Meeting of Inspiration and Innovation: ‘GençYaratıcı’ Festival
The creative spirit of Izmir came to life once again with the 5th GençYaratıcı (YoungCreative) Festival held at the Historical Coal Gas Factory. The festival, which was held on May 21-22 with the partnership of GençYaratıcı Agency, which continues its activities within Izmir University of Economics (IUE), and Create in Izmir project, turned into a storm of inspiration with the energy of more than 300 participants and more than 20 distinguished guests. Leading names of the creative industries met with young talents and shared their knowledge and experience in many fields from advertising to design, communication to technology.
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The festival opened with an ideathon organized in collaboration with the Advertising Foundation. Based on the Pastavilla case study, this event offered young participants the opportunity to showcase their creativity and generate brand new ideas. In the creative strategy training, Haluk Erkmen, Zeynep Bortaçina Yener and Tuğbay Bilbay contributed to the preparation of young people for the professional world by providing valuable information on target setting, effective communication and target audience analysis.
CREATIVE COLLABORATION WORKSHOP
One of the most exciting parts of the festival was the ‘Creative Collaboration Workshop’, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology with the financial cooperation of the European Union and the Republic of Turkey. In the workshop, which started with the presentation of the Aegean Region design identity, future cooperation opportunities were evaluated and important steps were taken regarding the creative economy of the region.
MASTERS OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES TOGETHER
The second day of the festival started with the presentation of ‘Creativity in Izmir-Create in Izmir’ project by IUE+KREA Director Gözde Çeviker Çınar. Afterwards, Asst. Prof. Dr. Can Özcan, Head of IUE Department of Industrial Design, examined the concept of innovation in the design world with his speech titled ‘How Old is New?’ Yaşar Akbaş, Co-Founder of Happy People, İnci Tanşu, Vice General Manager of EssenceMediacom, and Tuğbay Bilbay presented ‘New! New in Advertisement and Advertising’ panel, where they gave inspiring speeches on the evolution and future of advertising.
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
After lunch, digital content producer Ozan Sihay discussed the role of artificial intelligence in creative processes in his presentation titled ‘Pushing the Limits with Artificial Intelligence’. Sihay explained with concrete examples how artificial intelligence brings innovations in areas such as art, design and content production. Participants left this session, pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, with great inspiration and knowledge. The talks by creative director Gökhan Yücel and Bigumigu partner Yalçın Pembecioğlu provided participants with strategies for the future and in-depth information on changing trends and cultural transformations.
GAME INDUSTRY AND INNOVATIONS
The ‘Gaming in Izmir’ session discussed the future of the gaming world and the potential of Izmir in this sector with the participation of digital content producer Can Sungur and other experts. Sungur detailed the development areas and opportunities in the sector with his presentation on the structural analysis of Izmir's gaming industry.
TALENT HUNT AND ENTHUSIASTIC CLOSURE
The ‘Talent Hunt’ event, organized in cooperation with Izmir Advertisers Association, offered young people who want to become advertisers the opportunity to meet important names in the industry and establish new business contacts. The festival ended enthusiastically with an interview with Cihan Önder and Cem Özkurt, followed by a Congulus concert.
HOPE AND INSPIRATION FOR THE FUTURE
The 5th GençYaratıcı Festival provided young people with the opportunity to make important connections, introducing them to the industry and allowing them to be inspired by the masters. Throughout the festival, the participants gained the knowledge and motivation they needed to step into the professional world by communicating one-on-one with experts. Young people, who were satisfied with this unique experience offered by the festival, expressed that they look forward to the continuation of similar events.
The 5th ‘GençYaratıcı’ (Young Creative) Festival was organized by the IUE Creative Economy Research Center (KREA) and the Faculty of Communication's GençYaratıcı Agency in cooperation with the ‘Create in Izmir’ project, which is financed by Turkey and the European Union within the framework of the Competitive Sectors Program under the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and carried out in partnership with EGIAD, Izmir Development Agency and Izmir Foundation.
