New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior and Kerala's Kozhikode from India are among the 55 new cities which joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, according to an announcement from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, made on its official website.
The global body said these new cities were acknowledged for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning.
The designation was approved by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on World Cities Day, marking the addition of 55 more cities to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
While Gwalior made it to the coveted list in the 'Music' category, Kozhikode booked its berth in the 'Literature' category.
UNESCO's full list of the new 55 cities includes Bukhara Crafts and Folk Art, Casablanca Media Arts, Chongqing Design, Kathmandu Film, Rio de Janeiro Literature, and Ulaanbaatar Crafts and Folk Art.
World Cities Day is being observed, on October 31, all over the world since its designation by the United Nations falls.
With 55 more in its, the UCCN can now count 350 cities spread across over a hundred nations, representing seven creative fields- Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music, the world body said in the statement.
The cities in our Creative Cities Network are leading the way when it comes to enhancing access to culture and galvanizing the power of creativity for urban resilience and development, the statement quoted Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General as saying.
"An upcoming policy paper The added value of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network at local, national and international level will testify to the leading role played by cities towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda while demonstrating ways in which UNESCO supports the UCCN members by fostering dialogue, peer-to-peer learning and collaboration," it said.
According to UNESCO, the newly designated Creative Cities have been invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference (July 1-5, 2024) in Braga, Portugal. The conference is arranged on the theme Bringing Youth to the table for the next decade.
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