£2 million fundraising campaign launches to establish media academy in Helensburgh
In a bid to help a new generation of Scots learn media and production skills, charity organisation Helensburgh Heroes has launched a PR and social media campaign to raise £2 million to transform a run-down Victorian warehouse into a state of the art media centre.
The building, in the hometown of television pioneer John Logie Baird, will also house a cinema, diner and Helensburgh “wall of fame”, displaying memorabilia from inspirational men and women who have come from the town.
Helensburgh Heroes said the academy would operate throughout the year, providing a fully-functioning digital education facility, which would nurture content creators of all ages and equip them with the new media skills required for online broadcast and video.
The plans have been backed by Helensburgh-born film director Tom Vaughan and actor Lex Shrapnel, who starred in the recent BBC television series Hunted.
The Scottish government are also encouraging the project with Minister for External Affairs and International Development Humza Yousaf saying it would give "the next generation of Scots a creative environment to acquire new media skills and expertise."
Director of the Heroes Centre project, Phil Worms, said Scotland needed to encourage more people to learn skills that are relevant to working in an online world.
Worms added: "As the convergence of internet and TV technologies gathers pace it is widely recognised that we need a new generation of digital content creators, and yet a major issue facing Scotland is the dramatic decline in the numbers of young people taking IT related subjects in further education.
"We are absolutely delighted to have such high profile ambassadors on board and with the Scottish government also keen to see this happen, what we need now is for Scottish businesses to get behind the idea by pledging their financial support so we can raise the two million pounds we need to turn the Heroes Centre into a reality."