Events

Here are some upcoming events that we think will be of interest to our readers. If you would like to submit an event to be listed here, please contact us.

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LEGO Idea Conference 2019

The three-day LEGO Idea® conference offers a vibrant, playful and thought-provoking environment for group dialogues and impactful workshops. Participants from around the world come to debate, share insights, inspire and get inspired on topics within children’s learning, education and development. The next conference will be held on 1-3 April 2019. This year’s theme is: Unlocking the
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ASU GSV Summit 2019

The ASU GSV Summit draws more than 4,500 leaders in education and talent tech. Attendees at this year’s summit will include CEOs, investors, school, district and university leaders, media, enterprise learning and talent leaders, politicians, foundation leaders and policy makers. https://www.asugsvsummit.com
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69th Annual International Communication Association Conference

The ICA 2019 conference theme of Communication Beyond Boundaries aims for an understanding of the role of communication and media in the crossing of social, political and cultural boundaries that characterize contemporary society, and encourages research that crosses the boundaries of research domains, of particular fields of research interest, and of academia and the outside world. For
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FamLAB

Reframing Learning Across Boundaries: Building Public Understanding and Support

We know that children spend more than 80% of their time outside of school. But research indicates that millions of preschool and school age children—especially those from low-income communities—too often lack access to the connected, intentional, evidence-based educational nourishment that is needed to propel lifelong learning. To combat these inequities, policymakers and program developers have
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Immersive Media Design and Children Workshop

Immersive Media Design and Children is a one-day workshop to be held at the 2019 Interaction Design and Children Conference in Boise, Idaho.Co-hosted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and foundry10, this workshop will bring together a community of researchers, designers, practitioners, and other experts who are interested in the responsible design of immersive media—or
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The Education Market: VR’s Best Hope? at XR for Change Summit

On Monday, June 17, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center presents a panel discussion at the XR for Change Summit in New York City. For years, experts have been predicting that immersive technologies like AR and VR are on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream market. But despite the dazzling experiences that users may encounter
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NAMLE Conference 2019

The theme for the 2019 National Association for Media Literacy Education conference is A Path Forward: Elevating Conversation, Unifying Voices. The conference is designed to provide a platform for including voices from diverse disciplines as we explore the future of media literacy in a rapidly shifting media landscape. To learn more and to register, visit
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Play Make Learn 2019

The Play Make Learn Conference promotes high-quality learning opportunities for educators, researchers, developers, designers, foundation leaders, policy makers, musuem and library professionals, and school leaders who are dedicated to promoting making, gaming, and playful learning. Play Make Learn provides hands-on workshops that engage the audience in cutting-edge learning science ideas and experience; keynote speakers who
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2019 Connected Learning Summit

The mission of the Connected Learning Summit is to fuel a growing movement of innovators harnessing emerging technology to expand access to participatory, playful, and creative learning. The Connected Learning Summit represents a merger between three community events with this shared vision and values: the Digital Media and Learning Conference, the Games+Learning+Society Conference, and Sandbox
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CSforALL Summit 2019

The CSforALL Summit is a multi-day convening focused on rigorous, inclusive and sustainable computer science for all US students. There will be two plenary sessions where you will hear from both local and national stakeholders impacting systems change within CS education and highlighting their 2019 commitments. This year’s event takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah
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The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens 2019

The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens 2019, an update to the 2015 study, is a big-picture look at how young people in America are engaging with media and explores differences by race, gender and socioeconomic status. The study reveals a huge increase in the amount of time tweens and teens are
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National Center for Families Learning 2019 Conference

The Families Learning Conference is the premier event focused on innovative strategies and practices in family literacy and learning, two-generation education, and parent and family engagement. Attending the conference will equip attendees with tools and strategies to use right away with the students, families, and communities they serve.Presented by the country’s top experts, sessions will
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FOSI

FOSI 2020 Annual Conference

The Family Online Safety Institute’s 2020 Annual Conference theme is “2020 Vision: The Future of Online Safety.” Leaders from industry, government, law enforcement and non-profits will come together in Washington, DC to collaborate and innovate new solutions to Internet safety challenges. There will be keynotes, plenary panels, breakout sessions, alongside exhibits and a networking reception.
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2020 NETA Conference & CPB Public Media Thought Leader Forum

