Investing in people is the basis of creating the future

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, witnessed the graduation of 522 content creators and new media specialists, as part of seven specialized programs organized by the UAE Government Media Office and the New Media Academy in cooperation with a number of partners.

This came within the activities of the fourth edition of the One Billion Followers Summit, the largest global summit in the content industry economy, which is organized by the UAE Government Media Office and hosted by the United Arab Emirates during the period from January 9 to 11 at the Emirates Towers, the Dubai International Financial Center, and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, under the slogan “Purposeful Content,” with the participation of more than 15,000 content creators and influencers and more than 500 speakers followed by 3.5 billion followers.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum congratulated the program graduates, stressing that these competencies represent a qualitative addition to the government work and digital media system, and contribute with their qualified capabilities to conveying the UAE’s message in a modern and responsible manner, and enhancing its image before the world.

His Highness said: “Investing in people is the basis of creating the future… and qualifying professional content makers represents an important pillar for keeping pace with changes and developing content that reflects the values ​​of the Emirates, keeps pace with its development aspirations, and enhances its presence and leadership regionally and globally.”

The graduation was attended by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Gergawi.

The programs, which included 522 graduates, included the “Impact Makers” initiative, the “Specialized Content Creators” program, the “Historical Content Creators” program, the “Content Knight – Sixth Season” program, the “Executive Diploma in Government Digital Communication” program, the “Economic Content Pioneers” program, in addition to the “Developing Social Media Managers and Experts” program.

“Impact Makers” Initiative

The graduation ceremony included the “Skills of the Official Spokesperson, Media Appearance, and Media Crisis Management” program, and the “Humanitarian Impact Content Creators” program, in its Arabic and English versions, within the “Impact Makers” initiative, which was launched by the International Humanitarian Affairs Council in cooperation with the New Media Academy. The initiative includes a number of educational programs and specialized training workshops in digital media related to various humanitarian and development fields.

The program “Skills of the Official Spokesman, Media Appearance, and Media Crisis Management” included a detailed explanation of the qualities that an effective official spokesman must possess, the mechanisms for his success, and the foundations of dealing with traditional and modern media.

The graduation also included the Arabic version of the “Humanitarian Impact Content Creators” program, and the English version of the program, which aims to attract and develop the skills of humanitarian content makers from the Arab region and the world, and provide them with the necessary skills to produce creative content that reflects humanitarian initiatives. The program included a detailed explanation of the methods of storytelling, script writing, video clips and montage, in addition to the use of artificial intelligence tools in creating humanitarian content.

The “Impact Makers” initiative targets those working in the field of journalism who specialize in humanitarian and development affairs, such as journalists, photography teams, and content makers specializing in humanitarian affairs, who have a passion for creating digital content about humanitarian, development, and charitable initiatives and programs, to enhance their abilities to understand, write, and distribute press releases that reflect humanitarian efforts, different storytelling methods, and audio and image translation techniques, to suit various journalistic templates and means used in publishing.

The initiative aims to attract digital content makers from the UAE, various parts of the Arab world, and friendly countries around the world, to join a number of specialized training programs in digital media, which enable them to acquire the necessary skills and tools to produce creative content about humanitarian, development, and charitable initiatives and programs around the world, in addition to attracting official speakers who represent donor humanitarian institutions in the UAE and charitable societies to train them on institutional reputation strategies and media crisis management.

Specialized Content Creators Program

The graduation included the Specialized Content Creators Programme, which was launched by the UAE Government Media Office in cooperation with the New Media Academy.

The program aimed to enhance the skills of specialists in federal and local government agencies and the private sector to create specialized content in a number of vital sectors: economics, business, laws and legislation, medicine, mental health, agriculture and food security.

The program seeks to prepare an elite group of technical experts within government agencies who possess precise knowledge in specialized fields, but have not yet invested it in the most appropriate way in creating content, by acquiring skills that allow them to transform knowledge into simplified and reliable content for the audience.

The program also seeks to attract field content makers from various state institutions, by providing them with skills that contribute to transforming their field experiences into content that reflects the entity’s presence on various platforms.

The program focused on training its participants in the art of narration, message writing methods, specialized script writing, digital photography and montage skills, and the use of creative artificial intelligence tools.

Executive Diploma Program for Government Digital Communication

The graduation also included the fourth batch of the Executive Diploma Program for Government Digital Communication, which was launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid College of Government, in cooperation with the New Media Academy.

The program is the first digital executive diploma of its kind in the region, and aims to qualify government communication teams to effectively follow the best international practices in the field of government communication, as they are responsible for preserving the identity and media image of government work, by supporting initiatives, decisions and achievements, in addition to instilling societal confidence in them, facilitating media access for official officials in government agencies, and continuous development of their professional skills.

The program contributes to enabling government communication teams to face challenges in their field of work, and to keep the messages of their government agencies in line with the vision, strategy, and main messages.

