Five newly designated Creative Cities of Film, Asaba, Kathmandu, Ouarzazate, Penedo and Vicente López, will join forces with existing member cities as part of the ever growing UNESCO Cities of Film Network. Together, Cities of Film work to strengthen resilience in the face of evolving threats such as climate change, rising inequality, as well as rapid urbanization, with 68% of the world’s population projected to live in urban areas by 2050.
The Network now numbers 350 cities in over one hundred countries that invest in culture and creativity representing seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.
55 cities have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, in recognition of their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning.
“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,” says Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General.
The new members of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network are:
- Asaba, Nigeria – Film
- Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – Design
- Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Music
- Battambang, Cambodia – Gastronomy
- Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – Music
- Bolzano, Italy – Music
- Bremen, Germany – Literature
- Buffalo City, USA – Literature
- Bukhara, Uzbekistan – Crafts and Folk Art
- Bydgoszcz, Poland – Music
- Caen, France – Media Arts
- Caracas, Venezuela – Music
- Casablanca, Morocco – Media Arts
- Castelo Branco, Portugal – Crafts and Folk Art
- Cetinje, Montenegro – Design
- Chaozhou, China – Gastronomy
- Chiang Rai, Thailand – Design
- Chongqing, China – Design
- Concepción, Chile – Music
- Da Lat, Vienam – Music
- Fribourg, Switzerland – Gastronomy
- Gangneung, South Korea – Gastronomy
- Granada, Nicaragua – Design
- Gwalior, India – Music
- Herakleion, Greece – Gastronomy
- Hobart, Australia – Literature
- Hoi An, Vietnam – Crafts and Folk Art
- Iasi, Romania – Literature
- Iloilo City, Philippines – Gastronomy
- Ipoh, Malaysia – Music
- Kathmandu, Nepal – Film
- Kozhikode, India – Literature
- Kutaisi, Georgia – Literature
- Mexicali, USA – Music
- Montecristi, Dominican Republic – Crafts and Folk Art
- Montreux, Switzerland – Music
- Nkongsamba, Cameroon – Gastronomy
- Novi Sad, Serbia – Media Arts
- Okayama, Japan – Literature
- Ouarzazate, Morocco – Film
- Oulu, Finland – Media Arts
- Penedo, Brazil – Film
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Literature
- Şanlıurfa, Turkey – Music
- Suphanburi, Thailand – Music
- Surakarta, Indonesia – Crafts and Folk Art
- Taif, Saudi Arabia – Literature
- Toulouse, France – Music
- Tukums, Latvia – Literature
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Crafts and Folk Art
- Umngeni Howick, South Africa – Crafts and Folk Art
- Valencia, Spain – Design
- Varaždin, Croatia – Music
- Veliky Novgorod, Russia – Music
- Vicente López, Argentina – Film