UNESCO’s Network of Creative Cities

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    • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated Srinagar as a part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

    Highlights of the News

    • 295 across the globe: UNESCO designated 49 other cities too as a part of the creative cities network. With this, the total number of creative cities in the world has reached 295 across 90 countries.
    • Sixth Indian city: After Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Varanasi and Jaipur, Srinagar is the sixth Indian city to achieve this distinction.
    • Allocation: The Srinagar city has been designated the creative city in the field of Crafts and Folk Arts only second city in India in this category after Jaipur.
      • While Mumbai has been honoured in the film category, Chennai and Varanasi have been made part of UCCN for their music.
      • Hyderabad is a UCCN city in the gastronomy category.
    • Other 4 cities: This year four Indian cities Kolkata, Gwalior, Indore and Srinagar had applied to the Ministry of Culture.

    UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

    • Creation: It was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
    • UNESCO designates the creative cities in seven fields: Craft, Folk Art, Media Arts, Film Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.
    • Ministry of Culture: Every year, UNESCO seeks applications for various cities across the globe for putting them under its UCCN project. The applications in India are routed through the Ministry of Culture.

    Significance

    • They work together towards a common objective: They place creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans.
    • 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: The network is a partner of UNESCO and also acts as a breeding ground of action and innovation for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
    • Joining the network is a longstanding commitment: Cities must present a realistic action plan including specific projects, initiatives or policies to be executed in the next four years to implement the objectives of the network.
    • Sharing their best practices and developing partnerships: By joining the UCCN, cities commit to sharing their best practices and developing partnerships involving the public and private sectors as well as civil societies. 

    United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

    • UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
    • UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
    • It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences and Culture.
    • It is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN).
    • It has 193 member states and 11 associate members as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental, and private sector.
    • UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
    • UNESCO is governed by the General Conference, composed of member states and associate members, which meets biannually to set the agency’s programmes and the budget.

    Source: IE

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