From a media release:
Yes You Can! New Interactive TV series; Breakout! Inspires Tweens to Take Action
- Website and Series Launching February 7th on CBC
Four-year-old Bilaal Rajan sold oranges door to door to raise $350 for earthquake victims in Gujarat, India. Today, at 12 years old, he’s an author and UNICEF spokesperson. Breakout! an exciting new documentary series, tells this young Torontonian’s story and profiles other Canadian youth activists.
The engaging series and its interactive website launch February 7th at 11:25 am EST on CBC. Designed for a tween audience, it promotes real-world action through online activity. Filmed on location, from the Masai Mara of Kenya to the streets of Delhi and the rainforests of The Amazon, Breakout! compares and contrasts the lives of young activists and shows others how to make tangible change.
The Series
Produced by award winning documentary filmmaker Lalita Krishna of In Sync Video (Jambo Kenya) this original series is part of CBC Television’s The Outlet, a block of programming for school-aged children that airs Saturday mornings. Each 8-minute episode in the 25-part weekly series features global themes such as water scarcity, sustainability, education and health. The series highlights a different young ‘Breakouter’ activist each week. ‘Breakouters’ explore the issues that affect them and the world around them. Breakout! features diaries of kids who have left their everyday lives to make a discovery about their world and themselves. Airtime is 11:25 am in Ontario, Quebec, and Maritimes, 10:25 am in Manitoba and Saskatoon and 11:55 am in Newfoundland, Labrador.
The Games and Uploads
For video games enthusiasts and YouTube fanatics, Breakout! Games and a video uploading feature launch simultaneously on cbc.ca/breakout on February 7th. Produced in partnership with leading gaming company Phantom Compass, the Flash games complement the themes of the series and engage players through arcade, strategy, puzzle and trivia challenges. The games portray global issues in a stylized and safe way, allowing youth to explore situations such as water shortage, war or global warming. After viewing the series and playing the games, visitors to the site are encouraged to upload their own stories of activism and community work to the website. This two-part interactivity deepens the awareness of the social issues presented in the television series.
