The Common Focus Day

The highlight of the Summit, the Common Focus Day, was attended by more than 300 delegates…

The highlight of the Summit, the Common Focus Day, was attended by more than 300 delegates. 20/20 Vision – An eye opener (the theme of the day), provided a colourful and informative array of keynote speeches from the “movers and shakers” of the media world.

 

Opening speaker of the Common Focus day was internationally acclaimed teenage author and voice of youth, Adora Svitak, 13, who provided an insight into what younger audiences want from TV programming. Several speakers addressed Social TV and Interactive TV, and encouraged public broadcasters to create content that could be used to this end:

    Organizer of the day Nicoletta Iacobacci, EBU Head of Multiplatform, commented:
    “The ‘lean-back’ experience of watching television is being transformed into a ‘lean-forward’, experience expected by audiences, and public service media will provide it all.”

    The “Proud to Present” sessions integrated throughout the day showcased the best in public service programming from the past year.

    Those chosen were as follows:

    Children: The Little Boy and the Beast (ZDF, Germany)

    Intercultural: Lukaku’s School (VRT, Belgium)

    Documentary: Position of the Stars (NPO, The Netherlands)

    Entertainment: Our Stars for Oslo (NDR, Germany)

    Education: Sex on the Map (UR, Sweden)

    Fiction: Five Daughters (BBC, UK)

    Multiplatform: In Therapie – A Social Media Experience (NPO, The Netherlands)

    Branding: This Time for Africa (BBC/SRF/ZDF)

    Music & Dance: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing the New York Concert and Schönbrunn Concert (ORF, Austria)

    Format: The Farmer (DR, Denmark)

    Science: Journey to the Core of Life (SWR/WDR/UR)

    Jean Philip De Tender, Channel Manager from Belgian public broadcaster VRT, presented the acclaimed intercultural programme “Lukaku’s School”, a gritty, hard-hitting series about young people growing up in troubled areas of a big city and in the melting pot of a multicultural school.

    De Tender says: “This series was a big success on primetime television, and particularly appealed to younger audiences, with viewing figures reaching 25%. We need to put programmes about diversity on primetime television in Europe. This series proves that it does work.”

    Gerard Timmer, Chief Editor and Presenter at IKON, Dutch public broadcaster NPO’s educational channel, presented the international award-winning series “Position of the Stars”. A single shot style was used to film the trilogy, which documents the development of Indonesia between 1998 and the present. The technique involves recording scenes from different angles in one movement, without editing.

    Gerard Timmer explains “This series has been aired all over Europe, Asia and America. Its success can be attributed to the pure, natural authentic stories which are captured in a single shot.”

    Click here to access the photo gallery of the Common Focus Day