The clusters connected due to their common, and complementary, strengths after first meeting in Cardiff in 2019. The South Wales media cluster is based on the significant presence in the region of UK broadcasters, major studios, and a strong independent production sector exporting high value content to global markets. The Norwegian Media Cluster is a world leader in augmented reality, graphics, AI, virtual studios, broadcast & IP based video, robotics and tools for workflow and visual storytelling.
- We are delighted to be working with Media City Bergen, and we are excited about the opportunities to learn from one another. We have common areas of interest – such as news and using media to enhance democracy – as well as complementary areas of expertise, so we see great potential for collaborations between Norwegian and Welsh companies as we work together, says Professor Justin Lewis, Director of Clwstwr.
- We are looking forward to a close collaboration with Clwstwr. Ever since we visited Cardiff, we have wanted to set up a structured and long-lasting partnership, as we see that there are many synergies and common fields of interest between the two innovation clusters. We look forward to work together on both the challenges and opportunities in the media industry and are grateful for the opportunity to learn from our Welsh sister-cluster, says Anne Jacobsen, CEO, Media City Bergen.
Innovation in News and Democracy in Media Clusters
Clwstwr and Media City Bergen will be kicking off their partnership with an event focusing on innovation in news and democracy on Tuesday 16 March, featuring projects from both clusters.
Clwstwr has responded to the dramatic decline in under 35’s engagement with reliable journalism and the resulting informational mix that combines credible and unreliable sources by funding ideas that develop new informational genres with a focus on data and new technologies or platforms that enhance the business model for public interest news.
Media City Bergen work to empower important stories, ensure an informed population, and strengthen democracy. We aim to preserve democracy by driving the development of technology for utilizing user information, improving digital storytelling and digital journalism, and deploying artificial intelligence in the fight against misinformation and fake news.
From Cardiff, Shirish Kulkarni of Monnow Media will be speaking at the event. Kulikarni has been investigating, creating and testing new and imaginative storytelling techniques with Clwstwr since 2019, resulting in the Seven Building Blocks of Reflective Journalism.
Yvonne Murphy of OmiDaze Productions will also be presenting at the event from Wales. Her year-long politically neutral and non-party political Clwstwr research and development project, The Democracy Box: New Ways to create democratic participation, aims to produce the prototype of an approach to civic engagement which can be developed and replicated across the UK.
From Bergen, we’ll hear from Maria Amelie, co-founder of Factiverse. Factiverse automates the detection of misinformation with cutting-edge AI and NLP. Their patented solution helps journalists and editors to fact-check news and automatically identify fact-check worthy claims, saving time and resources and preventing further spread of misinformation. Factiverse's technology is based on founder Vinay Setty's research from the University of Stavanger, Norway, where he is an Associate Professor in Machine Learning.
We’ll also learn more about Web64 from founder Olav Hjertåker. Web64 aims to use data to better understand the world. By monitoring what content is published, who is sharing it, and where it is being shared we can provide tools for media companies, political parties, government organizations, and researchers where they gain insights into how the media landscape is changing and what is causing these changes.
Did you miss the event? Watch it here.
- Clwstwr is led by Cardiff University in partnership with the University of South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University. Clwstwr brings together all major Welsh broadcasters including BBC Cymru Wales, S4C and ITV Wales with independent film and television production companies, Wales’s national companies and creative organisations, creative coworking spaces, tech startups, strategic agencies including Arts Council of Wales, local authorities including Cardiff Council. Clwstwr is funded by the Creative Industries Clusters Programme, which is part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, and Creative Wales.
- The Creative Industries Clusters Programme is part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund which brings together the UK’s world-leading research with business to meet the major industrial and societal challenges of our time. It provides funding and support to UK businesses and researchers, part of the government’s £4.7 billion increase in research and development over the next 4 years. It plays a central role in the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. It is run by UK Research and Innovation.
- UK Research and Innovation is a new organisation that brings together the UK Research Councils (including The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation to create the best environment for research and innovation to flourish. The vision is to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
- The Norwegian Media Cluster is a world leader in augmented reality, graphics, AI, virtual studios, broadcast & IP based video, robotics and tools for workflow and visual storytelling. The Media Cluster HQ is located in Media City Bergen, a leading international hub for media and technology innovation, with the Media Lab and a startup lab forming the core of the innovation and research projects for the cluster and cluster partners. The cluster in total counts more than 100 companies, with eight major universities and research facilities among its members. The University of Bergen is a founding partner of the Media Cluster. Dept. of Information Science and Media Studies is co-located in MCB together with leading media and media technology companies. The Norwegian Media Cluster has been awarded a Centre of Expertise status from Innovation Norway and has its own cluster organization, NCE Media (Norwegian Center of Expertise in Media).