It’s a pleasure to see the creative industries treated as an identifiable business path for entrepreneurs with its own special issues, culture and needs. That’s what we’re promised with the , a two-day event in Alserkal Avenue on 2-3 November.
This initiative by Al Quoz Creative Zone and Dubai Culture looks like a decent first step – a fast-paced blend of workshops, actionable guidance and networking opportunities. Some of them are obviously intended to be really fast and fun – gamified drop-in networking sessions, ‘micro-mentorship’ consultations, speed dating with Ernst & Young experts. There’s also plus a live pitching competition on the second day, always nerve-wracking for the participants and great fun (occasionally eye-opening) for the audience.
Several of the workshops are obviously from businesses looking for more business, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – for instance, the LinkedIn people may be keen to have users make more of LinkedIn, but it’s difficult to be in business these days without having a strong LinkedIn profile.
We like the look of the panels and the keynotes, where there will presumably be a lot less self-promotion. There’s one on ‘From Placemaking to Creative Making’ which looks at the ecosystem required for creative entrepreneurship. ‘Dubai Success Stories’ should be invigorating, and a panel on ‘Cultural Fluency’ should be insightful. Pallavi Dean of Roar must be well worth hearing on ‘Five Things I’ve Learned About Building a Design Business in Dubai’ and Hani Asfour from DIDI always has something interesting to say.
As well as the timed sessions running from 10am to 5pm each day there will be ‘support stations’ (which we assume to mean ‘manned booths’) from several of those giving presentations and workshops plus a couple of banks and essential Dubai government institutions (Dubai SME, Dubai Economy).
The Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Forum runs in Warehouse 1, Alserkal Avenue on 2 and 3 November. It’s all free, but obviously there could be restrictions on space so get in quick with your registration … The workshops also require separate registration – .
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