Support for Pension Dignity at the University of Dundee

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Council - Agrees to UK City of Culture Bid

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I am delighted to say that Dundee City Council has agreed to take forward a bid to be UK City of Culture in 2017 and to look at the possibilities of bidding to be a  European Capital of Culture in 2022.  I was disappointed that Dundee missed out on bidding to be UK City of Culture in 2013 but I am pleased that we are now working hard to achieve UK City of Culture status.
 
I warmly welcomed this report.  It would have been easy for me to make a cheap political point about the UK still being in existence in 2017 but this is much much more important than that.

 

This is about saying that we collectively support Dundee.  That we will do everything in our power to promote our city. 

 

I think that Dundee is very well placed to win the competition to be UK City of Culture in 2017.  We have the DCA, Dundee Rep, the McManus, Discovery Point, the Verdant Works, Sensation, the Mills Observatory, the Caird Hall, Broughty Castle, two universities and a college as well as schools across the city.  There is also a very active amateur dramatic scene.  There is also a lot of cultural activity right across the city.  I’m sorry to the organisations which I have left out.  But I would point out that this is even before that great British institution, the V & A at Dundee comes to town. 

 

I’m glad that we are going to bring forward plans to bid for the UK City of Culture title, I am also pleased that we are not just stopping there the city should look to apply to become a European Capital of Culture.

 

I would make a couple of pleas on this.  Any bid has to be about everyone in Dundee not just the cultural quarter.  We need to ensure that any bid includes bringing the very best in culture to everyone in the city.  It must also be about encouraging people to invest in the city and bring jobs to the city.

 


 

The City of Derry becomes the UK City of Culture on January 1st and they have an excellent programme which celebrates the best in international culture as well as the best in local, Ulster, Irish and British culture.  If the elected representatives of the City of Derry can come together to agree on this then so should we.

 

I welcome this report and hope that it will be successful for the good of our city.