UNESCO designates Port of Spain to join its Network of Creative Cities

On World Cities’ Day (31 October), UNESCO designated 66 urban settlements from around the world to join its Network of Creative Cities, which now number a total of 246 members. The Network brings together cities that base their development on creativity — whether in music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts or gastronomy. Additionally, UNESCO creative cities commit to placing culture at the centre of their development strategies and to share their best practices. Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago was recognised for its music.

“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.”

UNESCO and officials from 24 cities around the world celebrated World Cities Day by mobiliising the Organisation’s different urban networks, which focus not only on culture but also on access, inclusion, global citizenship education, defence of rights, economics and employment, as well as climate change prevention and resilience.

The celebration also showcased exceptional cities that rely on innovation and collective intelligence to shape their future, and recognided 10 cities which use state of the art technological innovation at the service of citizens to transform cities around the world sustainably.

A Trinidad music gallery

The new members of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network for 2019 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

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