In the year 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was launched. The main purpose of the network is to promote collaboration between cities. It encourages them to invest in creativity that promotes social inclusion, sustainable urban development, and cultural vibrancy. Simply put, UCCN puts creativity and culture at the heart of its development efforts. It also promotes knowledge sharing among members.
Highlights
There were 246 cities on the network. In the month of November 2021, about 49 cities joined the network. Including Srinagar, India. The Government of India has requested that both Srinagar and Gwalior be added to the list. However, only the city of Srinagar has been added. Due to this, that number of UCCN has now increased to 295. Members of the UCCN focus on design, crafts, folk art, film and music to support sustainable urban development. Hyderabad and Mumbai joined the network in the year 2019.
About City of Film
In order for a city to participate in the “City of Film” category of UCCN, it must have significant film-related infrastructure at the global and international levels. It needs to work with film production, distribution and commercialization and also needs to host a movie-related festival or screening. Mumbai was included in the UCCN based on this category. It is the home of Bollywood. It makes most of the movies in the world. Other cities in this category of UCCN are Sydney, Bradford, Bristol, Busan, Potsdam and Yamagata.
About City of Literature
This UCCN network was launched in the year 2004. Cities need to have quality publications. Educational programs in the city of should focus on foreign and local literature. Poetry, theatre and literature are to be active in the city. The city needs to hold literary events and festivals. The city needs a bookstore, a library and a private cultural center. It needs to actively participate in promoting new literature and strengthening products in the literature market. Cities that participated in the UCCN in this category included Manchester, Edinburgh, Melbourne Ljubljana and Prague. In the month of November 2021, about 39 cities in this category joined. So far, no Indian city is a member of this category.
About City of Music
About 47 cities are part of this category. In India, the city of Chennai joined the UCCN in this category in the year 2017 and Varanasi joined in the year 2015. Cities need to be aware of musical activities and works and hold music festivals. There is a need to promote all forms of the music industry. You need to provide a cultural space for listening and practicing to music, and a national and international platform for specific genres of music.
About City of Folk Arts and Crafts
Established in the year 2004. In India, Jaipur falls in this category under UCCN. Jaipur forms a part of UCCN for historic painting, jewellery and sculptural crafts. Jaipur has been a trading center with over 53,500 workshops since the 18th century. In the year 2021, the city of Srinagar joined the UCCN in this category.
About City of Design
The city of design should have well-maintained city planning, environmental design, monuments, transportation links, public spaces and more. It should have good designer opportunities, good fashion and a design-oriented architecture. No Indian city falls in this UCCN category.
About City of Design
The City of Gastronomy must be home to the traditional food market and food industry. Traditional dishes require the use of local ingredients. The city need to respect local products and respect the sustainability of the environment. In the year 2019, Hyderabad joined the UCCN in this category.
City of Media Arts is also another category.
Last Modified: February 13, 2024