Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

60 years: Our alumni s stories

12/05/2023

Sixty years after it was founded Thomson Foundation - now joined by the Berlin based Thomson Media, continues to innovate. Its blended approach to life-long learning supports and inspires journalists and media organisations worldwide.

As part of our 60th anniversary weve caught up with some of our alumni to find out what impact our training has had on their lives.

Ibrahim Hamidi Ibrahim Hamidi says that joining our summer training course in Cardiff in 2000 opened up the world to him. He is currently the Executive Editor at the London-based political news journal, AlmajallaAR and AlmajallaEN, and a Senior Diplomatic Editor for Asharq Al-awsat News.

What was inspiring was that you mingle with other journalists from around the world. That was the first wake-up call for me, you have to look beyond Syria to understand the whole world Ibrahim Hamidi is the Senior Diplomatic Editor for Asharq Al-awsat News.

KC Saranga Founder of ADA DERANA Mojo Force in Sri Lanka, KC Saranga first came to the attention of Thomson Foundation when he entered our Mobile Journalism (Mojo) competition in 2019.

Now General Manager - News & Current Affairs at TV Derana, he is also leading the Mojo Lanka Academy, a virtual training centre for mobile storytellers.

My link with Thomson Foundation made me a Mojo trainer and it opened a new avenue for me in journalism. KC Saranga is General Manager, News & Current Affairs, TV Derana in Sri Lanka.

Robin-Lee Francke Since Robin-Lee Francke attended Thomson Foundations Summer Course in 2019, she has worked for both Daily Voice newspaper and Africa News Agency as a content producer in South Africa. She has a strong desire to make a difference in society and now works for IOL, also known as independent Online.

The summer course opened up a whole world of journalism and opportunity to me and I never knew existed. Robin-Lee is a multimedia journalist with IOL in South Africa.

Shoaib Sharifi Afghan Filmmaker, Shoaib Sharifi joined the Thomson Foundation summer training course in 2002. Now Afghanistan Country Director for BBC Media Action, he received the Bafta for the Best Single Documentary, My Childhood, My Country, 20 years in Afghanistan.

We need to tell local journalists how good they are to trust them. They really are good. Shoaib Sharifi is currently Afghanistan Country Director for BBC Media Action.

Kai Hui Wong Kai Hui Wong won our Young Journalist Award in 2021. Born in Malaysia, she now works as a freelance journalist in Taiwan. In her winning entries she relied on data journalism and monitoring to alert people about the impact of any encroaching development, potential environmental damage and possible abuses of power.

There are so many constraints and challenges locally and also globally. I still hope that we can always continue our missions to observe and document with good profession and courage Kai Hui Wong is a freelance journalist and editor

Lekan Otufodunrin The training that Lekan Otufodunrin received from the Thomson Foundation in Cardiff in 1998 made such an impact that his recently published book is titled Dateline Cardiff. Lekan runs a media mentoring and coaching organisation in Nigeria and traces his success as a trainer back to his three months in Cardiff.

There was no structured training for journalists and media organisations in Nigeria. We learnt that kind of training at Thomson Foundation, that is what I do now. Lekan Otufodunrin is the Executive Director of Media Career Development Network.

Mossaber Hossain Mosabber Hossain received South Asian Inquirer Investigative Journalism Award in 2014 from the Thomson Foundation, for his investigation into alleged financial corruption in the telecom sector in Bangladesh. He joined us in London for a weeks training course as part of his prize.

He currently works at Daily Prothom Alo, a popular newspaper and online portal in Bangladesh.

In 2014, I received the Investigative Inquirer Journalism Award. The award was a life-changing event to me. It has developed my leadership and networking capacity. Mosabber Hossain is an investigative journalist with Daily Prothom Alo in Bangladesh.

Gisella Rojas Gisella Alejandra Rojas Rodriguez won our 2018 mobile journalism competition. Her film, about the migrant bus following people fleeing violence in Honduras and travelling through Mexico in search of a new life in the United States, was the first she had made using a smartphone. She is a journalist based in Ecuador and currently works as a digital journalist for Ecuavisa Noticias.

I got the chance to build a network of journalists because I joined the summer course in London. Thomson Foundation has made a huge impact in my career. Gisella Rojas Rodriguez is a digital journalist with Ecuavisa Noticias

Hear more from our alumni about their journey with the Thomson Foundation.

