Category: Networking

Festivals and the Living is Easy

Published on by Seema Rampersad2 Comments

I have just returned from the International Festival of Business 2016 in Liverpool. This was an amazing opportunity for the Business and IP Centre to coordinate business advice clinics with regional Business & IP Centres in the network in the ‘Business Advisor Lounge’ at the newly opened National Exhibition Centre. The centre officially opened the same day as my visit by Queen Elizabeth II HRH, and I was told by colleagues that there was a lot of excitement having such a high profile respected world leader visit earlier that same day.

I was quite happy to go back to Liverpool again after visiting Anfield Football Stadium on the outskirts of Liverpool for a Euro 2000 football qualifier with Wales against Italy in 1998, as the Welsh Millennium Stadium was under construction. I didn’t see much of the city then, but I recently went back to for work for the day to Liverpool Centre Library to meet their staff at the Business & IP Centre Liverpool.  As a city, Liverpool has benefited in regeneration from a lot of investment in the public realm, and it looks shiny and fabulous on the two sunny days I was there. There is old architecture mixed with the new, Beatles tributes everywhere, the Mersey River, Albert Docks and attractive pedestrianised shopping areas. It is definitely a city worth visiting!

Liverpool

 

The International Festival of Business had a few highlights for me:

  • The Business & IP Centre held an Inspiring Entrepreneurs event on ‘Going Global’ with an excellent panel of entrepreneurs with some practical insight and tips for taking your business global.
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers had a stall at the festival to the theme ‘The Next Chapter’ as it was in my full view all day – and kept reminding me of my time working for them. When I worked at PwC, there was a good-hearted joke that you can go anywhere in the world and still encounter a PwC experience or meet someone with a connection with them!
  • The UK Trade and Investment and HSBC both had massive presence in the exhibition space for attracting inward investment, advice for exporting and creating business connections. Whilst I was there, the theme for the festival last week was ‘Energy and Environment’.  It was interesting to see the innovative productions on display and the eco-friendly and green initiatives.

As I was working in the Business Advice Lounge to give information to businesses – I was unable to attend other events on simultaneously. However, it was a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with our partners in Business & IP Centre Sheffield and with The Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

I have just told you a brief review on a serious business festival, but I am going to use this opportunity to write about the Summer music and arts festivals bloom in the United Kingdom. My childhood friends would remember that I love music, dancing, listening to the radio, going to live concerts and shows. It was this very same vice that was one of the attractions for me coming to London in the first place to study. Think of the heady 1980’s with Live Aid and MTV that were broadcast across the globe – Trinidad & Tobago never missed a thing! And so I was seduced by this global pop culture.

Walthamstow Garden Party.

Festivals are big business and ubiquitous in the last 12 years. This summer, I saw many festival articles, poster advertisements in the London Underground and promoted on the radio. There are a few articles on the industry that have caught my eyes. The Guardian Newspaper informs that the industry attracts foreign visitors and that overseas visitors spent £852 a visit.  The article also refers to an industry report ‘The Real Cost of Festivals’ by Parcelhero and states that 40% of British went to one festival and we collectively spent £2.1 Billion Pounds.

There is always excitement in who is going to headline the main stage at Glastonbury to rock out the crowd, and it seems that the line up of artistes is crucial in this competitive market. The line-up and offerings must be attractive to sustain its clientele.

Coachella, the biggest festival in the world, sells 198,000 tickets and pulls in $84 million for the Californian event. The UK’s largest festival – Glastonbury – has a turnover of £37m but sees profits of just £86,000: less than 50p per ticket.

Source: ‘The Real Cost of Festivals’ by Parcelhero.

At work, I also have access to the Mintel market intelligence reports that I used to research the industry. Mintel’s ‘Music Festivals’ which states that festivals and concerts have been the fastest growing area of leisure spending over the last five years to 2015.  There is also a fun and informative article by a member of staff on The IPO’s blog on Festivals.

Locally, I have participated in the Walthamstow Garden Party, a community festival which is hosted by the Barbican Centre in London. The Barbican with the local council and community groups ( arts, artists, craft-makers and businesses) coordinate the festival. They all have been successful  in delivering a fine show with headliners such as Tiken Jah Fakoly, Femi Kuti, The Brand New Heavies and The Asian Dub Foundation (due July 2016).

