Kent Cricket's chief executive will discuss how sport can help create cultural identity when he addresses delegates at this year's Kent and Medway Business Summit next month.

Simon Storey, who says clubs generate some £12million for the regional economy, will also debate the importance of place-making before an audience of 300 people at the event being held at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus on Wednesday, April 27.

The event, pushed back from its normal January date due to the pandemic, is returning for its fifth outing this year.

It offers the chance for businesses to network and have their say in "building a shared vision for the economic sustainability of the region". Among those attending will be business figures from across the county, policy makers and academics.

The CEO of the Canterbury based county cricket club said: "The world is increasingly aware of the power of sport as a force for good in the community and it is well-documented that the role of sporting teams can be inspiring and encouraging.

"The barometer of success in sport might be trophies, and a lucky few sports people make it to the top level and enjoy all the excitement and financial reward that comes with it. But, for every elite athlete, there are millions who go out and play a sport, do ‘their best’ and gain a huge amount from it.

“The life skills gained by taking part in sport are endless. There’s team building and teamwork, you learn resilience – I call it 'bounce-back-ability' – you learn how to deal with success and failure and gain the discipline to play a role that impacts others on your team. These are transferable skills and build good people, good workers and the type of individuals we want in our communities. There are huge parallels across the worlds of sport, work, and culture.

“Research suggests a county cricket club delivers at least £12m back to the regional economy. We are flying the flag for Kent and we want people to understand it is a great place to live, work and study as well as play cricket.

“As we look forward, our desire to see cricket as a force for good in our community has never been stronger. We can’t turn our backs on the recent problems we’ve seen around discrimination in our sport. Our next challenge is to make sure that cricket is as inclusive and diverse as possible – to ensure every child has the opportunity to pick up a bat and ball, wherever they live and whatever their background.”

Also contributing to the workshop on place-making is Emma Wilcox, project director of Creative Estuary, a project transforming 60 miles of the Thames Estuary across Essex and Kent into a cultural hub.

The workshop will be chaired by Lisa Carlson, CEO of the Canterbury Business Improvement District and chair of the Association of Town and City Management.

Other key speakers at the one-day event include Roger Gough, leader of Kent County Council, Richard Hicks, deputy chief executive of Medway Council, and Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors.

Tickets for the summit and the full agenda, which is organised by partners – Kent Business School, Locate in Kent, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors – can be found by clicking here.