Labour Party Conference: Britain's Creative Highway

Date: 29.09.2010 13:00 - 14:00

Location: Manchester Art Gallery, Lecture Room, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3JL

Britain: Creative Highway or the End of the Road?

The UK leads the world in the creative industries and recent NESTA research has shown that this sector is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy.

But in the brave new digital age how does the UK preserve its world-beating status?

Watch the video

Click on the thumbnails to choose a speaker:

Rob Woodward, CEO, STV Group

Rob Woodward set up a lively debate by outlining the challenges that confront Britain's creative industries.

He explored what makes the UK a world leader in the creative sector and touched on our artistic heritage and the younger 'punkier' creative industries, such as video games, which are generating huge wealth and job opportunities.

Ian Livingstone

First up was Ian Livingstone, 'founding father' of interactive entertainment. He made the point that his industry was often treated as an 'unruly stepchild' by policy-makers. He argued how they didn't fully understand its needs or, given that 70% of the UK population now play games, the potential wealth it could generate.

David Sabel

From video games the discussion moved to the potential of digital technology as showcased by the NESTA-backed project National Theatre Live (NTLive).

David Sabel, Head of Digital Media at NT, argued that he regarded new technologies as an opportunity more than a threat, but he also said that they must be used to complement rather than replace more traditional forms – opening up new audiences and potential new revenue streams.

Louise Jury

The Evening Standard’s Louise Jury shook up the debate about future funding saying that the blossoming arts and cultural scene that we currently enjoy is directly related to the financial investment in it.

She argued that serious questions should be raised now before the UK finds itself following a more US-style model of financing the arts.

Ben Bradshaw MP

The Shadow Minister for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Ben Bradshaw took up a number of the earlier themes and made an impassioned case for the value of arts and the creative industries, not just for the economic health of the UK, but for our overall sense of well-being.

Speakers

• Rob Woodward, CEO, STV Group plc
• Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• David Sabel, Head of Digital Media, National Theatre
• Ian Livingstone, Life President, Eidos
• Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent, Evening Standard