XpoNorth unveils a cunning line up of guests for its online conference in June
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Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson will be among the international guests sharing their cunning thoughts at Xponorth's annual conference in June.
The BAFTA award winning actor, writer and television presenter will join his Time Team colleague, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, who has written and presented 18 acclaimed television history documentary series, written several history books and chaired the Costa Book of the Year Award in 2020, in a panel discussion which will be one of the highlights of this year's creative industries conference.
Other high-profile talent speaking at the annual conference, which will again be online after last year's successful virtual event, will include guests from the worlds of film, television, digital, heritage and other creative sectors, who will discuss the key themes of this year’s conference: new ways of working and storytelling.
Conference delegates with an interest in film will be able to hear from executive producer Jason Lust, whose credits include films such as Peter Rabbit and the soon-to-be released Pinocchio. Richard Tulk-Hart and Tony Wood from Buccaneer Media, the team behind the Emmy-winning drama Marcella – whose third series is currently screening on ITV – also join this year’s broadcast and screen line-up as will Lola Bubbosh, who returns to the conference from the BBC.
Embracing the global spirit of the conference, international voices include Alexander Knetig, head of digital distribution at European public service channel ARTE, and Einar Hansen Tómasson from the Icelandic Film Commission, as well as speakers from the BBC and the Cairngorm National Park.
Talking about the latest trends in audio will be Jaymeson Catsouphes, an award-winning director from new worker-owned audio production cooperative, Mumble Media.
Elena Corchero, director of emerging technology at NewsCorp, will explore digital consumers. Also taking part this year is Nicole Vanderbilt, UK managing director for Bookshop.org, who has over 25 years of experience in the consumer internet industry.
This year’s XpoNorth digital conference will open with inspiring landscape scenes from across the region to evoke a sense of place for attendees and bring a little bit of the area to speakers and delegates who would normally make the annual trip to Inverness.
Delivered via the XpoNorth app, the conference will offer dedicated training spaces, networking opportunities, specialist advice sessions and a focus on wellbeing and mindfulness.
New for this year will be the addition of digital trade stands and applications are now open for companies looking to take a virtual space at the conference.
Iain Hamilton, head of creative industries at Highlands and Islands Enterprise and co-founder of XpoNorth, said, “It’s wonderful to be able to announce such an inspiring, international line-up for our second digital edition of the XpoNorth conference. When we hurriedly had to re-imagine our usual format in a matter of weeks almost a year ago, we could never have predicted the seismic shift in the way we would all be living and working. Last year’s conference was an opportunity to unite our creative economy looking to survive, but one year on it’s a chance to share new ways of working and look forward to life post-pandemic and post-Brexit.
“The past year has probably been the toughest our creative network has ever had to face and it’s why this year we’re introducing sessions on mindfulness and wellbeing as well as providing practical business support sessions covering finance and funding models. Over 6000 delegates attended last year’s conference and with this year’s stellar line up and improved interactive experiences for participants I look forward to seeing even more of our creatives benefit from the wealth of talent we’ve curated.”
The full line up and further details will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
To register interest in attending the conference, find out about trade stand applications, be kept up to date with the latest news from XpoNorth and to discover hundreds of engaging pieces of content please visit www.xponorth.co.uk
