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60 selected from over 800 applicants for Bloomberg financial journalism programme. Sixty participants have been selected from more than 800 applicants for Namibia's first Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) Financial Journalism Training Programme, which will run for seven months and focus on strengthening business, economic and data-driven reporting. The programme was officially launched in Windhoek on Tuesday through a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), the International University of Management (IUM) and Strathmore Business School. NUST Executive Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Human Sciences and Education Professor Efigenia Semente said Namibia is the 10th African country to host the programme, following previous editions in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Ethiopia. Namibia market insights "These 60 participants were selected from more than 800 applicants. They come from various local media houses, such as the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation, newspapers, community radio stations, banks, ministries and regulatory institutions," Semente said. The Namibian cohort comprises journalists, communications professionals and participants from financial, government and regulatory institutions. The programme is expected to conclude in May 2027. According to Semente, more than 1,000 journalists have graduated from the programme across Africa. "Read data first, then write a story. Financial journalism demands much more of this discipline," she said. International University of Management Vice Chancellor Professor Osmund Mwandemele said the programme comes as Namibia's economy becomes increasingly data-driven, creating a need for stronger financial reporting and analytical skills. "The long-term benefits of this programme extend beyond increasing the number of highly trained business and financial journalists. It enhances financial and data reporting skills and creates a lasting network of professionals," Mwandemele said. Bank of Namibia Technical Advisor to the Governor Romeo Nel said financial journalism plays a role in improving public understanding of economic developments, monetary policy decisions and financial risks. Namibia market insights "Financial journalism is part of the infrastructure of financial stability, not by carrying the central bank's narrative, but by turning data into understanding, building financial literacy and subjecting institutions to scrutiny," Nel said. He urged participants to prioritise accuracy, context and verification when reporting on financial and economic matters. "Numbers tell us what happened. Good journalists tell us what it means," he said. Information and Communication Technology Minister Emma Theofelus said a gap remains between the economic information being published and the public's understanding of how it affects their daily lives. "There is a gap between the number being published and the number being understood. All 60 of you become an integral part in being asked to close that gap," Theofelus said. Bloomberg Program Manager for Corporate Philanthropy in Africa and the Middle East Ndivhuwo Nemukula said the BMIA programme was established in 2014 to strengthen data-driven financial journalism across Africa. Discover more "Today, Namibia becomes the 10th country across the continent to deliver the Financial Journalism Training Programme," Nemukula said. Namibia market insights She said the initiative has equipped more than 1,000 journalists from 21 countries with skills to report on business, finance and economic issues. The curriculum covers economics, finance, public policy, financial markets, data analysis, climate reporting and financial journalism. Participants will also have access to Bloomberg Terminal resources and industry practitioners

Artist documentary maker Art21 launches searchable archive of unseen footage. September 15, 2026 12:45pm When curator and filmmaker Susan Sollins founded the nonprofit Art21 in the late 1990s, her goal was to introduce contemporary artists to a wider audience by bringing documentaries about them to television and, later, to the internet. Reviewing Art21's first series, Art21: Art in the 21st Century, which aired on PBS in 2001, Kay Larson, writing in the New York Times, praised the show for "getting rid of narrators and allowing artists to tell us in their own words how they work and why they do what they do." That approach takes time - and a lot of filming. Typically Art21 shoots 40 hours with an artist to get an hour of film that aired, said Art21's current director, Tina Kukielski. "This is the Art21 style: we're there, and we're patient - cameras are rolling," she said. That has resulted in a lot of footage left on the cutting room floor. With 315 artist interviews under its belt, the organization is sitting on some 4,000 hours of tape. Just in time for Art21's 25th anniversary, they've made that footage into a searchable archive. "This is a game changer for us," Kukielski said. The Art21 Archive is word-searchable, so you can pull up footage of any number of artists talking about, say, the influence of Willem de Kooning. While not public, the archive is already being put to use. The director of a Jack Whitten documentary came to Art21 to review footage from the interview Art21 did with the painter shortly before he died in 2018. (With the help of an Art21 archivist, I