Presentation by Luigi Petito

YES Project Coordinator and Managing Director, Business Solutions Europa

Making energy issues childs play

October 2010

Contents

Background• The challenge

• The inspiration

• The project

• The partnership

• The methodology

The Series• My Friend Boo

• Episodes

Reaching millions of European children• Broadcasters

• Teaching packs

• Websites

• Events

• Media

Feedback

Contacts

Background

The challenge

• Communicating to children should be a high priority for

the EU, national governments, civil society:

• They are our future

• They have to live with the world we are creating

• Children can be real drivers for change

• But communicating effectively to young kids is a

challenge:

• Modern day issues like energy and climate change complex to explain

• Kids come to these issues from different perspectives – depending on

where they are from and their cultures

• Kids today learn differently

• More visual

• Learning environment is multi-level – not just formal education

• So how best to get the messages across?

The inspiration

• Children LOVE cartoon animation

• It is a medium that animates young minds

• It is flexible and travels

• Great way of presenting and explaining modern day

issues such as energy and climate

The project

• The Young Energy Savers Project was created to pilot a

new approach to communicate to kids on modern day

issues

• To do this we needed an expert team from the worlds of:

• Education

• Communication

• TV and broadcast

• Animation

• Climate and energy campaigning

• And the support of

• Kids themselves

• The European Union…

Started in September 2008

With the support of the Intelligent Energy Education Initiative

Partnership

• Policy communication - Business Solutions Europa

• Award winning animators - Griffilms

• Leading independent energy experts – WWF European Policy Office &

Regional Environmental Center (REC)

• Education experts with a network across Europe - Explora – The children’s

museum of Rome

• Children’s museums and 500 children from 5 European countries

Country School Children Museum

Belgium Sint Jozefsschool Eizer - Overijse Technopolis

Bulgaria Primary School 120 “Georgi Stoikov Rakovski” - Sofia Artland

Ireland St. Patrick’s Girls National School - Dublin Imaginosity

Italy 166° circolo didattico “Antonio Gramsci” - Rome Explora – il museo dei

bambini di Roma

Poland Elementary School 152 “Elizy Orzeszkowej” - Lodz ParkMiniatur S.A.

The methodology

Content development and messaging

Concept, characters and storylines

Peer review

Completion of pre-production phase

Series concept goes LIVE

Teaching Pack Development

Series launched

Animation process begins…

Peer review

Project launched

The Series

Ben

Jaq

Boo

Lucy

3 Curious Kids

1 Attic

1 Key

1 Magical guide

3 Wonderful adventures

part of 1 Series

Episodes

Switch it off! (Theme: Energy Conservation)

The children travel to a strange alien planet

and meet energy-sapping Klexus, who

changes her mind about saving energy after

an inter-galactic dance contest with Lucy

The Three Alternatives (Theme:

Renewable)

They visit a clean and fresh planet in the

future, which uses alternative ways to

produce energy and travel about

On your bike (Theme: Sustainable

Transport)

Ben and Jaq get on their bikes as they race

Lucy to the finishing line in an

unconventional game of ‘Alien Racers’

Reaching millions of

European children…

BOO’s two key

dissemination

drivers

BroadcastersBroadcasters

EducatorsEducators

1

2

The series is available for

European broadcaster (one per

platform in each country) and

further afield

The series is available to

teachers and educators

because it is supported by

downloadable teaching packs

in local languages

How to reach our target?

Broadcasters

• 10 leading broadcasters

• 18 countries

• 17 languages

• More than 25 million households reached

Broadcasters in Europe update to October 2010

Strong interest.

In negotiation

Broadcaster secured

Promotion

• On-Air

• www.minimax.tv

• Events

• Magazine

• Planned TV Launch: 2nd

October, 2010

• Slot: Prime-time in the

morning hours on Saturday &

Sunday

• + quick-repeats of each

episode: 2-3 times within 6

days

• Further Broadcast Plans /

series: 2 runs in 2010, 5 runs in

2011, 3 runs in 2012

on

An example of broadcast plans

Boo goes global?

Vietnam and

more deals to

come

And there is more - Teaching Packs

• The series will be accompanied by downloadable ‘Teaching packs’ for

educators and schools - free of charge

• The material is being developed and tested by our experts, museums and

schools

• Each teaching pack will contain lesson plans for each episode – games,

group activities, homework, experiments..

• Packs will be available in the languages of the series

• Packs will also be rolled out in schools, social clubs and associations across

Europe:

• Europe Region of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

• WWF education network

• Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe

• Children’s museums

An ambitious communication plan based

on 5 main tools …

Websites

Events

Print

and online

media

Broadcast

Media

TV

Outreach - Websites

• YouTube Channel

• www.myfriendboo.com

• www.animate-eu.com/yes

Outreach - Events

Print Media – EU, National and Regional

Online media

Broadcast Media

TV

Feedback so far..

”Animation animates young minds and this project sounds like a great way of

presenting energy issues. If you make learning fun, it’s more likely to engage

people of all ages. I congratulate everyone involved with ‘My Friend Boo’ and

wish them every success with the project.”Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

“The European Commission takes great interest in seeing how children perceive

energy issues. By doing this, we can ensure that we use the right language and

messages when we communicate with children about energy. By working with

the youngsters of today we can help give Europe a truly sustainable energy

system that is clean and provides long-term security, with energy efficiency at its

heart. Cartoon animation would seem to be a good way to appeal to children

both inside and outside of the classroom. I look forward to seeing the results." Andris Piebalgs, Former European Commissioner for Energy (2005-2010)

“Ever since Lars has been involved in this project he has been fascinated by the

amount of energy we consume at home and how we can find ways to save it”. Kristof Dupont, father of Belgian focus group member Lars (aged 8) and headmaster of Sint Jozefsschool

(Belgium)

Want to know

more?

Contact:

Luigi Petito

Business Solutions Europa

luigi@bs-europa.eu

0032 2 894 96 27