Pacific Connect in Samoa for Creative Industries Dialogue

Twenty-one Australian and Pacific Islander current and emerging leaders will come together for two days of workshops and discussions in Apia, Samoa. Pacific Connect’s latest Dialogue will see participants consider how emerging technologies could enable a greater choice of commercial and employment opportunities for creative people in Samoa and the broader region. Under the theme of ‘Australia-Pacific Connections for a Digital Future’, Pacific Connect seeks to strengthen people-to-people connections to discuss and plan our region’s digital future.

The Dialogue, which will run from Monday, 26 May to Tuesday, 27 May, will bring together musicians, digital storytellers, arts and culture professionals, creative entrepreneurs, academics as well as individuals from the IT industry, government and not-for-profits. It will be facilitated by Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu, ICDP Special Advisor, and Michael Pilbrow, Founder of Strategic Development Group, which is an implementation partner of ICDP.

For the first time, participants will engage in a workshop and a VR demonstration as part of extra-curricular activities for a Pacific Connect event.  Daniel Stricker will provide participants a Virtual Reality/Immersive reality demonstration of his latest project and will continue collaborations that began from previous Pacific Connect dialogues with local businesses including SkyEye Samoa.

Sarah Mak and David Lloyd-Lewis of The Storyboxes will conduct a workshop on Storytelling for Entrepreneurs which looks to discuss ways to link the creative process with the business concept.

Participants will end the first day with a Welcome Dinner at Tanoa Tusitala Hotel Marquee. The Hon. Afamasaga Lepuia’i Rico Tupa’i, Minister for Communications & IT of the Government of Samoa, will present the Keynote Address and participants will have the opportunity to build on ideas introduced in the first session of the dialogue and meet local leaders.

The second day of the Dialogue sees attendees participate in planning sessions and project development. During these sessions, participants will actively collaborate on exploring Creative Industries across the Pacific, with the goal of helping strengthen a creative regional economy that contributes to regional diversity, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and technological advancement.

If you’re not attending this event, there will be significant coverage online across ICDP’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter channels. Anyone who would like to join in the discussion can do so by using the hashtags: #PacificConnect and #DigitalPacific.

We look forward to the Creative Industries Dialogue and to further expanding our Pacific Connect Community.