by: Sofia Baldonado
After almost three years of hiatus brought on by the pandemic, the Anak TV Foundation announces the return of its annual Anak TV Seal Awards with its newly launched Online Category to acknowledge exemplary digital programs of its member networks.
With the theme, “Shaping a generation of socially-conscious Filipino minds,” Anak TV Foundation aims to honor online programs that fulfill the criteria of being child-friendly or the one with the kind of content that only requires minimal supervision when being watched by children.
Anak TV President Elvira Yap-Go highlights the birth of numerous online programs that highly influence the minds of children and youth.
“Nakita natin during the pandemic, social media plays a very important role in the lives of each family especially [in] the children, so Anak TV cannot just sit down and wait… Nakita natin ‘yung mga nangyayari ngayon is already a warning sign that Anak TV has to get involve again especially online,” she added.
(We’ve seen during the pandemic that social media plays a very important role in the lives of each family especially [in] the children, so Anak TV cannot just sit down and wait…. The current events have shown us that it’s already a warning sign that Anak TV has to get involved again especially online.)
According to ABS-CBN Vice President for Corporate Communications Kane Choa, the significant shift in how both parents and children engage with online media prompted many Anak TV networks to produce content tailored for digital viewing.
The judging process will be conducted in two levels. The first level of judging will be from selected groups like Anak TV networks and members, and students from different schools. The possible contenders will be reviewed by parents, child welfare advocacy groups, the government, and other esteemed groups.
DLSU-D is one of the schools that will be organizing other events with the Anak TV Foundation related to the first-level evaluation of the TV and online programs that will be held on Saturday, September 2, at the DLSU-D campus.
Moreover, first-level Juror representative Rina Lopez Bautista explained the duty of the jurors in prioritizing the welfare of the children amidst the digital era saying, “Our (Jurors) commitment to this role is a commitment to the future, to the children who are growing up in a world where imagination, information, entertainment, and education are just a click away… We understand the importance of ensuring that the content they encounter contributes positively to their development, values, and understanding of the world.”
Considering that the last Anak TV Seal Awards was in 2019, Choa highlighted that this year’s awarding will be accepting entries produced from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023.
The competition under the Online Category is open to all digital content produced on the official websites and YouTube channels of its member networks like ABS-CBN, TV5, or GMA Network.
The submission period started on August 26, 2023, and will end on September 15, 2023.
For more details about the said category award, visit the official Anak TV website.
