NEW TASKFORCE WILL ASSESS SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IMPACT OF ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT

A new taskforce will assess the social and cultural impact of entertainment content, providing a framework for the entertainment industry to create real-world impact.

Organisations from across film, television, games and social media including the BBC, Dazed Media, Disney, ITV, Meta, Netflix, Nowness, Paramount, Prime Video, Sky, Snap Inc and Spotify have signed up to be part of the Entertainment Industries Taskforce on Social Impact which was announced at the launch of the OKRE Summit, a new annual event convening leaders from the entertainment and charity sectors to advance cross-sector collaboration and champion entertainment content that makes a real difference in the world.

Bringing together entertainment industry leaders with globally influential research and impact organisations, the taskforce will provide an opportunity to understand and build on the real-world impact that follows as a result of people engaging with entertainment content.

Nick Callaghan, Head of Industry for the Entertainment vertical at Meta in the UK, said: “I am very much looking forward to being part of the taskforce at OKRE. The entertainment industry has the ability to change people’s lives through the power of its storytelling. I am very excited to see how we can harness this to deliver real social change.”

Susie Braun, Director of Social Purpose at ITV, said: 'ITV's Social Purpose has clear, measurable goals for both our on-screen and off-screen activity. It's so important to measure the impact of what we do, so we truly know the change we're creating. I'm looking forward to collaborating and sharing best practice through this Taskforce."

Georgia Arnold, SVP & Head of VIS: Social Impact, Paramount Global, said: “Paramount recognizes the significant role entertainment plays in shaping minds and ultimately driving change. Through our work with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and soon our new studio division, VIS Social Impact, it is possible to measure the impact of entertainment in shaping minds and ultimately driving change, and I look forward to furthering this important focus area through the taskforce’s initiatives.”

Suzy Cox, Head of Programming, EMEA at Snap Inc, said: “Snap understands the significant impact of entertainment to influence and shape perspectives on societal issues. We believe our owned, creator and partner content should reflect the diverse voices, experiences and passions of our wider community. This approach is fundamental to everything we do at Snap - from the way we build and maintain our culture, to how we run our businesses and design products. I look forward to collaborating and sharing best practices with members of the OKRE taskforce to measure the impact of our work and to drive positive and long-lasting change.”

Lorraine Ní Annracháin, Social Impact Lead, Spotify, said: “As an industry we have an impact on hundreds of millions of people around the world every single day, and with that comes responsibility. Collectively we have a huge opportunity to inspire our audiences, and drive change. I’m very excited for Spotify to collaborate with leaders across the entertainment industry to leverage storytelling, culture and our platforms to drive action on the biggest issues in our world today”

The taskforce is convened by OKRE, a new global charity bringing together the entertainment industry, researchers and social impact sector to expand people’s knowledge of the world by spurring fresh approaches in form and content.

Iain Dodgeon, Director of OKRE, said: “I’m delighted that leaders from across the entertainment industry have joined the Entertainment Industries Taskforce on Social Impact. The taskforce seeks to understand and build on the real-world impact that follows as a result of people engaging with entertainment content. Real change is measurable change, and this is an important step towards demonstrating the breadth of social and cultural impacts that entertainment content can have.”

Taking place in London on June 15, the OKRE Summit will feature keynotes and discussions from across the entertainment and charity sectors.

Panels will look at and share learnings from how content creators are authentically representing social, scientific and health-related issues across different platforms and challenging audiences to engage with difficult subject matters. There will also be discussions around how working together with charities can create a bigger impact and support ideas for creative content collaborations, with first-hand examples of breakout successes.

There will be deep dives and case studies exploring new ways to weave societal issues through storylines, from continuing drama to true crime to comedy.

Aradhna Tayal, Director of the OKRE Summit, said: “Across entertainment content, we have seen how creative and authentic representation of people, environments and world issues, locally and globally, drives audience engagement – both with the content and the issues highlighted. We have also seen how collaboration with experts such as charities, academics and community leaders results in innovative insights for richer content and stories. The OKRE Summit will provide an opportunity for these two worlds to come together and create compelling, impactful content.”

Also announced were the first confirmed speakers for the event. They are:

Tickets for the OKRE Summit go on sale at 9am on Wednesday, April 13th and cost £220. Concessions and are available for smaller charities and delegates less able to pay. For more information about the OKRE Summit, visit okre.org/the-okre-summit.