The NETA Conference and CPB Public Media Thought Leader Forum is dedicated to the foundational cornerstone of Public Media: Education. Attendees represent station leadership, education, community engagement, marketing, promotion, production and content to learn from national thought leaders and engage in hands-on discussions. This year the conference will explore the future of education and media,
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Future of Childhood Summit

Event postponed   After much deliberation, the Future of Childhood Summit has been postponed. The planning team at Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Google are disappointed not to be able to host the Summit this March.We will share more details as soon as we are able to do so.   The Joan Ganz Cooney Center
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LEGO Idea Conference 2020

LEGO Idea Conference 2020

Cancelled The LEGO Idea Conference invites thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, government representatives and social innovators to share their insights on new ways of learning that will equip and empower children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. Each LEGO Idea Conference features some of the most inspiring and influential speakers on topics related to learning, education
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ASU GSV 2020

ASU GSV 2020

GSV takes on society’s greatest challenge: Ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the future.Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual ASU GSV Summit is the industry catalyst for elevating dialogue and driving action around raising learning and career outcomes through scaled innovation.ASUGSV
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NYAS COVID screentime webinar

New York Academy of Sciences Webinar: COVID-19: Screen Time and the Developing Brain

During COVID-19, children are spending more time in front of screens than ever before, with virtual school, video streaming, social media, and multiplayer games. Given that kids’ brains are still developing, should parents be concerned? What are the long-term effects? Is there such a thing as too much screen time? What will happen to kids
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Parenting for a Digital Future

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET / 5pm BSTPlease join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in celebrating the release of Parenting for a Digital Future, a new book by Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross that offers a balanced, in-depth exploration of the realities of parenting today. The authors will be joined by
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FOSI

FOSI 2020 Annual Conference

This year’s Family Online Safety Institute’s Annual Conference, “Building Resilience,” will cover the many changing elements of online life, for ourselves, our families, and our world. The inherent obstacles and vast benefits of the digital world have become apparent to all of us now more than ever, and we look forward to the new challenge
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5 rights foundation

The Future of Free Play in the Digital World

On World Children’s Day, November 20, 2020, the Digital Futures Commission will launch ‘The future of free play in the digital world.’ The work of the Digital Futures Commission will be introduced by Baroness Beeban Kidron, 5Rights Foundation, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE, London School of Economics, with Ann
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SXSW EDU

SXSW EDU 2021

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is thrilled to share our work at SXSW EDU this year. Michael Preston and Senior Fellow Mary Madden will present highlights from our research on youth media practices in this conversation with Debra Sanchez (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) and Milton Chen (Edutopia.org, Sesame Workshop, Kellogg Foundation). Tweens, Teens, & Public
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Future of Childhood Reframing Education for the 22nd Century

Reframing Education for the 22nd Century

2020 was a year unlike any we have experienced before … until 2021. We have witnessed the “hoaxification” of the COVID-19 pandemic, massive civic unrest in response to long-tolerated systemic racism and injustice, continued denial of climate change in spite of an increasingly inhospitable natural environment, and most recently, a violent insurrection seeking to disrupt
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The Missing Middle event

The Missing Middle: Reimagining a Future for Tweens, Teens, and Public Media

Tuesday, May 25, 2021 1:00 PM ET Today’s tweens and teens feel they have outgrown the programming offered by public media as they begin to discover a world of information and entertainment at their fingertips. Yet even though they have access to an abundance of options for watching, listening, playing, and communicating, they are often
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connected learning summit

Studying Youth and Family Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic at Connected Learning Summit 2021

As schools around the United States were forced to turn to remote learning methods last spring, research teams around the country mobilized to study how families were adjusting to the pandemic. Join the Cooney Center, Stanford University, the University of Washington, and the University of Michigan at the Connected Learning Summit for a discussion about
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ARVR Policy Conference

The Augmented and Virtual Reality Policy Conference

In the last decade, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have evolved from niche tools for enthusiasts and high-tech industries to more widely adopted communications technologies that have the potential to transform the way people communicate, collaborate, and learn. As AR/VR solutions gain traction across sectors, they will raise important policy considerations-some of which are already
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Learning at Home While Under-Connected and the Role of Public Media

Learning at Home While Under-Connected: Lower-Income Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic follows up on 2016’s Opportunity for All? Technology and Learning in Lower-Income Families to uncover the perspectives of lower-income parents with children ages 3 to 13. In March and April 2021, researchers Vikki Katz and Victoria Rideout led a national survey of more than 1,000 parents.
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By With For Youth Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences

