GCC-specific journalism course to be launched in Abu Dhabi

Twofour54 and Agence France-Presse have teamed up to offer courses for both established and new journalists.

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ABU DHABI // A journalism course specifically designed for the GCC region is to be launched in the capital.

The initiative is the result of a partnership between media cluster twofour54 and an international news agency, the Agence France-Presse Foundation.

The course is to be offered through twofour54 tadreeb, the company’s centre of excellence for media skills training.

It will offer courses in basic news writing, photography, ethics and media law, and video production and editing to give budding journalists the skills needed to operate in the region.

The partnership also aims to provide training for instructors to deliver the course.

"We're delighted to be partnering with AFP Foundation to deliver courses for journalists, which are bespoke and highly relevant for journalists in the GCC region," said the chief executive of twofour54, Noura Al Kaabi, after signing the deal today.

“Facilitating courses such as these helps us to reach our objective of developing and enhancing the skills of media professionals in this region.

“The programmes will upskill established journalists and introduce new journalists to the profession, helping to create a sustainable media industry for the region and ultimately adding value to the news that the general public consume.”

Ms Al Kaabi is a member of the board of the Abu Dhabi Media Company, which publishes The National.

The AFP Foundation aims to train journalists around the world to cover major events and economic and social change in their own countries.

“AFP Foundation’s partnership with twofour54 tadreeb is very exciting,” said Emmanuel Hoog, the chief executive of AFP.

“The media industry in the UAE and the wider Arab world is growing rapidly. It’s very satisfying for AFP Foundation to work in partnership with twofour54 tadreeb to contribute to this growth and we look forward to developing courses especially tailored for journalists here.”

Twofour54 tadreeb offers more than 200 training courses.

More details can be found at http://tadreeb.twofour54.com/en.

ksinclair@thenational.ae