Yesterday was the second of my CIIF workshops and I was really pleased with the pitches we received. While the world thinks that Northern Ireland is burning, I see creative professionals pitching new ideas and hopes because they, like others before them, want to make a dent in the universe. CIIF is only up to £10K which, in the scheme of startup funding in other regions, is virtually nothing. But for the startups in Northern Ireland it’s an important lifeline to innovation. It just removes that obstacle to innovation and creates hope in a region which is beset with agitators opposed to progress.
The workshop yesterday was in Derry/Londonderry/Legenderry. This is the current home of the UK City of Culture and best illustrated by the annual CultureTECH festival which mixes everything great about the creative industries, both analog and digital, across the province into one coherent presentation. (And yes, you would be an idiot to miss it this year).
The hopefuls outnumber the rioters. Yet they are paid much less attention. Where’s the sense in that?