The Sharjah Press Club, an initiative of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, wrapped up today the 6th edition of the Ithmaar Media Training Program for Children and Youth, which seeks to build and enhance media awareness and capabilities among children and youth between the ages of 10 to 17 years.
HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, felicitated the Ithmaar program partners from various government institutions in Sharjah, national and international media institutions, trainers as well as Ithmaar graduates in the presence of their parents at the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Life Skills Development.
The 6th edition of Ithmaar featured a diverse agenda spanning four weeks and 64 hours of training workshops as well as field trips to introduce participants to various visual and print media, empower them with media skills, discover their passion and inculcate in them a media culture in creative ways that combined education, practical application and fun.
The training workshops included the various aspects of media work, interactive activities and field visits to major media institutions in the country, including CNN Arabic, the Arabian Radio Network, and Al Khaleej newspaper, to introduce participants to media work and experience the media experience up close.
Speaking on the occasion, Allay pointed out that the Ithmaar media training initiative embodies the vision of the Emirate of Sharjah as an incubator of talents and creativity, supporting children and youth in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
The Director General stressed the importance of spreading media culture among the new generation and establishing the rules of media education to spread awareness of dealing with the media process, discovering media talents and create a qualified media generation to lead the media of the future.
The Ithmaar dealt with the media passion, artificial intelligence journalism and its techniques in producing media content with practical applications presented by CNN Arabic. Participants were explained the essentials of journalistic writing skills with practical application. The trainees also studied the basics of publishing news in print and visual media.
The program featured a training workshop in cooperation with the Sharjah Police General Command on security media for children, and how to formulate its messages, with a presentation on the ‘Little Policeman’ magazine experience.
The Ithmaar trainees were also taught about the importance of ensuring the authenticity of facts, staying clear of rumours, distinguishing facts from fake news and false information and ways of verifying the accuracy of news.
The training program also featured lessons about essential designing skills, visual creativity and practical applications through the design tool Canva. The trainees studied photojournalism and editing skills besides using their smartphones to create successful media content with the help of various tools and smart applications.
As part of their training, the students were familiarised with a host of practical applications at the Al Majaz Amphitheatre media studio to discover their media talents and aptitudes.
The training also included a training workshop on the art of media presentation, audio recording and creating your own podcast. The program included a specialised workshop on creativity in social media communication and production and photography skills.