ABC Children’s shows win international awards

ABC Children’s has won two prestigious Prix Jeunesse awards in Munich.

ABC Children’s programs First Day and What It’s Like to Experience A Disability were amongst winners voted by 550 children’s television experts from 65 countries, in a field of 400 titles.

First Day won the Prix Jeunesse Gender Equity Prize while What It’s Like to Experience A Disability won the Prix Jeunesse International Youth Jury Award.

ABC Head of Children’s content Michael Carrington said: “The entire children’s team and our production partners are thrilled to receive these two important accolades. It’s important to us that children feel we listen, are trusted, are accessible and caring.

“We make programs like First Day and What It’s Like specifically for children, which reflect Australian children’s lives and needs, and give them a voice. The ABC is better placed than any other broadcaster in Australia to fulfil this public service duty.”

ABC Children’s First Day won the Prix Jeunesse Gender Equity Prize for telling the story of Hannah, a transgender girl starting high school. The show produced by Epic Films was commissioned through an ABC and Screen Australia joint initiative to celebrate the International Day of the Girl.

The distinctive program created understanding and acceptance of children who are transitioning. The lead role of Hannah was played by Evie McDonald, a 12-year-old transgender girl in her first acting role, making First Day the only scripted drama with a transgender actor in the lead role to be commissioned for Australian television.

ABC Children’s What It’s Like to Experience A Disability won the Prix Jeunesse International Youth Jury Award for giving a wide-reaching platform to groups of young people whose voices, stories and perspectives are not often see or heard in the media.

The show was part of a series featuring young people sharing stories about their lives, personalities and dreams. What It’s Like to Experience A Disability empowered young people to talk about their ups and downs, what bothers them and what they find funny.