DUBAI — MiSK Foundation and Bloomberg have begun an intensive weeklong financial journalism training program in Dubai for Saudi students. The initiative aims to advance financial literacy and journalism in Saudi Arabia through training conducted by Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, and more than 20 Bloomberg journalists and analysts.

The course is based in Bloomberg’s newsroom in Dubai where students will learn Bloomberg's brand of data-driven journalism in the news organization's largest Middle East bureau. A total of 30 aspiring Saudi journalists are taking part — 22 women and 8 men. Their majors range from journalism and marketing to finance.

This follows the signing of an agreement between Bloomberg and the MiSK Foundation in November 2016 to explore a number of joint initiatives. The collaboration sees Bloomberg develop and deliver cross-disciplinary education and training programs focused on business, economics, finance and journalism to enhance the skills and knowledge of young finance and media professionals in the Kingdom.

The collaboration extends Bloomberg’s global financial journalism training programs. These include the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, the Bloomberg-UNC Business Journalism Diversity Program in the US, the Asian College of Journalism-Bloomberg Postgraduate Program in India, and the Tsinghua University Global Business Journalism Program in China. — SG