The Children's Television Charter

The Children's Television Charter
Drafted at the World Summit on Children and Television,
Melbourne, March 1995
Approved at the PRIX JEUNESSE Round Table
Munich, May 1995

Children should have programmes of high quality which are made specifically for them, and which do not exploit them. These programmes, in addition to entertaining, should allow children to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential.

Children should hear, see and express themselves, their culture, their languages and their life experiences, through television programmes which affirm their sense of self, community and place.

Children's programmes should promote an awareness and appreciation of other cultures in parallel with the child's own cultural background.

Children's programmes should be wide-ranging in genre and content, but should not include gratuitous scenes of violence and sex.

Children's programmes should be aired in regular slots at times when children are available to view, and/or distributed via other widely accessible media or technologies.

Sufficient funds must be made available to make these programmes to the highest possible standards.

Governments, production, distribution and funding organisations should recognise both the importance and vulnerability of indigenous children's television, and take steps to support and protect it.