On 24 September we welcomed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nicky Morgan MP, to KWMC during her visit to Bristol.

She met the teams behind our Jump Studios young people’s programme, We Can Make housing initiative, and the recent Making It and From Her Digital training courses, which supported women to develop vital skills to help them progress in the digital industries.

Both Making It and From Her Digital were funded by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport: part of the West of England Combined Authority project WIDJET (Women into Digital Jobs, Education and Training).

During the visit, KWMC Director Carolyn Hassan emphasised the importance of working with our WIDJET partners, such as Boomsatsuma, to start to address issues around a lack of diversity in the creative and digital industry workforce across the region, and the need for this work to be sustained and invested in going forward.

Our team shared how KWMC and KWMC: The Factory support people of all ages to develop the skills, confidence and networks to succeed and develop personally – and be a positive force for change in their community.

We also discussed the impact and importance of taking a creative approach to tackling issues identified by communities, and our programmes supporting individuals and groups who have experienced barriers to accessing the opportunities that Bristol has to offer, from education and enterprise opportunities to full participation in culture and community.

If you’re interested in finding out more about KWMC, please contact us to book a tour or call 0117 903 0444. You can read more about the impact of our work here.