The Southern Eastern Creative Corridor (SECC) Symposium enjoyed a big turnout to what was a vibrant and busy schedule last week.
The Symposium was held in the Wicklow County Campus last Thursday, November 3rd and saw a number of industry experts and entrepreneurs come together to discuss and explore creative and business opportunities. The initiative aims to support the growth and development of enterprise within or associated with the audio-visual sector in the South-East.
The Symposium also gave enterprise representatives and key industry stakeholders an opportunity to discuss key trends and opportunities for business growth in the creative audio-visual sector.
Attendees heard from an array of speakers including Paul Young, CEO of Cartoon Saloon, Naomi Moore, CEO of Windmill Lane Recording, Sarah Dillon, Executive with the Irish Film Board, Jim Duggan MD of Screen Scene and Siún Ni Raghallaigh, CEO of Ardmore Studios. Attendees were also given the opportunity to network and enquire into various topics discussed following the speakers.
Guest speakers touched on the many positive aspects of the industry with Siún Ní Raghallaigh emphasising the exponential growth and demand for content, and furthermore the impact that technology has had on how content is being created and consumed. Jim Duggan highlighted balance in the skills of company directors between creativity, technology and finance as the key to a successful creative business.
Paul Young and Naomi Moore both recognised VFX and Animation as a key area of growth in the audio-visual sector in Ireland, and emphasised its potential to create jobs and sustain businesses.
All speakers supported the description of the industry as a continuously evolving sector that needs to stay competitive and ahead of industry trends and developments.
Bryan Doyle, Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council:
“It is clear that the vision for an internationally recognised audio visual industry cluster has real potential, whether you are on the creative or production side, or whether you are supplying the increasingly specialised needs of the sector, the audio visual and film sector in this region is one that has huge potential to grow, generating world class enterprises and creating jobs in the region.”
The Creative Corridor business development programme commenced on December 7th, 2016 and will be followed by a series of training workshops and accountability boards in each County around Ireland.
The programme will culminate with an Audio Visual Summit in December 2017.
Visit Creative Corridor Online for more information