MUMBAI: The Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) will be announcing the preliminary results of the largest study till date on Canadian children‘s and youth programming at the upcoming Children, Youth & Media Conference, scheduled to take place on 19 November. 
 
Led by the Université de Montréal communications department‘s Centre for Youth and Media Studies (CYMS/GRJM), the study covers programming across 19 different networks to provide a better understanding of the role of media, particularly Canadian content, in young peoples‘ lives. The study, Children‘s Television Worldwide: Gender Representation, covers countries like Germany, Australia, Chile, China, the U.K., Israel, India, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and the U.S.

The study‘s initial phase analyzes the content of Canadian children‘s programming in major TV markets across the country. The research team, under the supervision of Dr. André H. Caron, will focus on a selection of shows that reflect the variety of offerings in the Canadian landscape, while differentiating between public and private networks.The team is currently analyzing a sample of more than 1,000 hours of programming aired throughout Canada in spring 2009. Indicators will include variables such as age and gender representation in children‘s programming, as well as the presence of foreign cultures and languages.