Three Brazilian cities have just been included in the Creative Cities Network of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Belém (PA) was selected in the Gastronomy category; Salvador (BA) in the Music category; and Santos (SP) in the Film category. The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, made the announcement in Paris, last Friday (11/12/2015).

The Network was launched in 2004, with the aim to bring together cities that adopt creative solutions to promote sustainable development, social inclusion and cultural production. Two other Brazilian cities have been in the Network since 2014: Florianópolis (SC), in Gastronomy; and Curitiba (PR), in Design. Brazil now has five representatives in the Network.

This year another 47 cities from 33 countries were selected. With these new additions, the Network now unites 116 municipalities from across the globe, divided into seven categories: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music, and Media Arts. 

By joining the Network, cities take on the commitment to establish partners to promote cultural industries, share best practices, encourage popular participation, and integrate culture into economic and social development strategies.

“The UNESCO Creative Cities Network represents an immense potential to assert the role of culture as enabler of sustainable development. I would like to recognize the many new cities and their countries that are enriching the Network with their diversity”, said Irina Bokova, last Friday, in this year in which UNESCO celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by the international community in September 2015, highlights culture and creativity as key factors for sustainable urban development. The operations of the Network are aligned with the new global agenda.

The next meeting of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is scheduled for September 2016 in Östersund (Sweden).

See the 47 new cities selected for the Network in 2015:

• Adelaide (Australia) - Music
• Al-Ahsa (Saudi Arabia) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Austin (United States) – Media Arts
• Baghdad (Iraq) - Literature
• Bamyan (Afghanistan) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Bandung (Indonesia) - Design
• Barcelona (Spain) - Literature
• Belém (Brazil) - Gastronomy
• Bergen (Norway) - Gastronomy
• Bitola (Republic of Macedonia) - Film
• Budapest (Hungary) - Design
• Burgos (Spain) – Gastronomy
• Singapore (Singapore) - Design
• Dénia (Spain) - Gastronomy
• Detroit (United States) - Design
• Durán (Ecuador) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Ensenada (Mexico) - Gastronomy
• Gaziantep (Turkey) - Gastronomy
• Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal) - Music
• Isfahan (Iran) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Jaipur (India) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Katowice (Poland) - Music
• Kaunas (Lithuania) - Design
• Kingston (Jamaica) - Music
• Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Music
• Liverpool (United Kingdom) - Music
• Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Literature
• Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Lviv (Ukraine) - Literature
• Medellín (Colombia) - Music
• Montevideo (Uruguay) - Literature
• Nottingham (United Kingdom) - Literature
• Óbidos (Portugal) - Literature
• Parma (Italy) - Gastronomy
• Phuket (Thailand) - Gastronomy
• Puebla (Mexico) - Design
• Rasht (Iran) - Gastronomy
• Rome (Italy) - Film
• Salvador (Brazil) - Music
• San Cristóbal de las Casas (Mexico) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Santos (Brazil) - Film
• Sasayama (Japan) - Crafts and Folk Art
• Tartu (Estonia) - Literature
• Tongyeong (South Korea) - Music
• Tucson (United States) - Gastronomy
• Ulyanovsk (Russia) - Literature
• Varanasi (India) - Music

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Further information

UNESCO Headquarters in Paris

Lucía Iglesias, +33 (0) 1 45 68 17 02, l.iglesias@unesco.org

UNESCO Brazil

Ana Lúcia Guimarães, (61) 2106-3536, (61) 9966-3287, a.guimaraes@unesco.org

Fabiana Pullen, 61-2106 3596, f.sousa@unesco.org