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Canon Central and North Africa Partners with Makerere University to Shape the Next Generation of Creatives

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Canon

Canon Academy Photo & Video workshops, journalism training, and virtual film school access to empower youth and strengthen creative education in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda, May 21, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Practical training in photography, filmmaking, and journalism
  • Access to Canon’s interactive virtual film school for aspiring storytellers 

Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) (www.Canon-CNA.com) has partnered with Makerere University in Uganda to deliver Canon Academy Photo & Video programmes, providing students with hands-on training in photography, filmmaking, and journalism.  The initiative will provide hands-on training in photography, filmmaking, and journalism, while giving students access to Canon Academy Video, Canon’s virtual film school.  The collaboration underscores Canon’s continued commitment to youth empowerment, creative education, and strengthening Africa’s visual storytelling industry as CCNA approaches its 10-year milestone in 2026.

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Storytellers

Rashad Ghani, B2C Business Unit Director, Canon Central and North Africa, said, “We’re proud to celebrate ten years of CCNA by investing in the next generation of creatives. Our partnership with Makerere University enables us to share Canon Academy’s resources with aspiring storytellers, helping them build the technical and creative skills needed to shape Africa’s visual narrative. By offering access to training, mentorship, and learning platforms, we’re supporting students on their journey into photography, filmmaking, journalism, and digital content creation.”

Our partnership with Makerere University enables us to share Canon Academy’s resources with aspiring storytellers, helping them build the technical and creative skills

Strengthening Educational Ties

The collaboration builds on Canon’s established relationship with Makerere University, where Canon has previously hosted training weeks and workshops. Makerere University, founded in 1922, has grown into one of Africa’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, with a long tradition of excellence in journalism, media, and communication studies. By integrating Canon Academy workshops into the university’s curriculum, the initiative combines academic learning with practical, industry-focused training, helping prepare students for careers in Africa’s rapidly growing creative sector.

Overview of Workshops and Training

Students and local professionals can expect a diverse range of workshops and training sessions, including:

  • Dedicated Media Workshop: Local journalists and media professionals will join sessions led by Canon trainer Elayne Okaya, exploring Canon’s photo and video ecosystem and gaining hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.
  • Canon Camera Innovation Workshop: Students will immerse themselves in Canon’s imaging tools, guided by Canon trainer Elayne Okaya, with insights into the latest products for content creation and practical demonstrations.
  • Journalism Workshops: Two sessions will focus on visual storytelling, ethics, and best practices in modern reporting, helping students strengthen their skills with Canon technology guided by certified trainer Miriam Watsemba.
  • Canon Academy Video Platform: Canon Educational Programmes Manager Katie Simmonds will introduce students to the virtual film school, guiding them through structured online learning and certification opportunities.
  • Basic Filmmaking Workshop: A three-day course led by Elayne Okaya will cover filmmaking fundamentals, including camera movement, scene structure, and production techniques, with access to Canon equipment for hands-on practice.

Supporting Africa’s Creative Economy

As Africa’s creative economy continues to expand, there is a growing need for practical training that equips young people with the skills required for careers in filmmaking, journalism, and digital content creation. By combining technical expertise with hands-on experience, initiatives like this help students build the confidence needed to succeed in a fast-evolving creative landscape. Dr Nakiwala Aisha Sembatya, the Chair department of Journalism and Communication noted that, “This collaboration gives our students direct access to industry expertise and practical experience in photography, filmmaking, and journalism. Canon’s training platforms will enhance our academic programmes and prepare students for careers in the media and creative sectors.”

Canon Miraisha and Long-Term Commitment

The partnership with Makerere University forms part of Canon’s broader Miraisha Programme and education-led ecosystem across Africa. By working with universities, training institutions, and creative communities, Canon supports young people in building careers in visual storytelling and digital content creation. As CCNA marks a decade of operations in Africa, the company continues to invest in initiatives that expand access to skills, nurture creative talent, and strengthen Africa’s future creative industries reflecting Canon’s Kyosei philosophy of living and working together for the common good.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA).

Events

China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Tech

World’s First Commercial Multimodal LLM for Cultural Tourism Enters Broad Application

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BoGuan

XI’AN, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – The world’s first commercial multimodal large language model (LLM) for cultural tourism, called BoGuan, has entered broad application in Xi’an, China. This model generates commercial returns by supporting the creation of digital IP for intangible cultural heritage, the development of cultural tourism applications, and the improvement of short drama production. This is injecting new momentum into both China’s heritage preservation initiatives and the cultural tourism industry.

Xi’an is one of China’s oldest cities and one of its most popular international tourist destinations. Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group (SCG) is working with partners like Huawei, China Telecom Shaanxi, and China West Airport Group (CWAG) to promote cultural tourism using digital technologies including AI and 5G-A.For example, BoGuan is used to support a new AI travel companion agent that had been made available to over 4 million users by March of this year.

