The ancient city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam, and Da Lat city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong have been named in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in terms of music, and crafts and folk art, respectively.

A corner of Hoi An ancient city (Photo: VNA)

According to UNESCO’s announcement on October 31 on the occasion of World Cities Day, 55 cities joined the UCCN after the designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

The new cities are acknowledged for their strong commitments to promoting culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning. With the latest additions, the Network now counts 350 cities in more than 100 countries, representing seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.

The newly-designated cities will cooperate with network members to strengthen their resilience in the face of evolving threats such as climate change, rising inequality, as well as rapid urbanisation.

Azoulay said the cities in the network are leading the way in enhancing access to culture and galvanising the power of creativity for urban recovery and development.

According to UNESCO, an upcoming policy paper titled “The added value of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network at local, national and international levels” will testify to the leading role played by cities towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, while demonstrating ways in which UNESCO supports the UCCN members by fostering dialogue, peer-to-peer learning and collaboration.

The newly-designated creative cities are invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference with the theme “Bringing Youth to the table for the next decade” from July 1-5, 2024 in Braga, Portugal.