Next Gen Public Media Accelerator RFP Info Session

Public media professionals are invited to join us for this one-hour information session about the Next Gen Public Media Accelerator RFP. The session will focus on the purpose of the RFP, an overview of its guiding priorities, the key activities that will happen during the Next Gen Public Media Accelerator, and opportunities for potential applicants
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By With For Youth Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences

Next Gen Public Media Concept Design Sprint

This two-hour interactive workshop will help applicants transform their aspirations into compelling proposal concepts. Facilitated by Cooney Center project leaders, applicants will engage in design exercises that help generate ideas that align with Next Gen Public Media Accelerator goals and expectations.   View agenda Wednesday, November 10, 2021 1:00- 3:00 PM ET Register here
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By With For Youth Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences

Next Gen Public Media Concept Design Sprint

This two-hour interactive workshop will help applicants transform their aspirations into compelling proposal concepts. Facilitated by Cooney Center project leaders, applicants will engage in design exercises that help generate ideas that align with Next Gen Public Media Accelerator goals and expectations. View agenda Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET Register here.
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Webinar: How to Design a Digital World Where Children Can Thrive

On February 8, 2022, the 5Rights Foundation and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association will host an expert panel to discuss how the new IEEE Standard for an Age-Appropriate Digital Services Framework Based on the 5Rights Principles for Children (IEEE 2089™-2021) will equip organizations with the tools to put young people’s best interests at
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show+tell: promising ventures fellows

Join Promise Venture Studio for show+tell: promising ventures fellows, an interactive, virtual event, where participants will hear from and connect with some of the most promising — and innovative — in the early childhood development (ECD) space, the ventures of the third cohort of Promise’s highly selective promising ventures fellowship. These ventures – led by
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SXSW EDU 2022

The SXSW EDU Conference & Festival takes place each March in Austin, TX as a four-day event offering compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, engaging learning experiences, mentorship, film screenings, future-focused competitions, an expo, networking opportunities, and so much more. This year, the dates are March 7th-10th. SXSW EDU 2022 will be a hybrid event with an
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IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces

The IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR) is the premier international event for the presentation of research results in the broad areas of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/XR). Since 1993, IEEE VR has presented groundbreaking research and accomplishments by virtual reality pioneers: scientists, engineers, designers, and artists, paving the
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ASU+GSV Summit 2022

Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual ASU+ GSV Summit connects leading minds focused on transforming society and business around learning and work. Their north star is that ALL people have equal access to the future. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop
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2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Each year, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of education researchers and a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative studies in an array of areas. The 2022 Annual Meeting is a dual-component conference with sessions offered on-site in San Diego, CA, and other sessions offered on a virtual platform. This year’s
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By/With/For Youth Workshops: Promoting Teen and Tween Collaboration with Public Media

As part of our By/ With/ For Youth: Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences initiative, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop invites you to mark your calendars for an upcoming series of capacity-building workshops about collaborating with youth in public media. Designed for producers, directors, and others committed to growing youth participation in
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Dust or Magic Asimolar

Dust or Magic Asimolar is an opportunity for participants to catch up on the current state of children’s media, in one of the most beautiful locations in the world by way of talks, laser critiques and demos. Dust or Magic has a long tradition of deep dive conversations and honest critiques in a commercial-free setting.
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Games for Change 2022

For nearly two decades, the Games for Change Festival has been a destination for developers, educators, researchers, students, and other game-changers who want to make an impact through video games or immersive media. This year, the Festival is back in person in New York City on July 13-14, and then online from July 15-16. Please
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Public Media Development and Marketing Conference 2022

The Public Media Development and Marketing Conference (PMDMC) is public media’s largest conference devoted to issues surrounding revenue generation, marketing, and management. This year’s conference meets in Chicago. Cooney Center Senior Fellow Elizabeth Rood will speak on a panel on July 20 at 3:30 pm to share findings from our Next Gen Public Media research:
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All Tech Is Human: Youth, Tech, and Wellbeing Panel + Mixer

All Tech Is Human and the Australian Embassy in DC are teaming up for a mixer + panel gathering for researchers, designers, advocates, technologists, academics, and more that are working at the intersection of technology, wellbeing, and youth. This will be a 2-hour panel + mixer for 75 org leaders, researchers, youth advocates, Trust &
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Playtest with Kids

