UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

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Why in News?

Lucknow has been officially nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a City of Gastronomy, a title currently held by only one other Indian city, Hyderabad.

UNESCO Creative Cities Network

• Created in – 2004.
• Aim - To promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• To promote UNESCO’s goals of cultural diversity and strengthen resilience to threats such as climate change, rising inequality, and rapid urbanisation.
• Focus on Creativity - The network emphasizes the role of creativity and cultural industries in urban development, promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing among member cities.
• Creative Fields - Architecture, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, and Music.
• Sustainable Development - UCCN aims to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through local implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
• Currently, there are almost 300 cities from around 90 countries in the network.
• Indian Cities in the UCCN - Kozhikode (Literature) and Gwalior (Music) feature in this list.
• Earlier, Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Arts), Varanasi (Music), Chennai (Music), Mumbai (Film), Hyderabad (Gastronomy), and Srinagar (Crafts and Folk Arts) have also held the spot.

Reference

Times of India | UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)