Local Businesses to hear next steps on how they can make the most of City of Culture

Businesses from across the region are invited to come to the Waterfoot Hotel on Wednesday 28 September, where they can meet with the Culture Company and the City of Culture Principal Partner, BT. This free event will inform businesses on the progress made since the event in May and how they can utilise the City of Culture accolade that Derry~Londonderry has been awarded for 2013.

As part of Culture Company's pledge to provide the business community with regular updates, the guests will be updated on all City of Culture related progress including organisational structure, programme, brand, merchandising & licensing and tendering.

Guests will be addressed by Culture Company's Chief Executive, Shona McCarthy and Chairperson, Martin Bradley. Also in attendance will be newly appointed Communications and Marketing Director, Garbhan Downey, and Corporate Engagement Champion, Ryan Williams (Grafton Employment Group) as well as BT's Head of Business Northern Ireland, James Devlin.

Guests will be allowed time after the event to engage with the Culture Company team and the BT team at the ‘Culture Clinic' where they will be afforded some one to one time dedicated to discussing specific City of Culture and BT questions. This aspect of the event will run from 1830 until 1930, allowing for as many guests as possible to have their questions answered.

Culture Company 2013, Chairperson, Martin Bradley said full involvement of the business sector would be integral to the success of the City of Culture project: "Since our last business engagement event there has been significant progress made that we are now delighted to share with the business community. We want to ensure that everyone can share in and maximise the opportunities which City of Culture presents. And this event will allow us to discuss with businesses how this can and should best happen. We have had major interest from the corporate sector throughout the City of Culture campaign and are resolved to maintain this positive momentum."

On behalf of BT, James Devlin commented: "As Principal Partner for Derry~Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 we're delighted to be part of this event. We believe that the next 2 years will offer businesses in the whole north-west region a unique opportunity. We'll shortly see the completion of a superfast broadband network throughout the city, which combined with BT's expertise in delivering the new technologies and solutions that businesses need, will enable local people to transform their lives and livelihoods. I look forward to discussing how we can work in partnership to ensure that everyone in the region gets the most out of the City of Culture programme, in particular the opportunities for local business. The countdown to 2013 is well underway, and it's great to have this event to bring everything into focus."

To book your place at the event please visit http://www2.formwize.com/run/survey3.cfm?ID=4049  and submit the attendance form.