The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

• The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• It now includes 350 cities in over a hundred countries.
• The network is aimed at leveraging the creative, social, and economic potential of cultural industries.
• It was launched to promote UNESCO’s goals of cultural diversity and strengthen resilience to threats such as climate change, rising inequality, and rapid urbanisation.
• It encourages a culture of creativity in urban planning and solutions to urban problems.

Indian cities in the network

• Apart from Kozhikode and Gwalior, Varanasi (music), Srinagar (crafts and folk arts) and Chennai (music) are part of the network.
• The North Kerala city of Kozhikode is home to many promiment personalities of the state’s literary and cultural world.
• The city, where several leading media houses are headquartered, has hundreds of publishing banners and several libraries enriching its literary tradition.

Objective of the CCCN

• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network allows member cities to recognise creativity as an essential component of urban development, notably through partnerships involving the public and private sectors and civil society.
• It envisages to develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector.
• These cities have to achieve the UN agenda of sustainable development.

Areas of action

• The objectives of the network are implemented both at the level of the member cities and at the international level, notably through sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices.
• There are professional and artistic exchange programmes, research and evaluations on the experience of the creative cities, among other activities.
• Every four years, member cities are required to submit a Membership Monitoring Report, with the aim of demonstrating their steadfast commitment towards the implementation of the UCCN Mission Statement.
• They present an action plan for the following four years, providing insights into their achievements and lessons learnt, as well as the impact of the designation.

Source: IE

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