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47 cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network

11 December 2015

Last update:20 April 2023

Paris, 11 December 2015 – UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, has announced the designation of 47 cities from 33 countries as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The results of this year’s Call bears witness to the Network’s enhanced diversity and geographical representation with 22 cities from countries not previously represented.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is pleased to welcome the following cities within its seven creative fields (Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music):

Adelaide (Australia) – Music
Al-Ahsa (Saudi Arabia) – Crafts and Folk Art
Austin (United States of America) – Media Arts
Baghdad (Iraq) – Literature
Bamiyan (Afghanistan) – Crafts and Folk Art
Bandung (Indonesia) – Design
Barcelona (Spain) – Literature
Belém (Brazil) – Gastronomy
Bergen (Norway) – Gastronomy
Bitola (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) – Film
Budapest (Hungary) – Design
Burgos (Spain) – Gastronomy
Dénia (Spain) – Gastronomy
Detroit (United States of America) – Design
Durán (Ecuador) – Crafts and Folk Art
Ensenada (Mexico) – Gastronomy
Gaziantep (Turkey) – Gastronomy
Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal) – Music
Isfahan (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) – Crafts and Folk Art
Jaipur (India) – Crafts and Folk Art
Katowice (Poland) – Music
Kaunas (Lithuania) – Design
Kingston (Jamaica) – Music
Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) – Music
Liverpool (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Music
Ljubljana (Slovenia) – Literature
Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo) – Crafts and Folk Art
Lviv (Ukraine) – Literature
Medellín (Colombia) – Music
Montevideo (Uruguay) – Literature
Nottingham (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Literature
Óbidos (Portugal) – Literature
Parma (Italy) – Gastronomy
Phuket (Thailand) – Gastronomy
Puebla (Mexico) – Design
Rasht (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) – Gastronomy
Rome (Italy) – Film
Salvador (Brazil) – Music
San Cristóbal de las Casas (Mexico) – Crafts and Folk Art
Santos (Brazil) – Film
Sasayama (Japan) – Crafts and Folk Art
Singapore (Singapore) – Design
Tartu (Estonia) – Literature
Tongyeong (Republic of Korea) – Music
Tucson (United States of America) – Gastronomy
Ulyanovsk (Russian Federation) – Literature
Varanasi (India) – Music

Launched in 2004, the Network now comprises 116 cities worldwide. It aims to foster international cooperation with and between cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social inclusion and cultural vibrancy.

“The UNESCO Creative Cities Network represents an immense potential to assert the role of culture as enabler of sustainable development. I would like to recognize the many new cities and their countries that are enriching the Network with their diversity” declared the Director-General, as UNESCO celebrates in 2015 the 10^th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the international community in September 2015 highlights culture and creativity as key levers for sustainable urban development. The Network serves as an essential platform to contribute to the implementation and achievement of this international agenda.

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 strategies and plans.

The next meeting of the Creative Cities Network is scheduled for September 2016 in Östersund (Sweden).

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