An expert in digital and creative media from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) will be highlighting the West Midlands strengths in the industry at a parliamentary event.
The Creative Industries Council is a forum of government, creative businesses and other creative organisations which focuses on removing barriers to growth in the UK’s creative sectors including access to finance, skills, export markets, regulation, intellectual property and infrastructure as well as promoting opportunities and encouraging greater diversity and inclusion.
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, will be providing an update on creative industries coming out of the pandemic on Thursday, March 18 before a panel session gets underway focusing on ‘Why are the Creative Industries vital to the Economic Recovery?’ which will include CWLEP board director Sarah Windrum, who will be representing the West Midlands.
Sarah, who is chair of the CWLEP’s Digital and Creative Business Group and founder and a director of the Leamington-based technology company The Emerald Group, said the importance of the creative and digital industries to the UK’s economic recovery should not be under-estimated.
“The fact we have been invited to attend this parliamentary webinar underlines the importance of the West Midlands to the creative and digital sector in the UK,” she said.
“The sector is very important to the West Midlands since there is a strong focus on a recovery plan for the creative industries sector.
“In our region there are 13,000 creative businesses with over 50,000 people employed directly plus a further 50,000 creative professionals working in other industries. As we know in our area, Leamington has a nationally significant video games cluster.
“I will be talking about innovation and the importance of creative technology and creative approaches to using technology such as the Town Centres Tech Challenge which was driven by the CWLEP and funded by Warwickshire County Council to support digital initiatives that will encourage people to visit the county’s town centres for leisure and business post-lockdown.
“Creative expertise is a catalyst for growth and together with our strong digital and technology sector and a talented young and diverse workforce, the West Midlands has a huge advantage to help the sector bounce back from Covid-19.
“There are also significant cultural events on the horizon including Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture 2021 and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games so there is much to promote and build on to help the industry thrive, drive visitors to the region and encourage even more young people to consider a career in the sector.
“As part of the CWLEP’s Reset Strategic Taskforce, there are digital and creative links in many of the projects our business groups are involved in as we encourage companies to consider themselves as a new business, adapt to new ways of working, and entice more inward investment.”
