ECBN CONFERENCE IN BRISTOL BRINGS EUROPEAN BUSINESSES TOGETHER

BRISTOL – 9 March 2011: 60 creative businesses and support organisations from 14 European countries came together in Bristol last week for the second conference of the new European Creative Business Network (ECBN), hosted by South West Screen.

Caroline Norbury, Chief Executive of South West Screen, said: “We’ve been involved with the ECBN since its inception in Essen last year, and have been working hard ever since to bring it here to Bristol, with the help of our partners at the ecce, CIDA and the Dutch Creative Residency Network. We’re delighted that this hugely successful conference has provided such an excellent opportunity for our industry to reach out across Europe.

“We strive to champion the creative industries in the South West, helping companies learn from each other and grow both nationally and internationally. Leading the Creative Industries iNet, we are supporting more companies to work innovatively and raise the creative profile of the South West. We’re very proud to be an integral part of the ECBN network which is an excellent vehicle for companies to expand into Europe.”
Bernd Fesel, Deputy Director of the European centre for creative economy (ecce) said: "The entrepreneurs at the ECBN conference confirmed that there is a real need for a new network to meet the needs of SMEs in the European cultural creative economy. ECBN had its lift-off in Bristol, and will now continue to promote new business options in European markets, with local partners and agencies providing soft landing stages."

European delegates included ADDICT (Portugal), Admedius (Sweden), Association for Intercultural Communication and Interdisciplinary Art (Turkey), City of Amsterdam (Holland), City of Lugano (Switzerland), City of Siena (Italy), City of Rotterdam Development Agency (Holland), City of Vicenza (Italy), Creative Industries Centre of UPTEC (Portugal), Creative Factory (The Netherlands), Creative Industries Styria (Austria), Creativity Zentrum (Spain), CRP Henri Tudor (Luxembourg), CTO (Spain), Cybercultus (Luxembourg), EventsIT (The Netherlands), focus mediaproduction (Germany), Joserra Producciones (Basque Country), Media Deals (France), OneClick (Slovakia), PopVox (Holland), Swedish Creative Industries Incubator Program (Sweden), Teknopol / Innovationsbron (Sweden), This Zentury (Sweden), Tudor (Luzembourg), University ‘Carol Bo’ Urbino (Italy), University of Science & Technology (Portugal).



UK attendees included 422 South, Arts Council, Bramble Media, Bristol Media, CIDA, Golant Media Ventures, the Institute for Creative Enterprise, Junction K, London Centre for Arts & Cultural Exchange, Mutant Labs, Nameless, Preconstruct, Rubber Republic, Satsuma Media, University of Plymouth, Whirlwind Media Ltd and Wonky.
The conference opened on 3 March with an official welcome from Caroline Norbury, Chief Executive of South West Screen, and introduction to Bristol from City Council Chief Executive Jan Ormondroyd, followed by showcases of the diversity of Bristol’s creative industry sector.

Day two and three of the conference saw an innovation forum take place at At Bristol, with facilitated workshops delivered by Theatres of Thinking. Briefing sessions on IPTV were delivered by expert speakers including Kip Meek, Non-Executive Chairman of YouView and Chairman of South West Screen, John Denton (Managing Editor of TV Platforms, BBC Future Media & Technology), Vibeke Hansen (Creative Director, SlipStream), Dan’l Hewitt (European Director, DemandMedia), Patrick Towell (Chief Executive, Golant Media Ventures) and Colin Donald (Director, Futurescape).

Delegates built an understanding of European business models and roles played by the agencies that support creative companies, whilst exploring rapidly evolving audiences, developments in digital technology, and new opportunities for interaction. Following the workshops, delegates worked on real-time business propositions, generating ideas and which were later showcased.
The ECBN conference was funded by the Creative Industries iNet, which is a part of Solutions for Business, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and led by South West Screen.

For more information, contact Tara Milne on 0117 9529971 / tara.milne@swscreen.co.uk.


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