Local industry issues creative challenge for Northern Ireland

The ITC in Northern Ireland have hosted 'Creatively Speaking', a frank symposium on the creative industries in Northern Ireland.
Some of Northern Ireland’s most creative talents were in Belfast to hear a challenging speech by Bruce Robinson, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, in which he outlined the prospect of a new prosperity for NI offered by the convergence of traditional broadcasting, new media and telecommunications.
The event was attended by over 70 key figures from the broadcasting sector, including BBC, UTV, C4, the NIFTC and the independent production and new media sector, as well as representatives from Invest NI and the Government Departments involved in rolling out NI’s Strategy for Creativity.
Those attending heard Mr Robinson and his colleagues in Invest NI sketch the way forward for the media industries in Northern Ireland, a sector which is experiencing twice the growth of any other UK industry sector, while Jim Egan, ITC Head of Strategy and Economics and Peter Bourton, Head of UK Regulatory Policy, outlined the challenges and opportunities posed by changes in the wider market and by the Communications Bill.
Ian Kennedy, Chairman of Straight Forward Productions (the company behind such well known hits as BBC NI’s 'Fish Out of Water' and 'Awash with Colour') chaired a lively debate on the issues raised and Denis Wolinski, Head of ITC (Northern Ireland) said: “The ITC is a proactive and positive regulator. We cannot provide all the answers but we can bring people together with a mutual interest in developing the sector and encourage them to find solutions. The industry is growing – in the last five years the top five independent companies here have increased their annual turnover from £1.5 million to £6.5 million pounds – but there are huge opportunities in the UK and international markets which Scotland and Wales are breaking into and we want NI to do the same."
The ITC’s Commission Member for Northern Ireland, Dr Chitra Bharucha opened the event. She said “The ITC has been working hard to help independents and new media producers and today’s event is a tremendous opportunity to talk, listen and be heard as we prepare for the new communications era.”
Well-known faces from the broadcasting sector attending the event included Anna Carragher, Controller, BBC NI; Alan Bremner, Director of Programming at UTV; Richard Taylor of the Northern Ireland Film and Television and Robert Lyle of McCann Erickson Advertising.
(GB)