OECD Report: Local Identity, Pride and Branding in Place Transformation

The OECD report, Local Identity, Pride and Branding in Place Transformation: Stories that Shape Places was launched at the OECD Global Forum on Local Development in Maastricht, May 27th 2026.

The publication is authored by Talia Melic and Celia Benhocine, Policy Analysts, under the supervision of Anna Rubin, Manager of the Global Forum on Local Development, and with guidance from Nadim Ahmad, Deputy Director of CFE and Head of Division, and Karen Maguire, Senior Counsellor (CFE). Chapter 5 is based on a longer draft authored by Dr. Giannina Warren, Associate Professor, Senior Program Manager, School of Communications and Design, RMIT University Vietnam, whose inputs also informed the case studies on Tasmania (Australia) and Durham Region (Canada) as well as other sections of the report.

The report was also informed by interviews with and comments from Jess Radford, Acting CEO, Brand Tasmania, and Jacquie Severs, Manager, Marketing and Tourism, Invest Durham.

Read the report now.

Alongside launching the report, I was honoured to speak with distinguished panelists John Tomaney of University College London, Olivier Paquay of Heerlen Partners, Eva McAlister López with the New European Bauhaus in the European Commission, Aziz SENNI, Quartiers d'Affaires and to be hosted by Talia Melic from the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, OECD.