On 14 & 15 June 2007 Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will host the first international conference on creative and cultural industries in Turkey. Istanbul has recently been awarded the title of European Capital of Culture for 2010 and has over the last decade has witnessed a blossoming of cultural and creative industries led by entrepreneurs and creative individuals.  The objective of the conference is to bring together leading officials, practitioners, writers and academics in cultural industries from abroad and Turkey to discuss trends and developments and to share best practices.  We expect this conference to raise greater awareness and contribute significantly to the policy debates in Turkey about the increasing importance of creative and cultural activities for the economic development of cities around the world in the 21st Century. 

We warmly welcome all participants in this exciting conference in this beautiful and vibrant historical city both literally and figuratively bridging the continents of Asia and Europe.