What Next? Cardiff
When: Wednesday 16 September 2015, 8.30am – 9.30am
Where: British Council Wales, 1 Kingsway, Cardiff, CF10 3AQ
Chair: Rebecca Gould, Head of Arts, British Council in Wales

Agenda

  1. Welcome and introductions
  1. Updates since last meeting / discussion
  • Discuss possibility of What Next? secretariat –  could potentially be funded by financial contribution from each organisation.
  • Google Hangout monthly meeting for all UK What Next? chapter Chairs or chapter reps to convene (future meeting dates: Wednesday 14 October 1-2pm, Wednesday 11 November 1-2pm, and Wednesday 9 December 1-2pm) – volunteer still needed
  • Travel subsidies for young people – further details included below
  • Cardiff School of Art and Design have offered to host future What Next? meetings

Working group to update on: (optional)

  • BBC charter renewal – working group to refine strategy after What Next meeting on Wednesday (16 September) – group will use meeting room at British Council.

 Yvonne Murphy to update on:

  • Spending Round: MP Engagement strategy – Arts for Britain campaign – further details included below 
  • ‘Thunderclap’ (as part of the Arts for Britain campaign) – further details included below
  • Get Creative in Wales – exact date to be confirmed (looking at January 2016)

Manifesto working group to update on:

  • ‘Manifesto asks’ document (attached) – the working group has worked on many iterations of this document . Document needs to be finalised on Wednesday (16 September) and agreed how it will be used with the politicians formulating their manifestos now.

Laura Drane to update on:

  • Planning a hustings  (rolling agenda item from now until April/May)
  1. Future What Next? meetings

Speakers and topics for discussion at future meetings:

  • 23 September

Chris Jenkins, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games Wales Office TO BE CONFIRMED (Chris Ricketts to follow up and confirm )

  • 30 September

Culture Shift Fern Smith CONFIRMED

  • 7 October

Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru CONFIRMED

  • 14 October

Simon Dancey, Global Director, Cultural Skills, British Council CONFIRMED

 Gareth Jones from Welsh ICE. He also runs the CDF, Cardiff’s most recent listings newspaper, would like a ten minute slot.  DATE TO BE CONFIRMED (Lyndsey Halliday to follow up and confirm date)

Future topics/speakers:

  • Future speakers at What Next? and agenda for future meetings  – discuss

Suggestions from previous meetings:

  • Son of Cardiff City Region – how to get arts/culture represented at Board level
  • Equality, Diversity and Social Justice: Time for Positive Action (on Google drive ) – speech from Kerry Michael at NitroBEAT
  • SUSTAINABILITY DUTY: Identify and invite the lead individuals from the following to future What Next? Cardiff meetings: Prosperity, Resilience, Health, Equality, Communities, Welsh Language, Global Responsibility.
  1. Any Other Business

 *end of meeting*

*********************************

News

  • £15m discounted bus travel scheme for young people  – find out more Please pass this information onto any young people who may benefit from travel subsidies
  • What Next? Spending Round: MP Engagement strategy – Arts for Britain

Message from Rosie, Lizzie and Joe for What Next?…

“As you know, we have been talking for the last few months about how What Next? can make the best possible case for arts and culture in the forthcoming Spending Round: where the government will make financial decisions for the next 4 years.

All advice suggests that our best approach is for anyone passionate about this to contact their MP directly to make an informed case as to why culture is important locally and nationally, and to invite their MP to a local cultural event. It is particularly important that we target the new intake, influential conservatives and backbenchers – but it’s our aim for every MP in the country to be contacted at least once.

To support us all in making this happen we have been working with many of you to put together a range of supporting materials around a campaign:

Arts For Britain (#Arts4Britain)

For full details of what we are asking you to do, please read the ‘How to’ guide attached. 

Attachments and links to (sent by email to group on 15/9/15):

  • A quick briefing with key messages, statistics and arguments – including a 4 point elevator pitch.
  • A one page printable infographic that summarises these key arguments
  • A ‘How to’ crib sheet for contacting MPs
  • An editable infographic template which you can use to pull together stats for your / your local arts organisation if you haven’t already – see Southbank Centre test case attached

All these resources (and the ones in the list below) can be found in this shared folder

  • A bank of case studies (in the form of infographics) that you can use to make your local argument (please do send us yours to add to this if you haven’t already)
  • A database of MPs and their contact details, cross-referenced with arts and cultural organisations in that constituency – please add in artists / organisations / advocates where there are gaps
  • A bank of quotes from influential non-cultural businesses which you can use to support your argument (please do send more local examples to us for the database and for national advocacy)
  • The submission we made to the summer budget – arguments for cultural funding that we will be developing further for our Spending Round submission.

