CNN Academy Abu Dhabi welcomes its first students

The inaugural CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, which will foster the growth of future journalists, is now underway. The first classes took place yesterday including a two hour welcome and introductory session with Becky Anderson, Managing Editor of CNN Abu Dhabi and Anchor of Connect the World, who said: “I’m thrilled to welcome this talented group to the first CNN Academy Abu Dhabi. My colleagues and I at CNN are proud to support emerging talent, both from the region and abroad, and provide an immersive course in multiplatform storytelling to equip upcoming journalists with the skills they need to thrive in the industry.”

The session was also joined by Michael Garin, CEO of twofour54 Abu Dhabi, who said: “We are very excited to see this project finally coming to life and welcoming the future voices of the media industry. Our team at twofour54 have always invested in future generations and developing the local media community by providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and accomplish the future careers they aspire to have.”

Throughout the course, the twofour54 training hub, which houses its Creative Lab and Image Nation’s Arab Film Studio, will be providing essential facilities and infrastructure including equipment, learning resources, student liaison and outreach along with the graduation ceremony.

The first group of sixteen students was selected from 100 applicants who each submitted a one-minute video demonstrating suitability for the course and a written pitch outlining a story idea for the CNN audience.  The international group of students, all currently based in the UAE, comes from eight different countries and includes six Emiratis.

Throughout the five week course the participants will receive tuition from CNN journalists, content creators and production specialists from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai bureaux, as well as from other CNN hubs around the world to learn important skills in newsgathering, content verification and multiplatform news report production. Alongside CNN, twofour54 will also provide equipment, student liaison and offer resources and facilities at its Creative Lab and Image Nation’s Arab Film Studio.

Dana Abdulrahman, participant at CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, said her expectations for the course are, “To work alongside likeminded individuals and collaborate on multiplatform content which contains the potential to reach millions of individuals throughout the world. I believe that this esteemed establishment that has been providing their audience with the latest news for the past 41 years, will prepare us as the next generation of journalists to do just the same.”

Virtual lessons will take place using The CNN Academy Hub, a brand-new e-learning platform featuring all the resources that participants will need during their learning journey with CNN Academy Abu Dhabi. In addition to live seminars, workshops and recordings of the sessions, participants will also have access to hours of self-learning modules on a wide range of topics including covering breaking news, crafting strong narratives and storytelling during a pandemic.

In-person workshops are also planned for later in the course, subject to local guidelines and in accordance with Covid-19 safety protocols, at CNN’s Abu Dhabi bureau and the training hub at twofour54, the home of Abu Dhabi’s media and entertainment industry.

For more information about CNN Academy Abu Dhabi please visit CNN.Academy/AbuDhabi  

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Media relations:
Joann Joseph, Senior Account Executive, joann.joseph@houbaracomms.com or cnn@houbaracomms.com   

About CNN International 

CNN’s portfolio of news and information services is available in seven different languages across all major TV, digital and mobile platforms, reaching more than 475 million households around the globe. CNN International is the number one international TV news channel according to all major media surveys across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and Latin America and has a US presence that includes CNNgo. CNN Digital is a leading network for online news, mobile news and social media. CNN is at the forefront of digital innovation and continues to invest heavily in expanding its digital global footprint, with a suite of award-winning digital properties and a range of strategic content partnerships, commercialised through a strong data-driven understanding of audience behaviours. CNN has won multiple prestigious awards around the world for its journalism. Around 1,000 hours of long-form series, documentaries and specials are produced every year by CNNI’s non-news programming division. CNN has 36 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource. CNN International is a WarnerMedia company.

About twofour54 

twofour54, home to Abu Dhabi’s media and entertainment industry, aims to cultivate Abu Dhabi’s media free zone and provide products and services to attract local, regional and international media businesses to the Emirate. Tasked with enabling a new generation of creative leaders and building Abu Dhabi as the Middle East’s leading hub for content creation, twofour54 provides world-class production facilities, talent development initiatives and training, and business support services for media companies.

Named after the geographical coordinates of Abu Dhabi, twofour54 is now home to more than 600 media companies – including Sky News Arabia, Image Nation, Ubisoft, CNN, Fox, Flash Entertainment and M&C Saatchi – as well as a bi-lingual freelancer pool and a community of aspiring media talents.

twofour54 is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a diverse portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy.

For more information, visit www.twofour54.com 

© Press Release 2021