INFO The Alliance for Children and Television Address Toronto, Ontario Canada XXX XXX Phone: (416) xxx-xxxx Fax: (416) xxx-xxxx
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The Alliance for Children and Television traces its formation back to 1974 when it was incorporated as a federally chartered, non-profit organization, then known as the Children's Broadcast Institute (CBI), with its headquarters in Ottawa. As articulated in its original documents of incorporation, the institute was to act as a catalyst to generate more and better children's television, to initiate and encourage research, develop, and promote higher programming standards, analyze the needs the concerns of parents, stimulate funding for production of Canadian programming, and provide a mechanism for and recognition of excellence. Initial membership was drawn primarily from the broadcast, advertising, and toy manufacturing sectors but quickly broadened to include educators, parent's groups, child serving organizations, producers, the cable industry, and academics. During its first decade, the Institute became a regular participant in Canada's broadcast regulatory process, representing the interests of young viewers in network license hearings and policy reviews undertaken by the Canadian Radio television Commission (CRTC). It piloted a national workshop scheme, the "Power of Television," which provided workshops to concerned parents and teachers so that they could become effective TV guides for young viewers. In partnership with broadcasters, it initiated Parents Viewing Month, a period when parents were encouraged to watch TV with their children. And in 1979, the Institute launched its Awards of Excellence for the best in French and English Canadian Children's Television Production. At first the Awards were granted every two years but, as Canadian production expanded to meet the demands of a growing broadcast sector, by 1989 they had become an annual event. To emphasize the importance of regional participation in children's production, an effort was made to 'travel' the Awards, with ceremonies being held in Winnipeg, St. Sauveur, Halifax, and Banff, as well as in Toronto and Montreal. As demands on the organization grew, its Board of Directors expanded from the initial complement of six. Currently the Board stands at 30, with representation drawn from various regions, industry sectors, and allied organizations. In the 1990's the increasing complexity of national and global television environments greatly expanded the expectations of and the demands placed on the CBI. The organization responded by reviewing its mandate and objectives, realigning them to meet contemporary needs and altering its name to more accurately reflect the repositioning. Reborn in 1992 as The Alliance for Children and Television, ACT broadened its concerns to include all screen based media, with particular emphasis on entertainment in the home. The Alliance has retained its commitment to promote production and carriage of quality Canadian programming for children. ACT's statement of what constitutes quality programming for young people formed the basis for the International Charter for Children's Television which has been ratified by governments and broadcasters around the world. Through seminars, publications, submissions and presentations to various agencies of government, ACT promotes awareness of the need to help young people make the most of their experience of television and other screen-based media. In recent years, its activities have broadened to include development and distribution of the Prime Time Parent Workshop Kit; publication of the parent handbook, Minding the Set; design of an industrial strategy for the Canadian children's television production sector, Driving the Future; design and delivery of an in-school media education workshop series for Grade 6 students; and the introduction of the Children's Choice Awards for the favourite Canadian children's programs in English and French.
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