Events
Japan Prize 2022 Events and Awards Ceremony
5:30P.M. – 6:15P.M.
Public Media's Digital Strategies for Survival
As the times change, producers of public media are also searching for alternative medium outside of broadcasting. In this session, producers of public media in the United States, Germany, and Japan presented digital content that explore the possibilities brought about by technology and innovation.
The WNET Group introduced their accessible games, which boast more than 13 million plays. The appeal of this game is that it can be customized to players’ individual needs, allowing anyone to participate regardless of whether they have a disability or not. The Group also aims to produce content that promotes learning among children and young people by stimulating their imaginations, such as games in which young people learn about their country’s history.
ZDF presented the stories of their experimentation with posting daily news on TikTok and development of a quiz game based on the hugely popular MINECRAFT game. Following their belief that public media should go to places where children are spending their time, ZDF is experimenting with various platforms beyond television.
NHK introduced digital teaching materials that enable images of insects and paintings to be freely enlarged and viewed from various angles as an example of teaching materials that children can proactively engage with. They explained that digital teaching materials are valuable in that they provide perspectives beyond view in g actual items with the naked eye, deepening children’s learning experiences when used in conjunction with real-life experiences.
While acknowledging not only the pros but also the cons of digital media, all three producers concluded their presentations by discussing how they were pouring effort into fostering media literacy for not only children but also parents, guardians, and teachers.
- Moderator
Michelle Chen
Senior Producer, Kids' Media & Education
The WNET GroupUnited States
Michelle Chen is Senior Producer, Kids’Media and Education at WNET, where she has been creating content for public television and digital platforms since 2004. She has received Emmy Awards for her work on the PBS KIDS series “Cyberchase” and the multiplatform project, “Get the Math”. Other projects include the groundbreaking educational gaming series “Mission US”, which has received the Best Work in the Digital Media Division of the Japan Prize and the Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact; the “Youth Collective”Gen Z engagement initiative; the PBS KIDS video and gaming series “Oh Noah!”; and professional development series for educators.
- Speaker
Jens Ripke-Desaules
Children and Youth, Head of Editorial Team for Fiction
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)Germany
Jens Ripke-Desaules has been head of the fiction editorial team within the Children and Youth Department at ZDF since May 2020. He started his career as a writer and editor in 1996. Many of the formats he was responsible for have won several awards, including the Grimme Prize, the Prix Jeunesse International or the Chicago Children’s Film Festival. Jens participated in a German-Dutch journalist exchange IJP and returned to ZDF in 2019 after two years at the European Broadcast Union in Geneva. Under his guidance, the fiction editorial team works on numerous commissioned and co-productions in the field of live action and animation for the public TV and web services.
- Speaker
Omoto Shuichi
Executive Producer of Digital Educational Content, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Japan
Omoto joined NHK in 1997. After assignments at NHK’s Fukuoka, Oita, and Osaka stations, he began working at NHK Headquarters in Tokyo as a director, producing educational programs for schools. After becoming a producer, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of “NHK for School”, a portal site for educational programs aimed at schools. He is Editor-in-Chief of “NHK Learning”, a new educational website aimed at adults that NHK launched in 2022.