UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was launched in 2004. The main aim of the network is to promote cooperation among cities. It pushes them to invest in creativity that promotes social inclusion, sustainable urban development and cultural vibrancy. In simple words, the UCCN places culture and creativity at the centre of its developmental activities. It also encourages to share knowledge among the members.
About UNESCO Creative Cities Network
- There were 246 cities in the network Around 49 cities joined the network in November 2021. This included Srinagar of India. Indian Government requested to add both Gwalior and Srinagar in to the list. However, only Srinagar was added. With his, the number has now increased to 295.
- The members of UCCN focus on crafts, design, film, folk arts, music to aid in sustainable urban development.
- Mumbai and Hyderabad entered the network in 2019.
Fields recognized by UCCN
The UCCN runs the following projects:
City of Film
For a city to join UCCN under the City of Film category, it should have the following characteristics:
- It should hold important infrastructure related to cinema
- It should hold links to production, distribution and commercialization of films
- It should host film related festivals and screenings
- It should implement initiatives at local, international and global level
Mumbai was added to the UCCN based on this category. It is home to Bollywood. It produces most of the films in the world. The other cities that were added to UCCN under this category were Bradford, Sydney, Busan, Bristol, Yamagata and Postdam.
City of Literature
This network of UCCN was launched in 2004. The cities should have the following characteristics to join UCCN under this category:
- Good Quality and Quantity of publishing
- The educational programmes in the city should focus on foreign literature and domestic literature
- The drama, poetry and literature should play an active role in the city
- The city should host literary events and festivals
- The city should hold bookstores, libraries, private cultural centres
- It should actively involve in new literature promotion and strengthen literary market products
The cities that joined UCCN in this category were Edinburgh, Manchester, Ljubljana, Melbourne, Prague, etc. As of November 2021, around 39 cities joined the UCCN in this category. No Indian city has joined UCCN in this category so far.
City of Music
Around 47 cities joined UCCN in this category. In India, Chennai joined UCCN in this category in 2017. And Varanasi joined in 2015. The cities should have the following characteristics to join UCCN under this category:
- Recognized musical activities and creation
- Should host musical festivals
- Should promote music industries in all forms
- Should hold cultural spaces for practicing and listening to music
- Should hold domestic and international platforms dedicated to particular genre of music
City of Crafts and Folk Arts
It was founded in 2004. In India, Jaipur joined UCCN based on this category. Jaipur joined UCCN for its historical crafts of jewelry, painting, carving. Jaipur was a centre of trade with more than 53,500 workshops since 18th century. In 2021, Srinagar joined UCCN in this category.
City of Design
The City of Design should have well maintained environmental design, good urban planning, transportation, monuments, public spaces, etc. It should have good fashion, good opportunities for designers, design driven architecture. No Indian city has joined UCCN in this category.
City of Gastronomy
The City of Gastronomy should hold traditional food markets and food industries. It should use indigenous ingredients in its traditional cooking. It should respect its local products and respect its environmental sustainability. Hyderabad joined UCCN in this category in 2019.
The other category is City of Media Arts.
