by ProMo Cymru | 19th Apr 2021

Written By Shazia Ali

At ProMo-Cymru we support the development of skills for young people and help grow new talent. Meet Shazia, who’s exploring her interests in social media and expanding her skillset through working as a freelancer for our marketing team.

Media has always captivated me. Like most people, I grew up entranced by films and tv, and continue to consume way too much Netflix, but it’s my complex relationship with the news that’s been something that’s long since defined me.

Being born and raised in Wales, coupled with my Bangladeshi ethnicity and Islamic faith backgrounds, consuming media that has so often been misrepresentation and distortion of my identity and communities, has made me someone who is acutely aware of the issues around accurate and representative coverage. This pushed me to study Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, where I would also shadow at busy newsrooms and radio stations in between lectures.

Following graduation, I was able to launch straight into some creative communications as a media assistant to an interfaith organisation. It’s here that I transformed a highly academic, densely informative space, into a buzzing social media environment. It’s my love for digital communications that helped me produce fresh and timely content that fit current social media styles, while still remaining unique. Then came an extremely demanding role as a reporter for a local news channel. I found compelling stories daily and managed a small team of journalists, as we ambitiously covered all aspects of a tv broadcast. It was in this role that I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the diverse communities of my home city of Swansea and earn the trust of people to tell their stories with authenticity and heart.

Currently, I’m delivering a , peer-lead, ‘votes at 16’ digital campaign aimed at empowering young People of Colour, to vote in the Welsh election, as well as finding stories about Welsh BAME people’s community contributions during Covid, all while assisting the marketing team at ProMo-Cymru.

For most people in their early 20s, the job market is daunting, and the odds can be stacked against some of us, so breaking into the media industry can feel impossible. But opportunities like the ones I have now, allow me to hone and develop skills, and explore passions, and I’ve never been more excited for what’s to come.