Nov 3, 2014

#JES2015 Open invitation to participate in the first Journalism Entrepreneurship Summit in London

The MADE Project may have been among the first initiatives aimed specifically at supporting news startups in the UK and Turkey. But, thankfully, we’re no longer alone. Over the last four years we’ve been joined by other groups, companies, charities and universities keen to understand and support journalism entrepreneurs. 

“Isn’t it time for us all to meetup and take stock?” asked MADE founder François Nel, who in 2011 became the only UK winner of the International Press Institute’s inaugural News Innovation contest sponsored by Google. 

Yes, said Alison Bethel McKenzie of the IPI. Good idea, said Sarah Hartley and Will Perrin of Talk About Local, who have also contributed to MADE activities. I think so too, said Deborah Fox of Nesta, the UK charity that supports innovation. I’m also keen, said Dave Harte of Birmingham City University, who has worked on the Creative Citizens project.

Let’s call it the Journalism Entrepreneurship Summit, suggested Nel. The others agreed. The team at Talk About Local signed up to help make the event happen with further support from McKenzie and Javier Luque at the IPI. 

They set a date - Friday, 27 February 2015 - and chose a location - London. The rest is still being decided. [UPDATE 19/12/2015 - Registration for the 60 places at  #JES2015 is now OPEN ] 

So, herewith an invitation to all those who want to contribute to any aspect of this question about Journalism Entrepreneurship: What we did, what we learned, and what we (all) might do next? 

If you'd like to participate, please register your interest HERE and send any questions, suggestions and proposals to François and the team at uclanmade@gmail.com.  You can also follow the conversation on #jes2015 @jpreneursummit. And please do spread the word to in your networks that share our passion.