ICT CS JOE MUCHERU OPENS MULTICHOICE TALENT FACTORY ACADEMY
MultiChoice Africa is pleased to announce that the Multichoice Talent Factory Academy in East Africa officially opened its doors today. The launch took place at a highly-anticipated ceremony at the MultiChoice Kenya headquarters in Nairobi alongside MultiChoice partners, stakeholders, dignitaries and industry professionals.
Featuring a stellar line up, the launch event saw Information and Communication Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Mucheru, as one of the main keynote speakers of the day. Director-General,Communictions Authority of Kenya,Eng. Francis Wangusi, Principal Secretary, State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication, Fatuma Hirsi Mohammed, John Kiarie MP Dagoretti South, CEO Kenya Film Classification Board, Dr Ezekiel Mutua and Godfrey Mngereza, Executive Secretary at the National Art Council of Tanzania were also in attendance
“The key to longevity of our culture, industry and storytelling traditions, lie in the opportunities we create for established creative professionals to exercise their craft while simultaneously mentoring the next generation. The MultiChoice Talent Factory is a critical link to realising this dream. It is through this lens that we celebrate our investment in the development of future creative leaders, the local economy and reverence for the art of storytelling in the African tradition – truly giving agency to the MultiChoice vision of Enriching Lives.” said Maharage Chande, Northern Region Director at MultiChoice Africa.
Information and Communication Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Mucheru, further praised the initiative for supporting the creative industry with skills development in East Africa. “I am thankful to MultiChoice for the immense investment they are putting in to making sure that we have the right being developed and these will be useful for both television and other industries in film. This will go a long way in ensuring that jobs are being created and increasing the entertainment that customer will access from the content that they will produce. I hope the class of 2018 will be an inspiration to future generations who would aspire to be in this industry.
The 20 candidates from across the region will begin their 12-month training programme at the Academy this month where they will be provided with skillsets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling.
In terms of improving quality and standards, we have come a very long way in the past 20 years. Now we need to ask ourselves: What is the East African formula in film and television? This formula is not something formal that is written, but it is visible in every aspect of a piece of work. It is that formula that I am excited to unearth and refine with the candidates of this academy, especially where telling African stories is at the heart of it,” said East Africa Academy Director Njoki Muhoho.