As the Fundraising and Events Chair at The Lloyd Park Centre – we have hosted the Mini-Garden Party offering as a family friendly space. The garden party is great for showcasing the newly award winning park redevelopments (including the skate park and William Morris Gallery), ‘Useful and Beautiful’ creative local arts and crafts, fitness groups, real food market, poetry, music, DJs, disco and many other businesses. Personally, I think it has been successful with visitor numbers at 30000 per annum. The organisers have given the opportunity for the Barbican, Waltham Forest Council and local groups to collaborate, and get to know each other better to put on a fantastic community festival which is open and free for all. Yes…I said free!

Jazz FM’s Love Supreme Festival.

Love Supreme Festival is held in Glynde and is hosted by Jazz FM.  The name is inspired by John Coltrane’s ‘Love Supreme’. Glynde is not to be confused with Glyndebourne that is famous for opera but you do have to pass through there to get to the festival.  This festival is aimed at the family friendly market and is in a very scenic field in Sussex. I have been a fan of Jazz FM for a while, as my ex-colleagues will tell you. Three years ago I tried the station’s competition for festival tickets for fun …and I actually won two free camping tickets!! There was no way I couldn’t go! I ended up going with two friends and our children.

For Love Supreme, I normally pitch a tent (glamping is too expensive for me!) with the help of my dear friends. This is my third year there and I am looking forward to the Funky Sensation Party on the Friday night. It is nice to be there in the inaugural night when campers are settling in before the busyness of the next two days. It is pure pleasure to see people filling in the Arena tent and dancing to Jazz, Soul and Hip Hop (correct me if I am wrong please). People dancing, the energy and movement remind me of Trinidadian Fetes or Parties where everyone just want to dance!

People dancing, the energy and movement remind me of Trinidadian Fetes or Parties where everyone just want to dance! …on Love Supreme Festival

I have been listening to Jazz for a few years before the digital age. Listening to radio stations on apps and digital broadcasting will enlighten jazz lovers to the biographies of the artistes, history of the song and allows you to share your (impulsive) experiences on social media. This is a very powerful immersive experience, so I am constantly trying to resist sharing songs – but have little control as you may noticed. I am sure you have experienced this too. I have written about this user experience in a blog post for work ‘Rock Stars to Classical Orchestras’ at the British Library. I think this must make me a fan, groupie or in this case – a ‘Jazzhead’. I am already trying to coordinate and organise which acts I am looking forward to seeing at which stage in the festival and at what time, so that I can see and not miss them! 

Feel it in your heart and feel it in your soul
Let the music take control
We’re going to party, limin’, fiesta, forever…

‘All Night Long’ by Lionel Ritchie.

One point that I would like to make is that festivals are fabulous outlets for businesses. I love all the various international food stalls being a foodie, fashion stalls, bookshops, coffee shops, bars etc. I understand there is going to be a new beauty salon and banquet style dining on offer this year. This must be a great opportunity for businesses with so many festivals in the United Kingdom. I would like to try another festival another time such as Glastonbury, Latitude and Womad. Womad is extra special to me as The British Library has recorded it for over 30 years.

Soon I will be there, lost in the music and experience with good friends (especially in the chaotic times of Brexit!). I hope you will forgive me for this self-indulgence.  It is one of my guiltiest pleasures and so I must try to behave. My only wish is that we’ll have some sunshine there.

Networking in a small world

Published on by Seema Rampersad1 Comment

One of the best aspects of working in Business Information is that both information suppliers and professional organisations are generous and committed to helping clients and members to network and get to know each other.  I have been fortunate to be going to these events across London for more than twenty years, and relish seeing old friends and making new acquaintances.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the City Information Group was a professional association that hosted networking and social events across London in fabulous locations.  Some of the memorable events were held at The Dorchester Hotel, The Conservatory at the Barbican, an Art Gallery in Bermondsey and the Dover Street Arts Club (Yes my friends, I still remember the quail eggs canapés and potent wine).  Most of these events were sponsored by information and online services providers. So it was a very cost effective way for me to network, discuss interesting topics and purely for having some fun (I see nothing wrong with that!).  Most of all, I still see myself as a tourist in London and so enjoy going to new venues.  Sadly, the City Information Group no longer exists.