We will also be offering organisations some real life support in taking this forward. Joe Bond joe.bond235@googlemail.com is working with What Next? to help anyone do any of the above. He will be at the end of a phone (07546 776 290) if you need support contacting your MP, engaging local press, making an infographic or sourcing statistics. Joe will be ringing round colleagues in the next few weeks – so please don’t be surprised if he calls and offers you a hand. Lizzie Crump from Cultural Learning Alliance and Rosie Luff at Hanover will also be working on this for the next month.

We know that ‘Arts For Britain’ takes a different approach in language and tone to much of what we usually do, but we’re aiming here to get key messages to a new audience – one which may not ever have thought about the role of culture in its constituencies. We also know that many arts and cultural organisations are already deeply engaged in this and have great relationships with their MPs. We’re not trying to duplicate this, or the work of organisations like Arts Council, but we think there is a real opportunity here for our sector to make our collective, professional voice heard, with business, the voluntary sector and the creative industries all backing the same arguments – so apologies in advance for any duplication or teaching of Grandmothers to suck eggs.

The key messages and arguments in the attached documents are not pretending to be our manifesto or strategic plan, and we know that some of the very important work we do is missing, but these are tailored arguments using the language of the people we are trying to get out message across to.

This is urgent – we have only a few weeks now to make a difference.

Please contact us if you have any thoughts or inspiration”.

Rosie, Lizzie and Joe for What Next?

joe.bond235@googlemail.com  /  RLuff@hanovercomms.com  /  lizzie@culturallearningalliance.org.uk

‘Thunderclaps’ are go!

As part of the #Arts4Britiain campaign, a ‘Thunderclap’ which in simple terms is a mass Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr posting that happens at the same time. To enable it to happen and to get the most impact – we need as many sign ups via Twitter and Facebook as possible.

 What you need to do is simple:

  • Go this website
  • Sign up via your own/your organisations Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr account(s)
  • Encourage your Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr followers to do the same by posting the link on your channels
  • Once you have signed up, your Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr account will automatically post a message at 4.30pm on 24

There is an initial target of 250 sign ups which we think is easily achievable if we all put our social media behind it! .., and if we can get the hashtag trending that would be fantastic!

We recommend…..

Get Creative news – agreement with WOW24/7 – sign up now!

  • The BBC have signed an agreement with WOW24/7 to host the Get Creative searchable activity finder and it is currently being tested. Any activity or event deemed Get Creative in spirit (participatory, engaging, free or cost-recovery) can be uploaded. Once there are enough activities and events, there will be a link added through from the Get Creative homepage so that the public can search for what’s on near them.
  • The link has been circulated to the almost 1000 Get Creative Champions signed up but we wanted to double check that you have the link and information.
    You do need to be a Get Creative Championbefore you can upload events. 
  • It will take you 4 minutes to register and upload an eventand it automatically sends information about your Get Creative events through to local news listings. Sign-up here to WOW24/7 listings engine Line-Up and get started. You can enter as many events as you like (the more the better!).
  • Please note it is a live environment, so only enter information that you’re happy to go live on WOW24/7 and syndicated to its partner websites as per the terms and conditions.

The Culture Diary has relaunched with significant improvements for users. The Culture Diary is a free worldwide events calendar of private, media, industry and public events produced by over 4,000 UK organisations covering every art form. The Culture Diary is for any cultural organisation, from small independent organisations to major national institutions. It includes art, dance, design, museums, music, theatre, and much more. You need to register for access (All registrations are reviewed to keep data on the Diary private to members only.) www.theculturediary.com

Funding opportunities

  • Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
    … fund British citizens, resident in the UK, to travel overseas to study areas of topical and personal interest, to gain knowledge and bring back best practice for the benefit of others, their profession and community, in the UK
    The closing date for funding applications is 22 September, 5pm  (to travel in 2016)
    Visit the website to find out more information about funding opportunities: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/

 Upcoming events

 No Boundaries Conference

29/30 September, Watershed Bristol or HOME Manchester
http://nb2015.org/

Art and The Charter
6 October, Chapter, Cardiff
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-and-the-charter-tickets-18130855878?aff=eandprexshre&ref=eandprexshre

Inspiring Curiosity Conference
21/22 October, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
http://www.belgrade.co.uk/event/inspiring-curiosity-conference-thursday

Landmarks Conference
8/9 October. Llangollen Pavilion 

Below information is from Amanda Spence, Design Advisor, Design Commission for Wales:

Details of our Landmarks conference 2015 are now available on our website including booking details and sponsorship opportunities.

