TVO ANSWERS THE CALL OF A DIVERSE ONTARIO
TVO's Chief Executive Officer Addresses the Canadian Ethnic Media Association
TORONTO, Dec. 3 /CNW/ - Last night in an address to The Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) in Toronto, TVO's Chief Executive Officer Lisa de Wilde outlined the ways that TVO's educational resources help to prepare early learners from all backgrounds for the Ontario school system.
"We play a unique role in helping get kids ready to succeed in school. We also equip parents with a toolkit they can use to support their kids throughout their education. Part of that toolkit is understanding how to navigate the Ontario school system," said Lisa de Wilde.
"This is important for all parents but particularly for those who didn't themselves go to school in Ontario. There are 200,000 new Canadians arriving in Ontario every year - many come from countries with public school systems that are vastly different from ours. In the Toronto District School Board, just 20 per cent of students have both parents born in Canada. So there's a tremendous opportunity for an organization like TVO to help acclimatize parents to Ontario's education system. And that opportunity keeps growing," added de Wilde.
In her address, de Wilde described the multi-step process all TVO children's content must go through to ensure it meets the educational objectives of the Ontario school curriculum.
"All TVO produced children's content is built from the ground up with educational expectations at their core - this is what makes our resources different from any other children's broadcaster. We stake our reputation on being a well-respected and trusted education partner with kids, parents and educators. This confidence comes from knowing that all of our content goes through a rigorous process with involvement from teachers, parents and educational experts. In fact, we have an on-staff educator who helps guide the content development process."
De Wilde also outlined TVO's important role in empowering adults to learn more about our province and engaging them in the issues that are defining it.
"The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO's flagship current affairs program, takes complex issues like healthcare, education, culture, the environment and the economy and demystifies them. We debate and explore what these mean for our society from multiple perspectives," said de Wilde.
"We're also trying to raise the bar for political literacy for Ontarians with user-friendly online resources like Civics 101. It's a tremendously valuable tool for a newcomer, or anyone for that matter, to learn more about the many aspects of Ontario's political process: topics like how a budget gets made, how a bill becomes a law and the difference between a majority and a minority government."
De Wilde also discussed how TVO has evolved over the past 40 years and embraced digital media to expand the reach of its award-winning content.
"This year, we're celebrating our 40th anniversary - a significant milestone for any organization, but particularly for an educational media organization. We started out as a single TV station, and today we're a multiplatform media organization with a heavy focus on innovation. Today when you hear the name TVO it's not just about TV. TVO also means online communities like TVOKids.com, TVOParents.com, and TVO.org. And it means partnerships with iTunes, Rogers, Yahoo and RIM that expand the reach of our educational content."
To arrange an interview with CEO Lisa de Wilde or a media tour of TVO, please contact Lesley Slack at 416.484.2600 x 2281 or [email protected].
About Lisa de Wilde
http://canadianethnicmedia.com/
For a complete transcript of the speech click here:
http://www.tvo.org/about/CorporateNews/LisadeWildeaddresstoCanadianEthnicMediaAssociation.pdf
About TVO
TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. Celebrating 40 years, TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and supported by thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
Where to find TVO
| On air: Cable channel 2 (may vary in some areas) Rogers TVO HD channel 580 Rogers On Demand channel 100 Bell TV channel 265 Star Choice channel 353 |
Websites: tvo.org tvokids.com tvoparents.com ilc.org |
Online: Yahoo! YouTube Rogers On Demand Online |
Connect: |
For further information:
Media contact:
Lesley Slack
TVO, Corporate Relations
Phone: 416.484.2600 x 2281
[email protected]
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