Internationalising the Creative Economy


21 Oct 2010

Ireland’s home-grown TV, animation and film sectors are in a prime position to export their content globally.

When you think about the success of rock bands like U2 and the triumphant careers of actors like Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Gabriel Byrne and Maureen O’Hara, it is not hard to imagine Ireland playing the starring role in the dissemination of digital content in the 21st century.

Fundamental to getting indigenous content onto the international stage is allowing it to flourish at home first and ensure that not only are we creating opportunities for skilled graduates but making the leap to global markets possible.

The internet is one of those opportunities, but other aspects like funding and intellectual property (IP) protection and management are vital.

At the forthcoming AVF conference in Dublin on 18 November, key stakeholders in the local and international broadcasting and content creation sectors will present their views on how we can best bring Irish-generated content to the global stage.

Windmill Lane Studios’ James Morris, who is also chairman of the Irish Film Board, has been invited to discuss the subject ‘Internationalising the Creative Economy’.

“James is quite familiar with the challenge of bringing investment into Ireland and getting the studio work done,” said Tommy McCabe, director of the Audiovisual Federation.

“The internet has shown just how fragile copyright protection is in its current form and how hard we’ll have to work to protect the output of artists and copyright holders.”

Session 3: Internationalising the Creative Economy

Session chair: 

James Morris, Chairman, Irish Film Board

Speaker:        

Jane Kelly, Creative director, Big Mountain

Panellists:         

John McColgan, Director, Riverdream

Liam Kavanagh, Managing director, The Irish Times