Evren Yiğit is a renowned author and expert in children’s content and storytelling, with a background in child development studies, media creation, and creative writing, and over 15 years of experience in the industry.

She co-founded Mako Kids in 2017, a children-first media, production, and consultancy company that specializes in creating quality content for kids of all ages. She also recently co-founded KidsAI, a community hub and internet journal for safe, ethical, responsible, and beneficial AI practices and tools for children.

In this episode, we discuss Evren’s passion for leveraging research and industry insights to create content that is both enjoyable and beneficial to children, with a focus on cultural sensitivity, inclusion, social behavior change, and the opportunities brought by AI to advance children’s media.

Janella Watson is an educational and organizational strategist and champion of inclusion, equity, and authentic representation in Children’s Media. She is an executive leader, brand manager, experiential learning specialist, and researcher whose transformative approach to advising inspires and guides clients to create curriculum, experiences, and media content that spark family engagement, learning, and joy. Janella is an accomplished international speaker and leading voice in culturally responsive education. Her team’s recent and current clients and partners include Nickelodeon, Spin Master Entertainment, Brooklyn Public Library, Cartoon Network Studios, and Sesame Workshop.

In this episode, we first discuss her experience reframing family experiences at children’s museums and science centers, and then explore the topics of inclusion and equity when creating learning experiences and media content for children.

Find more about Janella's work:

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/janella-watson-educational-consultant/

- https://www.watsoncreativeconsulting.com/

Mathilde Cerioli owns a PhD in Cognitive Neurosciences from the University of Montreal with a focus on cognitive training for adolescents. After a few years conducting research in neuroscience, she embraced the world of entrepreneurship by co-founding Fly Little Dragon to connect parents with experts in children’s development and learning. She is currently the Chief Scientist at Everyone.AI, a non-profit organization advocating for an ethical use of AI - and her second entrepreneurial endeavor.

In this episode, Mathilde shares insights on children’s developmental stages and how to take them into consideration when designing learning products. Then, we talk about ethics and AI for children and how to develop safe technology that is beneficial for them.