WAM documentary
WAM's documentary 1971 Image Credit: WAM

ABU DHABI: "1971", the first documentary produced by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) to mark the UAE’s 50th National Day, has proven to be a great hit across international media and social media platforms.

According to a survey conducted by a specialised consultancy company, the documentary recorded around 21.5 million views on international television channels since its launch last December, with views across social media platforms reaching around 36.4 million, taking the total to 57.9 million views.

The 13-minute documentary chronicles the march of the Union, whose foundations were laid by the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It presents the country's development experience, which is rich in pioneering achievements across all domains, thanks to the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership and its distinctive approach founded on investment in human capital and empowerment of the UAE people.

On this occasion, Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director-General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM), expressed his pride in the wide reach and high number of views that the film has achieved, especially as it is WAM's first documentary.

He noted that the worldwide spread of the documentary is the product of WAM’s efforts to build and strengthen its partnership with the international media and conclude cooperation agreements with the world’s most prestigious media outlets.

Al Rayssi added that WAM is continuing to implement its strategy to enhance its relations with media outlets around the world, forge partnerships, exchange experiences and explore cooperation opportunities, in line with the UAE’s vision to strengthen relations with the countries of the world.

Speaking of the UAE’s development journey, which has become a global model, he said, "We are keen on playing our role as the UAE’s national news agency in highlighting this journey, and the country’s futuristic vision, which drives our efforts to expand our cooperation with international media outlets, to further enhance the UAE’s stature in all fields."

The WAM Director-General that the documentary’s dubbing into eight languages, namely English, French, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian, contributed to its success.

He thanked all international media outlets, which worked to highlight the documentary, reflecting their strong cooperation with WAM and the UAE’s leading global position.