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H.E. AlMheiri hosted a special workshop on May 9 at twofour54 Abu Dhabi, where aspiring youth and young media professionals were invited to share their views on how to shape the sector.

The event is part of Abu Dhabi’s drive to create a thriving and sustainable media industry as a key driver of a diversified economy, as per Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. Developing local talent is a top priority of that goal.

H.E. Maryam Eid AlMheiri said: “Our region has one of the most youthful populations on the planet, with more than half of people under 25. And the future of our industry is in their hands. This is why it is vital that we ensure the media leaders of the future are part of the industry today.

“The views of this community help us shape the development of this dynamic, fast paced and constantly evolving industry. We are collating and analysing the feedback we receive through events such as this workshop and the results help us make decisions as we realise our vision of being the Capital for content creators.”

Among the topics discussed at the workshop were what areas of media, entertainment and content creation most interested young people and how content creators and media firms can better connect with the region’s youth.

The workshop was attended by young people aged 18 to 35 as well as experienced media professionals from a variety of sectors, such as film and TV production, digital content, animation, and graphic design.

Raihana Al Hashmi, a 28-year-old marketer and a member of creative lab was among those who attended. She said after the workshop: “twofour54 made me who I am today – a filmmaker. It was a great opportunity to take part in this session, where we were able to sit with the CEO and discuss ideas and issues facing young media talents in the region.”

Fellow attendee Mohamed Yahia, a member of twofour54’s creative lab for eight years, added: “I think it’s important that we are willing to become ambassadors, training the next generation of content creators and handing down the knowledge that twofour54 has enabled. We are truly building a sustainable industry and today’s session was extremely helpful. I enjoyed the fact that we were all given the opportunity to connect and build on each other’s ideas.”

Developing young local talent is one of the top priorities of Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi and twofour54, which has a 13,000-strong youth community that helps young people learn about the media industry from professionals and gain hands-on experience.

Other initiatives include twofour54’s internship programme, which received over 500 applications last year and more than 80 interns were placed with partners in areas such as creative; marketing and communications; business operations; finance and accounting; legal; and information technology.

twofour54 also runs a popular Summer Camp for children aged 9-12 to get their first taste of the media industry, while through its volunteer programme, young people can shadow professionals in local and international productions, as well as support internal and external events.

If you are interested in becoming part of the 2018 Summer Camp, please get in touch with twofour54 today.

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