A festival full of ‘creativity’

The countdown has begun for Izmir University of Economics' (IUE) ‘GençYaratıcı Festival,’ which will bring together renowned figures from creative industries with young people. The festival, which will feature experts from various sectors such as advertising, design, and communication, along with ideathons, workshops, panels, and competitions, will take place on May 21-22 at Izmir Historical Gas Factory. Emphasizing the importance of creative thinking and innovation to inspire young people, the festival offers free participation through registration at https://gencyaratici.ieu.edu.tr/.

The 5^th ‘GençYaratıcı’ (Young Creative) Festival will be organized by the IUE Creative Economy Research Center (KREA) and the Faculty of Communication's GençYaratıcı Agency. The festival is part of the ‘Create in Izmir’ project, financed by Turkey and the European Union within the framework of the Competitive Sectors Program under the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and conducted by IUE in partnership with the Aegean Young Businessmen Association (EGIAD), Izmir Development Agency, and Izmir Foundation.

OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

The festival will start at 9.30 with an ideathon organized in collaboration with the Advertising Foundation. This fun marathon will offer participants the chance to showcase their creativity and generate new ideas. The creative strategy training for young people will explain the details of creating a successful communication strategy. Topics such as goal setting, discovering effective communication channels, and target audience analysis will be shared with young people from Izmir.

TALENT HUNT

On the second day of the festival, which will feature faculty members from IUE Faculty of Communication and Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, as well as digital content creators Can Sungur and Ozan Sihay, the ‘Talent Hunt’ event will be held in collaboration with the Izmir Advertisers Association. This event will offer young people aspiring to become advertisers the opportunity to meet important figures in the sector and establish new business connections. Young people attending the festival will have the chance to discover the power of creativity and understand the future of the industry in special sessions where masters of creative industries come together.

CREATIVE INDUSTRY ECOSYSTEM

Dr. Gözde Çeviker, Director of the IUE Creative Economy Research Center, invited young people to join the festival excitement, saying, “The presentations, panels, and workshops at the festival will greatly contribute to young people's career planning and self-development. Organized under the leadership of GençYaratıcı Agency, which has been operating within the University for 10 years, and IUE KREA, this festival is also very valuable in bringing together all stakeholders of the creative industry ecosystem in our region and laying the groundwork for new collaborations. We have expanded the scope of the festival, which we have made traditional, even further this year. EGIAD, Izmir Development Agency, Izmir Foundation, and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality have provided great support to our festival. I thank everyone who contributed to our festival. We have completed preparations and are ready to meet young people. We are looking forward to a very special and unforgettable festival.”

OUR WORK WILL CONTINUE

Dr. Çeviker stated that the work continues at full speed within the scope of the Create in Izmir project, aimed at making the Aegean Region the center of creativity. Dr. Çeviker said, “We will continue to take many steps to develop our region and creative industries.”