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The 2019 programme brought together the very best of Abu Dhabi’s thriving creative industries, including twofour54 staff, freelancers, partners such as CNN, Bidaya Media, Image Nation, Majid TV, Ubisoft, Sky News Arabia, government entities and youth organisations. Previous summer campers also returned to support the programme as volunteers. An impressive line-up of new Emirati mentors joined the fourth edition, including Alia Al Mansoori, a teenage scientific research Fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi whose experiments have been on SpaceX missions; 10-year-old chef Ayesha Al Obeidli; and Fatima Al Kaabi, a teenage inventor, innovator and TEDx speaker.

H.E. Maryam Eid AlMheiri, CEO of twofour54 and Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi, said: “Introducing children to world-class media is essential to building a sustainable industry in Abu Dhabi. twofour54’s annual Summer Camp plays a crucial role in helping us identify and nurture young talent at an early stage, as well as equipping them with valuable skills and experiences.

“The Summer Camp allows us to connect to our nation’s young talent, and to expand their horizons to see the sheer depth of career opportunities the media industry offers. We want to harness their creativity and imagination at an early age to ensure that we have talented, passionate and driven future media leaders.

“I’m proud to see employees and partners of twofour54 dedicating their time and efforts to contribute to the programme, educating and inspiring participating children to follow suit.”

15-year-old Abdullah Al Hosani, a previous camp student who volunteered in this year’s Summer Camp, said: “I am excited to be back at the twofour54 Summer Camp. I’ve attended two Summer Camps previously, and I learned so much. I even had the chance to be an actor in a movie that was screened at the Dubai Film Festival. I feel that returning as a volunteer will both help me give back to the community by supporting other participants and at the same time learn more about the media sector.”

Talal Al Asmani, Senior Development Executive at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, said: “It was a true delight to be part of this year’s Summer Camp. I helped deliver an interactive workshop focused on teaching children the art of storytelling. We used games and challenges to teach to children how to shape their vivid imagination and bold ideas into compelling stories – a great mix of education and entertainment.

Hector Subira, a 3D artist at Ubisoft Abu Dhabi, said: “It was wonderful to feel the energy at this year’s Summer Camp. I was coordinating a workshop aimed at using creativity in the gaming industry. As part of the exercise, we told the children to create their own characters, using a Ubisoft character as a starting point. They did so with great enthusiasm – it was inspiring to see their excitement and for them to truly grasp the amount of work and effort that goes into creating and designing characters. All in all – a great day, and I look forward to participating next year.”
The twofour54 Summer Camp is bilingual and integrates a mix of learning and entertainment using interactive sessions within various media-related disciplines.

This year’s partners also included the Abu Dhabi Youth Council, Abu Dhabi Government Media Office, Tech Shop, Al Bayt Mitwahid Association, Abu Dhabi Youth Council and the Korean cultural centre.

More than 100 children aged 9-12 have already been introduced to a wide range of media through the annual programme since it was launched in 2016, offering them the chance to explore and discover the excitement and opportunities of working in media.

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