METRO MAYOR LAUNCHES CULTURAL PLAN TO PUT WEST OF ENGLAND ON THE MAP

A new cultural plan to put the West of England on the map for national and international success has been unveiled by Metro Mayor Dan Norris.

The West of England Cultural Plan showcases artists and games designers, highlights the region’s visitor attractions, and puts a spotlight on why the West is the place for investment in the creative industries, including in film and TV production.

The Cultural Plan will be supported by members of the West of England Cultural Compact – the first of a kind as the only one in the country with a regional remit.

Dan Norris said the West has a “tremendously strong offer” promoting creative businesses that contribute just under £2 billion to the regional economy each year.

“I am proud that the West of England is attracting international investment from the key players on the planet to benefit both us and them,” he said.

“More than 500 businesses across the South West have been boosted directly from Netflix investment creating 1,000 jobs across the UK.

“The West of England Combined Authority’s recent £12 million investment in the Bottle Yard Studios sends a strong, confident message to the world – that our amazing creative sector here in the West of England is thriving.

“I am also supporting small businesses and freelancers with a programme of professional development and paid placements for young people.

“We are making amazing TV like Outlaws, Tracey Beaker and the wonderful David Attenborough series. We need everyone to know they are made in the West.”

Around 800 million people each month watch digital content produced in Bristol and Bath.

Crowdfunding raises nearly £1M to help creatives on a side-hustle

A crowdfunding drive to help creatives turn side-hustle into a business closed after smashing its target in 28 days.

Bristol-based online local experiences marketplace Yuup has been o ering the city’s creative community a platform to generate income through hosting experiences since it was founded in September 2020.

In just a year, the company has grown from supporting just under 40 experience hosts to now being a community with more than 270 people and small businesses and 500+ experiences to enjoy throughout the city of Bristol.

Visitors to Yuup will find anything from unicycle lessons to rum tasting, wild winter swimming, hot air balloon rides and pottery making to fresh pasta-making masterclasses – each delivered by local people, many of whom pivoted their businesses or followed their dreams of a creative career during and after the pandemic.

The platform has seen side-hustlers and hobbyists turn their favourite thing to do into a business and their main source of income.

In the past year, Yuup says it has generated more than £450,000 in income for local people and small independent creative businesses in the Bristol and Bath region.

In March it opened a £750,000 fundraiser on the Crowdcube platform to expand its reach. And the drive was closed before the scheduled end date after Yuup raised £986,479 – 131 per cent of its target.

Learn.ink awarded £20,000 to grow mobile training platform for smartphone users in emerging economies

Bristol innovator Learn.ink has been awarded a £20,000 grant by the West of England Growth Hub’s Business Innovation Fund to grow its mobile training platform for people in emerging economies.

Learn.ink’s engaging training platform helps organisations to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid increase in smartphone use in more remote communities.

“My co-founder and I spent a lot of time in East Africa researching the training options available,” said Georgia Barrie, Learn.ink’s CEO.

“We found that most tools assume you have access to a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection and are familiar with navigating complicated interfaces and reading long sections of prose.

“Unfortunately, this kind of technology is completely inaccessible to most of the world’s population.”

Learn.ink has developed a chatstyle interface – instantly familiar to most smartphone users – with games, challenges, quizzes and sound e ects that combine to make the learning experience fun and engaging.

By creating features such as “o ine mode” they also ensure training can be done even in areas without an internet connection.