Declan Gibbons, Director of Galway City of Film is currently in Östersund, Sweden as part of the 10th Annual meeting of UNESCO’s Creative Cities’ Network.
Östersund, designated in 2010 as UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, in the Region of Jämtland Härjedalen, Sweden, will welcome the UCCN members. The Annual Meeting in Östersund will be a key platform dialogue between the Creative Cities and UNESCO, covering UCCN strategic objectives and operations and exchange of information from Member Cities.
The Annual Meeting is held to define the Network’s activities, support urban policies in favour of culture and creativity and foster partnerships between the members. It will provide the opportunity to affirm the role of the Network as an enabler of sustainable development in urban environments, in line with UNESCO’s Culture and Sustainable Urban Development Initiative and the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Every Annual Meeting of the Creative Cities Network represents an opportunity to strengthen the ties between its members,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. “The Network today comprises 116 cities in 54 countries and its diversity enhances its cooperation potential. The Network is a unique platform that helps place culture, creativity and innovation at the heart of sustainable urban development in the spirit of the 11th Goal of the 2030 Agenda.”
The main cultural urban policy achievements of the Creative Cities will be presented in several sessions and thematic workshops during the meeting.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network covers seven creative fields: crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, music and media arts. Creative Cities work together to place creativity and cultural industries at the core of their local development plans and cooperate internationally through partnerships.
On 15th September, a creative business workshop will gather local and regional businesses as well as international guests to develop their networks and exchange views on the creation of new businesses.
Just ahead of the Annual Meeting, from 11th to 14th September, Mid Sweden University (MIUN) will hold a conference, “Valuing and Evaluating Creativity for Sustainable Regional Development” (VEC), that will examine ways to maximize the potential of urban-rural connections.
Find more information by looking through the website for UCCN 2016 Annual Meeting which will be updated continuously: http://creativegastronomy.com/uccn2016/agenda/
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