As one of 66 cities around the world, Port of Spain, the Capital of Trinidad and Tobago, has been designated as UNESCO Creative City.
The UNESCO Creative Cities bring a tangible contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals as laboratories of ideas and innovative practices. Through their commitment, these selected 66 cities are championing sustainable development actions that directly benefit communities at urban level. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was established in 2004 to promote collaboration with and between cities that have identified creativity in seven creative areas - music, film, literature, gastronomy, media arts, design and crafts, and folklore - as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The 246 cities that make up this network worldwide are working together towards a common goal: to put the creative and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and to work actively together with at the international level. Port of Spain joins as the sixth creative city in the Caribbean, with the first five being Nassau in the Bahamas; Jacmel, Haiti; Havana, Cuba; San Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Kingston, Jamaica. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, decided to nominate Port-of-Spain as a member of the Creative Cities Network in the field of music.
All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy. This favours political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations.
The music scene is trying to establish locations within Port-of-Spain to promote musical heritage as an engine for sustainable urban development.
The aim is to offer artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, residents, locals, visitors and the community the opportunity to experience the music and creativity of the Twin Island Republic all year round.
Find the list of the 66 newly designated cities in the UNESCO Creative City Network here