UK brings arts to econ dev mainstream

From The Guardian:

"Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, today unveiled the action plan, Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy, in what the government is labelling the first-ever comprehensive, state-supported plan to move the creative industries from the "margins to the mainstream of economic and policy thinking" in the UK.

The action plan outlines 26 commitments for both government and the creative industries to nurture talent, create jobs and to drive the UK's international competitiveness.

One of the initiatives is to develop a new annual World Creative Business Conference that will act as the "centrepiece" of an international push to make the UK the "world's creative hub"."

learn more here.

The UK Government has made a concentrated effort in its cities at a level not seen in the US. read more on the effort here.