This Sunday, 9 December, kids rule the roost on the Star Network. After all it is International Children?s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB).
Through a series of special programmes, children will express their fears, anxieties and uncertainties. Star‘s basic message is that every child has the right to education and children are necessary for the world to grow. Through this programming initiative, the network also wants to send the message across to adults that they are wrong to think that they know all that is best for the kids.

On Sunday Star News will have a special episode of Star Talk at 7:30 pm where information & broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj will face some tough questions from children.

Network driver Star Plus will showcase the celebrated children‘s film Halo directed by Santosh Sivam (The Terrorist).

This will be followed by Chalti Ka Naam Antakshri. Anchored by Sachin & Shruti, the studio will be packed with children singing and dancing a tune of their own.

Star Gold has a delightful lineup of its own. At 12:30 pm Mammo will be shown. It stars Farida Jalal and Surekha Sikri. Then at 3 pm Bachpan with the late Sanjeev Kumar starring goes on air. This will be followed by Hip Hip Hurray. Directed by Prakash Jha it stars Raj Kiran and Deepti Naval. The film deals with the experience of going to school. The turmoil and adulation one receives is at the core of the story.

Finally the network‘s music channel Channel [V] will run five fillers throughout the day. These fillers will consist of pictures that kids have taken. Their progress will also be tracked by the Channel [V] team.

The Asia Television Forum (ATF), Asia-Pacific?s largest TV programming market, opens its second presentation tomorrow at Shangri-La?s Rasa Sentosa Resort, Singapore. The ATF - open to registered buyers and sellers only - will run till 7 December and will also debut Asia Animation, Asia?s first exhibition dedicated to animation as well as a one-day top-level industry summit involving government participation from the region.

The full-day ATF summit will discuss the strategic direction of the Asia-Pacific TV industry and the major trends expected to shape business across the region in the year ahead, an official release said. Areas of discussion range from financing and content creation for a new environment to regulations and government involvement. The summit is organised by Television Asia, which will also present nine conference sessions during the three-day market. The conference track will address technological trends such as digital animation and special effects for the new media, which will complement the exhibition.

Among those making presentations at the conference are AK Madhavan, senior V-P international business, Crest Communication Ltd and Nandini Vaidyanathan, COO, UTV Toons.

ASIA ANIMATION: Asia Animation 2001, Asia?s first ever exhibition dedicated to animation, will take place in conjunction with the ATF.

Asia Animation will provide a technical and creative showcase for an international pool of creators, producers and distributors. This is in line with the rising popularity of programmes employing animation techniques. Asia Animation will serve as a showcase for the technology that lies behind animation programmes, many of which will be transacted at the ATF.