JEDDAH: The Saudi Media Forum’s Media Ambassadors initiative has opened participation to international representatives to help expand its reach and global presence. The move aims to draw on international expertise and create opportunities for communication and knowledge sharing among media professionals, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The initiative is part of a national training program that identifies emerging talent and prepares participants to represent Saudi Arabia’s media identity professionally. Through specialized training and partnerships, it seeks to develop media professionals able to create responsible impact and adapt to changes in the industry. The program focuses on four objectives: professional empowerment, responsible influence, representation of the national media identity, and career sustainability. It targets writers, storytellers, aspiring presenters, public speakers, designers and visual content creators, as well as those interested in communications, marketing and advertising. Since its launch, the initiative’s ambassadors have delivered 42 introductory workshops covering more than 55 media-related topics and attended by over 850 people. The program has also held 10 specialized workshops for its ambassadors, led by 10 media trainers. It offers three training tracks: writing and creative content, charisma and media presence, and design and visual storytelling. Each track has four levels, progressing from foundational skills to advanced techniques and professional practice, before concluding with a graduation project. The initiative aims to turn promising amateurs into qualified media professionals with the experience and skills needed to enter the job market. It also seeks to enrich Saudi media with high-quality content and strengthen the Kingdom’s soft power through young voices representing its identity internationally. The first edition was launched in 2024, while the fourth was held in July 2026 in the presence of Saudi Media Forum President Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Harthi. The latest edition brought together 33 ambassadors from 16 Saudi universities to help develop young national talent and prepare them for careers in media. Al-Harthi said the program was one of the forum’s strategic projects and reflected its belief that investing in national talent was essential to building a Saudi media sector capable of responding to global change. “We are proud of the growing impact of the Media Ambassadors initiative since its launch and the promising national talent it has developed across various media fields,” he said. Al-Harthi added: “We believe investing in national talent is an investment in the future of media. We will therefore continue to develop the initiative as a platform for cultivating young media leaders and empowering them to share the Kingdom’s story with the world.”