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| National Maritime Museum By Vernon39 - Own work, Public Domain, |
The Interceltic Business Forum met at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth on 25 April 2025. The Forum describes itself as "a conference and community that fosters economic cooperation and collaboration among Celtic nations, creating a unique space for businesses, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to connect, share ideas, and explore opportunities." I was unable to attend the conference because I learned about it in Cornwall to host ‘internationally significant’ business forum for first time in TheBusinessDesk the day before it was due to take place, but I shall follow the Forum and try to attend future conferences.
The programme for the event was ambitious. There were to be keynote speeches from Lord John Hutton of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum and Kingsley Aikens of the Diaspora Institute. Panel discussions were to follow on the Celtic Diaspora, artificial intelligence and low-resource languages, Wales, the West of Ireland and Brittany. There were to be presentations on floating wind turbines and Screen Cornwall, master classes on attracting investment and the impact of place on the economic ecosystem. The sessions of most interest to me would have been "The Power of the Diaspora" panel discussion and Matt Hodson's "Spotlight on Celtic Sea Power."
The goodwill of millions around the world who regard one of the Celtic nations as their ancestral home is enormously valuable, particularly for tourism, hospitality and the creative industries. Global Welsh has been particularly successful in promoting Wales to the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider world. I first encountered that organization at the Menai Science Park on the first Wales Enterprise Day in 2021. I have also attended several of its events in London (see my articles M-SParc is coming to London - Mae M-SParc yn dod i Lundain 22 July 2023 and M-SParc Returns to London 27 Sept 2024 in NIPC Cymru). Walter May. Co-founder of Global Welsh was listed as one of the speakers at the Power of the Diaspora panel discussion. So, too, were Nicola Lloyd, Director of Cornwall Trade & Investment, Russell Dalgleish, Co-Founder of the Scottish Business Network, Allan Mulrooney, Chief Executive Officer of the Western Development Commission and Charles Kergaravat, Founder of Breizh Amerika. Mr Kergarava's attendance would have been a reminder that many of the early settlers of French Canada and Louisiana were Bretons.
Matt Hodson, Chief Operating Officer of Celtic Sea Power, a Cornwall County Council enterprise, was expected to discuss the potential of the Celtic Sea as a source of energy and how that power could be harnessed by using floating wind turbines. Mr Kergavat explored the topic in more detail in Celtic Sea Rising: How Floating Wind Could Transform the Region’s Economy. His article touched on the potential for collaboration between Cornwall and Brittany, Wales and Ireland. It is worth mentioning that Anglesey County Council also has a programme for developing renewable energy technologies known as "Energy Island".
One topic that does not appear to have been discussed is that Brittany and the Irish Republic remain within the European Union and could host manufacturing, distribution and administrative facilities for businesses in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. Future meetings of the Forum might wish to discuss incorporation, employment, tax, intellectual property, town and country planning and other legal issues of setting up branches or subsidiaries in Brittany or Ireland.
As there were to be sessions on Tech Cornwall, the West of Ireland as a launchpad for innovation growth, Wales as a tech village and the Welsh film industry, I was surprised that the programme did not include a session on intellectual property. There were to be presentations by Carrie Jones of Capital Law and Laurent Drillet and Peter Moore of Fidal Avocats, but it is not clear what they discussed. Representation before the Unified Patent Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the EU Intellectual Property Office by Breton or Irish firms could be of interest to businesses in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.
As the Isle of Man is a major financial services centre, I was also surprised not to see a session on or even a representation from that island. It should be remembered that not all Celts live in the British Isles or Brittany. There are Celtic Communities in Galicia, Gaelic speakers in Canada and Welsh speakers in Argentina. Business owners and managers from those countries may wish to take part in future conferences.
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