Popular American subscription streaming service, Netflix, is set to partner with the University of Witwatersrand. Students specifically from the TV and film department at the Wits School of Arts (WSOA) will be receiving a Netflix Creative Equity Grant that is administered by Tshikululu Social Investment.
The grant’s overall goal is to contribute to the betterment of the film and television industry in the country, empowering the youth and opening doors they would not usually be exposed to.
“The Netflix Fund for Creative Equity is a dedicated effort to help build new pathways for underrepresented communities within entertainment. Through the fund, Netflix will support external organizations committed to creating a more equitable environment in the TV and film industries, as well as bespoke Netflix programs that help us to identify, train and provide potential job opportunities for up-and-coming talent globally,” explains the Netflix website.
According to the Wits website, the grant will advance the university’s pursuit to produce industry-ready graduates, by familiarising them with advanced technology that they will be exposed to once they enter the industry. Furthermore, it will elevate the university’s status as it is already among the top-ranked in the continent.
“We believe that through this collaborative partnership and others like it, we can make a significant impact in the creative industries by producing the critical high-level skills required to grow this key economic sector. Once again emphasising our catalytic role as a leading educational institution in Africa,” says the director of development and fundraising at the university, Peter Bezuidenhoudt.
