On the occasion of World Cities' Day, celebrated on 31 October, UNESCO is designating 66 urban settlements that are to join the Organization's Network of Creative Cities, which now number a total of 246 members. The Network brings together cities that base their development on creativity, whether in music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts or gastronomy.
UNESCO creative cities commit to placing culture at the centre of their development strategies and to share their best practices.
"All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy," says UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. "This favours political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations."
On 31 October, UNESCO and officials from 24 cities around the world will celebrate World Cities Day mobilizing the Organization's different urban networks which focus not only on culture but also on access, inclusion, global citizenship education, defense of rights, economics and employment, as well as climate change prevention and resilience. The celebration, an occasion for "urban dialogues," will showcase exceptional cities that rely on innovation and collective intelligence to shape their future.
In the framework of a partnership between UNESCO and Netexplo Observatory, the celebration will also recognize ten cities which use state of the art technological innovation at the service of citizens to transform cities around the world sustainably. Relying on a global network of 20 universities, ten cities will be honoured for their innovative use of digital technology in their socio-economic and environmental development.
The new members of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network are:
Afyonkarahisar (Turkey) - Gastronomy
Ambon (Indonesia) - Music
Angoulême (France) - Literature
Areguá (Paraguay) - Crafts and Folk Art
Arequipa (Peru) - Gastronomy
Asahikawa (Japan) - Design
Ayacucho (Peru) - Crafts and Folk Art
Baku (Azerbaijan) - Design
Ballarat (Australia) - Crafts and Folk Art
Bandar Abbas (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) - Crafts and Folk Art
Bangkok (Thailand) - Design
Beirut (Lebanon) - Literature
Belo Horizonte (Brazil) - Gastronomy
Bendigo (Australia) - Gastronomy
Bergamo (Italy) - Gastronomy
Biella (Italy) - Crafts and Folk Art
Caldas da Rainha (Portugal) - Crafts and Folk Art
Cebu City (Philippines) - Design
Essaouira (Morocco) - Music
Exeter (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Literature
Fortaleza (Brazil) - Design
Hanoi (Vietnam) - Design
Havana (Cuba) - Music
Hyderabad (India) - Gastronomy
Jinju (Republic of Korea) - Crafts and Folk Art
Kargopol (Russian Federation) - Crafts and Folk Art
Karlsruhe (Germany) - Media Arts
Kazan (Russian Federation) - Music
Kırşehir (Turkey) - Music
Kuhmo (Finland) - Literature
Lahore (Pakistan) - Literature
Leeuwarden (Netherlands) - Literature
Leiria (Portugal) - Music
Lliria (Spain) - Music
Mérida (Mexico) - Gastronomy
Metz (France) - Music
Muharraq (Bahrain) - Design
Mumbai (India) - Film
Nanjing (China) - Literature
Odessa (Ukraine) - Literature
Overstrand Hermanus (South Africa) - Gastronomy
Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) - Music
Portoviejo (Ecuador) - Gastronomy
Potsdam (Germany) - Film
Querétaro (Mexico) - Design
Ramallah (Palestine) - Music
San José (Costa Rica) - Design
Sanandaj (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) - Music
Santiago de Cali (Colombia) - Media Arts
Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) - Music
Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Film
Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) - Crafts and Folk Art
Slemani (Iraq) - Literature
Sukhothai (Thailand) - Crafts and Folk Art
Trinidad (Cuba) - Crafts and Folk Art
Valladolid (Spain) - Film
Valledupar (Colombia) - Music
Valparaíso (Chile) - Music
Veszprém (Hungary) - Music
Viborg (Denmark) - Media Arts
Viljandi (Estonia) - Crafts and Folk Art
Vranje (Serbia) - Music
Wellington (New Zealand) - Film
Wonju (Republic of Korea) - Literature
Wrocław (Poland) - Literature
Yangzhou (China) - Gastronomy
