Ackee Walk Children's Show
CLIENT: EMPREZZ GOLDING PRODUCTIONS
THE CHALLENGE
Help increase knowledge of children’s rights locally
THE OUTCOME
25 episodes of a child-friendly, vibrant, culturally-relevant televized children’s show
PRESS
A Jamaican Children's TV Show Promotes Respectful, Caring Communities - Global Voices
Despite the increase in conversations in the media about children’s rights locally, and some improvements in the lived realities of Jamaican children, most agencies dealing with offences against children agree that there is much room for improvement. According to UNICEF Jamaica, the myriad of challenges affecting Jamaican children include 85% of children under 15 experiencing corporal punishment at home and 38,000 children subjected to child labour.
Recognizing the importance of media and culture in driving awareness and behaviour change Emprezz & Steven Golding created Ackee Walk Children’s Puppet Show, a programme that would interpret the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through culturally-relevant stories for Jamaican families.
Brought onto the team quite early in development, I was commissioned to write the first 5 episodes of the programme which included building out the world of Ackee Walk - the semi-fictional community the programme is set in, introducing new characters, writing original songs, and playing an integral role is designing the look and feel of the programme.
To prepare, I did a deep dive into previous and existing local and international television programming for children 3 to 9 years and developing a feel for storytelling for this age group, while also spending time with children in this age group to better understand what exactly drew them to different types of content. I also spent significant time poring over local child rights reports, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and staying abreast of issues affecting children.
Finally I also spent some time exploring the different aspects of Jamaican culture I wanted to portray - including music, food, heritage and folk traditions but also values such as community spirit, kindness, diversity of thought and identity and of course “nuff respect”.
After a couple rounds of feedback on the first 5 episodes, they were approved, I was commissioned for a further 20 episodes and we began production, partnering with Television Jamaica.
In between working with the production team I also joined the amazing cast of young actors bringing the stories I’d written to life AND doing all the puppetry. I voiced the characters Lorna (mother of main character Kingston) and Miss Ann (teacher at Big School).
After months of all day weekend shoots and rounds of editing with the videography team, and a round a focus groups with children, the first couple episodes began to air on local television exceeding my expectations for support and positive feedback from Jamaican children and their families.
“I am guided by the responses of the children we meet along the roadside. When I ask, ‘Do you watch Ackee Walk?’ they respond, ‘Yes, Miss, mi love it. It nah miss me on a Saturday’…and that’s all we need to keep going... They GET it, they know it, they love it and they are learning from it. That is what is most important.”
Episodes of Ackee Walk continue to air on Television Jamaica periodically and are available on YouTube at Ackee Walk or online at ackeewalk.com/episodes. They have been used in schools, state-run homes for children and children’s hospitals etc. Parents in the Jamaican diaspora have also been vocal in their support for educational, child friendly local content that accurately depicts Jamaican culture in ways that remain accessible for children of Jamaican heritage living outside of the country.
Season one includes stories exploring the right to education, nutritious food, a healthy family life etc., and tackles important issues such as the rights of children living with disabilities and children from religious minorities. Watch here.