Acclaimed children’s novelist, poet, broadcaster, columnist and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen will deliver the opening keynote at this year’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC), which will take place from July 3-5 on Sheffield.
After decades working in the world of public service broadcasting, children’s theatre and educational publishing, Rosen has now become a YouTube phenomenon, with over 220,000 subscribers and 40 million-plus views of his content.
As someone who interacts with children on a regular basis, Rosen will open the conference on Tuesday July 3rd championing creativity and imagination in the face of what he calls “data-driven education”. But he’s no digital Luddite.
Enthusiastically embracing the liberation of YouTube over ten years ago, his channel has given him access to his audience in ways he could never have imagined as a young BBC trainee working on ‘Play School’ in the 1970s.
Outlining his focus for the address, Michael Rosen said, “I’m riding the crest of the digital wave, I thought. Only to discover that what I was riding was a tiger: a tiger with an insatiable appetite and an audience only too eager to be eaten. We want tigers to roam free. Of course, we do. But that doesn’t mean we’d give our children to one. So, what do we do?”
Greg Childs, Editorial Director at CMC said, “Michael epitomizes the ethos of the CMC. Not only is he dedicated to creativity for, and by, children, he both embraces and challenges the new digital era which encapsulates, envelops and forms young people. At CMC, we’ll be asking ‘What’s Next?’ for Michael Rosen. We can be sure of an entertaining and thought-provoking reply.”
Michael Rosen is one of Britain’s best-loved writers and performance poets for children and adults. His first degree was from Wadham College, Oxford and he went on to study for an MA and a PhD. He is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London where he co-devised and teaches an MA in Children’s Literature.
He is also a regular broadcaster – in particular on BBC Radio 4 where he has presented the acclaimed programme about language, “Word of Mouth” since 1998. His weekly ‘letter to the Secretary of State for Education’ in the Guardian critiques government education policy from the point of view of a parent.
Michael’s YouTube channel – “Kids’ Poems and Stories with Michael Rosen” has been viewed over 45 million times around the world.
Michael has received several honorary awards, including degrees from the Open University, the University of Exeter, the University of London Institute of Education and the University of East London/Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust.
Now in its 15th year, The Children’s Media Conference (CMC) is the premier conference in the UK dedicated to supporting children’s media.