Landmarks is the Design Commission for Wales’ autumn 2015 conference and exhibition which will explore the relationship between the natural resources of the Welsh landscape and human intervention, informing and inspiring a future for design in the landscape.

The two day event includes a film night and canal boat trip, along with an international line up of speakers, chaired by Sarah Dickins of BBC Wales.

The accompanying exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre will run from 25 September until January 2016 and features the work of several young designers from Wales, and we are currently editing and translating the Landmarks publication.

The link above will take you to the full programme, and you will also find sponsor opportunities.

Tickets: Early bird (until 10 September 2015) £225 / Standard £275/ DCFW Commissioner, Panellist or Hatch member £190 / Student £150

There are also exhibition stands/stalls available which include two delegate places. We welcome creative use of the stands to promote, sell and communicate landscape-related produce and ideas.

We’d love to see you there and please feel free to share the details with your networks.

Please contact Amanda Spence at Design Commission for Wales if you have any queries amanda.spence@dcfw.org

Kind regards

Amanda Spence, Design Advisor, Design Commission for Wales

The purpose of What Next?

Broad aim: to find new ways of engaging with our audience and visitors: the ever-expanding millions who value and take part in the cultural work that happens day-in, day-out up and down this country.

Guiding star: to encourage the people of this country, as individuals and as communities, to see connections between the many different ways art and culture affect and enhance our lives; to urge everyone to register their endorsement of – and pleasure in – their art and culture, especially where these are under threat.

What Next? Cardiff website (agendas, members etc): http://whatnextcardiff.wordpress.com

What Next? UK movement website: www.whatnextculture.org

 What Next? Twitter: 

Cardiff: www.twitter.com/wncardiff or @WNCardiff and #wnculture

UK: www.twitter.com/whatnextculture and #wnculture

Venue information

 The British Council will be hosting What Next? for the period 9 September to 14 October 2015.

 Venue address: British Council, level two, 1 Kingsway, Cardiff, CF10 3AQ (indicated in red on this map)

 Access: The building is called “One Kingsway” it’s accessible via the pedestrianised area just off Kingsway.
On arrival turn to the left to take the lift or stairs to level two (no need to report to security staff on arrival, though they’ll be happy to direct you if you’re unsure)

When you arrive on level two, the door to the British Council office is directly in front of the lift, on arrival press the buzzer to the left of the door to be let into the office.

If you take the stairs, when you reach the level two exit, turn to the right until you reach the door to the British Council office, on arrival press the buzzer to the left of the door to be let into the office.

Meeting room: the meeting will be held in room seven, you’ll be shown to the room on arrival.

Refreshments: Tea, coffee, water and pastries will be provided from 8:20am

Contact: British Council in Wales; Rebecca Gould, Head of Arts, 07971 155505 ( Rebecca.Gould@britishcouncil.org ) and Lyndsey Halliday, Project and communication support officer, 07904 689109 ( lyndsey.halliday@britishcouncil.org )

 Bicycle parking: There is ample bicycle parking on the pavement opposite the British Council office, just off Greyfriars road (some by the Slug and Lettuce and some by the Hilton hotel)

Train station: The nearest train station is Cardiff Queen Street, about an 8 minute brisk walk. Cardiff central station is about a 13 minute brisk walk

Car parking: There is on street parking for disabled badge holders only on Greyfriars place.

The most convenient car parking for non-disabled badge holders is on King Edward VII Avenue (near to Cardiff city hall) Parking for up to 2 hours is £2.80. The underpass near to the roundabout on King Edward VII Avenue brings you out next to the British Council office (One Kingsway)

What Next? future host venues

  • 21 October to 25 November, Sherman Cymru
  • 2 December to 16 December, Creative Economy Unit, Cardiff University