The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced a review which will ensure BAFTA’s children’s activity is as impactful as possible, to better serve both the industry and the public in the future.

The British Academy Children’s Awards will not take place in 2020 to allow BAFTA to focus resources into a thorough review of its children’s activity, as well as looking at new ways to support and celebrate the industry.

Helen Blakeman will continue as chair of the Children’s committee and existing committee members will stay on for a further year to oversee the process, which will involve close consultation with leading industry figures. The focus will be BAFTA’s charitable remit ‘to bring the transformative power of film, games and television to everyone’, with considerations including:

• Ensuring the Awards remain relevant to both the industry and its audiences
• Reviewing all categories and identifying where categories are duplicated across other BAFTA awards ceremonies
• Reaching a wider public audience
• Fully recognising the content that children are viewing
• Involving children’s voices
• Engaging the industry and raising the profile of the ceremony
• Increase the funding available for children’s activity
• Ensuring content from both 2019 and 2020 are recognised in 2021

The British Academy Children’s Awards have been celebrating and rewarding children’s media since 1996, in that time the industry has developed and delivered even more content to its audiences.

The scope of the review will include not only the Children’s Awards, but also look at how to create closer alignment with the year-round BAFTA Kids outreach programme, which includes a roadshow across the country visiting schools in partnership with children’s mental health charity Place2Be, the Young Presenter Competition, and monthly events and masterclasses.

Chair of the Children’s committee, Helen Blakeman, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to ensure the BAFTA’s children’s activity recognises the breadth and depth of the content children are viewing today. We are hoping to bring more children’s voices into activity, ensure all crafts are recognised, and engage the industry, increasing the support BAFTA is able to offer to the children’s media industry. The renewed commitment from BAFTA demonstrates their long-term dedication to the children’s sector, and I look forward to shaping this exciting new chapter alongside my committee members.”

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive at BAFTA, said: “We have been reviewing all of our activity to ensure it delivers against our core aim of bringing the transformative power of film, games and television to everyone. This is an exciting opportunity for BAFTA and the industry to re-imagine BAFTA’s work in this sector and come out of the review with a renewed commitment and clear strategic objectives for our children’s activity. We conducted a similar review for the BAFTA Games Awards in 2008, and have seen this ceremony go from strength-to-strength.”

Further announcements will be made in the coming months about how BAFTA will continue to celebrate children’s media whilst the review takes place. BAFTA will be looking to recognise the fantastic efforts made by the children’s media industry to deliver quality programmes for young people in this difficult lockdown period. It is clear how integral this content is and BAFTA aims to celebrate these efforts later in the year.

Categories: Press Releases