As CTO, how do you keep abreast of whats happening all the time? At Al Jazeera, with so many things happening, one naturally has to be tuned in. We accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. The most pressing task is to encourage people to adapt and keep […]
As CTO, how do you keep abreast of whats happening all the time?
At Al Jazeera, with so many things happening, one naturally has to be tuned in. We accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. The most pressing task is to encourage people to adapt and keep on evolving.
What is Qatars own vision about broadcast?
The Qatari government has invested hugely in the country and its people. It has set the right infrastructure in all aspects of life in Qatar. We are investing in laying fiber optic cables; we are investing in satellite and more channels. Ultimately, we want to bring excitement and knowledge to the many different areas of broadcasting.
The fiber optic initiative is an Al Jazeera initiative?
It is a Qatar Foundation initiative. They have already started laying the cables down.
But you need landing rights yes?
Yes, of course. The cost in this region is very high. The cost of laying a fiber optic cable from Doha to Fujairah is almost half the cost when doing the same around the world.
Why is that?
Monopoly, and this is what we are trying to overcome.
Do you have any training initiatives?
We now have a brand new training centre aimed at training external people as well as our own staff. Training for Qataris in the field of journalism and photography is free-of-charge at our training centre and is open commercially to everyone. We have also signed MoUs with some Qatari and international universities to provide internships at Al Jazeera.
