Children have always acted, in productions aimed at children as well as in order to create authenticity in the portrayal of family life in film, television, on stage and in commercials. Whether we like it or not, it does seem clear that our modern society with its myriad media outlets and hunger for content wants to see children performing on stage and screen. One significant repercussion is that more children than ever crave an illusory ‘celebrity’ life and indeed may be encouraged by their families to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Sadly, most of these dreams will amount to nothing but, in the process, many children will be exposed to unscrupulous people and damaging practices.
Following up on the resolution adopted at the 20th FIA Congress in Toronto in 2012 (Resolution 12: Protection of Child Performers), FIA decided to carry out an internal survey on this matter. From the work of many of FIA members, we see that speaking up for child performers has been a positive experience. There may not be many children working in our industries, relative to our adult membership. We may not even be able to admit them to ‘real’ membership. But their public visibility is high and there are lots of positive, union-building advantages to helping them, as well as the obligation to stop exploitative practices wherever we can.
The new FIA Child Performer Toolkit is designed as a User’s Manual to assist FIA organizations around the world – as well as their own members – in their efforts to work with child performers. It gives an overview of the many solutions to common workplace problems involving child performers that have already been developed and implemented by in other countries. In addition to the Case studies and overviews of the Legal frameworks, the Toolkit also includes chapters dedicated to Physical and Moral Wellbeing, Education, Protection of Child performers’ earnings, and engaging positively with the parents. The FIA Child Performer Toolkit is now available for download in English, French and Spanish. Additional printing versions of the Handbook can be requested from the secretariat (Landscape and Book print).
– FIA Child Performer Toolkit EN
