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Positive response from second Digital Media conference

 

Malta's efforts to accelerate the development of the digital media cluster and the initiatives being taken to create an environment that helps in the growth of this industry were highlighted during the Digital Media in Malta 2 conference organised by Malta Enterprise.

More than 30 representatives of companies operating in the digital media and online industry took part in the conference, with around half of them being foreign companies looking to learn more about the business environment in Malta with a view to expanding their business in the country.

Malta's Special Envoy for the Digital Media Industry Chris Deering welcomed the participants to the conference and kicked off proceedings, which started with a series of presentations that outlined the advantages that Malta offers, the opportunities and the support available.

Malta Enterprise's representative Richard Byrne-Price gave an overview of the wide range of initiatives aimed at aiding the industry's growth and the support offered by Malta Enterprise targeted specifically towards the creative and online economy. National initiatives include the national video games competition, Gamezing, and the introduction of new courses at University.

TRC Family Entertainment CEO Paul Taylor said the company looked at various locations before opting to set up in Malta due to the support from the authorities, their speed of response, and the flexibility of the human resources, adding that the company has already employed around 100 workers since setting up a year ago.

Andrew Davies gave details of SmartCity Malta which is being developed to become the region's leading knowledge cluster, while iGaming Elite CEO Dean Nicholls spoke about the talent pool and the skills of the human resources available in Malta and how these can be transferred from one niche sector to the other.

The foreign companies took an active interest in the ensuing panel discussion, which was moderated by digital media consultant Dan Licari and which was addressed by Mr Taylor, Nick Porsche from Rocksolid Games and Graeme Coyle from iGaming Elite.

A wide variety of queries and issues were raised by the participants, ranging from the fiscal and financial assistance, training and education, the local talent base, operational issues, collaborations with educational institutions, as well as the lifestyle in Malta.

The conference was complemented by a structured networking session during which participants had the chance to meet potential partners and investors.

Digital Media in Malta 2 is the second international digital media event hosted by Malta Enterprise this year in its efforts to attract growing digital media companies and encourage the growth of the local digital media cluster since the launch of the Digital Strategy for Malta in April of this year.