Lemn Sissay to deliver opening keynote at CMC

Lemn Sissay MBE, British broadcaster and poet, and Chancellor of Manchester University will deliver the opening keynote speech at this year’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC), which takes place from 5-7 July 2016 in Sheffield. The opening keynote is on Tuesday 5th July at 18.00.

Sissay will open the ‘Making it Happen’, agenda at CMC in his inimitable style, which is creating waves in the minds of today’s young audience His presentation, ‘Superman was a Foundling’, will explore foster children at the heart of popular culture and reveal much about the role of divergence and difference in our cultural lives. As a foster child himself, social workers ignored Sissay’s mother’s pleas for his return.

Lemn Sissay’s work reflects on the meaning of identity, belonging and on how we care for vulnerable children. He is the author of several books of poetry alongside articles, records, public art, and plays. His perceptions of childhood, the care system, opportunity and waste, colour his work, opinions and actions.
His Landmark Poems are installed throughout Manchester and London, in venues such as The Royal Festival Hall and The Olympic Park. Sissay is also associate artist at Southbank Centre, patron of The Letterbox Club and The Reader Organisation, and inaugural trustee of World Book Night. 

Sissay has shared his insights into supporting children in care around the world at events including TED Talk, Headingly Litfest, FutureEverything2016 and 5×15.
His high-profile presence at CMC helps to underscore the important connection between culture and kids’ content.

Greg Childs, Editorial Director at CMC says: “The CMC is committed to addressing all aspects of children’s media and content creation and an integral part of this is looking at the role of divergence and the difference in our cultural lives. Lemn is able to provide a unique insight to the audience, dealing daily with children in the key stage of their lives when they are refining their identities and opinions as individuals.”

Currently in its 13th year, the CMC is the premier event in the UK for supporting children’s media and hosts a global delegation of creatives, producers and distributors of kids’ content across all media.

Making it Happen is the theme of this year’s CMC and that will be the theme running through the conference’s sessions. This year highlights the industry’s emphasis on diversity, representation and inclusion – in all its multiple aspects. Making new initiatives happen around how kids’ media builds a more diverse workforce, how it ensures gender representation is balanced, how it includes people with different abilities in teams and on screen, are prime objectives for CMC 2016. It’s just one of the topics running right through the event that matter to the audience, and to the makers and distributors of content who are our delegates.

This year CMC 2016 will itself make changes which should offer greater engagement for the 1100+ delegates attending. A new midweek format will start on Tuesday and wrap up on Thursday, allowing delegates to take full advantage of all three days during the working week.

For more information visit: www.thechildrensmediaconference.com.