The program seeks to inform its members about the digital transformations in the government communication system applied in major international organizations, in a way that contributes to enhancing their abilities to lead and develop digital communication, and to qualify government communication specialists to prepare social media strategies that are in line with the goals of their institutions.

The Executive Diploma Program for Government Digital Communication included 13 courses with strategic content, presented by a faculty that included seven members of the most prominent academics in government digital communication sciences, and seven speakers who were among the brightest experts in the world, during 76 hours of intensive training over the course of eight weeks. The program consisted of two parts, the first was held by the Mohammed bin Rashid College of Government team, and the second by the New Media Academy team.

Historical Content Creators Program

The graduation included the first batch of the “Historical Content Creators” program, which was launched by the Academy of History, in cooperation with the New Media Academy. The program aims to qualify content makers who have a passion for history to be new narrators of Arab history and their stories in a modern and attractive manner through digital platforms.

The program included 64 hours of intensive training, presented by 16 lecturers from elite distinguished content makers in the region.

The Historical Content Creators Program focused on a number of main topics, including: creative storytelling, screenwriting, photography and editing, the use of artificial intelligence in digital content, digital marketing, and publishing strategies across digital platforms.

“Economic Content Pioneers” Program

The graduation also included the first edition of the “Economic Content Pioneers” program, which was launched by the New Media Academy, under the slogan “Your project begins with an idea… and grows with content.” It aims to train young Emirati and Arab content makers and entrepreneurs and enable them to produce meaningful digital content that spreads awareness about the various economic sectors and entrepreneurship, and supports the growth of distinguished qualitative projects.

The program came within the national campaign “The UAE is the Entrepreneurial Capital of the World,” launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, with the aim of consolidating the UAE’s position as a global destination for entrepreneurship.

The program included a detailed explanation of how to transform ideas and projects into influential content, methods for building a strong digital presence, using artificial intelligence tools in market analysis and creating digital content, and formulating influential messages, in addition to digital marketing strategies and building digital identity, creative storytelling, script writing, photography and montage, and publishing strategies across digital platforms. It also included an introduction to the digital media regulation law in the UAE.

The program aims to open new horizons for content creators to build networks of communication with entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, and enhance their presence on various media platforms and gain them more followers and interaction with the content they provide.

The program attracted participants from the UAE and its residents, representing creative content makers and entrepreneurs, experts and consultants in law, economics and finance, talented entrepreneurs looking to start providing meaningful content, and officials of companies and institutions looking to build work teams capable of producing meaningful economic content.

An elite group of experts and specialists in the economic and entrepreneurship sectors, as well as a number of creative content makers specializing in the same field, participated in presenting the program, along with a number of businessmen and investors.

“Content Knight” Program

The graduation also included the sixth season of the “Content Knight” program, organized by the New Media Academy, with the aim of supporting talents in the Arab region and helping them create creative and distinguished content, which contributes to the advancement of Arabic digital content.

In its sixth season, the “Content Knight” program focused heavily on artificial intelligence as a tool for creating content, and how to take advantage of the capabilities it offers, in a way that helps creators achieve qualitative shifts in content creation and increase their reach and ability to influence, and how to thoughtfully expand the use of artificial intelligence as a complement to human creativity and not a substitute for it, and highlighting its importance as a factor that contributes to the development of the content industry, by generating ideas and reducing time and effort during the production and editing processes.

The “Content Knight” program is considered a qualitative leap in enhancing the presence of members on various digital platforms. It attracts content creators who are experts in digital platforms and a large number of digital media specialists, and its members have exemplary opportunities to communicate with the most important influencers in the field of digital content, which contributes to implementing their innovative ideas, increasing their spread, and developing their business.

The New Media Academy followed precise criteria when selecting the content creators participating in the program, foremost of which is the skill of the applicants. It also shows great interest in the participant’s passion for working in digital media, taking into account the applicant’s scientific and professional specialization in the fields of medicine, engineering, culture, economics, programming, sustainability, law, and other sciences and specializations, which contributes to enriching the Arab digital space with meaningful content.

“Development of Social Media Managers and Experts” Program

The graduation also included the “Developing Social Media Managers and Experts” program, organized by the New Media Academy. The program aims to enable digital communication employees and communication and marketing managers to become professional in marketing via social media platforms, by adopting the latest global strategies and employing advanced artificial intelligence tools.

The program also aims to provide participants with advanced tools to conduct marketing campaigns, enhance their creative skills in devising and formulating marketing messages, and develop their capabilities in analyzing market indicators and measuring the effectiveness of digital campaigns, in addition to training participants on how to use artificial intelligence tools, and design marketing plans that are in line with the behavior of followers to build a strong brand on social media.

The program comes within the framework of the New Media Academy’s efforts to keep pace with the rapid transformations witnessed in the communication and digital marketing sector through social media platforms, and to innovate effective marketing solutions based on data and artificial intelligence technologies.