Cultural Economies Forum – 4th July 2019

Story Posted: 27 June 2019
Categories: Press

We invite you to join our Cultural Economies Forum, which will take place on Thursday 4 July, at the Goethe-Institut.  Presented in association with Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, anybody interested in the Cultural and Creative Ecomonies is invited to join this discussion forum, which brings together key stakeholders of the cultural and creative industries to interrogate the Creative Digital Economy, ahead of the Cultural Economies Conference taking place in Johannesburg in September 2019. Discussion topics will include innovation around intellectual property (IP), copyright, the digital value chain, legislation and policy; and how the sector can #OWNYOURFORCE; in the context of the creative digital economy. Academics, researchers, digital creative practitioners, businesses, policy makers, creative hubs and ‘hubbers’ are particularly encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussion.

Please follow link to RSVP: HERE

Award winning actor-producer SISANDA HENNA has vast experience in the film value chain, from writing, directing to packaging and financing motion pictures. He has starred or supported in over 35 local and international productions – from dramas to films, comedy, sitcoms, and even lent his voice to animations. Henna has also hosted and presented TV shows such as ‘Vuk’uzenzele’, ‘All You Need Is Love’ and ‘Gospel Gold’. He currently appears on SABC 1’s Sunday night prime time drama ‘#Emjindini’, and stars in Canal+ drama series ‘Agent’. Winner of the 2005 Eastern Cape Young Achiever Award; and the 2003 South African Selimathunzi Duku Duku Award for Best Actor in a Drama, for the hit prime time SABC 1 drama series ‘Tsha Tsha’; Henna also went on to produce and/or direct award-winning shows like ‘Intersexions II’, ‘Gold Diggers’, and ‘Greed & Desire’. Henna is a qualified NLP Success Coach, an emcee, facilitator and keynote speaker with Marie Grey & Associates. He has served on the South African Guild of Actors Executive Committee, is member of the Independent Producers’ Organisation (IPO) and the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective (IBFC).

ADWOA ANKOMA is a legal and policy consultant passionate about Africa’s creative and cultural industries. Adwoa obtained her BSc and LLB from Rhodes University and has worked as in-house legal counsel at two large listed entities in the logistics, mobility and mining equipment industries. She recently left the National Film and Video Foundation after working in the role of Legal, Policy and Compliance officer for 4 years, and founded Creatives Represented, providing legal and policy advisory services to creative organisations based on the African continent. Adwoa is also Deputy Chairperson of Arterial Network South Africa, which advocates policy development for the local creative industry across sectors and well as champions a Pan African connecting of creative organisations. In 2018, Adwoa began her postgraduate studies into Cultural Policy and Arts Management at the University of Witwatersrand but suspended her studies temporarily to take up a Fulbright scholarship for 2019/2020. Adwoa will be studying her LLM in Media, Entertainment and Technology Law and policy at UCLA in the USA.

Multi-award-winning producer ISABELLE RORKE is a co-founder of Anamazing Workshop (2000 – 2010), which lead the way in innovative technology manipulation and addressed the shortage in black and female skills, as well as multiple industry problems which previously prevented long form animation from being produced in South Africa. Anamazing went to become one of the fastest growing, highly innovative animation companies in Africa. Isabelle is sole owner and chief enabling officer of EPN – an Executive Producing company with a specialist focus on consulting for the animation industry, producing animation content. Isabelle draws from a broad range of media experience, and is currently consulting to Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct and Skycode. EPN’s company strategy relies on two pillars: Differentiation and Value Innovation; and looks at various strategic approaches to project, company and industry development and production. The company‘s success can be attributed to their ingenuity, creativity, excellent team selection criteria and innovation; with their latest achievement being the launch of 20 young black and female animation graduates in an internship focusing on Africanisation of Imagery in animation at Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.

MICHAEL DEON is the co-founder and creative director of Augmentors – an augmented reality, multiplayer mobile game built on the blockchain, that puts you in control of fantastical creatures that you truly own. In 2015, Michael co-founded Augmentors; and in 2016, he appeared on Shark Tank SA where he was funded by Vinny Lingham & Gil Oved via the first Shark Tank deal to be done in Bitcoin. Thanks to Michael’s vision and passion, along with the assistance of experts, Augmentors raised $1 million USD (895 BTC) during a 30-day token sale, which ended in February 2017. At the time, it was the most successful token sale ever conducted by a mobile video game project and it was also the first token sale conducted in South Africa. With a background in graphic design, videography, animation, editing and VFX; Michael is leading the charge in the augmented reality mobile gaming sphere. He has recently been featured in Fast Company’s Top 20 under 30 Feature, as well as African Independent Top 40 under 40. Augmentors has also been featured in Brainstorm Magazine as one of the most innovative tech startups. Michael Deon has been a keynote speaker at both Startup Grind SA and HeavyChef.