Research Team: Rich Hurford, Dr Helen Davies, Dr James Davies, Sally Lisk-Lewis, Dr Bethan Jones and Sara Buckingham.
Funders: Media Cymru is funded through £22m from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Strength in Places Fund, £3m from Cardiff Capital Region, £2m from Welsh Government, through Creative Wales, and £23m match funding from industry and university partners.
Website: https://media.cymru/
Duration: 2022-2026
Summary: Media Cymru is a collaboration to accelerate growth in Cardiff Capital Region’s (CCR) media sector, making it a global hub for innovation.
The programme brings together organisations from across Wales, including education, broadcasting, technology, media production and local leadership partners, to drive inclusive and sustainable economic development, by addressing future skills needs, increasing job opportunities and creating more innovative companies, building on the region’s success as the third largest media cluster after London and Manchester.
Working across the consortium, University of South Wales will develop and co-deliver an innovative skills programme linking education with industry and infrastructure to build a sustainable talent base for the region’s screen sector.
In October 2022, Media Cymru launched the first annual pan-Wales Screen Industries Workforce Survey, conducted by academic researchers at USW’s Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations. The research is aimed at providing new knowledge and evidence into the needs of the media sector as part of the creative industries in Wales.
Aims: To make the CCR a global hub for media production and innovation, building international recognition and audiences.
To encourage industry collaboration on research and development (R&D) projects, increase businesses capacity for innovation and create new products, services, or experiences ready for market.
To drive inclusive, sustainable economic growth in the Welsh media sector.
Please email [email protected] if you would like to contact us about Media Cymru.
Join Media Cymru, the University of South Wales (USW) and S4C for the next round of the S4C Digital Content Innovation Fund this time focussing on digital shows in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
BEYOND THE TV SCREEN is a new development training programme that equips Welsh media professionals and content creators, with the tools and future-proof strategies they need to create and optimise content for digital platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Focussing on S4C's 20-34 year old audience (an especially challenging market segment for PSBs), this is an opportunity to learn how to develop S4C ideas that sit comfortably in the digital world.
During this unique 1-day workshop, we shall explore how to produce digital shows that can be distributed on multiple platforms, how to build communities and followers, and what current trends look like for brands, broadcasters and rights holders.
Expect insider insights, real-world case studies and expert perspectives on what is driving success on key digital platforms right now.
DATE: Wednesday 7 May 2025
TIME: 09:00 – 17:30
WHERE: University of South Wales, The Atrium, Cardiff
Are you a freelancer, are you interested in saving your pocket as well as the planet?
Sign up to our FREE 3-hour, interactive session on HOW TO BE A GREENLANCER – simple yet inspirational online training on how you can make your business more sustainable and reduce stress on your finances - and family.
Delivered by Picture Zero, HOW TO BE A GREENLANCER is an engaging, straightforward guide on how you can be more environmentally focussed and finance-savvy on a very personal level. And even grow your business, worth and network by differentiating yourself and attracting employers who also value sustainability.
What does good data management look like? What can we do in the Welsh screen sector, to not only organise ourselves more efficiently but to be able to find the volume or capacity to handle what could be terabytes of data? And do all cloud-based solutions or dedicated software packages fit all productions?
In this half-day DATA MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS session, Gorilla Academy aims to cut through the terminology and technology (although we do have to talk about it, sorry) and look at some tried and tested workflows that manage all your lovely data, from capture through to post. And enable you to look after one of your most valuable assets.
We will cover well rounded principles of storage, naming conventions and storage types that best suit each file type, while looking at costings and the green aspect of data management.
This course is aimed at producers, production assistants, project managers, camera assistants/ trainees, camera, edit assistants, this overview covers almost every type of file so every type of role could benefit.
Paul Hawke-Williams, our trainer, will also explain why data management IS sexy!
Media Cymru Freelancer Development Fund: Screen sector freelancers based in Wales can now apply for financial assistance to access training opportunities relevant to personal career development. The Media Cymru Skills and Training project, delivered by University of South Wales, is offering up to a total of £1,500 per person to cover for loss-of-earnings while undertaking training.
To find out more about the Media Cymru Freelance Development Fund, and to register your interest, please click the link here.
The first Wales-wide survey to assess the skills, training needs, attitudes and experience of those working across the screen sector.
The screen sector in Wales is both economically and culturally significant. Wales has an established sector and skilled workforce, however, to sustain this important and growing sector we need to nurture new talent alongside supporting and retaining our existing workforce. To deliver an innovative skills programme, we first need to understand the nuances of the Welsh screen sector from the perspectives of those working within it.
This report takes a holistic approach to the screen sector highlighting the diversity of roles and subsectors including those working in TV, film, post-production, games, animation and commercial production. As a means of identifying key patterns in our data, a thematic approach has been taken focusing on three key themes, namely the characteristics of the Welsh workforce, skills and training and culture change. These themes are explored in relation to several variables including age, gender, ethnicity and access.
Media Cymru and USW’s Freelance Focus research is an ongoing, long-term study of freelance careers in the screen sector in Wales. The information you provide will help shape USW and Media Cymru’s skills and training output, and further our understanding of freelance careers in the Welsh screen sector.
A one day summit with the aim that everyone leaves more disability confident, with a better understanding of how to hire, include, train and support deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent (DDN) talent, and able to identify resources and funding to ensure more accessible productions.
Industry leaders, including disabled creatives, will share knowledge and experience, providing participants with the tools to elevate accessibility and open pathways to deeper inclusion, harnessing the creativity and other benefits that comes from lived experiences.