Last year more than 1,800 ­delegates attended Kidscreen, along with more than 350 buyers of children’s television programmes and over 1,000 ­producers and distributors.

To raise the profile of Irish companies and ensure maximum impact and visibility, the sector benefits from a Team ­Ireland ­approach. This means that ­Enterprise Ireland, Animation Ireland and Screen Ireland collaborate to bring Irish companies to Kidscreen, to host an Animation in Ireland stand at the summit and to set up meetings for the Irish delegates there.

For this year’s event, which took place in San Diego earlier this month, the three agencies brought more than 50 delegates from 30 Irish companies to the US. These included Boulder ­Media, Cartoon Saloon, Giant Animation, Jam Media, Kavaleer, Lighthouse Studios, Little Moon, Paper Panther and Pink Kong, among others.

Together, the delegation represented the depth and breadth of talent and skill in the Irish animation and live action sectors. About 2,000 people work in Ireland’s animation sector. Among the 40 Irish projects showcased at the event was the animated series Maddie + Triggs, which aims to offer as much fun to vision-­impaired kids as it does to their sighted counterparts.

For anyone working in children’s content Kidscreen is a must-attend event. While industry gatherings are important in any sector, they are particularly valuable in this one, as children’s series and films are typically co-productions between multiple companies and countries. That means networking at Kidscreen can pay real dividends.

Kidscreen is also where many animation and live action projects are bought and sold. Many of the Irish companies that attended brought assets with them ready to pitch to international streamers and broadcasters, while some were also seeking international co-financing for projects already funded by Screen Ireland.

While in San Diego, the delegates attended back-to-back meetings over four days at Kidscreen, meeting new industry contacts and working to maintain existing relationships. Each company from Ireland had more than 50 meetings at the event with producers, distributors, buyers and other content creators.

Speakers at this year’s event included senior leaders from BBC Studios, Disney Junior, Amazon Kids+, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros Discovery, Dreamworks Animation, Mattel Television, CBC Kids, PBS Kids and Paramount.

Cathal Gaffney, managing ­director of Ireland’s Brown Bag Films and COO of 9 Story Media Group, spoke at the event as part of a panel on the applications of artificial intelligence, while ­Suzanne Kelly, head of children’s and young people’s content at RTÉ, represented the national broadcaster during a speed ­pitching event.​

Sean McNally, VP of digital ­entertainment, Enterprise ­Ireland; Delphine Coudray, head of operations, Animation ­Ireland; and Louise Ryan, head of ­marketing, Screen Ireland