Dundee has been compared to Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin and Amsterdam this week.
What do these five cities have in common?
A major study of how cities should support creative industries has been launched and ‘The City of Discovery’ is the only case study in Scotland to make the prestigious list.
The Cultures for Cities and Regions projects hopes to highlight ways which places develop their own cultural contributions through the examples of other cities.
Creative Dundee director Gillian Easson was delighted the city had been included.
She said: “This is great timing, coming after the city’s designation of Unesco City of Design earlier this year and ahead of the Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry into the creative industries in Scotland, which will see MPs visit Dundee and Edinburgh for its evidence sessions this autumn.
“Then next year it is Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016, which will celebrate the role of creativity and innovation across the country.
“This study is another solid step in the right direction.”
Dundee’s entry on the list was put forward by the city council in a four-page case study, Creative Industries: Support for Growth.
It states: “Dundee has demonstrated an all-encompassing approach, taking advantage of a prominent publishing history – the city is famed for comic books such as The Beano and The Dandy – and the growing games sector and a strategic focus on design, culminating in the recent award of Unesco City of Design.
“Dundee is playing to its strengths, with an emphasis on the convergence of technology, science and culture.
“Two cutting-edge creative organisations – the Rep Theatre and Dundee Contemporary Arts – are very active at the local level, and have been drivers for the wider cultural life of the city,” it adds.
“The city is also a pioneer of community engagement activities by reaching out to the peripheral housing estates to co-create new cultural programming via a very dynamic and digital-savvy approach, which is led by the Creative Dundee programme.”