Belfast hosts top US film and IT chiefs
Pictured at the ITLGs Innovation in Entertainment event in Los Angeles earlier this year around the throne from the HBO Series Game of Thrones are Peter Robinson, First Minister; John Hartnett, president and founder, Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG); and Martin McGuinness, deputy First Minister
A group of high powered US executives from the entertainment and technology industries start a visit to Northern Ireland today where they will have a series of meetings with business leaders and government officials.
The delegation from Hollywood and Silicon Valley will be in Belfast until Sunday for a busy schedule which starts this afternoon with a special reception at the City Hall where they will be welcomed by the Mayor of Belfast Councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile, after which they will embark on a tour of the Paint Hall Studios in the city’s Titanic Quarter, where HBO’s Game of Thrones is filmed.
The group will also visit Cultúrlann on the Falls Road, The Argyle Centre in the Shankill and Stormont Castle for a meeting with the First Minister, Peter Robinson.
The visit has been arranged by the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), with partners Belfast City Council, University of Ulster and Invest Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the visit by the delegation, Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI said:
“I am delighted to welcome this delegation to Northern Ireland and to continue the positive working relationship with ITLG. Northern Ireland has much to offer in the creative industries sector and we hope to showcase our local talent to the group over the course of their visit.”
The delegation led by ITLG Founder & President, John Hartnett, comprises senior figures from the entertainment technology sector including; Sean O’Donoghue, chief information officer, Dreamworks; Robert Nashak, executive vice president digital entertainment, BBC Worldwide, Americas; Jon Michael Bukosky, advisor, digital & emerging media at Untitled Entertainment, Antony Clark, head of future business innovation, Sony, and John Kavanagh, senior vice president Video Games at Paramount Digital Entertainment.
The delegation will also host a series of private investor meetings at the University of Ulster with a number of Innovative start-up companies tomorrow followed by the ITLG Hollywood Comes to Belfast event in the afternoon at the University’s campus in the historic Cathedral Quarter area of Belfast.
The event, which includes a conference and technology showcase, aims to strengthen the developmental ties between Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Belfast. It also offers indigenous companies the opportunity to meet with representatives from the entertainment capital of the world.
Speaking in advance of the visit John Hartnett said: “There is a burgeoning creative technology sector in Belfast and we have brought innovative leaders to Belfast from the world’s entertainment capital to open an innovation gateway between the two locations. We have some of the world’s most experienced executives joining us to discuss the latest in digital entertainment, cinema, mobile, gaming, social media and consumer electronics.”
Professor Alastair Adair, Provost of the University of Ulster, Belfast campus said: “Creativity and innovation are at the heart of everything we do at this university, and we are confident that the coming together of animation, film, graphic design and music into the digital media space will offer many exciting opportunities for our creative community.”
Established in October 2007, the ITLG is an independent organization whose members are high-level technology leaders in Silicon Valley who are Irish or Irish-American. The group includes senior executives from some of the Valley’s leading corporations, each of whom are committed to promoting the technology connection between Ireland and Silicon Valley.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