Please join the Children’s Media Association of the Bay Area and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center for a one-hour virtual event featuring the Playtest with Kids toolkit. The free interactive resource features methods and case studies to help teams get actionable insights when playtesting their products with children. We’ll talk with experts who will share what they’ve learned about how to effectively
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NETA and CPB Thought Leader Forum 2022

2022 NETA Conference and CPB Thought Leader Forum

The NETA Conference is dedicated to providing public media professionals with meaningful and relevant connections to the people and ideas that are at the heart of our mission to educate, engage, and entertain. This year’s event is a hybrid conference, taking place September 18-22, 2022, in Charlotte, NC and online. The Cooney Center is pleased
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Group Chat: Teens and Adults in Conversation at Media Literacy Week 2022

As part of U.S. National Media Literacy Week, please join the Cooney Center and NAMLE for a “premiere” presentation of three conversations between experts and youth around topics in youth digital culture, moderated by educator Dwight Dunston. Together, adults and teens explore issues like what kids are watching online, where they get their news, how
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Building Toward Digital Literacy for Children

Media Literacy Week: Building Toward Digital Well-being for Children

Join Children’s Media Association, the LEGO Group, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, and NAMLE for an interactive virtual session where we will investigate the questions: what is children’s digital well-being? why is it important? and how can we all build towards it? We’ll share new research and plans from the Responsible Innovation in Technology
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FOSI

FOSI 2022 Annual Conference: Trust & Assurance: Online Safety in an Uncertain World

This year’s FOSI conference convenes the best online safety thinkers, practitioners, and experts from around the world for high-level discussions and debates, engaging networking opportunities, and a first-class exhibition of online safety technologies, products, and services. Attendees will have the chance to explore topics such as content moderation, privacy policies and practices, safety in the
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Gen Z in the Room: Making Public Media By and With Youth for the Future

Please join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center on January 18, 2023 for a special presentation celebrating our forthcoming publication, Gen Z in the Room. This report summarizes insights from 30 in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in public media youth projects across the country. The report documents what public media stations have learned from these youth
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From Surviving To Thriving In A Digital World: A Safer Internet Day Chat

The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop are teaming up to host a webinar and Facebook Live Event with adult and youth experts for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 (4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST). “From Surviving To Thriving In A Digital World:
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SXSW 2023

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is thrilled to participate in two sessions at SXSW 2023 this March. If you’re in Austin, we invite you to join us at the JW Marriott on March 10 and 11th. Designing Tech for Children’s Well-Being There has been a great deal of conversation about technology’s potential harms for children.
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Designing for Digital Well-Being at SRCD 2023

On Friday, March 24, the Cooney Center’s Senior Director of Research Medha Tare will moderate Designing for Digital Well-being: Frameworks for Optimizing Positive Media Experiences for Children and Families, a roundtable at SRCD 2023 in Salt Lake City. Panelists include Amanda LaTasha Armstrong, New Mexico State University and New America; Bruce Homer, The Graduate Center,
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ASU+GSV Summit

Designing Tech for Kids’ Well-Being at ASU+GSV 2023

What does well-being for children in the digital age look like?A growing movement acknowledges that it’s not enough to worry about technology’s potential harm to children; it is time to be more intentional about designing for positive outcomes. How can we design digital experiences that allow children to learn emotional regulation, develop competence and creativity,
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IDC 2023

The 22nd annual ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference will be held on June 19-23, 2023 at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. IDC is the premier international conference for researchers, educators, and practitioners to share the latest research findings, innovative methodologies, and new technologies in the areas of inclusive child-centered design, learning, and interaction.
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Designing Digital Play for Well Being at Games for Change 2023: Panel and Workshop

Panel: Designing Digital Play for Well-Being at Games for Change 2023 July 18, 2023 at 1:45pm The Times Center | Main StageHow do we define well-being in a digital world and what does it mean to thrive? How can developers incorporate diverse perspectives into game design to benefit players from different backgrounds around the world?
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ARVR Policy Conference

On Thursday, September 14, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the XR Association present the third annual AR/VR Policy Conference in Washington, DC. The event will feature a series of expert talks and panels discussing critical policy questions covering privacy and safety, the use of AR/VR in education, children and teenager safety, and
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More Content To Explore

Publications

2025 Well-Being by Design Fellowship Case Studies

by JGCC Team | July 28, 2025
Initiatives

Here Comes the Fun Challenge