STATEMENT OF QUALITY

Statement of Quality

The Youth Media Alliance statement of quality, created by the former Alliance for Children and Television, provided the foundation for the Children’s Television Charter, which governments and broadcasters around the world are now ratifying.

A quality screen-based production offers excellence in form and content, meets its target audience’s needs and expectations, and complies with recognized production standards.

The content of productions should be relevant and entertaining, stimulate the intellect and the imagination, and foster openness to others. It should accurately reflect the world in which young people grow up, while respecting their dignity and promoting learning.

As a Canadian agency, the Alliance strives to promote Canadian content in screen-based productions for youth. Although young Canadians should definitely be exposed to international programs exploring our vast world, they should also have access to quality productions that present the rich diversity of Canada, its provinces, regions, communities and people, as well as its culture, heritage, and institutions.

A quality screen-based production for youth:

• is designed and produced to meet the needs and expectations of the children and teens that it targets, approaching reality from their perspective;
• allows young people to be active participants and even protagonists rather than passive spectators, playing an active and interactive role.
• consciously stimulates the intellect, curiosity and creativity of children and teens, letting them experience emotions that further their development;
• respects young people’s intelligence, critical capacity and ability to think by avoiding oversimplification, stereotypes and propaganda;
• considers their development needs, age group and cultural background, relying on relevant studies to do so.

To provide a window on the world, a screen-based production for youth:

• accurately portrays reality while stimulating the imagination (the real and the imaginary are the two worlds in which young people grow up);
• allows children and teens to explore the world beyond their immediate experience (their family, friends, school, street, city, society, world and universe).

Children and teens are entitled to screen-based productions that:

• have access to the same technical and financial resources as productions intended for mainstream audiences, in accordance with recognized standards;
• are aimed at the least well-represented groups, while serving the interests of various age groups.