JEDDAH — As part of the Kingdom's goal to develop into a knowledge-based economy, media and advertising professionals were gathered to take part in talks, workshops and consultancy sessions during the ongoing Saudi Creative Week. The brainchild of the Saudi National Creative Initiative (SNCI), many innovative companies are taking part such as Tashkeil, a social enterprise in Saudi Arabia promoting creative entrepreneurs. “Our aim is to gather all creative actors and players under one umbrella,” said Sofana Dahlan, CEO and founder of the company that is also a member of SNCI. Speakers from all over the world are invited to interact with the local creative community in the workshops and one-on-one consultations taking place during Saudi Creative Week. Huda Merchant, public relations intern at Tashkeil, said: “The talks will serve as awareness for the creative industry while the workshops are for developing skills. “We are targeting students and staff members from colleges, professionals in ad agencies and freelancers in the media field.” International experts include art directors, animation professionals, visual artists, filmmakers and others. Ana Magallon, a Spanish story editor from Creative Europe, led a workshop carrying the theme of “You Should Have Been There”. Her work as a script editor helps writers to improve their storytelling for filmmaking. The workshop's title is a reference to a well-known saying for the average storyteller. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Magallon said: “[Saudi Creative Week] looks very promising and it's great that it gives a possibility for creative people to meet and think of doing projects together. “We've had a very interesting workshop so far; I'm very impressed.” Merchant said a lot of gaps in the creative industry needed to be filled. “For example, many people are doing creative professions as a hobby and not taking it up as a career. “There's no platform that serves as a directory for the creative industry in Saudi Arabia. “So the SNCI aims to solve this by launching an online portal in September.” The website will offer professionals exposure while at the same time give the public access to them through the directory. The Saudi Creative Week plans to shuffle between the major cities in the Kingdom. After launching its pilot in Jeddah, its next stop is Riyadh and Al-Khobar. The pilot is sponsored by Tashkeil, Silkdeer Entertainment, Al-Bonian Trading and Contracting Group as well as the University of Business and Technology. SNCI is an offshoot of the Saudi National Strategic Vision for 2030. The Saudi Creative Week runs until June 7.
