New cities have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, in recognition of their commitment to placing culture and creativity at the heart of their development and to sharing knowledge and good practices.
“A new urban model needs to be developed in every city, with its architects, town planners, landscapers and citizens”, says UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, “We are urging everyone to work with States to reinforce the international cooperation between cities which UNESCO wishes to promote.”
Newly designated Creative Cities such as Bohicon, Doha and Jakarta will join forces with existing member cities including Brazzaville, Dubai, Mexico City and Montréal to develop innovative urban policies and solutions that place people and sustainability at the center of the development process, echoing the Urban Solutions launched by the UNESCO Cities Platform on the occasion of the World Cities Day 2021.
The collaborative spirit of the UCCN’s members is reflected in the publication UNESCO Creative Cities’ Response to COVID-19 in 2020. This year, too, the Network is collecting and disseminating information about the culture and creativity-based responses to COVID-19 that have been taken by members of the Network, which UNESCO will publish as part of its continued support to cities’ recovery from the pandemic.
The new UNESCO Creative Cities are:
- Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) – Music
- Batumi (Georgia) – Music
- Belfast (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Music
- Bida (Nigeria) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Bohicon (Benin) – Gastronomy
- Buraidah (Saudi Arabia) – Gastronomy
- Bursa (Turkey) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Campina Grande (Brazil) – Media Arts
- Cannes (France) – Film
- Cluj-Napoca (Romania) – Film
- Como (Italy) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Covilhã (Portugal) – Design
- Doha (Qatar) – Design
- Gdynia (Poland) – Film
- Gimhae (Republic of Korea) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Gothenburg (Sweden) – Literature
- Hamar (Norway) – Media Arts
- Huai’an (China) – Gastronomy
- Huancayo (Peru) – Music
- Ibagué (Colombia) – Music
- Jakarta (Indonesia) – Literature
- Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of) – Gastronomy
- Kharkiv (Ukraine) – Music
- Kuching (Malaysia) – Gastronomy
- Lankaran (Azerbaijan) – Gastronomy
- Launceston (Australia) – Gastronomy
- London (Canada) – Music
- Manises (Spain) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Modena (Italy) – Media Arts
- Nakuru (Kenya) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Namur (Belgium) – Media Arts
- Pasto (Colombia) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Perth (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Phetchaburi (Thailand) – Gastronomy
- Port Louis (Mauritius) – Music
- Recife (Brazil) – Music
- Rouen (France) – Gastronomy
- Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation) – Gastronomy
- Santa Maria da Feira (Portugal) – Gastronomy
- Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) – Music
- Srinagar (India) – Crafts and Folk Art *
- Tallinn (Estonia) – Music
- Tbilisi (Georgia) – Media Arts
- Thessaloniki (Greece) – Gastronomy
- Usuki (Japan) – Gastronomy
- Vilnius (Lithuania) – Literature
- Weifang (China) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Whanganui (New Zealand) – Design
- Xalapa (Mexico) – Music
*currently under examination