Abu Dhabi: Seven Emiratis, six women and one man, beat out 250 applicants to realise their dream of being a part of the media industry through a one-year employment and training programme, Intaji, developed by twofour54.
"I've always liked the media and in fact my first experience with twofour54 was when I was chosen as one of the trainees that accompanied [Emirati director] Nayla Al Khaja when she shot her film Malal in India…," Maryam Al Ansari, who holds a degree in Film and Broadcast from Zayed University, said.
"I was impressed by how dedicated they are at providing Emiratis and Arabs with opportunities to be a part of the media field, in all its forms."
"I even began following them on Twitter and Facebook, which is how I found out about Intaji. It's been an interesting experience so far and I discovered that I really enjoy working on a live television show…hopefully, I'll be able to work in one after I graduate from this programme," she added.
The programme was developed by twofour54 tadreeb (training academy) and twofour54 Intaj (production facilities) and began in October.
The trainees are being provided with a combination of theoretical and hands-on experience in what goes on in a television studio by both Intaj's in-house team as well as international media outlets, including the BBC, Apple and Adobe.
"This programme is very intensive and we screened many applicants to make sure the ones we chose have the passion and drive to learn about all the different aspects of this field and see it through to the end.
"The reason we chose these seven is because we were impressed by their enthusiasm to be a part of the programme as well as the portfolios that they presented to us," Khalid Abdul Rahman, Progamme Manager, Intaji, said.
Foundation
The first six months of Intaji will focus on providing the trainees with a solid foundation in the technical aspects of working in a studio and putting together a television show.
In the second phase, the trainees will be provided with opportunities to specialise in various aspects of television production that include operations, lighting, media management, audio, video and graphics.