I have been a member of SLA Europe for 14 years and they are great at arranging networking events, educational seminars and tours across London. I get so much value for money from my membership, and honestly, I am not just saying that because I am their Membership Chair.  SLA Europe are always hosting events that are on the cusp of the information profession and industry SLA_Europe Logosector, such as ‘The Future of News’, ‘Tweeting while you work’, ‘The Evolving Value of Information Management’ etc.  Their programme of events over the years has been exceptional for networking and for visiting interesting buildings such as Dow Jones at their News Room, Nomura Bank on the Thames riverside and the quirky Barber Surgeon’s Hall in the city. Some of these venues shown on SLA Europe’s Flickr account are private offices or corporate venues to hire, and therefore they would not normally be open to the public.  There have been many more fun and interesting events over the years but I can’t remember them all. Along my same train of thought, here is a handy recent SLA Europe event review written by Vicky Sculfor with Top Five Tips for Networking.

“We are shifting from people who manage collections to people who manage connections.” – Deb Schwarz. SLA.

Timely too, is a relevant article and quote above from Deb Schwarz in SLA headquarters’ journal ‘The Connected Librarian – More than Social Media’, Information Outlook, March-April 2016. Deb evaluated from her colleagues that the “guide to the future of our profession” are:

  1. The connected librarian is about building and strengthening relationships, both within and outside the profession as well as personal and virtual.
  2. The connected librarian creates and maintains a linkage to time—past, present, and future.
  3. The connected librarian links people to increasingly diverse types and voluminous amounts of information.

Bureau Van Dijk (BvD), an online provider for business intelligence and company data, host two parties a year for their clients, often in museums. I try to make sure that these are in my diary! Some of these museums have been so remarkable, that I want to mention them specially:

  • Imperial War Museum (IWM) – covers conflicts, especially those involving Britain and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present day. The IWM was renovated recently and it was special to be there in 2014 on the 100th anniversary of the first world war.

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    A V1 Doodle Bug hanging over the BvD party at the Imperial War Museum
  • Hunterian Museum at The Royal College Of Surgeons – has unrivalled collections of human and non-human anatomical and pathological specimens, models, instruments, painting and sculptures that reveal the art and science of surgery from the 17th century to the present day. This was the most surreal venue to network! Where you are surrounded by thousands of glass medical specimens whilst mingling and drinking canapés! The display meant I could not manage to eat in there but it is a must to see, if you like that sort of thing.

    Crocodile and egg from Hunterian Collection2
    Hunterian Museum
  • The Natural History Museum– has 80 million specimens spanning billions of years.  It is always amusing and enchanting regardless of the time of year or how many times you go.  In 1995, I went behind the scenes on a private tour with a Brazilian Marine Biologist relative who was visiting London. We were shown extinct specimens that are inaccessible to the public.
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The Natural History Museum
  • Wallace Collection – has unsurpassed displays of French 18th-century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings. Earlier this year, we were impressed by the grandeur and exquisite French styled rooms and artefacts of a bygone era.  It really is special, educational and heartwarming that we still have these treasures in museums for our collective history.
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Selfie with Colleagues in the Boudoir at the Wallace Collection

As I conclude, Librarians and informational professionals are one of the most connected professionals.  Long before the Internet and LinkedIn, we have relied on our network for career development, to share information and knowledge.  As professionals, we are still active face-to-face as well as tuned in virtually, and use this interconnected and interoperable network in an increasingly small world. Be it in search of good, sad or bad news and information – we are able to rely on our network to find, provide and support each other to show that we can help or that we care.  Some sceptics may disagree.  One thing is for sure – Librarians are certainly not boring!

For these reasons, I am a staunch believer in the idea of Six Degrees of Separation where people are linked in the connectivity of a modern but also digital world. I once helped to host a seminar entitled ‘Creating Connections’, where we demonstrated that people are linked from high official positions to people in the most remote places on Earth! But seriously, you can read more on this idea as there is much written on it in books and on the Internet.

When I need to extol the benefits of my profession – I always say that these social person-to-person networking events are a great opportunity for personal development and for business.  Networking is a dedicated and fun time where reconnections and new connections with people are made with great camaraderie in quirky, grand and historic buildings, usually with food and drink.

I hope I have convinced you. What are you waiting for?