Six Local Enterprises Offices to host premier industry conference for independent businesses in the AV industry to celebrate the success of the South Eastern Creative Corridor initiative. 

The South Eastern Creative Corridor (SECC), an initiative of six Local Enterprise Offices (LEO), headed by LEO Wicklow and funded under the Regional Action Plan for Jobs targeting entrepreneurs and businesses in the audio-visual industry, will showcase and celebrate its success at a closing conference - The Big Picture - in Druids Glen Hotel, Co Wicklow on the 17th November 2017.

The conference is the culmination of the SECC Initiative and is for audio-visual professionals who are keen to be at the leading edge of this sector. The SECC Initiative involved the participation of 78 businesses based in six counties, all of whom are expected to attend the conference. The majority of the programme participants are in the broad film, video and production sectors and have benefited significantly from a year of business support as well as investment.

Notable keynote speakers at the conference will include John P Gleeson, Partner, Global Head of Media, Grant Thornton; Cathal Gaffney, CEO, Brown Bag Films; Russell Boland, OPG Global Lead for Emerging Markets & EMEA Lead of New Business Acquisitions, Google and Peter Baxter, MD of Createschool.

“We are delighted to host this exciting conference”, says Sheelagh Daly, Head of Enterprise of the Lead Partner, LEO Wicklow. “It offers an exciting platform for participants, stakeholders, AV professionals, suppliers, industry leaders, and media to meet, share ideas and learn about how this innovative initiative has helped and will continue to help independent businesses in the region to not only survive but thrive in the fast-paced, changing world of content creation. Over €120,000 was awarded by the Local Enterprise Offices to participants of the South Eastern Creative Corridor (SECC) Initiative and this conference is a great opportunity for them to share their success stories” 

“This is a region that has significant advantages for businesses within the Screen Industry and has already developed a global reputation, being for many years one of the centres of Ireland’s film and television industry,’ says Michael Brougham, Regional Director at Enterprise Ireland. “Major national players are already located within the region such as Panavision-Ardmore and Ashford Studios in Wicklow and Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny, with some historically significant international projects having been produced and shot such as The Blue Max, The Lion in Winter, Excalibur, Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart. This initiative will greatly assist with the generation of jobs and will further help promote Ireland as being at the leading edge of the audio visual industry.”

Peter Baxter, founder of Createschool and a participant of this innovative initiative said, “Participating in this programme was one of the best decisions that I have made in my business career. The fact that ongoing support, training and advice tailored to the creative industry has been on hand, has been of real benefit. My business is in better shape to take advantage of opportunities and review best practices and so am I as a direct result of being part of The Creative Corridor.”

Worldwide, the AV industry is in the middle of a revolution. The swift emergence of digital technologies is transforming every aspect of the audiovisual supply chain from content creation and distribution to user consumption. It is imperative for Ireland to stay at the forefront. The importance of the AV sector in employment terms is reflected in the fact that the sector employs over 6,000 individuals full-time and generates over €0.5 billion for the Irish economy. The AV production sector encompasses a huge variety of production industries including film, television, radio, music, gaming, live entertainment, and performance arts.

This conference will focus on The Big Picture, discussing the many opportunities and challenges that exist within the sector for start-ups, small enterprises and the industry as a whole. The focus for keynote speakers will be centred on how to successfully create and deliver content in the technological, sophisticated world we live in.  The changing landscape for content creation, how it is valued, consumed, distributed and monetized, as well as the commercial and investment aspects of the industry and the international media marketplace will also be discussed.

The contract for this year long initiative was delivered by The Entrepreneurs Academy.

For further information, visit http://creativecorridor.ie/

Follow South Eastern Creative Corridor at the event on Twitter @SECcorridor ‏and use the hashtags #CreativeCorridor #TheBigPicture.