was able to do a search and found a gem of Whitten on de Kooning: "[I was] hanging out with Bill de Kooning as a young painter and... learning more and more about what I got to do, and I got to get [out] from under the thumbs of Bill de Kooning, I knew I had to go faster... Bill de Kooning, we always speak of speed, but it wasn't fast enough for me. It was still relational, one mark in relation to another mark.") The archive project, which has been made possible by seed funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Hearthland Foundation (founded by Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg), came together in June, when the Art21 team completed its vast Media Asset Management (MAM) - specialized software used to store large audio visual files. They've been working for a year with an outside developer on cataloging and making it searchable. Over the past five months, Art 21 has been diving into the archive, releasing short films on its social media - with the artist's or their family's blessing. "It's all brand-new stuff - well, brand-new old stuff," Kukielski said. The family of Elizabeth Murray, a painter who died in 2007, was so happy to see the unseen material from the deceased artist, Kukielski said, that they wanted to see what other footage of Murray was in the archive. The archive has also been helpful to Art21 in putting together books based around themes, like artists talking about the unknown. Now, Kukielski is thinking about the possibility of creating a residency for an artist or art historian to make something inspired by the footage. Already artists are excited. "This archive is a vigorous fountain of facts and information that needs to be stored, protected, and built upon," said An-My Lê, whose new Art21 film premieres next month. "It's part of culture. It's part of our civilization." Kukielski said she's been especially thrilled to find little nuggets of gold in the archives - moments that seem small, but reveal a lot about the artist. In one of them, the painter Kerry James Marshall talks about when he was a kid, teaching himself how to draw by stealing toilet paper from the school bathroom stall and using it as tracing paper. It's a subtle echo of what Kay Larson, in that first New York Times review, found so vital about the series to begin with. With the artist "speaking to the camera as if to a friend," the films "have created a casual yet radical intimacy." There are all kinds of reasons tidbits like Marshall's did not make the final cut, but they serve now to demystify the artists, and create a special kind of connection with viewers. "People want connection," Kukielski said. "Film can get people out of a state of loneliness and make us feel related to another person. And if that person is an artist, that's amazing."

Atlanta selected for third consecutive Youth Climate Action Fund award. Monday, August 24th, 2026 For the third consecutive year, the City of Atlanta has been selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies to receive funding through the Youth Climate Action Fund, recognizing the city's continued leadership in empowering young people to develop and implement solutions that advance Atlanta's climate resilience goals. The 2026 award brings Bloomberg Philanthropies' total investment in Atlanta's youth-led climate initiatives to $200,000 over three years. Since launching in 2024, the program has supported 30 youth-led project teams, engaged more than 1,500 young people across metro Atlanta and advanced projects aligned with the City's Climate Resilient ATL action plan. "Atlanta's young people are not waiting to inherit the future. They are helping build it today," said Mayor Andre Dickens. "This continued investment recognizes what we already know: when young people are given the opportunity to lead, they deliver innovative ideas that strengthen our neighborhoods and make Atlanta more resilient. We are proud that Atlanta youth continue to earn national and global recognition for their bold and enterprising work." Since the program launched in Atlanta, youth participants have designed and implemented projects addressing sustainability, environmental education, neighborhood resilience and climate awareness while gaining leadership experience and strengthening community partnerships. The program has expanded dramatically since Atlanta first joined in 2024. This year, Bloomberg Philanthropies selected 300 cities across six continents to participate, underscoring Atlanta's continued role as a global leader in youth-driven climate action. Last year's participants were recognized by the Atlanta City Council with a proclamation establishing Youth Climate Action Day. You can find one young grant recipient's story online here, where 19-year-old Ann Lin "trained 20 high school and college students to collect water samples at sites along the Chattahoochee River and analyze them in a chemistry lab. Her team established the first database of microplastics in Atlanta's natural waters and hosted a forum to share their findings publicly." You can also view and download a video produced by Mayor's Office of Communications about the YCAF at this link. (Credit instructions in name of the file) The Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Resilience continues to partner with 21st Century Leaders to administer the program locally, helping connect Atlanta's young leaders with the resources they need to turn innovative ideas into meaningful climate action.