MultiChoice Talent Factory helps drive UN Covid campaign

The longstanding successful partnership between the MultiChoice Group (www.MultiChoice.com) and the United Nations Verified Campaign has been to include the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF). MTF alumni have been commissioned again to produce a new COVID-19 campaign for the global body.

The campaign, titled Together We Can, aims to fight pandemic fatigue, sharing a public-service announcement (PSA) that encourage people to continue following COVID-19 safety protocols.

The MTF has already supported several UN Verified campaigns – including the Pause campaign against misinformation and the Zwakala COVID-19 awareness drive – with MultiChoice harnessing the power of its platforms to give audiences access to credible, accurate COVID-19 information.

The latest PSA was shot in Nigeria, Angola, and Namibia, and will resonate with audiences across the continent. The PSA’s will be broadcast across Africa on DStv and GOtv channels, as well as some key free-to-air channels.

“We are very excited to again have MultiChoice on board to help produce our campaign content and expand our reach across Africa,” says Masimba. “Multichoice is uniquely positioned to deliver this important message to their diverse audiences across the continent,” says Mr Masimba Tafirenyika, Director, UN Information Centre, Pretoria South Africa.

The campaign is the result of another powerful partnership – between MultiChoice and the New York Film Academy (NYFA), which sees high-performing graduates of MTF academies in Nairobi, Lagos and Lusaka selected for further training through NYFA.

“Campaigns like these are a great vehicle for the talented creative professionals that Africa produces,” says NYFA VP Jim Miller. “It’s also proof of how effective the MTF and NYFA collaboration has been. It’s a natural extension of our commitment to help bolster the skills of talented African storytellers.”

The campaign is also an endorsement of the MTF curriculum, which allows students and graduates to collaborate with global partners on practical work with real-world relevance, so they can contribute to society, while building the skills to become industry professionals or entrepreneurs.

MTF Director Nwabisa Matyumza says, MTF alumni have now come full circle, from learning skills to applying what they have learned, for the benefit of African audiences.

“This campaign is a great opportunity for MTF graduates to multiply our impact across Africa,” says Matyumza. “For a student (now alumni) from Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya or Angola to now be working with global clients is a massive step. To influence behaviour and save lives as part of this global programme is even more exciting.”

“We’re very intentional about ensuring that MTF alumni work on the productions,” says Reatile Tekateka, Multichoice Africa Group Executive Head of Corporate Affairs. “These are commercial jobs, paid for by the UN, to raise COVID-19 awareness. For MultiChoice, it’s a great chance to be a platform for good, while creating opportunities for young people and strengthen global partnerships.”

Strategic relationships with likeminded global partners like those with the UN and NYFA have seen around 92% of MTF alumni go on to find work in the broadcast industry or launch their own production companies. MultiChoice also regularly commissions MTF alumni to produce its own content.

“We’re proud to play a role in developing our industry,” says Tekateka. “We are creating opportunities, but also empowering our alumni to become productive drivers of the sector themselves.”