A Facebook group cataloguing stories from individual Dundonians has been “liked” by more than 10,000 people just six months after it was set up.
The popularity of HumansofDundee, set up by Dylan Drummond and Tammy Shaw, is remarkable when compared to a similar page in Glasgow, which has only received half as many ‘likes’.
Both founders, who began the group in January, believe the success of the page lies in Dundee’s strong community spirit and commitment to social justice.
“People have really embraced the page,” Dylan said.
“The participants of HumansofDundee go unnamed as we want to demonstrate that a stranger has a story to tell. It is just a place where people can share their stories.
“We are great at community and collaboration in the city, and confidence in Dundee has never been higher. I think that is reflected in the page.
“One person we know said: ‘Dundee is not too big, not too small, it’s just braw’. That sums the people of Dundee up in anutshell.”
HumansofDundee is designed not just for those born in the “big village”, as Dylan calls it, but anyone who has come to love Dundee.
Tammy said that one of her favouritestories was about a group of Polish students who were amazed by the amount of litter in Dundee so they just volunteered to clean it up themselves.
Tammy added: “I think that is a great example of people coming to the city, even just for a few years, and contributing a great deal to it.
“It is easy to overlook the qualities that the city has but the stories show how people get a problem resolved and move on.
“This is people doing things off their own bat. They don’t need to be told to helppeople, they just do it.”
Dylan and Tammy will give a talk at the Dundee Literary Festival on October 26.