Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO invested 1 million dollars (US) to The Series Mania Institute. The initiative is devoted to training professions of European TV series. The Institute is made up of three programmes, including: Eureka Series, an intensive three-month training course for emerging television drama series writers and producers from all over Europe, a Master’s Programme at Science Po Lille for future managers, and Le Tremplin/Springboard, a platform to help identify, initiate, and guide young talents in the Hauts-de-France region.

Through Comcast’s Sky’s The Edit program, students from low-income schools across the UK and Europe build their creative skills through Sky’s unique digital storytelling challenge and create a 90-second news report on topics that matter. Over 100,000 students registered to participate since the program launched in 2020.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and Disney teamed up to launch the UEFA Playmakers Inspired by Disney program in 2020, bringing together the magic of Disney storytelling with the latest research on the benefits of play-based learning. Providing a fun and safe introduction to football for five- to eight-year-old girls, Playmakers is now live in 48 countries in Europe, with over 75,000 girls having taken part across Europe. It teaches important movement and life skills, creates friendships and confidence among girls, and inspires a lifelong love of the game.

Disney works in partnership with CinéFabrique, a prestigious film school in Lyon, France, which offers a 3-year degree programme for 35 students a year, and is open up to social, cultural & diversity and to gender parity.  The partnership has created a Disney+ Award which each year aims to highlight next generation talent. The programme also helps the students’ training through talent masterclasses, guest speakers, and support with script writing, directing, development, production, and finance.

Disney France also offers students an internship opportunity at local Disney+ productions.

Supporting People with Disabilities at Work: Since 2021, each time Paramount has any catering needs, they work with BISCORNU, a caterer who trains and works only with people with disabilities. The collaboration started in 2021 for the internal Paramount Inclusion Week, which also took place October 2023.

In 2022 and 2023, Netflix hosted a Post-Production Summit in its Tres Cantos production facilities, offering more than 600 professionals from Spain and the EMEA region high end technical upskilling and training to date.

Netflix develops schemes jointly with local community organisations to upskill and support new talent and under-represented voices. In Italy, Netflix and the David di Donatello Awards are holding third edition of Becoming Maestre, a joint initiative to train female professionals in the creative industry and offers select participants positions on Italian film or TV series in which Netflix is involved. A partnership with the New Producers Academy (NPA) aims to increase representation in the Dutch Film landscape and to showcase stories by producers from underrepresented communities. In the Nordics, Danish institute Filmtalent will work with Netflix to support emerging talent in writing, directing, acting and producing for series formats, and the Sami Film Insitute will work with Netflix to upskill Sámi talent through bespoke programs, access to festivals and trainee placements on Netflix productions.

In June 2023, Paramount’s Pluto TV Italy organized a special screening of its Comedy Central iconic IP South Park, featuring episodes around LGBTQI+ themes, at Pride Village in Rome, a space created by Rome Pride. The screening was accompanied by a side panel with specialized journalists and content creators, discussing how animation can foster diversity and inclusion. The panel was hosted by Daniele Gattano, a Comedy Central talent – and major South Park fan!

Paramount employees attended a discussion panel with Francesca Vecchioni, civil rights activist, communication expert, journalist, and president of the non-profit organization Diversity Lab. Paramount contributed to the association with 1K€.

In 2019 Warner Bros. Discovery’s TVN24 launched the “Diversity Tracker” initiative in Poland, which aims to increase the representation of women among guests of news programs. The project won the grand prize in the Diversity Awards contest in the “DEI in Business” category and the “Innovative Approach” subcategory. WBD noted an increase in the number of women in all guests of news programs in Poland from 20-25% in 2019 to 35-40% in 2022.

Warner Bros. Discovery amplifies the voices of marginalized groups. WBD’s HBO Max in Poland has produced, among other projects, the documentary series Loud. Proud focusing on the Polish drag queen and burlesque communities, and Boylesque a film highlighting Poland’s oldest queer performer, Lulla La Polaca. WBD’s TVN24 has produced film series such as Everything about My Life, Everything About My Child, and Everything About My Country, shedding light on the challenges faced by trans individuals during their transition in Poland. WBD’s Player has produced Control series about the life and love of a lesbian couple. Only this year TVN produced a Polish version of The A-talks show representing people on the autism spectrum.[i]

[i] https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/pride-month-tvn-hbo-max-filmy-seriale-tecza-lgbt

During Pride Month, MTV Hungary, rebranded as MTV Pride, featured a rainbow logo on-air. Other major Paramount channels, including Comedy Central and Paramount Network, changed their logos to show solidarity. Special programming dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, like a themed compilation of Catfish episodes, reflected Paramount’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. PROUD ERG organized a virtual panel session titled “The Power of a Supportive Environment,” featuring guests from the LGBTQ+ community and the Kék-Vonal Child Crisis Foundation.

Budapest Pride was once again supported by Paramount/MTV with a branded truck marching with the crowd. DJ Yamina and LGBTQ+ influencers Kristóf Steiner and Nimi Dagan contributed to the festive atmosphere.

In 2022, in the Baltics region, Paramount’s team launched a multilingual social awareness campaign titled “This is normal.” This campaign combined visual art and storytelling through short videos in eight languages, available on local linear TV channels, social media, and a dedicated website. The initiative promoted the idea that it is expected to prioritize mental health, reject abuse and gender stereotypes, love freely, express individuality, and embrace differences. The campaign featured inspiring stories from 42 individuals across Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia, sharing their personal experiences and perspectives on life. Paramount’s involvement in such campaigns underscored its commitment to fostering positive social change and inclusivity across diverse communities.

Furthermore, Paramount demonstrated its support for Serial Eyes, the postgraduate training program for television series writers by the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). As an industry partner for the 2022/2023 session, Paramount contributed to Europe’s premier postgraduate education program in serial storytelling. The Serial Eyes program is crucial in shaping the next generation of European television writers.

Netflix launched its Creative Equity fund in 2021, a $100 million commitment over five years, as part of its commitment to support the industry, grow the next generation of talent, and support under-represented communities. To date the fund has invested over $29 million in more than 100 programs supporting thousands of emerging talent, and partnered with over 80 organizations in more than 35 countries, including Cinemateque, KIPA, the Spanish Film Academy and New Motion in Europe. This year, 40 programmes will run across EMEA alone.

In celebration of Pride 2023, Disney has an array of activity taking place across Europe, Middle East and Africa – including The Walt Disney Company Pride Collection, a vibrant Disneyland Paris Pride event and internal events for Cast Members to celebrate their authentic selves. Available year-round on Disney+ is a dedicated Pride collection, featuring titles such as Love, Victor, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Pixar’s Out and more.

A recent study showed that four out of five visitors to Paris said watching a series set in the ‘City of Lights’ spurred their decision to travel there, with Emily in Paris and Lupin high on the list.

Find out more in the article published in Le Monde

Netflix launches several talent development schemes focusing on showcasing and upskilling emerging writers including New Horizons in Poland, La Femis in France, & Bottega della Sceneggiatura in Italy, and German initative for PoC writers, Netflix Writing Academy.