The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) has launched its NGEN program for 2020, with new sessions aimed at facilitating deeper learning and a newly formed program for more experienced NGENers, dubbed NGEN Plus.
The goal of NGEN, established in 2008, is to give young media professionals with less than five years’ experience the skills to take control of their careers. NGEN runs more than 65 workshops a year, designed to teach skills around Leadership, Communication, Industry Knowledge and Personal Performance. NGENers get to learn from and network with industry experts and meet other like-minded individuals at the same stage in their careers.
This year sees the return of DIY sessions, giving NGENers the opportunity to design and present the type of sessions they’d like to attend. The DIY sessions will roll out in August 2020.
NGEN Plus was inspired by feedback from NGEN members who wanted greater access to mentoring and coaching, and more exclusive content that goes beyond the basics. The new program is open to young professionals with three to five years’ experience and unlocks additional benefits, such as more speakers, a new workshop format enabling deeper conversations, new topics relevant to their experience, and access to experienced mentors within the industry.
Spotify has signed on as the partner for NGEN PLUS events across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, while Boomtown has partnered with NGEN PLUS to help drive its educational objectives for 2020, via its new workshop – Boomtown Masterclass: Rethink Regional.
Additional NGEN Plus speakers will include Greg “Sparrow” Graham, Nicole Velik from The Ideas Bodega, former MediaCom Chief Investment & Growth Officer Nicole Turley, and Wade Kingsley from The Ideas Business, with sessions covering how to lead teams with creativity, mental resilience and idea generation. Longer format 180-minute sessions will enable deeper learning.
The annual NGEN Charity Cup Dodgeball tournament returns for its seventh year in 2020, with the aim of raising much-needed funds for UNLTD youth partner charities. Last year, the Charity Cup raised more than $20,000 for BackTrack and Positive Humans Movement.
Melanie Aslanidis, the MFA’s Head of NGEN, said: “Thanks to the commitment of our industry leaders and the enthusiasm of the next generation of media professionals, NGEN has grown into a strong community that has helped develop the careers of seven out of 10 people currently working in our industry. Our goal is to continue to develop our program to ensure our future leaders have access to the best training, encouragement and opportunity to learn and develop.”
There are currently more than 3,000 NGENers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane across 70 companies, with approximately 57% of members from media agencies and 43% from media owners.
