“For Us, No Planet B!” – International Producers Brainstorm Programme Formats
A report by Marney Malabar
When international producers come together to brainstorm it seems something magical happens, as evidenced by the success of last month’s 2024 PRIX JEUNESSE planning session. With the common goal of creating content that addresses the global warming crisis through innovative concepts we were not only inspired by the beautiful setting of Cuba but constantly reminded how much was a risk if we failed to inspired them to take action.
In March, when the theme for PRIX JEUNESSE 2024 was announced, Maya Goetz tasked the planning team to read Greta Thunberg’s book, “The Climate Book”. Although a challenging read Maya wanted to ensure we were as prepared as possible when it came to understanding the global warming crisis in 2023. We needed to have a common baseline of scientific understanding since our task in Cuba was to envision program formats that would educate, enlighten, and entertain children and youth while bolding addressing the world’s global warming crisis head on.
Upon arrival in Cuba, we travelled from Havana to Viñales and spent four days brainstorming together surrounded by the beauty of nature. As we worked in this unique setting the urgency of the crisis was always present since we were constantly reminded of what could be lost if action isn’t taken and change doesn’t occur. Together we worked tirelessly from 8am to 8pm to create multiple international formats that would help children and youth understand climate literacy and the impact of the global warming crisis in their lives regardless of where they live. The proposed formats needed to be brave and bold, they needed to ensure the urgency of the crisis was evident and that they worked on multiple platforms from traditional linear broadcasters to the popular user-generated content on social media channels such as TikTok.
After building the framework for 10+ possible programs, the team returned to Havana and continued to finesse the format ideas by expanding the team and collaborating with additional Latin American Producers and Gatekeepers. The feedback and input from this expanded creative team helped to ensure all concepts could be effective not only in Latin American countries but also on a global scale, especially important given that the global warming crisis is a worldwide issue.
While in Cuba the “For Us, No Planet B” team also had the privilege of participating and attending Cuba’s MICE Animation conference. Conference sessions included Maya Goetz presenting her current research findings on the importance of communicating information on the climate crisis; as well team members participated in “The Day I Became Strong” workshop; group discussions were held on the importance of diversity and inclusion in children’s content; as well as discussions on creating content from the child’s perspective and altering the production plan as required. The team also had the privilege of attending two film screenings with local school children reminding us again what truly captivates the interest and attention span of children. The “For Us, No Planet B!” planning team left Cuba feeling empowered to create content that would truly make a difference in educating and engaging young people around the world about the critical issue of climate change and understand the time is now to make change.