UNESCO

In 2004, UNESCO launched the Creative Cities Network, and has been building on this initiative ever since. But why is this something that creative location independent professionals should be aware of?? Let me explain.

The purpose behind this international network of creative cities is not just to promote these cities as great cultural and creative places to visit (which they all are, of course), but to encourage these cities to create policies and programs aimed at developing Creative Entrepreneurship, Creative Industries, and Creative Tourism. That is quite a task.

To be part of this Creative Cities Network, cities must adhere to specific policies defined by UNESCO. One policy that I found quite impressive was the following:

A key ingredient is the creation of public/private partnerships that help unlock the entrepreneurial and creative potential of small enterprises, which play an important role in the new economy. To underpin their development, small creative businesses also need innovative talent, and therefore cities with strong contemporary art, fashion, craft, music and design schools are most likely to flourish. The Creative Cities Network

And here is where the relevance to creative location independent professionals kicks in. If you are looking for a city to visit and are interested in finding a city that might:

• provide you with creative inspiration,
• recharge your creativity (see my earlier post on this topic),
• provide you with some business contacts, partners and/or clients,

then you might want to have a look at the following list of cities. See if there is a city listed here that attracts your attention or is working to develop small creative businesses that are either based on your creative talents or are a great compliment to your talents.

At the moment, there are 19 cities that are part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, with at least 20 more cities currently under consideration.

Cities that are already part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, listed by the creative discipline they excel at, are:

UNESCO Cities of Craft and Folk Art
Aswan, Egypt
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Kanazawa, Japan

UNESCO Cities of Design
Berlin, Germany
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Montreal, Canada
Nagoya, Japan
Kobe, Japan
Shenzhen, China

UNESCO City of Film
Bradford, UK

UNESCO City of Gastronomy
Popayan, Colombia

UNESCO Cities of Literature
Edinburgh, UK
Melbourne, Australia
Iowa City, USA

UNESCO Cities of Music
Bologna, Italy
Seville, Spain
Glasgow, UK
Ghent, Belgium

UNESCO City of Media Arts
Lyon, France

The cities above that are in red, are linked to UNESCO pages that have information about the city and the efforts being made to fulfill the city’s obligations in this program.

TTFN

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