School visits, questionnaires and focus group Svenska Lel will help create a new recreational program for young people

“Now you have the chance to sign up for an exciting new job! You can be a part of planning a whole new youth entertainment program that should be ready in 2023. But what? You can decide!”

This is how Svenska Yle starts her ad when they are looking for about a dozen children aged 13-16 who will get involved and help them devise an entirely new program for young people. The program will replace the void left by the Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) singing competition when it closed last fall.

The time is over when different men decided what they thought fifteen-year-olds were going through. He says if you’re going to do something for teens, you should talk to teens Ted Forstromthe producer responsible for Swedish Yle Children.

Specifically, the focus group is expected to participate in group chat and remote meetings once a month. The group will also participate in a workshop camp in Helsinki on June 7-9 this year. Advertising is very general: “entertainment program” can mean almost anything. Thus replacing MGP will not necessarily be a music program.

“We’ve assumed that nothing is locked, and the resources we put into the MGP will put something completely new,” says Forstrom.

Were there any reactions to closing the MGP (which lasted fifteen years) agreement?

– Some think it’s a shame that MGP, which was so good, was shut down. But it lasted so long that it wasn’t a shock to anyone that it ended. I think everyone would agree that the concept of young people performing with singing and dancing is something that was there before, but you can move from it to setting it up diplomatically.

Reality is coming

So far, Sweden’s Yle University has made school visits and interviews with young people in Kronoby, Espoo and Pargas. Questionnaires were also sent to secondary schools. Forstrom says it has been observed that entertainment is currently appealing to the target group. Many also seem to think that it would be fun to participate in a program as a team of friends or as representatives of their school.

What is realistic to realize, a program can become almost anything?

– At some point, the reality will come, I don’t think we can rent Fort Boyard. But if we come up with a concept that is creative and elegant enough, you can achieve a lot.

Forstrom mentions the entertainment program The best in the test (Swedish version of the British game show Taskmaster) as an example of when a relatively cheap production can be fun for both those who compete and those who watch. It is still not clear when exactly the new program will be shown in 2023.

– MGP leaves a huge loophole behind and it would make sense to find a concept to replace it. But we also discussed the possibility of inventing two different programs.

The last day to apply for a job as a young software developer is March 20th.