World Congress of History Producers Declared a Resounding Success |
| 2006-11-21 - London, England |
Another successful edition of the World Congress of History Producers, the only international event dedicated to history programming, wrapped up its sixth consecutive year to critical acclaim on Sunday, November 19. The four-day event, held this year in London, England, enjoyed record attendance: over 400 delegates, 45 Commissioning Editors and 65 Guest Speakers from over 30 countries worldwide, with representation from diverse and emerging markets such as China, India, Rwanda and Russia.
“The History Congress continues to bring together those of us most interested in the creation of history programming, and the attendance at this Congress shows that interest in history remains strong,” says Charles Maday, Senior VP, Programming, The History Channel, “As we adjust to this period of rapid technological change, history can reach an expanded world-wide audience and the History Congress plays a vital role in this process. I personally found this year’s event to be of great value.”
The best of the best were gathered at the 2006 event. Peter Raymont, Peter Snow, Jeremy Isaacs, Brian Winston, Dr Ann Gray, Tristam Hunt, Richard Clemmow, Peter Lovering, Antony Thomas and Nick Fraser were just a few of the many influential industry players present.
“The fact that we had record attendance from so many countries is a tremendous vote of confidence from the history community and that, combined with our great program reinforces the History Congress’ reputation as the ‘go to’ event for networking, deal-making and content generation in the history genre,” affirms Executive Producer Craig Thompson
Among the highlights at this year’s History Congress was “What Muslims Want” – The Challenges of Documenting Islam. This informative debate was a prelude to a new event: the 2007 World Summit on Media and Religion.
This one day event will occur in tandem with the World Congress of History Producers which is to return to North America (exact location and venue to be announced) in 2007 for its seventh edition. Designed to address the television industry's role in capturing stories on sensitive topics such as the shifting sands of Islam, the rise of the Christian right and concerns over new forms of anti-Semitism, the World Summit on Media and Religion is being developed in a new partnership initiated by Faith & Values Media (broadcast on the Hallmark Channel).
Another much-anticipated and well-attended highlight of the History Congress was “The Great Debate: Does Television Enhance or Diminish History”. Co-produced by History Today Editor Peter Furtado, the lively and thought-provoking session brought together some of the industry’s top academics and producers to debate and discuss this highly contentious question.
The seminal international event of its kind, the World Congress of History Producers continues to attract the most talented and creative producers and broadcasters from around the world whose business and passion is telling the stories of history.
For more information of this year’s Congress please visit www.History2006.com. To view photos, please visit http://www.achillesmedia.com/photos/?event=wchp.
About the World Congress of History Producers
The World Congress of History Producers is the pre-eminent international event for broadcasters, content creators, producers and other industry stakeholders in history and biography television. It is an annual opportunity for key players in the industry to come together to share ideas, debate the issues and explore the trends and best practices of this particular genre of programming. The forum features a keynote address, a wide range of seminars and workshops crafted to be of interest to the creators of history programs for television. In addition, there are a number of important social functions designed to bring delegates together and facilitate creative and business collaboration.
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| For Information: |
Nicola Makoway
PR Manager
+1-416-921-3171 Ext. 226
nmakoway@achillesmedia.com
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