IrelandWeek LA announces some massive names for a week-long session of conferences and cultural festivities highlighting the best of Ireland.
Panti Bliss, Cartoon Saloon, Donal Skehan, and Chris O’Dowd are just a few of the major names that will appear this October in a week-long event highlighting the best of what Ireland has to offer LA. With conferences and cultural activities covering everything from food, music, TV, and film, to business opportunities, technology, gaming, and animation, IrelandWeek will take over the city between Monday, October 16, and Saturday, October 21, 2017, aimed at increasing connectivity between Ireland and Los Angeles.
While 700 US companies in Ireland employ around 150,000 people, representing an investment of $343 billion in the country, the Irish companies' investment in the US is nearly as high with 227 Irish companies with bases in the US employing approximately 120,000 people.
US companies export $67 million worth of goods and services to the rest of the world from Ireland, and IrelandWeek aims to “bring Ireland to the world, and the world back to Ireland” by bringing a live showcase of Irish creativity and innovation to the US west coast.
Irish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Frances Fitzgerald, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Irish Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphrys at the launch of IrelandWeek in July.
Speaking at the launch of IrelandWeek in July, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar stated: "The Irish Government is very happy to lend support to IrelandWeek and the Connect 353 conference in Los Angeles this October. There is significant potential for growing trade & economic links between Ireland and the Los Angeles region.
“This initiative should help our agencies to promote Ireland as an attractive location for trade and investment. The strong focus throughout the program on culture and tourism is particularly welcome given that Ireland and LA are now benefiting from increased direct connectivity."
The Irish Community in LA welcoming our new Consul General Robert O'Driscoll who will be participating in IrelandWeek LA.
The week’s highlight includes the inaugural one-day Connent353 conference, which will attract experts from a range of Irish industries to feature on panels covering a wide range of Ireland-related subjects.
Including a unique presentation from “Star Wars: Last Jedi in Ireland” director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman on their experience of filming in Ireland, the recently revealed lineup of keynote speakers and panelists also features notable names such as Michael Elias, Senior Vice President/Head of Production at Showtime; Russell Hicks, Former President/Content Production at Nickelodeon; Harry Hartford, President, Causeway Capital Management LLC’ Gabe Saglie,Travelzoo; and Donal Skehan, an Irish Celebrity Chef.
Taking place at the Regal Theater LA on Thursday, October 19, the Irish economy's standing on a global scale will also be explored by Dan Mulhall, Irish Ambassador to the United States, while the current state of the tourism industry in Ireland will be discussed by the likes of Sarah Murphy from Airbnb Experiences.
Representing the Irish government will be Michael D’Arcy TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance, while the event is also support by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Irish Film Board, Culture Ireland, Creative Ireland, IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland.
More information on IrelandWeek can be found here or at their Facebook page.
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