Bristol Vision 2014: Innovation and diversity

Pictures by Jon Craig

Nearly two hundred digital and media creatives gathered at Arnolfini this week for the two-day creative conference, Vision – set up by Bristol Media to encourage innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in the creative sectors.

The events aims to allow visitors over two days to “soak up more ideas, inspiration and creativity than you could fit into the rest of the year”.

Speakers this year included some of the leading industry voices talking on a wide range of topics, including 3D printing, wearable technologies, the Internet of Things and future trends in social media.

How to innovate quickly enough

Carlos Morgado, the chief technical officer of takeaway search engine Just Eat which has just opened its second UK office in Bristol, told his audience that innovation is what keeps him awake at night, or rather “how to innovate quickly enough” in a digital market.

Looking at the company’s timeline, it wouldn’t seem as though innovation is something they have struggled with; Just Eat was started in a barn on a pig farm in Denmark in 2001 using a fax machine to communicate orders between customers and takeaway restaurants. Now they have developed a completely automated, sophisticated ordering system that has allowed them to take nearly 1,000 orders per minute at peak times.

However, succeeding in a digital market requires constant evolution and that’s where the people come in. Since 2009, Just Eat have gone from having five employees to more than 200 now, and now they’ve got plans to double the size of their Bristol team to 30 by 2015.  

It says on the Just Eat website that the decision to move to Bristol “consolidates the Bristol and Bath region’s reputation as a leading hub for technological innovation”. And, as Carlos reiterates during his talk, gives them access to “the South West’s dynamic technology talent pool”.

Diversity issue

A key issue facing the thriving creative and digital industries in Bristol is the lack of diversity in its workforce, as discussed by Bristol24/7 columnist Rob Buckland this week.  

I had hoped to be able to report back that at least the future of digital media and creative industries would be more representative of the city we live in, with a mix of bright young future entrepreneurs from a range of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds attending the conference.

With a ‘non-member’ ticket for the weekend going at £345, it’s perhaps no surprise that the attendees seemed to stem largely from the stereotypically privileged, white middle-class backgrounds.

That said, there were efforts to make the event more accessible with hugely reduced rates for freelancers and Bristol Media members. Meanwhile, there are now moves to redress the balance and ensure the future prosperity of the industry by using the talents of all parts of the city.

Massive shame

Lottie Pettinger is the head of marketing at Friska Food. She believes that the reason for this apparent lack of diversity is down to the competitive nature of creative industries.

“I don’t think it’s a conscious thing, but creative industries wherever you go are a middle-class white thing. I went to university in London and I did radio, so I have a lot of friends who did want to work in radio and TV and film, and they all had to work two or three jobs and get financial help from parents because they did have to work for free – a lot!

“Perhaps people from other backgrounds where it’s not so middle class and white don’t have that opportunity because they don’t have the money to carry them in that way. And it is a massive shame.

“I don’t think it’s an exclusivity thing. I don’t think anyone is saying ‘we don’t want these people’. I think maybe these types of creative agencies and companies don’t do enough outreach and go to these schools where the demographic is hugely different and introduce themselves as a possible career.”

Breaking down barriers

Oliver Mochizuki (who many in Bristol will know as a co-founder of Brisfest at Ashton Court) was one of the exhibitors at the event, with his new project Fundsurfer. Fundsurfer is global funding platform for creative, social, green and entrepreneurial, founded together with Derek Ahmedzai. The two entrepreneurs were among the few people to represent a challenge to the white, middle-class stereotype.

“Me and Derek are single-handedly representing the mixed race brotherhood. I’m half Japanese, Derek is a quarter Pakistani. Ahmedzai and Mochizuki – we’re representing that. We’re breaking down the barriers!”

He mentioned Represent, a new social enterprise which has been launched in Bristol with the aim to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the city’s creative sector. This kind of organisation has been created to face up directly to the industry’s challenge.

“In all seriousness though, I agree with Rob Buckland’s article. And I would agree it’s a real problem. We’re actually talking to Lizz Gadd of Represent on addressing this and we’re hopefully going to be a funding partner for Represent.

“We’ve actually already been doing some work in the BME communities to explain and break down what crowdfunding is, what alternative finance is. It’s something that’s very important to us.”