Cultural and creative industries are traditionally located in cities, where they benefit from a favourable business environment, the presence of a creative class and a skilled workforce. 

Because creative industries are crucial for stimulating local development, we support the further development of this vibrant sector.

Local authorities in Europe have already made considerable financial investments in cultural and creative industries, contributing to employment, inclusion and city attractiveness.

The creative economy has the potential to play a key role in addressing the Europe 2020 objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth:

• smart growth: creativity leads to innovation; and culture and creativity are integral to education and training

• sustainable growth: cultural and creative industries drive sustainable competition, while culture promotes the preservation of heritage and boosts tourism, especially in urban areas; this cultural heritage makes our cities attractive and contributes to Europe’s competitive edge

• inclusive growth: cultural and creative industries are major employers, foster urban regeneration and intercultural dialogue and encourage citizens’ participation in city life

To realise this potential, we believe that European policies and programmes could better support creative industries.

In our response to the European Commission’s July 2010 green paper, ‘Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries’, we identify a number of ways in which to do this:

1. developing indicators and gathering evidence

more effective tools are needed to better understand the sector and its economic, social and environmental impact

data must be collected at local level but should have a Europe-wide basis to ensure comparability and learning outcomes

2. nurturing an ‘eco-system’ for cultural and creative industries

entrepreneurship should be promoted in the cultural and creative sector and curricula should be adapted to the sector’s particular business demands

access to finance needs to be facilitated and financial tools that are tailored specifically for the sector should be introduced to encourage growth

3. encouraging exchange, learning, networking and better promotion

creative clusters and one-stop-shops should be supported and developed

networking and the exchange of experiences are vital to the sector’s success

the mobility of cultural and creative industry workers and products should be supported both inside and outside Europe

Our response was supported by a collection of concrete practices being implemented in 16 of our member cities.

Our working group on creative industries meets twice a year and offers a platform for cities to share ideas and best practice, covering all areas relating to creative industries, from accessing funding to showcasing the contributions of the creative sector to cities’ attractiveness, economic and social development.