It’s one of the industry’s biggest headaches: how can skills development keep pace with production growth outside London? During our Creative Cities Convention event back in April, we were joined by four expert panellists who considered what’s needed to future-proof the Nations and Regions workforce.
Sonny Hanley, ITV Academy Director said: ‘supporting the regions is at the heart of what we do at ITV. I am delighted to be a part of this year’s Creative Cities Convention. This is a step towards change in our industry and ensuring that the future is bright for talented creatives to pursue a career in a sector that needs them.’
The popular screen sector conference Creative Cities Convention was held in the North East of England from the 26th to 27th of April, with a packed schedule of sessions and activities reflecting the boom in film, TV and digital production that’s underway across the UK.
The conference took place at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle, less than five minutes’ walk from the central station and an iconic building that started life in the 1820s as the home of Robert Stephenson and Company, the world’s first locomotive works. This beautiful, listed building has ample room for the main conference of over 300 delegates along with meet-the-commissioner sessions and a marketplace for different organisations to showcase their activities topped off with a lively evening networking party.
To find out more about Creative Cities Convention 2023 North East, head over to our Press Release page where you can read the full article.
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High profile London launch kicks off early-bird ticket sales for the UK’s leading conference for content producers and distributors outside London
Top creatives, industry leaders and representatives from the Scottish government attended the 2020 Creative Cities Convention (CCC) launch party at Scotland House in London last night, as tickets went on sale for the upcoming event to be held at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on April 23 and 24 2020. Glasgow plays host in 2020 after winning the convention’s annual ‘Big City Challenge’ competition, following a hugely successful event in Cardiff, with over 350 delegates, and 2018’s inaugural event in Leeds.
Launching the 2020 convention theme of ‘Going Global’, and opening early-bird ticket sales, director Ruth Pitt announced that Glasgow based comedian, writer and actor Sanjeev Kohli will be joining broadcaster and Newsnight producer Kirsty Wark to co-host next year’s Creative Cities Convention.
2020 will be Kirsty’s third year hosting, which she considers an important platform and forum for conversation about production growth and the improved representation of audiences outside London. “It’s been an incredible couple of years for producers and broadcasters across the UK,” said Kirsty. “The Creative Cities Convention helps delegates consider how to make the best of the opportunities and challenges that have come as a result of the strong growth of our production industry outside London.”
Following a screening of Glasgow’s compelling showcase video from their winning 2019 bid, the CCC team and the leader of Glasgow City Council, Cllr Susan Aitken, welcomed guests with an emphatic thumbs up for the production community in the nations and regions. “There’s never been a better time for Glasgow to host the Creative Cities Convention and we look forward to welcoming hundreds of delegates to discuss and debate this immensely valuable sector,” said Susan.
TV property royalty Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer have also been confirmed to open the convention, along with leading UK and global media figures. “We are proud to add our voices to the many key players who will be attending next year,” said Kirstie Allsopp when the date and venue were announced earlier this year.
Also attending the launch were representatives from the conventions generous supporters, including Pact, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – and for 2020, by Scottish commercial broadcaster STV.
Early-bird tickets are now available on the Creative Cities Convention website, at a cost of £155.
A rich line-up of controllers and commissioners, large and small indies, freelances and distributors lit up the magnificent Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in April 2019. Highlights included contributions from Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon, BBC2 Controller Patrick Holland, political commentator Ayesha Hazarika, Sugar Films’ Pat Younge, BBC3 commissioner Nasfim Haque, Bad Wolf’s Jane Tranter, Channel 5 controller Ben Frow and BBC3 controller Fiona Campbell to name just a few.
