Abu Dhabi-based twofour54 tadreeb, a premier media skills training academy in the region, has successfully completed two training courses for Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on reporting business news and mobile journalism.

Nine reporters completed a five day training course in Reporting Business News, honing their skills and understanding of financial news reporting and the current economic climate, said a statement from tadreeb.

The Mobile Journalism course was carried out in conjunction with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Journalists were trained in identifying opportunities to create mobile multimedia journalism.

Aimed at providing experienced journalists with the skills required to use mobile devices to communicate their stories, this course focused on creating news content appropriate for the platform.

'At Kuna we pride ourselves on investing in and supporting our highly skilled team of media professionals,' said Lamia Al-Humaidhi, director of Kuna Center for Training & Development of Media Skills.

'Since mobile phones and PDAs have become a favourite technology worldwide, the training courses were invaluable in assisting us in identifying opportunities to create mobile multimedia journalism and in gaining the skills to devise content intended to raise the profile of key issues important to our audiences.'

'The programme also allowed insight to all journalists wanting to gain a greater understanding of reporting financial news under the current economic conditions,' Lamia explained.

“The vocational skills learnt were not only relevant, but importantly, they will have a tangible impact on the way we approach and manage new reporting techniques,” she added.

Twofour54 is an Abu Dhabi government initiative and an integral part of its 2030 plan, which seeks to diversify the Emirate’s economy and establish the Emirate as the cultural capital of the Middle East, it added-TradeArabia News Service