Past Events / Bristol24/7 Presents
How can Bristol’s creative industries lead an inclusive future for the city?
The importance of making creative industries truly inclusive and accessible to all is the theme for the inaugural event in the new Bristol24/7 Presents series.
Featuring a panel of speakers and voices from across a broad range of sectors, the online discussion taking place on Wednesday, September 30 from 2pm to 3.30pm aims to highlight some of the challenges that currently exist, address barriers and offer practical solutions.
Bringing together creatives from media, music, theatre, film, arts and more, the event will hear from people at the top of their field, as well as those seeking to get a foot in the door, with video links, a live panel talk and a 15-minute live tutorial on how to make a video to make your voice heard, hosted by boomsatsuma.
Bristol24/7 Presents is a series of upcoming discussions on the city’s future, with practical tips and ways in which individuals and organisations can take action.
The first event discusses how Bristol’s creative industries can lead an inclusive future for the city. Confirmed panellists include:
Mel Rodrigues, the creative director at TEDxBristol and founder of Gritty Talent – the only talent agency with a core purpose to seek out and develop talent from outside the mainstream.
Mel Rodrigues is the creative director at TEDxBristol and founder of Gritty Talent – photo courtesy of TEDxBristolLtd
Neil Maggs, a Bristol journalist and filmmaker known for challenging documentaries and his strong views on his home city and local media.
Neil Maggs is a Bristol journalist and filmmaker – photo courtesy of Neil Maggs
Laila Mckenzie, founder and director of music events business Parallel Dimensions. Laila is a seasoned events promoter who works to address the lack of representation and structural racism in the music scene.
Laila Mckenzie is the founder and director of music events business Parallel Dimensions – photo courtesy of Laila Mckenzie
Mohamed Ali, an aspiring entrepreneur, philosopher and poet. A recent mathematics graduate, Mo pulls from his life experiences in Somalia to share his story about self-development and perseverance.
Mohamed Ali is an aspiring entrepreneur, philosopher and poet – photo by Ellie Pipe
The topic is a pressing one and something Bristol24/7, as a local media organisation and CIC, is involved with directly.
Bristol24/7 is committed to providing an inclusive platform that amplifies the voices of underrepresented groups and those who deserve to have their stories told.
Launched in December 2018, Bristol24/7’s Better Bristol project works to bring people and organisations together to make a positive impact on the city. This paved the way for a number of projects, including Stories From Our City, run in partnership with boomsatsuma to tackle the lack of diversity in the film industry.
In July 2020, Bristol24/7 launched a community reporters project to help train a team of budding journalists to cover hyper-local news in areas of the city in which they live, with full support and training.
The project has helped to diversify content, make news stories more inclusive and enabled Bristol24/7 to offer paid work and training opportunities to more people. Funding has now been granted to extend this project and a video about the work of the community reporters will be shown during the event.
But there is still much more work to be done to improve diversity and inclusivity within media and other creative sectors. This event aims to bring creative platforms, projects, businesses and individuals from across the city together to discuss how collectively it is possible to lead this change.
Find out more about the free event on September 30 and register via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-can-bristols-creative-industry-lead-an-inclusive-future-for-the-city-tickets-117984174843.
Main photo of filmmakers who took part in the Stories From Our City project, by Ellie Pipe
Read more: Big screen ambitions for Bristol filmmakers
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