RIYADH: The Misk Academy, part of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Foundation (Misk), launched on Monday the Misk Academy Forum “1 Hour Panel Talk,” a regular monthly interactive discussion platform, featuring a group of experts and specialists on various topics including technology, leadership and digital media.

The platform aims to transfer expertise and raise awareness of digital media fields, and to provide young people interested in the world of media with the information they need to develop the future of the sector in the Kingdom.
The first panel discussion that took place at Prince Sultan University, under the theme “The Future of Animation in Saudi Arabia”, hosted the CEO of Manga Production Company, Essam Bukhari, filmmaker and director Ayman Jamal, whose film “Bilal” topped the list of the top 10 animated films of 2018, the designer, creative director and animation producer Malik Nejer, owner of the “Masameer” (Nails) series, and Umar Ben Dahloos, the noted painter and artistic director of Ubrand.

In the presence of more than 100 young filmmakers and media professionals, the panel discussion assessed local experiences compared to global ones, presenting the challenges facing animators in the Kingdom.
Misk Academy has worked since its inception to launch a number of educational and development programs in technical skills, financial technology programs and creative digital media, with the aim of training and qualifying young Saudis to become the country’s next generation of entrepreneurs, developers, creatives and engineers.
To date, its programs have taught more than 9,000 people in more than 30 cities and provinces in the Kingdom, with a career development success rate of 80 percent.