Beirut February 3, 2010: On Tuesday February 2nd, Cisco Systems launches for the first time in the region the Academy of Digital Signage. The Academy consisted of a two day exclusive training session on the creation and optimization of media content for digital signage where media professionals and content developers participated. The cost of the class was donated under Cisco’s contribution to the PFL. The program covered three key areas involving creation, management and distribution - a look into high-definition video, multimedia, web design, flash animations, images and text, scheduling, content rights and administration, content-delivery networking, readiness assessment, and streaming videos. Creating effective, high-performance digital signage requires skills that blur some of the traditional boundaries between design, administration, and delivery. In order to produce optimized digital signage, every stakeholder (including business line managers, marketing, content developers, and IT) should have a solid understanding of the technology. The introduction of such a technology, into the Lebanese creative mainstream, aims to empower the country’s media and creative sectors, which continuously contribute to the growth of the economic sector. The goal of the training sessions is to equip members of the ICT, Production, Media, and Advertising sectors in an effort to position Lebanon as the creative hub for the Middle East. For this occasion, Cisco trained 15 representatives from Lebanon’s creative industry in the hopes that these 15 will educate their coworkers and apply it to their company’s infrastructure. Every graduate of the Cisco Academy of Digital Signage will earn a credential as a Cisco Qualified Digital Signage Media Professional (DSMP). The Cisco Academy of Digital Signage is available globally. For more information about the Cisco Academy of Digital Signage, contact your local Cisco account representative or visit www.cisco.com/go/dms/ads Supporting Quotes: • Thomas Wyatt, vice president and general manager, Digital Media Systems and Media Processing Business Units, Cisco "Cisco's digital signage business has grown five times as fast as the industry this past year, with thousands of customers deploying around the world. As we continue to grow our leadership in the digital signage market, we are partnering with our customers to drive innovation across the entire Cisco DMS product portfolio. The new offerings in this latest release of Cisco Digital Signs will complement Cisco's unmatched level of service and broad partner ecosystem to deliver a one-stop shop for digital signage." • George Akiki, Director Corporate Affairs MEA, Cisco "Cisco's corporate social responsibility engagements focus on leveraging our core competency to empower communities where we operate. In line with our continued support of the Partnership for Lebanon, we are very excited to make this academy accessible at no cost to members of the Lebanese creative industries to seed a center of excellence in Lebanon for this growing market space. " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find More Information Online: Web Site Links: • www.cisco.com • www.cisco.com/web/learning/academy_of_digital/index.