Aiming to build closer working ties between Hollywood and the MENA region, supporting the professional skills of a new generation of creative media talents, MBC Group has announced the Creative Communities Collaboration (CCC).

The programme sees partnership with the leading pay-TV group with the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (USC) with the participation of selected Hollywood film and TV experts, senior U.S. government officials, top content industry players, scholars and MBC Group board members.

Since 2016, MBC Group has partnered with the private media school, a number of leading Hollywood executives and showrunners to organise high-level entertainment industry gatherings and professional exchange programmes on the role of media in promoting tolerance through positive storytelling in the Arab world. One outcome of this process has been the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI), a State Department-funded professional training programme produced by USC aimed at increasing the capacity and standards of the Arab world’s creative talents and original storytelling.

The initiative stems from a shared understanding among the partners that television is a powerful tool that connects with audiences through compelling characters and meaningful storylines. Programmatic aspects include advanced professional training for writers, showrunners and TV executives.