CDU brake on children's media: Goldener Sparrow Festival in danger!

CDU brake on children's media: Goldener Sparrow Festival in danger!

An exciting event for the children's and media landscape in Thuringia recently took place. The 33rd children's media festival “Goldener Spatz” opened in Gera on International Children's Day, the largest festival for German-language children's media. The festival celebrates not only films, but also the commitment to high-quality media offerings for the youngest generation. The focus was particularly on the opening film “The Secret Floor” by director Norbert Lechner, which appropriately introduced the festival. Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt presented a symbolic check to increase funding for the Goldener Spatz children's media foundation by 75,000 euros to now 285,000 euros annually. This happened against the background of the discussions about the importance of Thuringia as a children's media location, which, however, were not without controversy.

Katja Mitteldorf, cultural and media policy spokeswoman for the Die Linke parliamentary group in the Thuringian state parliament, expressed shock at the CDU, which, in her opinion, puts its dislike for the Left above the well-being of the children's media country. A decisive decision to support the Goldener Spatz children's media foundation was not made, which Mitteldorf described as a political sleight of hand. She emphasizes that strengthening the festival and the children's media location was urgently necessary in order to send a clear signal in favor of promoting media offerings for children. The Left Thuringia reports that the behavior of the “Blackberry Coalition” should be viewed very critically in this context.

The festival in detail

The festival, which takes place in Gera, is not only a cultural highlight, but also an important meeting point for the media industry in German-speaking countries. This year, a total of 32 films and series are competing in six categories for the “Golden Sparrows”. The “Interactive & Digital Storytelling” competition is particularly exciting, in which six innovative media offerings are presented. A jury of children aged 9 to 13 will review and evaluate the competition entries over a week before the main prizes are awarded on June 6th in Erfurt. n-tv reports about the numerous activities and the importance of the festival for young viewers and the entire media landscape.

But what makes the festival so special? It's not just about the films themselves, but also about sustainably promoting media literacy among children. This is particularly important at a time when digital content is omnipresent. The fact that the festival in Thuringia is positioned as a location for children's media gives everyone involved the opportunity to actively participate in the design and development of child-friendly content. The diversity of the competition entries reflects the creative trends and challenges of children's entertainment and provides valuable inspiration for the future of the industry. This is Thuringia underlines the importance of this event for the region and beyond its borders.

However, the commitment to the children's media landscape must continue to be maintained in order to protect and promote the interests of the younger generation. The ongoing political discussions show how important it is to work together and set priorities in order not only to secure the development of a successful children's media location in Thuringia, but also to further develop it.