MENA Newswire: Canon Middle East, (CME), the leading provider of imaging technologies hosted the first in-person award ceremony to commemorate the closing of AKTASHIF youth program 2.0 and celebrated its winners. Having received over 550 applicants to the program, three lucky winners were announced, with the grand prize winner walking away with AED 15,000 cash prize, AED 10,000 worth of Canon products and much more.
AKTASHIF is a youth program aimed at recognizing the potential of the next generation of storytellers and content creators and empowering them to turn their passion into a rewarding career, and the 2022 edition of the program is particularly noteworthy, as it was also launched in Arabic, to ensure access from a wider audience this season.
Venkatasubramanian (Subbu) Hariharan Managing Director, Canon Middle East and Turkey said: “We are very happy and excited to celebrate the next generation of creative talent based in the Middle East. Underscored by the principles of Kyosei – living and working together for the common good, AKTASHIF is designed to empower talented and passionate individuals to discover and unleash their creative career. We had an incredible response when we launched the AKTASHIF program in 2020 and AKTASHIF 2.0 has gone even further with a dedicated Arabic version and the response to the program has been incredibly positive. I congratulate all our winners and look forward to seeing more students unlocking their potential with our upcoming AKTASHIF seasons.”
The 3 winners of AKTASHIF 2.0 are: Angelica Banares, a student at Middlesex University was the grand winner of the competition and won AED 10,000 worth of Canon products, AED 15,000 in cash, a one-year membership with GoDaddy and in5, to help kickstart her creative business idea. Her winning concept of MetaPod is a private, miniature studio with professional equipment aimed at producing bite-sized content packages for social media.
The two additional winners, Abbas Abdul Razak and Arjun Radeesh, who are also students of Middlesex University won AED 10,000 worth of Canon products, and a one-year membership with GoDaddy and in5. Abbas Abdul Razak’s project Misfit is a seasonal digital plus print fashion magazine that creates content for the Dubai streetwear community, whereas Arjun Radeesh’s project Arjun Talks to Grads is an audio and video podcast talking about life at university for prospective students. After the success of AKTASHIF 2.0, students will soon have the chance to participate in the next season. Stay tuned for details and to know more about AKTASHIF.