Youth Media Alliance is pleased to announced that Hedda Sharapan, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at The Fred Rogers Company, and Angela Santomero, Executive Producer of the new preschool animated series inspired by Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, will be opening the 2025 Children, Youth & Media conference.
It was natural for Youth Media Alliance to invite the company whose founder, Fred Rogers, dedicated his life to serving children, especially since his first appearance in front of the camera as "Mister Rogers" was for CBC in Toronto in the 1960s. Hedda Sharapan will be presenting the past, present and future of The Fred Rogers Company. She will provide an overview of the original Neighborhood series that revolutionized children's media - how it was designed, what it was proven to do, and how it evolved over time. Angela Santomero, a leading producer of US children's television and creator of Blue's Clues & Super Why!, will talk about the pressure of re-imagining this beloved series for today's audiences. She will demonstrate how the principles have endured but the aesthetic has changed. The presentation will include previously unseen clips of the new four-year-old Daniel Tiger, son of the original Daniel Tiger, and his preschool friends. The series will be launched in fall 2025 on PBS KIDS, together with a content-rich website, including interactive games for kids, online resources for parents and teachers, and other cross-platform content. Animation for the series is being done in Toronto by the Canadian partner for the series, 9 Story Entertainment.
Founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for PBS, in the years that followed, the company not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred's values and approach to other efforts in promoting children's social, emotional, and behavioural health, as well as supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on Fred's legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media, engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom.
Youth Media Alliance seeks to enrich the lives of Canadian children and teens by helping improve the quality of the content created for them on all screen-based media. YMA continues to pursue its mission to foster content of the highest quality via promotional, recognition, research and training activities.
The CYM is made possible thanks to generous contribution from the Independent Production Fund, Bell Fund, FRESH TV, 9 Story Entertainment, Canada Media Fund, CBC and Sinking Ship Entertainment.