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Open to UAE nationals and residents, the three-day event will encourage new ideas, creativity and innovation
UAE - Later this month, Dubai will play host to the British Council's Culture Shift Lab, a three-day programme that will offer individuals and groups in the UAE the opportunity to work together with industry experts to develop digital ideas that could become the next bigthing.
Culture Shift is the British Council's global innovation programme where business ideas are generated and tested over a short period of time by designers, developers, innovators, individuals and groups from the local cultural sector. Through innovation and creatively, the Culture Shift Lab will explore how technology can be used to stimulate new ideas and solutions to benefit the cultural sector in the UAE.
2015 was recently announced by the UAE Government as the Year of Innovation and the British Council, the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, is hosting the Lab for the first time in the region. The Culture Shift Lab 2015 will be held at thejamjar in Al Quoz, Dubai, from 26 to 28 March and local UAE talents - nationals and residents - are encouraged to sign up now before the deadline this Saturday, 14 March 2015.
Marc Jessel, Director of theBritish Council in the UAE said,"Since 2011, Culture Shift Labs have been held all over the world in countries including Kenya, South America, South Africa and Egypt, stimulating cultural economies across the globe. The model has a proven track record in encouraging innovation in the cultural sector across the globe and we are excited to beoffering it in Dubai for the first time. This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals who are either already working in the digital industry or who have no experience and just the beginnings of a great idea but need help to make it a reality.
"It's an exciting time for creativity and innovation in the UAE and the wider region, with countries investing more money in the arts and its infrastructure and in cultural venues and events. We are looking to tapping into the UAE's creative talent in a refreshing format and give the professionally diverse group of participants the opportunity to produce futuristic ideas and prototypes,' added Marc Jessel.
Up to 40 individuals who are currently living in the UAEwill be chosen to take part and willincludea combination of designers, artists, curators, developers, architects, copywriters, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Delivered over three days by the award-winning UK innovation agency, Snook, day one will see participants form groups with like-minded individuals and will then be guided through workshops and idea-development sessions. During the three days, participants will also be offered flash talks from global international digital innovators via Skype, international guest speaker sessions and networking opportunities. On the final day, the groups will present their ideas to a panel of industry leaders and two groups will be announced as the Culture Shift Lab, Digital Innovation winners.
The winning groups will be given access to the British Council's international, regional and local contacts, which they can use to help promote and develop their ideas and products further. The winning participants will also have the opportunity to take part as delegates or speakers in the British Council's international programme to continue to generate wider interest in their developing work.
Applications are open to all participants based in UAE and must be submitted to the British Council by the 14 March 2015.
To find out more please visit: http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/blog/15/02/15/culture-shift-dubai-dimension/
To apply please visit:https://wearesnookltd.typeform.com/to/rN3lTE
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About the British Council
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7,000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes.
In the Middle East and North Africa, The British Council has been creating opportunities for artists in the region and the UK through the exchange of ideas and collaboration.
We have been supporting the creation of sustainable creative networks and forging connections between established and emerged creative industries in region and the UK.
A quarter of our funding comes from a UK government grant and we earn the remainder from services which customers pay for, education and development contracts we bid for, and from partnerships.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through twitter.com/britishcounciland blog.britishcouncil.org /
About Snook
Snook is the British Council's innovation partners from the UK. Snook is an award winning design agency that specialises in design and innovation across the public and private sector. Over the last few years, Snook has supported the British Council in running Culture Shift events in Nairobi and Cairo. They bring expertise across design, digital and business within the cultural sector.
For further information please contact:
Emma Jones or Samer El Zein
MCS Action
Email: emma.j@actionprgroup.com or samer.z@actionprgroup.com
Tel: +971 4 390 2960
Faraz Waqar
British Council
Email: Faraz.waqar@ae.britishcouncil.org
Tel: +97156 665 3189
© Press Release 2015
