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The Â鶹Éç has announced a number of key partnership agreements to share specialist training and resources with other broadcasters, industry organisations and the public across the UK.

The partnerships are unveiled today at the official launch of the Â鶹Éç Academy, the Â鶹Éç's dedicated centre of excellence for training in journalism, production, leadership and technology.

The new initiatives are part of an unprecedented strategy to develop partnerships and give wider access to the Â鶹Éç's training resources and skills to support the wider UK media industry.

The new plans include:

Making the Â鶹Éç College of Journalism's website freely available in the UK. The site – which has been running for three years inside the Â鶹Éç – contains masterclasses from leading Â鶹Éç journalists like Evan Davis, John Humphrys, Robert Peston, Jenni Murray and Jeremy Vine. It covers craft skills and ethics and values and there are hundreds of video and audio examples alongside interactive modules where you can test yourself. The site will be available by subscription outside the UK.

Joining forces with Channel 4 to create the Diversity 2010 programme, which aims to increase understanding of diversity in the workplace and embed it in our future leadership. Through a series of workshops and events across one year, up to 10 participants from each organisation will gain a deeper understanding of modern thinking about diversity, through exposure to best practice in areas including politics, the commercial sector and local communities as well as the media industry.

A collaboration with ITV to improve employability in the media industry for people with disabilities. By sharing best practice and enabling two-way placements, ITV will further develop its Enabling Talent disability programme and the Â鶹Éç its award-winning Extend Scheme.

Sharing the Â鶹Éç's Multiplatform Foundation training model with other broadcasters and organisations including PACT, BECTU and the Indie Training Fund. The Academy will provide a template for industry professionals to tailor and deliver a range of production and development exercises, workshops and mentoring to improve multiplatform understanding and capability in their organisations.

Delivering ideas development and pitching workshops for independent and in-house producers outside London to share and nurture best practice and help to increase the number of commissions from the nations as part of the Â鶹Éç’s Out Of London production strategy. The workshop has piloted in Belfast and will be held in Cardiff and Glasgow in the New Year.

The Academy launch will be attended by Â鶹Éç Director-General Mark Thompson, Deputy Director-General Mark Byford, Chair of the Academy Board, and key figures from the broadcasting industry.

Speaking at the launch, Â鶹Éç Academy Director, Anne Morrison says: "The quality of the Â鶹Éç's training across journalism, production, technical and leadership skills is rightly renowned across the world. These partnerships will open up our training resources to the industry in new ways as never before. We'll look for further opportunities to do this wherever we can.

"Our aim is to create a world-class organisation that benefits all Â鶹Éç staff and, through partnerships, helps support the wider industry. These major new agreements mark a major step towards our long-term ambitions."

Mark Byford adds: "The Â鶹Éç is determined to support the wider UK media industry through difficult times and, by sharing valuable training resources like the College of Journalism, we can help to secure the best standards and learning in the world."

These new measures build upon our video news syndication, Radio Live Player and other partnerships to support the media industry which is why we are extending our partnership commitments in training to work with other organisations in a challenging media landscape."

These additional initiatives build upon existing Â鶹Éç schemes to train freelance talent for the benefit of the industry, including the Series Producers Programme, Writers Academy and writersroom, College of Comedy and the Design Trainee Scheme.

Established in April 2009, the Â鶹Éç Academy brings together all the Â鶹Éç's training and development across four areas – Journalism, Production, Leadership and Technology. The Academy focuses on providing high-quality training to all Â鶹Éç staff and building external relationships to extend the Â鶹Éç's training resources to the wider industry

The Â鶹Éç's Charter Agreement includes a responsibility to train the broadcasting industry.

Notes to Editors

The Â鶹Éç's Out of London Strategy aims to create vibrant production centres of excellence (both in house and independent) across the whole of the UK. This is an ambitious commitment to increase network production in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with further building up commissioning influence outside London.

JD2/Â鶹Éç Press Office