CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Initiative Will Create Curriculum and Employment Opportunities for Best Buy Teen Tech Center Participants in Los Angeles Area
Banijay-owned Studios Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, 51 Minds Entertainment & Truly Original Participating
Banijay Americas, a division of Banijay, the world’s leading producer and distributor of international content, and Best Buy Foundation, announced today that they are teaming up to create an entertainment industry career development program for Los Angeles-area high school students and recent graduates.
Through the career development program, interviews for production assistant roles on several Banijay Americas hit series and shows will be open to participants at Best Buy Teen Tech Centers®, centers that connect youth from disinvested communities with mentorship, training opportunities and career resources. Banijay Americas is the Best Buy Foundation’s first studio partner for the Los Angeles Community Impact Hub, a network of 12 Teen Tech Centers that supports youth across the county. Participants have access to a variety of technology, including tools for film production, digital media, audio engineering augmented and virtual reality, 3-D design and more.
“Banijay Americas is thrilled to partner with Best Buy and its community impact hub to offer young people across Los Angeles greater access to the entertainment industry through experiential learning opportunities and hands-on training, exposure to our network of artists and industry professionals, and eventually, a point of entry for their first television jobs,” said Karla Pita Loor, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Inclusion & Social Responsibility, Banijay Americas. “Our work with Best Buy reflects our commitment to creating both content and an industry that reflects the rich diversity of our audience and our city.”
“Through the community impact hub, we are lifting up the next generation of youth in Los Angeles with the tools and resources to reach for the stars.” said Andrea Wood, Best Buy’s vice president of social impact. “This partnership will help shape the future of the industry by creating a direct talent pipeline that gives young people the opportunity to discover and pursue careers in the creative economy.”
Organizations interested in partnering with Best Buy to support pathways to the creative economy can reach out to LATTC@bestbuy.com.
Banijay-owned studios Endemol Shine North America, Bunim/Murray Productions, 51 Minds Entertainment and Truly Original have all committed to participating in the program. The studios are behind such top-rated hits as “Big Brother,” “LEGO Masters,” “MasterChef,” “Below Deck,” “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “The Challenge,” “Ink Master,” “Married to Real Estate” and recent Emmy-winning series “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls.”
About Banijay Americas
Banijay Americas delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to myriad platforms across North America and South America. A division of Banijay, the world’s largest international content producer and distributor, subsidiary production companies in the U.S. include Endemol Shine North America, Authentic Entertainment, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Bunim/Murray Productions and Stephen David Entertainment. Its Endemol Shine Latino division oversees all original Spanish and Portuguese-language operations across Latin America, including Endemol Shine Brasil, A Fábrica (based in Rio de Janeiro), Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog and recently launched Banijay Mexico and U.S. Hispanic.
Banijay Americas is behind such hit series as “Big Brother” (CBS), “MasterChef” (FOX), “MasterChef Junior” (FOX), “Wipeout” (TBS), “LEGO Masters” (FOX), “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo), “Below Deck” (Bravo), “The Challenge” (MTV), “The Surreal Life” (VH1) and “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls (Amazon Prime Video).”
About Best Buy Teen Tech Centers
Best Buy Teen Tech Centers®, a program of the Best Buy Foundation, provide a safe space for youth to create, learn and explore using the latest cutting-edge technology with the support of peers and adult mentors. At each center, members develop skills for the tech-reliant jobs of the future through hands-on activities in photography, augmented and virtual reality, 3-D design and more.
In Los Angeles County, Best Buy has partnered with the Greater LA Education Fund and the Annenberg Foundation to create a Community Impact Hub. The Community Impact Hub, a network of 12 Teen Tech Centers in LA, provides youth with tech access, mentorship and hands-on training in film, digital media and audio engineering. Programming helps provide LA-area youth annually with innovative education and career development opportunities in entrepreneurship and the creative economy to support even more youth pursuing their dreams, now and in the future.
More than 50 Teen Tech Centers are operating nationwide and the Best Buy Foundation has a goal to support 100 by 2025.
To partner with Best Buy to support pathways to the creative economy reach out to, LATTC@bestbuy.com. To learn more about Best Buy Teen Tech Centers®, visit bestbuy.com/teentechcenter.