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ABU Media Academy Up and Running

The visionary new ABU Media Academy is on track to begin operating on 7 July with the appointment of its inaugural head, Mr Steve Ahern.

The AMA was one of the goals in the ABU Three Year Action Plan, which was approved at the ABU General Assembly in Tokyo in November 2019.

ABU Secretary-General Dr Javad Mottaghi says the Media Academy will expand the ability of the Union to serve members with online as well as face-to-face training, and it will assist members without in-house training capacity to establish their own training centres. Through the Media Academy, the ABU will also work to form partnerships with universities around the world to allow members the opportunity for higher level studies at recognised centres of higher learning.

Dr Mottaghi says he is happy that the ABU has appointed Mr Ahern as the Head of the new ABU Media Academy, in time for it to begin operations on 7 July, with a formal launch to be held at the ABU General Assembly in Hanoi in December.

Mr Ahern has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, programmer and manager in radio, TV, and new media. As the publisher of two online trade journals for the media industry, he has been at the forefront of new media content delivery and has taught broadcasters around the world techniques and business strategies for the new media age.

He founded media and broadcast institutes in South Africa (NEMISA) and Afghanistan (Nai Media Institute) and has written curriculum for training institutes such as Singapore Media Academy and the Liberia Media Centre.

Dr Mottaghi says Mr Ahern was a natural choice to head the new ABU Media Academy.

“He comes highly credentialled and has been a part of the ABU family for many years. ,” Dr Mottaghi says. “