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First World Summit on Television and Children- Australia
Ist WORLD SUMMIT- AUSTRALIA 1995



First World Summit on Television and Children was the first major event to catalyse international debate on the rights of children and teenagers to quality media. Initiated by Patricia Edgar and hosted by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, the Summit initially had the improvement of children’s television production as its focus. It brought together over 500 representatives from 63 countries to discuss topics such as television and children’s rights, cultural identity in the age of global television, production trends, financing and regulation of children’s television and education and research into child media.

“This Summit will address the importance and vulnerability of children’s television and will take steps to support and protect children’s minority interests through the provision of programs that reflect their particular needs, concerns, interests and culture; which do not exploit them; which are wide-ranging in terms of genre and content; which entertain and also promote an awareness of the wider world in parallel with the child’s own cultural background.”
Patricia Edgar


Outcomes
• three further Summits
• Asian Summit on Child Rights and the Media (1996)
• A Summit of the Americas (2000)
• a commitment to help developing countries create children’s productions
• a draft Children’s Television Charter
• establishing the International Research Forum on Children and Media

A Final Report has been prepared, presenting the essence of the Summit and a general view of the outcomes of the representatives. Additional material from the Summit archive will be added online during 2003.

final report (link to pdf) (4.5mb) final report (link to pdf)