Lok Sabha Question No. 1289 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-25
Subject: Member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Chandra Sekhar Bellana, Adala Prabhakara Reddy, Gaddam Ranjith Reddy, Prataprao  Jadhav, Sudheer Gupta, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Bidyut Baran Mahato

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1289 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.11.2019

## MEMBER OF UNESCO CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK

1289. Shri Sanjay Sadashiv Rao Mandlik:

Shri Chandra Sekhar Bellana:

Shri Adala Prabhakara Reddy:

Dr. G Ranjith Reddy:

Shri Prataprao Jadhav:

Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Gajanan Kirtikar:

Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  UNESCO  has  designated  Mumbai  as  a  member  of  UNESCO  creative cities Network (UCCN) in the field of Film and Hyderabad in the field of gastronomy recently;
- (b) whether  this  aims  at  pushing  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs)  through innovative thinking and action and the steps taken by the Government to push other cities to the creative city of gastronomy;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the aims and objectives for providing such unique designation to the different cities;
- (d) the criteria followed to provide this unique tag to the cities;
- (e) whether some more cities across the country have already been included in the said list  by  the  UCCN  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  city-wise  and  the  field  in  which  they have been accorded this status; and
- (f) Whether some more Indian States are likely to be included in the UCCN and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR CULTURE & TOURISM (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

- (a) Yes Sir, Mumbai was designated as Creative City of Film and Hyderabad was designated as  Creative  City  of  Gastronomy  on  31 st October  2019,  under  the  UNESCO  Creative  City Network.

(b)  &  (c)  Yes,  it  also  aims  at  pushing  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs)  through innovative  thinking  and  action.  The  nominated  cities  present  elaborate  proposals  and initiatives  stating  their  strategies  and  plan  of  using  creativity  as  a  driver  for  sustainable development at both the local and international level. These  initiatives  aim  to  create  synergies  between  different  creative  fields  while involving  state  parties,  civil  societies,  professional  associations  and  cultural  institutions. They  mainly  aim  at  creating  important  links  between  economic,  social  and  cultural developments, thereby fulfilling the sustainable development goals. The UNESCO  designation  indicates recognition of the quality, relevance  and feasibility of the strategy and proposed action plan outlined in the application to implement the objectives of the Network, as set out in its UCCN Mission Statement. Cities that become members recognize the importance of  sustainable  and  inclusive  urban  development,  and therefore commit  to enhancing the role of culture and creativity for Sustainable Development. (d) The criteria for nomination are that the cities should be representative of either one or some of the seven creative fields prescribed by the UCCN: Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film,

Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.

(e)  Three  cities  have  already  been  included  in  the  UCCN  list;  Varanasi  as  Creative  City  of Music was designated in 2015, Jaipur as Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts was designated in 2015 and Chennai as Creative City of Music was designated in 2017.

(f) The city of Kochi has prepared a nomination dossier for Creative City of Gastronomy. It will be sent for nomination in the next cycle of applications.