The Golden Panda Awards is co-organized by Sichuan TV festival, Cartoon Commission of China TV Artists Association and SIGGRAPH (Beijing) chapter, and is held during Sichuan TV festival, the biggest and most important state-level TV festival in China. For 2005, Sichuan TV festival set up its first international animation film award, the "Golden Panda" award, which is selecting works from all over around the world.

Representatives from local and overseas broadcasters (networks), TV & Internet program producers, distributors, agencies, film production companies, advertising companies, etc will be gathered at this event, with opportunities to expand their business. TV programs scheduled to be released and distributed in 2005-2006 will be presented and traded at this market.

For more details, visit www.sctvf-programmarket.com.cn.

The annual CASBAA Convention is Asia's premiere broadcasting event. Bringing together broadcast execs and technology specialists from across Asia, it is the only convention that gives attendees first hand depth case studies and analysis from the people and industries who matter in the are of broadcasting, both regionally and globally. The event will take place across a four day program, featuring high powered debates including a forum dedicated to the opportunities and challenges in China and India, an exclusive technology demo area showcasing the best up and coming technologies and dedicated networking events each night including the CASBAA TV Advertising Awards. For more information, visit www.casbaaconvention.com.

iHollywood China gives attendees a chance to chance to meet face-to-face with key Chinese government officials and CCTV execs responsible for its planning and international media distribution. Guests will learn China's broadcast and marketing options. The main focus of the event will be on the 2008 Summer Olympics. For more information, visit www.ihollywoodchina.com.

As an event with extensive influence in game developing field, the second China Game Developers Conference (CGDC) will be held in conjunction with world's second largest game show -- ChinaJoy, on July 24-26, 2009 in Shanghai, China. The first CGDC was closed on Aug. 29, 2007, on the conference, 60 experts and over one thousand professionals in game industry exchanged their ideas deeply; more than 50 technology suppliers promoted their technologies and products. The 2nd CGDC will also be supported by related government administration agencies. With the goal of gathering technical elites in game developing, the conference focuses on PC/console game, mobile game, game outsourcing, especially online game; topics covering different fields in game developing, such as game design, programming, arts, audio? management and development tools etc. Attendees will exchange their ideas, sharing their experience and discuss on new technical development trends. The conference's highlights include topics in game development covering multiple fields for discussion and focusing on theory and practice, technical elites and entrepreneurs will be invited to participate. The deadline for submitting this year's CGDC speeches is May 5, 2009. The organizing committee welcomes any form of participation from professionals and experts of the game industry and will do its best to facilitate technology exchange for game developers. Any inquiries on conference content, contact Cecillia Cao: Tel: 86 10 51659355 ext. 12 or via e-mail: cecillia_cao@howellexpo.com CGDC official website: www.chinagdc.com.cn/en.

As part of an ongoing series of  initiatives joining UK and Chinese creative businesses – from a visit to Beijing and Shenzhen in May to hosting a Chinese Ministry of Commerce delegation last month in the UK – parameter is delighted to be producing:

Uk / China Animation Forum – 6 & 7th December, Beijing

China is now officially the second largest economy in the world and continues to grow, despite the global recession, at nearly 9% p.a.

The animation industry in China is also expanding fast and is viewed as representing a significant growth sector, attracting Government support at both national and regional levels through preferential taxation, industry funding and the establishment of industry parks..

Yet whilst a “service model” has generated inward investment into China through the provision of animation production pipelines to Western media and games production companies, the Chinese sector has been less successful in developing content propositions for export despite a massive increase in domestic production volumes in recent years.

The UK / China Animation Forum will explore the potential for trade and collaboration between the two countries, focusing on the opportunities for animated content – both on traditional platforms and emerging digital technologies. Specific market opportunities have been identified in the generation of IP which can be exploited across multiple platforms, including publishing and merchandising, and also for content which can be accessed via mobile devices.

