On the occasion of World Cities Day, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network included a total of 55 new cities in its circle of Creative Cities. The cities were recognized for their strong commitment to culture and creativity as part of their development strategies and for their innovative practices in terms of humanitarian-oriented urban planning.
Of particular note are the four new Creative Cities of Media Arts: Caen, Casablanca, Novi Sad and Oulu.
Each of the four cities is doing important work in its culture to disseminate and popularize media arts in public spaces.
Other newly designated Creative Cities:
- Asaba – Film
- Ashgabat – Design
- Banja Luka – Music
- Battambang – Gastronomy
- Bissau – Music
- Bolzano – Music
- Bremen – Literature
- Buffalo City – Literature
- Bukhara – Crafts and Folk Art
- Bydgoszcz – Music
- Caracas – Music
- Castelo Branco – Crafts and Folk Art
- Cetinje – Design
- Chaozhou – Gastronomy
- Chiang Rai – Design
- Chongqing – Design
- Concepción – Music
- Da Lat – Music
- Fribourg – Gastronomy
- Gangneung – Gastronomy
- Granada – Design
- Gwalior – Music
- Herakleion – Gastronomy
- Hobart – Literature
- Hoi An – Crafts and Folk Art
- Iasi – Literature
- Iloilo City – Gastronomy
- Ipoh – Music
- Kathmandu – Film
- Kozhikode – Literature
- Kutaisi – Literature
- Mexicali – Music
- Montecristi – Crafts and Folk Art
- Montreux – Music
- Nkongsamba – Gastronomy
- Okayama – Literature
- Ouarzazate – Film
- Penedo – Film
- Rio de Janeiro – Literature
- Şanlıurfa – Music
- Suphanburi – Music
- Surakarta – Crafts and Folk Art
- Taif – Literature
- Toulouse – Music
- Tukums – Literature
- Ulaanbaatar – Crafts and Folk Art
- Umngeni Howick – Crafts and Folk Art
- Valencia – Design
- Varaždin – Music
- Veliky Novgorod – Music
- Vicente Lopez – Film
As part of the new inclusion, Lyon submitted an application to change its creative field and was granted Creative City of Literature status this year. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now comprises 350 cities, 25 of which have the status of Creative City of Media Art.
More information here.