The Director-General has appointed Lyon as the City of Media Arts to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

As the first French city to join the Creative Cities Network and as the centre of excellence at the forefront of media arts, the city has taken upon a leading role further evolving into a hub of innovative culture and seeking to establish an example for the cities of media arts to follow.

The City of Lyon was especially recognized by the official evaluation committee, composed of panel experts from different NGOs specialised in the respective domain, for its unique profile and long experience using digital tools and solutions in good practises of projects and actions within the cultural field.

The image of the city at the heart of innovation is deeply rooted in the vibrant scene of private sector businesses in the digital game industry. The public sector equally demonstrates budget priorities with 20% of cultural funding going to media arts, resulting in the impressive array of public art events such as Nuits Sonores and Fête de la Lumière.

Lyon has always been known as an active member in several international networks, reaching out to a diversity of audiences, from media professionals to the larger public. With its newly adopted title of "City of Media Arts", Lyon calls upon its communities to offer fruitful opportunities of encounters and exchange across cultural clusters to cultivate creativity as an essential element of building local capacities on a global platform.