Interview:Media needs development [Archives:2003/627/Community]
Ismail Al-Ghabiri
Media Center for Training & Qualifying Institute (MCTQI) is a scientific institution that aims at conducting professional training and rehabilitation of employees in all media; governmental and non-governmental institutions and benefits from the scientific studies and field researches that the institute does, using curriculum of communication sciences.
Thus, MCTQI enables employees in all different mass media to raise their abilities and develop their professional and creative skills.
Mr. Ismael al-Ghabri, Yemen Times reporter, has an interview with the Dean of the MCTQI Dr. Abduallah Ali al-Zalab who has talked about the MCTQI policy, its capabilities and the nature of the program it renders as well as a number of issues.
Q: What prompted the establishment of the MCTQI, what stages it has passed through?
A: The institute was founded upon a decree in 1999 in which Khalifa institute for broadcasting and TV in Sana'a and the Media Training institute were incorporated.
Regarding the reasons behind establishing the MCTQI, there are many, however, but mainly the extensive speedy development in communication world and technology have greatly had effect on the mass media, generally, as it has created more power and more effect. So because of special channels and in the swift delivering and exchange the information via new means such as Internet, that helped media to be one of the main bases for any country development and progress.
Yemen has been experiencing many big changes, and democracy is one of the most important one. Democracy in any country needs efficient media in all political, social and economic fields. The media to become more efficient and effective does not need perpetration only, but also efficient minds having glamorous abilities to run the media work as well as to respond to updating wants and to development needs in the country. Man is development-maker and its aim and the most investments in any country seeks progress in all fields is to pay attention to human. Thus, it has been necessary to establish the institute to train and rehabilitate all employees in official and private-sector media institutions, as it is high cost for training abroad.
Mechanisms
Q: What is the mechanism and policy that the training workshops for employees in media field based on and how do you choose the trainees?
A: The institute always cherishes to work on studied plans responding to reality needs as well as the media institutions'. So there is annual plan to meet the requirements, besides we respond to urgent requirements that media institutions need throughout the year.
Of course, the institute is open to all media institutions in the country as it is national institute receiving all the people without taking into account their political and party affiliations and rehabilitates all the interested, either in private or in governmental and non-governmental organizations and parties. The institute trains all workers in the media without exception.
Regarding the criteria of choosing trainees it is left up to the institutions but in special workshops we ask that the trainee has to have previous experiences and skills as the training is for a short time. And the goal of training is meant to acquire new and additional experiences. We do not accept anybody who does not fit, even his or her institute has nominated him or her. Because she/he will impede the training course so we address the institutions in advance about our conditions.
Q: Is the institute open for only institutions or individuals as well?
A: We do it for institutions and now we study the possibility of giving opportunity to individuals, but we haven't enough capability at the time being. However, we are looking forward to achieving this goal in future.That's certainly requires approval from the premiership and the ministry of finance.
Capabilities
Q: What capabilities and technological equipment do you have?
A: We have a training studio for broadcasting and TV and modern monitoring and montage units. In addition, we have two halls for distant training via Internet and satellites as well as there is a hall for electronic training and computer lab. Now we seek to prepare languages lab and training in press lab as well.
Q: It is known that training courses only would not create successful media men, to what extent they can serve him as a media man?
A: The goal is to refresh those employees memory and get them acquainted with the latest information and upgrade their personal abilities with the skills, experiences and new techniques. Working in media field is renewable world having no limit. The institute tries to get hold of the latest information and experiences. The training is not limited to certain category, it's continuous activity. There is the training targeting employees possessing previous experiences. This is called activating training. Another type of training is related to teaching new abilities and skills, technical, press or information. There are also programs set up employees fresh at mass media field.
Distant education
Q: Recently, We have read that the institute is going to establish workshops in media field titled distant training. Could you elaborate on this topic?
A: The distant training comes as result of an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Arab organization for education and culture and science and the Arab countries broadcasting union. The distant training is starting in March. This agreement Yemen singed along with 15 Arab countries aims to benefit from this kind of training.
The training aims at to reduce the high costs for training outside those 15 countries. Therefore, workshops will be done in a certain country and the signatory countries will benefit at the same time via the Internet and satellites that would enable trainees to ask the trainer or the lecturer who is in another country.
Q:What are the fields that training will handle?
A:The distant training is theoretical and has wide ranges. Fields of training are requested by member states. Coordinators will be selected from those states and through them various kinds of fields wanted will be specified.
Taking care of human
Q: Many of our media institutions suffer from professional deficiencies, how can this be fixed?
A: The ideal solution is to pay attention to the human. We have to invest and develop the human mind as well as equipment and institutional construction. It is necessary to pay them due attention and benefit from others' experiences and experiments.It is not necessary to begin from scratch or go through all failing experiments they had experienced. We have to learn from and overcome them.
Equipment expiry date has to be checked as there are some with one or two years expiry duration. We know that there is a better technology to come. So we have to buy only high-tech equipment. The important thing is developing the human mind that can give generously and continuously in different fields. The ultimate goal of development in any society is the human. Without developing and training of human mind, it will be impossible to develop the media work or any other activity.
Future plans
Q: What are your future plans and ambitions? A
A: Our ambitions are limitless. But the capabilities are always impediment. However, the ambition is still existent. We are looking for meeting the needs of media institutions for raising media employees abilities technologically and professionally. We are ambitious that institute will open for all media employees in the Peninsula, Gulf and Horn of Africa to benefit from institute capabilities. What we are looking for is to develop and improve the media work throughout making evaluation studies on which plans and programs are put to raise the abilities of the employees in media institutions. We are looking forward to modernizing special diploma after the university or a year for a number of media specialists.
Q: What workshops do you intend to hold in the coming months?
A: The training programs in institute are divided into three branches; press, TV and radio. There are special programs and workshops devoted for press will be held next months. For instance, news analysis, the importance of advertisements in newspapers, press production, press writing forms and news sources etc. In the field of radio there is a workshop to be held for preparing and presenting radio programs as well as production, montage, course in language and presentation and digital broadcasting, programs in coordinating and preparing foreign programs as well. In the Television field there are courses such as conducting TV interviews, producing programs and TV montage, decoration design, lighting, photographing and computer using in directing TV production centers.
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[archive-e:627-v:13-y:2003-d:2003-03-17-p:community]
