UNESCO designates 28 new Creative Cities worldwide

As a result of the 2014 Call for applications, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, has designated 28 cities, from 19 countries, as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Within ASEM, new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network come from New Zealand, Ireland, Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic, Indonesia, the UK, Japan, Korea, Spain, Germany, Finland and China.

UNESCO Creative Cities Network is pleased to welcome the following cities within its seven thematic areas (Craft and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music):

Bilbao (Spain) – Design

Busan (Republic of Korea) – Film

Curitiba (Brazil) – Design

Dakar (Senegal) – Media Arts

Dundee (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Design

Dunedin (New Zealand) – Literature

Florianopolis (Brazil) – Gastronomy

Galway (Ireland) - Film

Granada (Spain) – Literature

Gwangju (Republic of Korea) – Media Arts

Hamamatsu (Japan) – Music

Hanover (Germany) – Music

Heidelberg (Germany) – Literature

Helsinki (Finland) – Design

Jacmel (Haiti) – Crafts & Folk Arts

Jingdezhen (China) – Crafts & Folk Arts

Linz (Austria) – Media Arts

Mannheim (Germany) – Music

Nassau (Bahamas) – Crafts & Folk Arts

Pekalongan (Indonesia) – Crafts & Folk Arts

Prague (Czech Republic) – Literature

Shunde (China) – Gastronomy

Sofia (Bulgaria) – Film

Suzhou (China) – Crafts & Folk Arts

Tel Aviv-Yafo (Israel) – Media Arts

Tsuruoka (Japan) – Gastronomy

Turin (Italy) – Design

York (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Media Arts

By joining the Network, cities commit to collaborate and develop partnerships with a view to promoting creativity and cultural industries, to share best practices, to strengthen participation in cultural life, and to integrate culture in economic and social development plans.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now comprises 69 cities that have identified culture and creativity as a strategic driver for sustainable urban development.

UNESCO also announced ten elements inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, including: