Created in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) fosters international cooperation across cities of the world that invest in culture and creativity as accelerators of sustainable development. Through seven creative fields – Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music – cities in the Network are innovative and strategic with a large scope of initiatives that have positive economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts.
Together with its almost 300 cities worldwide, the UCCN aims to fulfil the enabling and transformative power of culture and creativity in building cities that are resilient, sustainable and future-proof, thus supporting the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level.
The 2023 UCCN Call for Applications is open to cities from all UNESCO Member States and Associate Members. Through the specific Cooperation Framework for the UCCN Call, UNESCO continues its efforts in strengthening the geographical representation and cultural diversity of its Creative Cities Network.
Interested cities are encouraged to submit their applications using the official standard Form by 30 June 2023 (midnight CET). Applications received after the deadline, incomplete and/or transmitted in a different format will not be considered.
To know more, you may access the documents below and find out what is required and what it entails to become a UNESCO Creative City.
Key Documents:
As part of the 2023 Call for Applications, a series of tutorials illustrating the key elements related to the UCCN and its Call are also made available below to support candidate cities in the preparation of their application files.
NOTE: Applicant cities should kindly note that these tutorials only provide an overview regarding the UCCN and its Call for Applications. For complete information, applicant cities are highly recommended to thoroughly consult the 2023 Application documents and the UCCN Mission Statement, available above.
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