The theme for this year’s Swansea Conference has been announced: Supporting Local. This will be reflected throughout the conference, which attracts businesses, organisations and individuals from across the Swansea Bay City Region.
The conference, which launched in 2019, will return to Swansea Arena on Wednesday March 29. It is expected to attract thousands of delegates and over 120 exhibitors. The event is aimed at businesses, campaigners, employers and anyone interested in Swansea’s future.
The conference is run by 4theRegion, a membership alliance working to bring about positive change in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
Debbie Green, CEO of Coastal Housing, one of the event’s sponsors, said that “supporting local” should be an important focus for all invested in helping the region to flourish.
“It’s intrinsically linked to the prosperity of the local economy and local people,” she said. “Keeping money in the city region is a factor in successful regeneration; consequently it’s been a performance measure at Coastal for many years.
“In 2021/22, over half of Coastal’s spending was with suppliers based in Swansea, NPT, Carmarthenshire or Bridgend and over 80% was with suppliers based in Wales. Local sourcing obviously has environmental implications too, so it’s also a performance measure in our sustainability strategy.”
Coastal also has a considerable portfolio of commercial premises, including many in Swansea city centre.
“We’re developing more commercial space all the time and have a history of working with both national chains and independent businesses to help secure premises that are right for them and that add value for people living in the local area,” said Green.
Russell Greenslade, chief executive of Swansea Business Improvement District (Swansea BID), another sponsor of the conference, agreed that the local theme is an important one.
“Keeping money local supports the customer cycle with people spending more locally, improving the economy and vibrancy,” he said. “Our Big Heart of Swansea Gift card, which we invest in and operate, can be used in 90 businesses in the city centre, keeping the money local, and the services and products we provide are as locally sourced as they can be.
“There needs to be more education on the benefits of local sourcing,” he added. “We have sponsored the Swansea Conference because it’s a great opportunity for sharing information on opportunities, growth, and developments and on our more than 800 organisations who are investors themselves in the city centre, not to mention the exciting regeneration that’s happening in our BID area.
“It’s important we, as the city centre business and commercial hub of the Swansea Bay City Region, are involved in this event as it really does support the collaborative and partnership approach we have in place that’s key in scaling up our economy and vibrancy in our amazing city and our fast-growing city centre.”
Stands are selling fast for the conference, which will include important updates on the regeneration of Swansea and future initiatives to create a thriving city region.
Zoe Antrobus, founder and managing director of 4theRegion, said:
“As an organisation 4theRegion is committed to bringing together the people and businesses who want to make great things happen in our region – and the Swansea Conference really embodies that mission. It’s a unique opportunity to share ideas, learn about future plans for the city, and be inspired. ‘Supporting local’ is at the heart of this. From committing to buying local to creating local business networks and donating to local charities, there are multiple ways in which we can help the City Region to thrive – and we’ll be addressing all of them in the conference.”