A delegation of 10-15 UK digital animation companies will visit China and take part in the two-day UK / China Animation Forum. The Forum will include presentations, opportunities to display UK and Chinese animation work, panel discussions, networking events and one-to-one business meetings.

LOOP, an international event on animation and computer games will have seminars, speakers and a total of 48 hours of education. Workshops will feature 10-person classes and access to custom equipment. Enter to win LOOP's animation contest for cash prizes and a trip to France. Also includes five animated features making their Latin American debut and an exhibition on the history of animation in Columbia.

Zagreb: 18th World Festival of Animated Films is an ASIFA sanctioned competitive festival. The festival was formed in 1969 to encouraging creativity, which eschews pre-set patterns and ideas/notions/conceptions, and finds new ways of exploring the possibilities of film animation. Awards with cash prizes will be given as follows: grand prize, best first production, best student film, plus five special prizes and three special distinctions.

Deadline for films made in 2004 and 2005 is Dec. 15 2005. Deadline for films finished in January 2006 is Feb. 15, 2006. For more information, visit www.animafest.hr.

Zlin Festival is one of the oldest festivals dedicated to films for children and youth. Films compete in six sections - film for children, for youth, animated film, European debuts, student films and films from Visegrad countries. The project is supported by the Czech Parliament and Ministry of Culture, the EU Media Programme and the International Visegrad Fund. Festival is held under the auspices the Czech UNESCO Commission and the Czech UNICEF Commission. For more information, visit www.zlinfest.cz.

IPTV World Forum Eastern Europe 2007 will consider the current Pay TV markets in the region and the strategies of major players in terms of digital migration, the introduction of two-way interactive services and triple-play or quad-play offers. It will investigate the benchmark services required for IPTV market entry including broadcast TV, VOD and PVR functionality. Key business and marketing issues will also be addressed, like how much on-demand content is enough, whether service providers need a 'long-tail', how on-demand should be packaged and monetised, and what role on-demand and interactive advertising can play? IPTV World Forum Eastern Europe will address the fundamental access issues for xDSL and FTTx based services and consider the role of digital terrestrial television (DTT) in delivering live broadcast television, where this is possible. What effect will the emergence of DTT in the region and, eventually, digital switch-off, have on the market? Are major telcos looking to become television providers on all platforms - following the vision of KPN in the Netherlands (DTT, IPTV and eventually mobile) and Bell Canada (satellite, fibre-to-the-home and now DSL trials)?

The International Festival of Animated Films AniFest has announced the format for the competition of the festival's 7th edition, which will be held May 7-13, 2008 in Trebon, Southern Bohemia. Those who participated in the festival in recent years will notice some minor changes in both the structure and the names of the competition categories. Also new to the festival is a non-competition presentation of Czech, Slovak and Austrian films with active participation by the authors. This will take place under the title "CAS Presentation" as part of ProfiForum. AniFest, the only competition festival in the Czech Republic dedicated exclusively to animated film, has become synonymous with a nearly week-long animation marathon that presents the best of Czech and international animation. At this year's festival, you will be able to see both hot new films and some unique archival animation. Aside from the films, the professional audience and the professional public will surely be interested in the content of the festival's ProfiForum program. This year's edition brings with it a new feature that will become an annual tradition, the "CAS Presentation" -- a comprehensive presentation of Czech, Slovak and Austrian animated production from the past two years. All writers, producers and distributors of animated film are cordially invited to participate. Both the presentation and the subsequent discussion will be moderated by professionals from the ranks of prominent film theorists and filmmakers, and participation in the program is not subject to selection by any committee. Other programs within ProfiForum that are currently under preparation include: AniDesign (an educational program focusing on computer animation, connected with workshops, presentations and seminars); Meeting the Visegrad Countries (screenings and workshops by young writers from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic); Produced by... (a presentation by prominent animation studios and an opportunity to meet their writers and see their works); and an international competition of flipbooks created by children (a flipbook is a series of cartoons drawn in a notebook, which, as you flip through the pages, appears to move). More information is available at www.anifest.cz.