How festivals and events can help Ireland’s economic recovery will be the subject for discussion at the 16th Annual Gathering of Festival and Cultural Event Organisers, which takes place in Co Galway next month.
The conference will be held in the Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, on Thursday November 5 and Friday 6. More than 20 panellists, trainers and speakers from festivals and cultural events in Ireland and overseas will discuss how they can assist in Ireland’s economic rejuvenation.
The meeting will be curated by Fergus Linehan, who was artistic director of the Dublin Theatre Festival from 2000 to 2004 and artistic director and chief executive of the Sydney Festival from 2006 to 2009.
Funded by Fáilte Ireland, the event commences at lunchtime on Thursday and will examine very new pieces of audience trends, economic impact data from Irish festivals and features a presentation on attendees to Irish festivals, and cultural events by RED C Research.
There will also be masterclasses in PR, marketing, volunteering, health and safety, sponsorship and revenue generation, as well as one to one clinics with professionals. The presentation of the Best of Festival Marketing Awards sponsored by Carlton Hotel Group and the Best of Supplier Awards sponsored by Rocket Pyrotechnics, takes place on Friday. A series of community/volunteer masterclasses programme takes place on Saturday morning.
Full details on registration or participation for the conference are available online from www.aoifeonline.com
