UNESCO
Friday, September 9, 2016
The tenth Annual meeting of UNESCO’s
Creative Cities’ Network (UCCN) will take place from 14 to 16
September in the Swedish city of Östersund, which is a member of UCCN in
the field of gastronomy. The event will bring together more than 250 representatives
of the Network’s 116 Creative Cities, including 20 mayors.
AnnSofie Andersson, Mayor of Östersund,
will open the meeting with Alice Bah Kuhnke, Sweden’s Minister for Culture and
Democracy, and Jyoti Hosagrahar, Director of UNESCO’s Division for Creativity.
The Annual Meeting is held to define the
Network’s activities, support urban policies in favour of culture and
creativity and foster partnerships between the members. It will provide the
opportunity to affirm the role of the Network as an enabler of sustainable
development in urban environments, in line with UNESCO’s Culture and Sustainable Urban Development
Initiativeand the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
"Every Annual Meeting of the Creative
Cities Network represents an opportunity to strengthen the ties between its
members," said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. "The Network today
comprises 116 cities in 54 countries and its diversity enhances its cooperation
potential. The Network is a unique platform that helps place culture, creativity
and innovation at the heart of sustainable urban development in the spirit of
the 11th Goal of the 2030 Agenda."
The main cultural urban policy
achievements of the Creative Cities will be presented in severalsessions and thematic workshops during
the meeting.
The UNESCO
Creative Cities Network covers seven creative fields: crafts
and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, music and media arts.
Creative Cities work together to place creativity and cultural industries at
the core of their local development plans and cooperate internationally through
partnerships.
On 15 September, a creative
business workshop will gather local and regional businesses as
well as international guests to develop their networks and exchange views on
the creation of new businesses.
Just ahead of the Annual Meeting, from 11
to 14 September, Mid Sweden University (MIUN) will hold a conference, "Valuing
and Evaluating Creativity for Sustainable Regional Development" (VEC),
that will examine ways to maximize the potential of urban-rural connections.
