Banijay Americas has teamed up with the Best Buy Foundation to create an entertainment industry career development program for Los Angeles-area high school students and recent graduates.
Banijay Americas, based in North Hollywood, is a division of Banijay, a Paris-based entertainment company.
The San Fernando Valley company will collaborate with Best Buy Teen Tech Centers to develop a TV production curriculum tailored to participants.
Best Buy Teen Tech Centers provide teens with a space to develop critical skills through hands-on activities that explore their interests in programming, filmmaking, music production and design. Each location works to bridge the digital divide by giving youth access to tech education opportunities, relationships that help to build confidence, and a foundation for school and career success, according to the foundation’s website.
In Los Angeles, the centers are in South L.A., Ramona Gardens and Rampart Village, with additional ones to open in Lancaster, Boyle Heights and Watts.
The Minnesota-based consumer electronics retailer has more than 50 Teen Tech Centers operating in 27 states plus Washington, D.C., and Canada, and the Best Buy Foundation has a goal to support 100 by 2025.
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 will support youth across the county. Best Buy has partnered with the Greater LA Education Fund and the Annenberg Foundation to create the hub.
Karla Pita Loor, executive vice president of enterprise inclusion and social responsibility at Banijay Americas, said that the company’s work with Best Buy reflects its commitment to creating both content and an industry that reflects the rich diversity of its audience and the city.
“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,” Loor said in a statement.
Andrea Wood, Best Buy’s vice president of social impact, said that through the community impact hub the company is lifting the next generation of youth in Los Angeles with the tools and resources to reach for the stars.
“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,” Wood said in a statement.
Banijay Americas is made up of 10 production companies, including the ones behind such reality programs as “Big Brother,” “MasterChef,” “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and recent Emmy-winning series “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls.”