IMI Media Academy and Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation Launch Five-Year Partnership to Develop the Next Generation of Arab Media Talent
IMI Media Academy and the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation (AGF) have announced a five-year strategic partnership under Al Ghurair Voice Lab with IMI, to develop the next generation of Arab media talent, creating stronger pathways from education and skills development to practical industry experience and professional opportunities.
Over five years, the partnership aims to reach 29,000 young people through learning and development initiatives. It will also help create pathways into the media sector by facilitating access to internships, placements, employment opportunities and other forms of professional development.
The agreement was signed by Ali Al Hammadi, Chief Operating Officer at IMI, and Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of IMI, and His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the Board of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation.
The partnership comes as rapid changes in technology, audience behavior and media production are reshaping the skills required across the industry. It brings together IMI Media Academy’s industry expertise, professional training capabilities and access to a dynamic media ecosystem with AGF’s regional experience in education and youth empowerment and its learning-to-earning approach, connecting skills development with pathways to meaningful professional opportunities.
Through Al Ghurair Voice Lab with IMI, the two organizations deliver seven interconnected programs spanning foundational media skills, advanced professional upskilling, university curriculum integration, storytelling for school students, national youth initiatives, and regional programming across the Arab region. Together, these will provide young people with technical and professional skills, practical learning, mentorship and direct exposure to media professionals and workplaces.
The partnership builds on the organizations’ existing collaboration through Nomu Al Ghurair Siraj programme, which has equipped 450 graduates with future-ready media skills and provided opportunities to engage directly with the media industry. The five-year agreement significantly expands that work in scale and ambition, with a greater focus on connecting learning to tangible professional opportunities.
Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar, CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, said: “Media has an important role in how our region sees itself and how others see us. That makes investing in the people who will shape its future especially important. Through this partnership with IMI, young people will have the chance to learn within a real media environment, develop their skills alongside professionals and see a clearer route into the industry. For us at AGF, that connection between learning and real opportunity is fundamental. We want young people across the Arab region to have the skills, the access and the space to contribute their perspectives and tell the stories of their communities.”
Khalid Al Hosani, Director of Operations at IMI Media Academy, said: “This partnership is about building a stronger pipeline of Arab media talent—not simply delivering training. By connecting education directly with practical experience, mentorship and professional opportunities, we will help thousands of young people move from learning about the media industry to actively contributing to it. Our ambition is to create a model that delivers measurable outcomes in the UAE and can be expanded across the region.”
Chantal Saliba, Director of Media & Training at IMI Media Academy, said: “Media cannot be learned from a classroom alone. Young people need the opportunity to work with experienced professionals, understand how newsrooms and creative teams operate, and develop their own voices through practice. This partnership will give them that exposure—helping them build not only the technical skills required by today’s industry, but also the judgment, confidence and curiosity needed to shape its future.”
The partnership will launch in the UAE and is expected to expand across the region over the five-year period. Through this collaboration, AGF and IMI Media Academy aim to strengthen the pipeline of skilled Arab media professionals and create clearer pathways for young people to move from education and training into the industry.