The Children’s Media Conference (CMC) has announced that former Lord Mayor of Sheffield and Green MEP Magid Magid will be the keynote speaker at this year’s virtual conference online between 6 to 10 July 2020.
Aged only 28, Magid became Lord Mayor of Sheffield, being the youngest-ever, the first ethnic-Somali, and the first Green Party councillor to hold that role. In May 2019, he was elected to the European Parliament as Green Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber.
In 2018 he won over the CMC audience with his enthusiastic welcome on opening night. Now Magid is back to address the revised conference theme of ‘Still Here Right Now’ on 6 July. He will deliver his thoughts on the future-focus of his environmental campaigning and offer a refugee’s perspective on life for young people in Britain today. As delegates can’t go to Sheffield for the annual gathering, Sheffield Lord Mayor will talk about challenges and inspiration in equal measures.
Speaking about new plans, CMC Editorial director Greg Childs said, “We want to welcome all delegates to the brand-new CMC 2020 Online. We are going to stream webinar sessions and online keynotes between 6 to 10 July to avoid overloading delegates on busy lockdown days. We’re making use of bespoke software to allow delegates to build their own conference schedule with strands of additional ‘on-demand’ content to view whenever they want.
We will also be running online social events in the week, to invoke the ‘Sheffield spirit’ for The Children’s Media Community – this time from the comfort of their own homes.
In the last few weeks the CMC Advisory Committee has been nothing short of brilliant in pulling together a new way of looking at the conference. In July we will come together as a community to share learning, insights and inspiration, challenge, argue and discuss – just as we do in Sheffield. Delegates will still need to make their own tea – and maybe even the odd G&T.”
CMC has re-interpreted its 2020 theme from ‘Right Here Right Now’ to ‘STILL Here Right Now’. Presently, more than ever, kids and young people need the media-makers to come together to consider how they are being served, what the future holds, what works and what doesn’t, how to improve the diversity, commitment and engagement of kids’ media content and to have some fun exploring creative and business innovation.