How Yorkshire is paving the way in creative and digital sectors - Robert McClements

The growth of the conference has echoed the burgeoning of the industry across the region. Leeds City Region is fast emerging as a UK and international digital powerhouse. Its tech sector contributes £6.5bn to the city region’s economy and is a leader in creative media, data, analytics, cyber security, FinTech, telecoms, health and education technologies.

Leeds City Region has a flourishing digital creative sector, with 20 of the fastest-growing tech companies in the North of England, according to Northern Tech 100, and 13 of the Prolific North's Top 50 PR Agencies.

From a modest start in 2013 with 40 like-minded enthusiasts the conference had 650 online over three days in 2022 and a reach of 45,000 through its network of partners reaching across to the US and through Europe.

This year the event is run in association with drupa, the world's leading trade fair in Düsseldorf. This collaboration is unique in scale and includes VMC speakers being invited to replicate the debates so successfully initiated in Leeds. VMC this year will be a part of Innovation@Leeds, part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, coordinated by West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Council. It has allowed the event to continue to ensure maximum accessibility to SMEs across the region and to meld perfectly with the conference themes.

The conference venue, The Rose Bowl at Leeds Beckett University, is central to Leeds’ recently announced Innovation Arc. VMC works with Leeds Beckett across a number of its schools ranging from the Business School, Retail Institute and now the stunning £80m new Leeds School of Arts.

It’s especially poignant hosting this event during Leeds 2023 and the importance of culture in business is demonstrated by speakers such as Ricky Alfred, director of responsible business at Leeds-based communications giant Communisis.

His message will be that culture thrives with purpose. Purpose that colleagues, clients and suppliers can recognise and feel the positive impact of results in strong performance.

The cultural shifts in society impact on working patterns, retail behaviour, will all be reflected upon at the sessions during this year’s VMC.

The finale of the day is Chris Silcock, Kellogg’s vice president and general manager, UK and Ireland, and his talk on ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’.

I couldn’t think of a better person to make the case. Chris’s home city is Leeds. Born and raised in Scholes, he went to school in Boston Spa.

He is a great example of the sort of influence this region is having on the creative and digital sector at large and having him as part of the line-up is a real coup for the conference, showing how far it has come over the past decade.

Hannah Groom from Tony’s Chocolonely will also give a ‘Tony Talk’ on how mission led businesses are taking the lead, the cultural purpose behind the brand - chocolate makers on a serious mission to end modern slavery in the chocolate industry.

This is the sort of thought provoking, impactful discussions that are being had in our region as a result of this conference.

The conference will also be an opportunity for us to showcase emerging talent from our region. Sharon Jandu, from the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, will be chairing the event ‘How to attract and retain the best creative talent in today’s world’. At that event she will bring Zak Lebetkin to the stage – a student from Leeds Arts University whose winning design is the branding for this year’s VMC.

The conference would not be complete without an opening from Sir Roger Marsh, whose support and encouragement for myself and the event has been so important.

After 10 years and against a turbulent backdrop, the creative and digital sector is thriving, resilient and ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. It is ready to raise its ambition for growth, diversity and opportunity.

Leeds and West Yorkshire is well placed to drive and deliver this, and we have the past credentials and attributes to deal with future challenges.

And VMC will reflect that ambition on April 4 at the Rose Bowl. I am proud of what we have created here in Yorkshire.

Robert McClements is curator of VMC and President of Creative Digital Industries (CDI).