-- Play

-- --

Celebrating 60 years Sixty years after it was founded, Thomson Foundation - now joined by the Berlin based Thomson Media, continues to innovate. Our blended approach to life-long learning supports and inspires journalists and media organisations worldwide because - journalism matters.

Explore our projects across the globe
LINK: http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/latest/60-years-our-alumnis-stories/...
See more stories from thompsonfoundation

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

13/05/2026

New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs

New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs Joel Pennington May 13, 2026 0 Comments New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...

13/05/2026

dB Broadcast Delivers New IP-based Cloudbass Sports OB Tr...

Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...

13/05/2026

Ikegami Announces its Broadcast Asia 2026 Innovations

Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...

13/05/2026

XRSA and FISE Partner to Deliver Immersive Action Sports...

FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...

13/05/2026

Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Built-In Power Zoom Lens

Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...

13/05/2026

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Commencement Ceremony

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...

13/05/2026

CBS Boston to Air CCBL Baseball

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/05/2026

Study: Free Streaming Emerges as TV's New Normal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/05/2026

Amagi Announces Major Enhancements To CLOUDPORT

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/05/2026

FCC Releases Updates to TVStudy Software

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/05/2026

Nexstar Names Elizabeth Ryder EVP, General Counsel

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/05/2026

Foundry releases Nuke Stage- simplifying virtual producti...

Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...

13/05/2026

Tradfluencer - The Sharon Shannon Story

A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm Watch the...

13/05/2026

Hermes Unlocks Self-Improving AI Agents, Powered by NVIDIA RTX PCs and DGX Spark

Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...

13/05/2026

NVIDIA, Ineffable Intelligence Team Up to Build the Future of Reinforcement Learning Infrastructure

Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...

12/05/2026

Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026

Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...

12/05/2026

G&D and CT Square Establish Joint Venture for India and Middle East Distribution

Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...

12/05/2026

Telemundo Reports Record Advertiser Demand for FIFA World Cup 2026 Coverage

With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...

12/05/2026

NHLs Stanley Pup Returns for Third Year on June 8

The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...

12/05/2026

NBCUniversal Outlines Ad Technology and Content Strategy at 2026 Upfront

NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...

12/05/2026

FOX Sports Funds Fandom Research Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School

FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...

12/05/2026

TNDV and Live Media Support NCAA Final Four Weekend for 13th Consecutive Year

TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...

12/05/2026

European Football Alliance Signs Distribution Agreement with Fubo Sports Network

The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...

12/05/2026

ESPN, TelevisaUnivision Ink Deal to Produce Additional Spanish-Language Super Bowl LXI Telecast

For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...

12/05/2026

CP Communications Manages RF Spectrum for Kentucky Derby Week

CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...

12/05/2026

LiveU and DRONERESPONDERS Announce Partnership for Public Safety Drone Video Transmission

LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...

12/05/2026

BMC TV Selects Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway for Horse Racing Transmissions

Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...

12/05/2026

NEP Europe to Deliver Broadcast Solutions for Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna

NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...

12/05/2026

Grass Valley Expands Collaboration with Ravensbourne University London on Media Production Education

Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...

12/05/2026

Stats Perform Launches Opta Pulse AI-Assisted Video Creation Platform

Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...

12/05/2026

FOX Sports and Sesame Workshop Announce Collaboration for FIFA World Cup 2026

FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...

12/05/2026

Little Show, Giant Heart: NHL in ASL Earns Two Sports Emmy Nominations in 2026

To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...

12/05/2026

At Its Annual Brandcast, YouTube Aims To Show Why Sports Is No Longer Just the Game

Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...

12/05/2026

Your Next Double Feature: Old Joy and Past Lives

A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...

12/05/2026

It's Your Party of the Year(s): A Look Back at Your Entire Music History on Spotify

Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...

12/05/2026

Black Lion Audio introduce the Auteur 8DAT

Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...

12/05/2026

Reason 14 now available

New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...

12/05/2026

One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pitch

One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...

12/05/2026

Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at PCIM Expo 2026

Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...

12/05/2026

Ad-Hoc News: aconnic AG announces improved fund raising plan to support business and refinance debt

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...

12/05/2026

CNN Pushes Into Lifestyle Products with CNN Weather' App Launch

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/05/2026

Marshall Electronics Cameras Elevate Elite Equestrian Com...

Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...

12/05/2026

IBC2026 registration opens as international media industr...

Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...

12/05/2026

Ross Video Showcases Unified Production Workflows at Broa...

Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...

12/05/2026

With over 50bn euros in assets under management and recor...

500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...