Two cities, in India, Gwalior and Kozhikode, recently joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, as announced on the UNESCO website. These cities have been recognised for their dedication to incorporating culture and creativity into their development strategies as their innovative approaches to urban planning with a focus on people.
On World Cities Day, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay designated 55 cities to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Gwalior, situated in Madhya Pradesh, has been acknowledged in the ‘Music’ category, while Kozhikode in Kerala has earned its place in the ‘Literature’ category.
UNESCO has published a list of these 55 cities that cover various creative domains, including Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. With these additions, the UCCN now boasts a membership of 350 cities from more than one hundred countries.
According to Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, “The cities within our Creative Cities Network are at the forefront of promoting access and harnessing creativity, for resilience and development.”The UNESCO Creative Cities Network has a role, in promoting the 2030 Agenda by encouraging access and utilising creativity for urban development. There is a policy paper called “The Significance of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, on Local, National and International levels” that will emphasise the important role cities play in accomplishing the 2030 Agenda. Additionally, this paper will showcase how the community supports members of the UCCN through dialogue and learning from one another.
The newly designated Creative Cities are invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference, scheduled for July 1-5, 2024, in Braga, Portugal. The theme of the conference is “Bringing Youth to the table for the next decade.” This gathering will provide an opportunity for these cities to further their contributions to cultural development and urban planning on a global scale.