Date: 3 April 2006
Venue:Northern Bloc Office
Partner: Conwy County Borough Council | www.conwy.gov.uk
Partner: Arts Council of Wales | www.acw-ccc.org.uk

The aims of the Northern Bloc Conwy Pilot Project were to identify current provision and the needs of practitioners, and develop networks to provide opportunities for professional development and growth of the creative technology sector across the region.

The report contains comprehensive data on the outcomes and findings of the project as well as recommendations for future developments of the sector in the Northern Bloc area.

Outline:

The Northern Bloc project aimed to be more regionally focused, concentrating specifically on the creative industries working with new technology in Conwy county. Within the project time and resource constraints, Northern Bloc also hoped to attract professionals in the neighbouring counties of Anglesey, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham.

Project Activities
Planned activities included a mapping exercise of creative technology practitioners and providers in Conwy, arranging three themed seminars during the autumn within Conwy county to provide continuous professional development opportunities for those working within the sector, promoting ‘virtual’ and physical networking opportunities, and developing sources of expertise identified from the mapping exercise and review of the sector. 45 new members joined the online Northern Bloc network, with 24 completing the mapping questionnaire. Across the 3 seminars there were a total of 95 delegates.

The project demonstrated a need to extend the mapping exercise beyond just Conwy as there is inter-county activity and provision within Gwynedd and other counties of the region.

Sponsors:

Conwy County Borough Council, the Arts Council of Wales and NESTA

Gyngor Celfyddydau Cymru, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy a NESTA(Gwaddol Cenedlaethol dros Wyddoniaeth, Technoleg a’r Celfyddydau).

Area: northern bloc