Conference on UK video games industry – with keynote contributions from BIS, Microsoft, TIGA and UKIE

The UK video games industry: technology, policy priorities and new avenues for growth

with

Ian Livingstone, Creative Industries Champion, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills;

Dr Jo Twist, Chief Executive Officer, UKIE; Roger Walkden, Chief of Staff, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA; Chris White MP, Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group for Video Games and Dr Richard Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, TIGA

and

Ian Baverstock, Tenshi Partners; Alex Chapman, Sheridans; Jaspal Sohal, Creative England; and speakers confirmed from Creative Skillset and Nordicity

This event is CPD certified

Morning, Tuesday, 20^th October 2015

Central London

Overall, areas for discussion include:

·         Intellectual Property – implications of expected EU-level reforms affecting developers and rights owners;

• Funding and tax – assessing the future and effectiveness of incentives including tax breaks and recently announced Government funding;
• Partnership strategies – best practice and prospects for increasing brand crossovers into TV, film and merchandise;
• Exploiting innovation – implications for the UK industry of developments in console games and emerging technologies, including virtual reality consoles;
• Mobile – issues and upsides as mobile grows in significance;
• Supporting future growth – priorities for nurturing start-ups, established smaller players and scalable businesses, and developing the UK skills base; and

• Policy priorities – what further is needed from Government and others to support the UK sector.

Speakers

We are delighted to be able to include in this seminar keynote addresses from: Ian Baverstock, Founding Partner, Tenshi Partners; Dr Jo Twist, Chief Executive Officer, UKIE and Dr Richard Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, TIGA.

Further confirmed speakers include: Alex Chapman, Partner, Sheridans; Jaspal Sohal, Head of Games and Digital Media, Creative England; Roger Walkden, Chief of Staff, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA and senior speakers confirmed from Creative Skillset and Nordicity.

Ian Livingstone, Creative Industries Champion, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Chris White MP, Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group for Video Games have kindly agreed to chair this seminar.

Additional senior participants are being approached.

Networking

This seminar will present an opportunity to engage with key policymakers and other interested parties, and is CPD certified (more details). Places have been reserved by officials from BIS; IPO; National Crime Agency; Ofcom; UKTI and the Welsh Government. Also due to attend are representatives from Autodesk; Covington & Burling; EWY; Hippo Frog Consulting; Kemp Little; KPMG; London Southbank University; RPC; Russells Solicitors; Travers Smith and University of Winchester.

Overall, we expect speakers and attendees to be a senior and informed group numbering more than 120, including Members of both Houses of Parliament, senior Government officials involved in this area of public policy, media businesses, their suppliers and their advisors, the technology and telecoms industries, organisations and individuals representing the views of consumers and citizens, regulators, academics and reporters from the national and trade press.

Output and About Us

A key output of the seminar will be a transcript of the proceedings, sent out around 10 working days after the event to all attendees and a wider group of Ministers and officials in central government departments affected by the issues; and Parliamentarians with a special interest in these areas. It will also be made available more widely. This document will include transcripts of all speeches and questions and answers sessions from the day, along with access to PowerPoint presentations, speakers’ biographies, an attendee list, an agenda, sponsor information, as well as any subsequent press coverage of the day and any articles or comment pieces submitted by delegates. It is made available subject to strict restrictions on public use, similar to those for Select Committee Uncorrected Evidence, and is intended to provide timely information for interested parties who are unable to attend on the day.

All delegates will receive complimentary PDF copies and are invited to contribute to the content.

The Westminster eForum is strictly impartial and cross-party, and draws on the considerable support it receives from within Parliament and Government, and amongst the wider stakeholder community. The Forum has no policy agenda of its own. Forum events are frequently the platform for major policy statements from senior Ministers, regulators and other officials, opposition spokespersons and senior opinion-formers in industry and interest groups. Events regularly receive prominent coverage in the national and trade press.

Booking arrangements

To book places, please use our online booking form.

Once submitted, this will be taken as a confirmed booking and will be subject to our terms and conditions.

For those who cannot attend:

• Copies of the briefing document, including full transcripts of all speeches and the questions and comments sessions and further articles from interested parties, will be available approximately 10 days after the event.