iheed Institute Forms New partnership with Toon Boom Animation

Institute establishes strategic partnership for online space iheedCrowd, promoting the creation of next generation animations for global health education and training content

CANNES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A ground-breaking partnership between Toon Boom Animation and the iheed Institute was announced today at MipCom, building on the launch of iheedCrowd (www.iheedCrowd.org) an online, animation platform where digital designers have the opportunity to create the next generation of health education content. Developed by the iheed Institute, iheedCrowd brings together for the first time, digital designers who can, via animation, change the field of Global Health Education and training. This website is the first of its kind to give digital designers and animators the opportunity to contribute to health education and training, making a difference for those whose access to healthcare is non-existent.

iheedCrowd will for the first time, encourage individuals, animation studios and animation colleges to be involved in the development of unique and creative health education content. Dr Tom O’Callaghan, CEO of the iheed Institute, stated: “These animations can be used to train the millions of health workers in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia and beyond, aiding the billion people who still have no access to any form of healthcare. They will be seen on the immense number of cheap tablets and mobile phones now available as training tools across the globe and help reduce the 9 million children and 350,000 mothers who die every year from preventable and treatable conditions.”

“At Toon Boom we are totally committed to add our name to such an exciting initiative to support communities in the developing world. Through our extensive network and the thousands of studios worldwide using our technology we are delighted to accelerate and extend the reach of this global movement in training,” says Joan Vogelesang, president and chief executive officer of Toon Boom.

Developing a global animation library is a major part of the online platform with animations already having been developed and added by acclaimed producers and studios such as Chocolate Moose Media and Buzzco Associates. By partnering with Toon Boom Animation, iheedCrowd will encourage the development of animations which will be customized in many languages to be widely and freely distributed via multiple platforms, including mobile technology, therefore overcoming education and literacy challenges in the field.

About Toon Boom Animation Inc.

Toon Boom Animation Inc. (toonboom.com) is the worldwide leader in digital content and animation creation software, delivering products and services online to its global community. Toon Boom carries user-friendly applications for all, catering to children, home users, creative professionals as well as students, educators and schools. Toon Boom is fully dedicated to education and goes far beyond just developing technology and curriculums that will enhance the classroom experience. Toon Boom is an influential advocate of bringing industry and education together, while partnering with value-added partners to help students achieve their goals.

At the high-end studio level, Toon Boom offers a wide product range from powerful pre-production tools to leading-edge animation production solutions. Relying on its extensive expertise in animation production, Toon Boom provides consulting services in the fields of optimization, pipeline integration, production assistance and custom development.

About the iHeed Institute

The institute is a social Enterprise promoting innovation in health education and next generation training content. They identify, invest in and promote innovative health solutions for Community Health Workers (CHW) in developing countries. They constantly promote new knowledge of CHW training, New Generation content creation and the utilization of mobile platforms. Iheed have published significant research for the sector and have assembled a community of leaders and practitioners who collectively work to enhance CHW capabilities, mobilizing information, next generation content and technology to promote community health practice and intervention. For more information visit www.iheed.org and www.iheedCrowd.org

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