In September 2025, SCG and Huawei unveiled the BoGuan Large Model, the world’s first commercial multimodal LLM for cultural tourism. It is also China’s first industry-specific model dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. This model is built on intelligent computing infrastructure and a high-quality dataset. The dataset has over 1.2 PB of data, including 31 million images, 4.4 million minutes of video footage, 2.18 million minutes of audio recordings, 510 3D models, and 960 million pieces of structured text.

BoGuan can generate highly-accurate multimodal content, such as museum-quality content about cultural relics. This allows it to support the creation of new digital relic presentations, the digitalization and preservation of traditional craftsmanship, and the creation of digital IP for intangible cultural heritage. Zhang Beiyuan, a dough sculpture artisan, said, “With this model, I can complete a dough sculpture that used to take two or three months in less than a week.” BoGuan is also used to create digital IP like the popular cartoon character Tang Biaobiao, which is designed by integrating local cultural heritage elements with the stone carvings of the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum. The sales of related digital collectibles and creative products have exceeded CNY2 million.

In addition to supporting cultural heritage preservation, BoGuan has been used to develop a range of cultural tourism apps, such as AI photography and AI travel companion agent. Visitors can directly talk with this agent on the GO-SHAANXI app to create and adjust travel itineraries and get real-time performance recommendations at attractions. The Zhiying Camera mini program provides paid services that instantly integrate user photos with AI-generated scenes from history, allowing visitors to “travel back to ancient times.” These new consumption options unlock the business value of quality cultural tourism data. Furthermore, SCG is using BoGuan to integrate short drama production with cultural tourism and improve production efficiency and quality in Xi’an, a renowned short drama hub.

Additionally, China Telecom Shaanxi and Huawei have deployed a 5G-A network based on three component carrier aggregation (3CC) technology at Xi’an’s Grand Tang Mall, a popular tourist attraction. The network delivers peak uplink and downlink rates of 600 Mbps and 3.5 Gbps, respectively, about 10 times faster than common 5G networks. During the 2026 May Day holiday, this network supported concurrent access for 23,000 users, guaranteeing smooth video watching and social media experiences. Furthermore, 5G-A-powered HD live streaming at the Grand Tang Mall has become an important way for the attraction to bring in new visitors. According to public data, the average user dwell time of these live streams has nearly doubled and the average transaction value has increased by 62%.

Edric Chu, General Manager of Huawei’s Shaanxi Rep Office, said, “Artificial intelligence is not simply a stack of technologies. It has become a key enabler that can activate thousands of years of cultural heritage, reshape travel experiences, and inject new momentum into the industry. Moving forward, Huawei will continue working with our partners to enhance cultural heritage preservation with digital and intelligent technologies, and stimulate development within the cultural tourism industry.”

 

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Health

Taiwan entrepreneur Time Light Care brings smart elderly care to mainland as silver economy gains ground

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Time Light Care

TIANJIN, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – A smart elderly care enterprise branded Time Light Care, based in north China’s Tianjin, has developed a proprietary smart elderly care management platform, drawing on Taiwan’s long-term care experience and riding the momentum of the mainland’s silver economy.

The nursing homes, positioned as “community-embedded, small-to-medium scale, high-quality care” facilities, allow the elderly to stay in familiar surroundings while remaining close to family members.

On the technology front, the company has introduced millimeter-wave radar monitors for completely bedridden residents to track breathing, pulse, and heartbeat in real time, with automatic alerts sent to caregivers’ phones in case of any abnormality.

The company has also introduced accessible vehicles equipped with detachable automatic wheelchairs that go directly to the bedside, helping “suspended seniors”—those who struggle to go downstairs due to the lack of elevators—to go out with dignity.

These industry efforts come as China’s elderly population aged 60 and above reached 320 million by the end of 2025, a figure projected to exceed 400 million by 2035, with the silver economy expected to surpass 30 trillion yuan (about 4.41 trillion U.S. dollars).

In February 2026, an executive meeting of the State Council proposed to promote the expansion and quality improvement of inclusive elderly care service supply, improving a tiered, categorized, inclusive, accessible, urban-rural covering, and sustainable elderly care service system. The series of measures outlined at the meeting charted the direction and identified priorities for better meeting the diverse and multi-level needs of hundreds of millions of elderly people.

“The mainland’s policy support and market scale have created immense opportunities for innovation in senior care,” said Jing Ran, the company’s representative, during an exclusive interview with China News Service. “Having succeeded in starting our business here, we now hope to encourage more young people from Taiwan to come, explore, and develop their careers on the mainland.”

 

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