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Peter Salmon, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Director North, and Richard Deverell, Chief Operating Officer, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ North, will both be at Northern Film and Media in Newcastle on Tuesday 1 December 2009 for the regional launch of a new digital initiative: @North, a £500,000 initiative, will reach out to new and established digital producers and agencies across the whole of the north

The launch comes on the same day that a special screening of the new high profile Tracy Beaker series Tracy Beaker Returns, commissioned by ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Children's and filmed in Newcastle this summer, takes place at The Tyneside Cinema.

Commenting on @North Peter Salmon said: "This is an exciting new concept and there is real business up for grabs, with C³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and CBeebies commissions to be won by creative companies working on interactive media across the North of England. There is some great creative work going on in the digital sector across the North and we want to work in partnership to develop new and exciting multiplatform content for our young audiences."

@North will encourage and support the development and delivery of interactive content for children, with up to four projects with a total budget of £500,000 available for commissions by C³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and CBeebies.

The project, which represents a new model of engagement with independent companies and digital agencies across the North, will rely on close collaboration with the regional screen agencies and Tom Harvey, Chief Executive of Northern Film and Media, who are hosting the launch commented: "We welcome this opportunity to work with the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ on building their relationships with suppliers in the North East. Our region has fantastic talent in both the television and digital sectors and @North offers a really exciting way for us all to work in new kinds of partnerships to create new projects."

This pilot project will be led by ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Children's and will involve multi-disciplinary teams from many other areas of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ such as Future, Media and Technology (FM&T) in new collaborative ways of working.

The key objectives for the project are:

For C³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and CBeebies to tap into new opportunities for innovation and creativity.

To stimulate and inspire the digital sector across the North of England, initially focusing on creating new children's content.

To understand and help develop the supply chain across the North for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and build on existing creativity and skills.

To make the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ North process for commissioning multiplatform content open and collaborative.

To share knowledge about the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s infrastructure, processes and audiences.

It is intended that @North will provide a blueprint of how ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ North can work more openly in MediaCityUK and will involve more ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ division partners as it develops.

Independent companies and digital agencies in the North are invited to send expressions of interest in the @North project to Mario Dubois, Project Lead – mario.dubois@bbc.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

Launch will take place at 4.30pm at Northern Film and Media, Studio 3, The Kiln, Hoults Yard, Walker Road, Newcastle NE6 1AB.

Timeline:

Launch November/December 2009 Expressions of interest in workshops and the projects

January/February 2010
³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ workshops across the North

Feb/March 2010
Commissioning briefs and ideas submissions

April /June 2010
Ideas development

July – September
Pitches to commissioning

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Press Office