Facebook, Afrinolly kickstart training for content creators

Justice Godfrey Okamgba

In a move geared at empowering creative communities across Nigeria, Facebook and Afrinolly have announced the start of a new ‘Facebook for Creators’ training programme, designed to equip the next generation of content creators with the skills to thrive in a digital world.

Focused on creative entrepreneurs and journalism students, the multi-city creative training also aims to help artists, photographers, designers, filmmakers and other creatives leverage digital tools to gain more visibility around their work, engage with and grow their audiences.

Sherry Dzinoreva, policy programnes manager, EMEA at Facebook said, “We know that the future of Africa is young, and that the creative community here in Nigeria is amongst the most exciting and very best in the world.

“Our partnership with Afrinolly and the curation of this bespoke training reinforces our commitment to the continent, and Nigeria. Our goal is to continue to support and invest in young and diverse creative talent, and this is just another step.”

Providing a specially adapted ‘Facebook Journalism Project’ training for journalism students, the focus will be on preparing participants for jobs in a digital age.

This interactive module will explore and discuss tips and best practices, ways to discover information and distribute work using social media, and how to engage and build audiences around their reporting.

Commenting on the partnership and Facebook Journalism Project, Sarah Brown, news training and literacy, media partnerships, EMEA at Facebook said: “We regularly visit newsrooms to learn and share, and host journalists from around the world to discuss best practices so the skills learned will become an invaluable resource. This adapted training
for the future journalists of Nigeria will provide the valuable skills needed in this digital age.

”The Facebook for Creators programme is set to rollout in cities across Nigeria, including Abuja, Lagos, Jos and Kaduna and will be free for participants.

Chike Maduegbuna, CEO, Afrinolly added: “We are very excited at the opportunity Facebook is providing media and creative entrepreneurs in Nigeria to increase both engagement and monetization.

We are happy that Facebook is partnering with a multimedia content creation hub, like Afrinolly Creative Hub for this initiative.”