Jackie EdwardsThe BFI today launches the UK Government’s Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), revealing the team, led by Head of Fund Jackie Edwards, which will deliver the three-year pilot fund of up to £57 million. Devised to support the creation of high quality new programming for children and young audiences (up to the age of 18), to free-to-access Ofcom regulated television and online platforms, the Fund aims to directly address a historic lack of investment in content creation for this age group.
Financed by the UK Government, as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Contestable Fund, the YACF is now open for applications, seeking projects that will entertain, inform and reflect young audiences’ experiences of growing up across the UK today.
Completing the team, who will work with Edwards, John Knowles joins as YACF Executive – Production, Harriet Williams as YACF Executive – Development, Hesham Sabry as the Fund’s Business Affairs Executive, Gill Biddle as YACF Project Manager, Chandan Shergill as the Fund Coordinator, and Aisha Jan as Administrator. In view of where the recruited team are currently located, the YACF will have bases in Leeds and Manchester, while also utilising the BFI’s existing UK-wide infrastructure and network of partners to ensure that the YACF team are accessible to talent and commissioners all over the UK.
Ben Roberts, BFI’s Deputy CEO, said:
“This Fund has the potential to foster a step change in the creation of original content for young people in the UK, particularly under the guidance of Jackie and her new team. The content we consume in our youth can have an enduring impact and contribute to shaping who we become. Technology and audience appetites are changing the way content is financed and consumed, and young people will continue to propel the industry forward in unexpected ways. That is why it is vital this Fund creates quality content for them, accessible on a range of platforms.”
