(CelebrityAccess) – UNESCO announced this week that it has added 66 new cities to its Creative Cities Network.
According to a press release, UNESCO designates ‘Creative Cities’ as those that make a tangible contribution to achieving its Sustainable Development Goals through innovative thinking and action that directly benefit communities at an urban level.
“All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy,” says UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “This favours political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations.”
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now includes a total of 246 cities worldwide.
The new 66 UNESCO Creative Cities are:
- Afyonkarahisar (Turkey) – Gastronomy
- Ambon (Indonesia) – Music
- Angoulême (France) – Literature
- Areguá (Paraguay) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Arequipa (Peru) – Gastronomy
- Asahikawa (Japan) – Design
- Ayacucho (Peru) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Baku (Azerbaijan) – Design
- Ballarat (Australia) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Bandar Abbas (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Bangkok (Thailand) – Design
- Beirut (Lebanon) – Literature
- Belo Horizonte (Brazil) – Gastronomy
- Bendigo (Australia) – Gastronomy
- Bergamo (Italy) – Gastronomy
- Biella (Italy) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Caldas da Rainha (Portugal) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Cebu City (Philippines) – Design
- Essaouira (Morocco) – Music
- Exeter (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Literature
- Fortaleza (Brazil) – Design
- Hanoi (Vietnam) – Design
- Havana (Cuba) – Music
- Hyderabad (India) – Gastronomy
- Jinju (Republic of Korea) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Kargopol (Russian Federation) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Karlsruhe (Germany) – Media Arts
- Kazan (Russian Federation) – Music
- Kırşehir (Turkey) – Music
- Kuhmo (Finland) – Literature
- Lahore (Pakistan) – Literature
- Leeuwarden (Netherlands) – Literature
- Leiria (Portugal) – Music
- Lliria (Spain) – Music
- Mérida (Mexico) – Gastronomy
- Metz (France) – Music
- Muharraq (Bahrain) – Design
- Mumbai (India) – Film
- Nanjing (China) – Literature
- Odessa (Ukraine) – Literature
- Overstrand Hermanus (South Africa) – Gastronomy
- Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) – Music
- Portoviejo (Ecuador) – Gastronomy
- Potsdam (Germany) – Film
- Querétaro (Mexico) – Design
- Ramallah (Palestine) – Music
- San José (Costa Rica) – Design
- Sanandaj (Iran [Islamic Republic of]) – Music
- Santiago de Cali (Colombia) – Media Arts
- Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) – Music
- Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – Film
- Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Slemani (Iraq) – Literature
- Sukhothai (Thailand) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Trinidad (Cuba) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Valladolid (Spain) – Film
- Valledupar (Colombia) – Music
- Valparaíso (Chile) – Music
- Veszprém (Hungary) – Music
- Viborg (Denmark) – Media Arts
- Viljandi (Estonia) – Crafts and Folk Art
- Vranje (Serbia) – Music
- Wellington (New Zealand) – Film
- Wonju (Republic of Korea) – Literature
- Wrocław (Poland) – Literature
- Yangzhou (China) – Gastronomy
