Declan Keeney is Professor (Chair) of Screen Technologies and Innovation at Ulster University and Director of the Ulster Screen Academy. His work is at the forefront of skills and workforce development in support of a converging screen industry. As Director of Research, Development and Innovation at 'Studio Ulster’, his research represents £91.5m worth of live grant-based research and development investments in emerging technologies for screen production.
Katy Shaw is Professor of 21st-century writing and publishing at Northumbria University and Director of the UKRI/AHRC Creative Communities programme. Her research includes diversity and inclusion in the creative industries (the subject of her 2022 TED talk) and the redistribution of the creative industries from the capital as part of the ‘levelling up agenda’. She is the author of The Case for Culture that set out policy recommendations, many of which have since been adopted by UK government.
Natasha Trotman is a multi-award winning Equalities Designer and researcher, a Design Expert Specialist for the Design Council, a NASA Aeronautics (IDEA) Practitioner and a Wellcome consultant and Co-Designer and Co-Developer for Wellcome’s Social Justice Curriculum. She is a creative in residence at Somerset House's studio 48. Natasha’s practice explores neurodivergence and reframing mainstream notions of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion.
Rafi Gokay Wol is Director at the arts and talent management company HarrisonParrott where he heads the international projects and tours department. He has led a wide array of cultural exchanges and strategic partnerships in over 60 countries, promoting, developing and generating opportunities for creative talents, arts institutions and digital collaborations. Rafi is a Member of the DCMS UK-China Advisory Group and former Trustee of the National Foundation for Youth Music.
Pawlet Brookes MBE is the Founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage. An experienced and highly respected senior leader and producer, Brookes has been at the forefront of the development of Black arts and heritage sectors in the UK. Brookes pioneered the establishment of an annual dance festival in Leicester in 2011, Let’s Dance International Frontiers, and coordinates the high profile annual Black History Month Leicester.
Shoubhik is Head of Programme, Arts for Paul Hamlyn Foundation. He has worked in the cultural sector since 2009, first delivering community arts and music education programmes before focusing more on organisational development, strategy and research. He believes that everyone’s culture is equal and is motivated by the potential of philanthropy to transform the cultural sector, support the development of new institutions and shift power into communities.