Child locked

Wonder how we keep cursing and abusing the idiot box for dishing out complete nonsense? Well,honestly,it does,but of lately,a couple of television channels have smartened up and taken a step forward with some pretty high IQ stuff.

Wonder how we keep cursing and abusing the idiot box for dishing out complete nonsense? Well,honestly,it does,but of lately,a couple of television channels have smartened up and taken a step forward with some pretty high IQ stuff. Edutainment,people,is the name of the new game,and through their programming and shows,telly-troopers are marching in on kids turf. From releasing books for kids,organizing intelligent game shows,creating awareness on vital issues to working on their future,channels are finding ways to gauge and thank their most rewarding,loyal and lucrative audience – children. The latest in the box is Aviva Life Insurance and National Geographic Channel. Theyve launched the Aviva Young Scholar Nat Geo Junior Hunt,a nationwide school engagement programme on the prowl for the best young brain in the country. And theyve roped in their brand ambassador,Sachin Tendulkar for this. The hunt is a great opportunity for children to hone their skills,test their awareness levels and realise their true potential. Participants will not only learn more but will also get an opportunity to win four national and 20 city scholarships from Aviva, tells Sachin. A Aviva Young Scholar Nat Geo Junior,informs the channel,is someone who is an all-rounder. At Aviva,we have a special focus on children and we continuously work towards securing their future, comments Vishal Gupta,Director Marketing,Aviva India. The programme returns to stimulate the young and inquisitive minds to learn more about the world they live in,while enjoying the complete experience, adds Rajesh Sheshadri,Senior Vice President – Content and Communication,National Geographic Channel,back with it for the third time.

Switch channels,and ESPN Star Sports took out a national school level competition spelling champs 2009 to hunt for Indias young spelling genius in the age group of 11 to 14 years. For RC Venkateish,Managing Director,ESPN Software Pvt Ltd,the aim was to indirectly encourage the joy of reading and improve spellings amongst school going children. Keeping in sync with this,Spacetoon has come up with five new series with 31 book titles! In association with Kids Animation India (KAI) – the channels publishing and merchandising division,books on the toon characters Fafa & Juno will present a perfect blend of education and entertainment in an innovative format. We will soon launch complete health-based series books of Fafa & Juno. One of these books will be based on Yoga for little children titled as Yoga with Juno, informs Rajiv Sangari,MD and CEO,Spacetoon- South Asia.

Celebrating creativity,celebrating children was IAFA 2009,www.iceplex.tv and Spacetoon Kids TV. Iceplex Ad Film Awards 2009 (IAFA) is worlds first online ad film making award for the ages 11 to 19 years. We believe strongly that the youth of today should have a platform to air their opinions. We want to utilize internet as a strong tool to empower,educate and entertain the young, reflects Shibani Sharma,Head of Content Development,Iceplex,while Sangari adds,Kids today are exposed to and influenced by TV media. They are our future ambassadors of our country; and they have to be nurtured with wholesome thoughts by this medium.

Carrying on with edutainment,Pogo has come up with cool science with its new show,FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions for inquisitive minds. Featuring the whacky and energetic talent of Prateek Sethi,F.A.Q. will encourage kids to question and learn the process of exploration and discovery via experiments and cool trivia.

While FAQ will tell you its science is no rocket science,courtesy Colors Shukriya campaign,students at Chandigarhs Sikhya will discover a whole new world through X-Seed. In partnership with iDiscoveri,this is Colors mission to renew education in India. As a part of this initiative,low income group schools across the country will get access to world class teaching methodology – XSEED developed by a team of 100 plus educationists drawn from Harvard,IIMs and Cambridge and progressive schools. This is a truly grassroot campaign that will allow us to touch the lives of over 10,000 children, says Rameet Arora,Marketing Head,Colors.

Star was among the first to tie up with KC Mahindra Educational Trust NGO for Project Nanhi Kali to educate and help the underprivileged girl child. Following their lead Zee,in a bid to sensitize people on child psychology and raise awareness about autism,has launched its campaign and helpline post Aap Ki Antara. One among 150 kids gets affected by autism,and a majority of these children are gifted with some unusually special talent. Our goal was to couch that startling statistic in a story that pulls a viewer and sensitizes him/her about this human condition,cure for which is still unknown to medical science. By telling the story from the point of view of little Antara,we have tried to carefully bring to the forefront the various facets of an autistic child through extensive research, says Nitin Vaidya,COO of ZEEL and Business Head of Zee TV. For more you can log onto http://www.zeetv.com,or dial their helpline for expert advise on 09871293923. Call in. And later on,tune in for the idiot box aint that idiot after all!

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