Abu Dhabi: Despite majoring in fields unrelated to the world of mass communication, several students who took part in the Youth Media Leaders (YML) Programme, have decided to switch sides, and pursue careers in media following their training and experience.
An Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) initiative, the programme accepted 35 Emirati students, and provided them with the opportunity to take workshops on website design, various types of journalism, magazine writing and other media skills.
"ADMAF's YML programme allows young Emiratis to prepare and take advantage of the rising opportunities that have been created as a result of positioning Abu Dhabi as a media content creation hub in the region," Shaikh Sultan Bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Young Arab Leaders, said, during a ceremony honouring the students who took part in the YML programme on June 21.
"The YML graduates will certainly be in a great position to work in this industry as a result of this educational opportunity... Their duty now is to put the best image of Abu Dhabi, its traditions, culture and religion, to the rest of the world," he added. "This programme definitely encouraged me to change my major. Next semester I will be transferring to media," electrical engineering student Ali Al Afeefi, 19, said. "I already have a hobby of writing. My supervisor advised me to take this programme, and I enrolled so that I can learn about the different aspects and fields in the media domain," he added.
His colleague at the Abu Dhabi Men's College at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Mesha'al Bin Amro, who is majoring in Information Technology (IT) and business, expressed similar sentiments.
"This programme allowed me to learn how to write for journalism, including writing news and event coverage, and to learn about photography and video as well," he explained. "It is useful because if people have talents they might not be aware of, it allows [these talents] to grow."
The course has also encouraged Bin Amro to publish his works in Arabic literature, including works of poetry which until that point he had refrained from doing. "I had never published my writings before, they were private, just for me," Bin Amro said. "But this course has encouraged me to publish my pieces, and now I have submitted them for My News [a magazine established by the YML programme] and the programme's website as well," he added.
Students involved in the training said they benefited greatly from it and from the courses they were provided, which involved both theoretical and hands-on opportunities.
Applied Media Communication student, Nasra Al Jaberi, expressed how the skills she acquired would aid her in her future endeavours. "My goal is to work as a director, in either video or graphics," Al Jaberi said. "They provided us with professionals who shared their expertise with us on how films are produced and other journalistic skills as well," she added.
"My favourite part was the coverage of live events, like concerts," Al Afeefi said of his experience.
