In execution of its 2023 action plan, and in line with the recommendations of the last   meeting of the ASBU Media Training Academy Consultative Council, the ASBU Academy held the ninth, meeting of its Consultative Council on 23/10/2023. 

This meeting was held in presence, presided over by Eng. Abdul Rahim Suleiman, Director General of the Arab States Broadcasting Union and chaired by Engineer Dr. Riyadh Kamal Najm, and attended by the members of the Consultative Council, the Executive Team of the Academy and the representatives of ASBU Directorate General concerned Departments. Noting also that three members of the Consultative Council participated directly online via the Zoom application.

The agenda of this meeting revolved around two main points: the first concerned presenting and discussing the Academy’s activity during the year 2023, and the second included a presentation of the main features of the Academy’s work plan for the year 2024.

Engineer Abdelrahim Suleiman opened the meeting and welcomed the Members of the Consultative Council and thanked them for their participation and support to the Academy’s activities and progress. He also praised the Academy’s efforts in developing the excellent Training Program that the Academy is delivering with topical and relevant themes.

On taking the floor to chair the meeting’s proceedings Eng. Dr. Riyadh Najm, Chairman of ASBU Academy Consultative Council, thanked the ASBU Director General for his outstanding address, and noted with great appreciation the increasing number of Training sessions conducted in cooperation with international partners, as well as the participation of trainees from outside the Arab region.

Dr Ridha Najar, ASBU Academy Manager presented a report on the progress and executed training plan for the current year 2023, stating in particular that the Academy had organized, up to October 20th , 22 training sessions and seminars with the participation of 386 trainees from 52 Organizations and 33 countries, and that the trainees’ satisfaction rate with the academy’s activities during this period exceeded 87%. This is in addition to the 10 free lessons available on the academy’s e-learning platform, covering various Technical and Program specializations.

In addition to strengthening cooperation relations with its traditional and distinguished partners, the Academy seeks to expand this field in terms of developing training opportunities with a number of Arab and international institutions such as the Arab Satellite Communications Corporation-Arabsat, the ABU and the World Forum for Digital Terrestrial Radio Broadcasting (World DAB), as well as some of the leading companies in the world of audiovisual technology, as well as renewing the partnership with INA and France Media Monde.

The topics planned in this partnership fall within the core interests of our member Broadcast Organizations, and even though offered frequently, they are developed with different approaches (up graded levels, newest techniques…).

An extensive discussion took place between the Council Members, in which they praised the fact that the training courses keep pace with the latest developments in the audiovisual field, and the noticeable improvement in the selection of trainers and trainees thanks to the efforts of the Academy team.

A number of Recommendations have been issued, mainly:

– Develop Further cooperation and Partnership with Arab and International Academies, both public and private

– Organizing a periodic meeting with those responsible for training in member Organizations

– The possibility of modifying the course program by adding topics imposed by new events, such as the current events in Palestine

– Thinking about an investment strategy for the academy in harmony with the Union’s policy in this field

In a review of the most important features of the Academy’s training plan for the year 2024 in the engineering and program fields, the Council expressed its satisfaction with the importance that the Academy attaches to keeping up with the latest technologies, as well as advanced tools and methods in audiovisual work and stakes, as well as  the necessity of implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI)  in the field.

The  ASBU Director General, Eng. Abdel Rahim Suleiman, stated that the ASBU General Directorate is moving towards using artificial intelligence techniques and applications in developing the work of the academy, especially with regard to the services that accompany the training sessions such as simultaneous translation and the completion of some content that can be used by trainers and trainees.

The members of the Council appreciated this trend because artificial intelligence technologies and applications can provide important and broad opportunities and possibilities to develop the work and activities of the Academy.