Bringing opportunity home: North East Community Foundation

www.communityfoundation.org.uk

[email protected]

LinkedIn: Community Foundation North East

Pride, passion and possibility were the order of the day at the Community Foundation’s first-ever Homecoming Summit.

Featuring more than 100 North Easterners, adopted Geordies and returning expats, the event brought together the region’s global diaspora and the leaders shaping its next chapter.

Held in the Great Hall of Northumbria University’s Grade II-listed Sutherland Building, the ceremony built on Homecoming events in Blyth and Sunderland, which aimed to strengthen ties between those who care deeply about the region – wherever they now live – and the organisations working to expand opportunity for young people and their families.

It also highlighted the North East Roots Fund, founded to mobilise philanthropic giving, professional expertise and global networks to create a thriving, competitive and opportunity-rich region.

Sponsored by Newcastle Building Society, Develop North, Northumbrian Water, Arts Council England, Naylors Gavin Black, Sir James Knott Trust and The Watson Family Charitable Trust – and delivered in partnership with N magazine publisher NET – the summit explored how expats and regional leaders can work together to attract investment, amplify the region’s story and bring opportunity home.

It featured two panel discussions – hosted by NET and Bdaily editor-in-chief Steven Hugill – which examined how the North East can harness its growing network, build on its cultural and economic strengths and create new pathways of opportunity for generations to come.

The first panel, titled Bringing Opportunity Home: inward investment, global reach and inclusive economic development, explored how the region has evolved into a thriving commercial landscape, driven by a close-knit business community, rapidly strengthening industry clusters and a renewed confidence about its future trajectory.

Audience members heard from Phil Witcherley, director of economy, innovation and culture at the North East Combined Authority; Paul Jennings, managing director of global marine insurer NorthStandard; Jackie Fitzgerald, residential asset manager at Develop North and founder of Homes or Houses; and Nick Harrison, chief executive of social mobility charity Sutton Trust.

Panellists highlighted how the North East’s industrial heritage is helping power its next phase of growth – from clean energy and offshore wind to the recently announced £30 billion AI Growth Zone, advanced manufacturing and space – and how the region’s global networks can act as a powerful bridge for investment, talent and advocacy.

The discussion ranged from the opportunities unlocked by devolution and the new local growth plan to the rising interest from international investors, the role of transport and innovation in driving progress, and the urgent need to address educational inequalities so young people can access the jobs of the future.

Jackie said: “For years, I pitched my heart out about the North East to anyone who would listen, and now people are finally waking up to it.

“The story is so simple now – the opportunity is so strong.

“Investors can see exactly what’s happening here, and the speed of change is incredible.

“It’s an unbelievably exciting time for the region.”

The second panel, titled Culture as a Bridge to Opportunity: Highlighting the North East’s creative industries and considering our regional brand, examined how the region’s culture, inimitable storytelling and rapidly expanding creative landscape can help drive economic regeneration.

“For years, I pitched my heart out about the North East to anyone who would listen, and now people are finally waking up to it”

The discussion brought together Alison Gwynn, chief executive of North East Screen.

Malcolm Gerrie, television executive and film producer, who produced The Tube in Newcastle during the 1980s.

Magnus Willis, founder of marketing consultancy Sparkler.

Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North.

And Roisin Currie, chief executive of Newcastle-founded national bakery chain Greggs.

Focusing on the North East’s flourishing screen and creative sectors, the panellists emphasised the critical role of culture as a soft power to project the region’s identity, draw investment, support talent retention and open doors for young people.

The panellists explored the surge in film and television production.

The transformative potential of new studio facilities across the region, the importance of literacy and storytelling to regional pride, and the need for a clearer, more confident narrative about what the North East stands for.

“The North East Roots Fund is already helping build pathways for younger generations by improving access to the emerging opportunities of the region”

Alison said: “Devolution is letting us take control of our own destiny, and gives us the opportunity to show what we can do.

“Less than five years ago, less television was made in this region than anywhere else in the UK – less than half a per cent – which meant people either had to leave or give up on their dreams.

“But by working together with partners like the BBC and building the skills, companies and support the industry needs, we’ve grown the sector by 131 per cent, and 2026 is set to be our busiest year.”

Roisin added: “Greggs is successful because it was born and raised in the North East.

“We could never become a London PLC; we would lose the heart of who we are.

“The grit, the hard work and the no-nonsense humbleness of this region shaped the business, but so did its ambition – that real belief in what people here can do.”

The celebrations continued into the evening at Newcastle’s Boiler Shop, where the Homecoming Awards and Showcase brought together rising and established North East talent, with special awards presented by North East mayor Kim McGuinness.

John Hollingsworth, Community Foundation North East chief philanthropy and development officer, added: “The North East Roots Fund is already helping build pathways for younger generations by improving access to the emerging opportunities of the region.

“Homecoming was all about taking the reach and impact of that initiative to a new level by expanding our network in the UK and overseas and bringing more opportunity home.”

Community Foundation North East

To find out more about Community Foundation North East, its work and how you could support the North East Roots Fund, visit their website.

This is an abridged version of the full event report, which you can read by visiting the Bdaily website at www.bdaily.co.uk.