UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network:
Kozhikode in Kerala and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh have been added to the prestigious creative cities list of UNESCO for contributions in the fields of literature and music, respectively
- UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network was created in 2004.
- It is To promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
- Almost 300 cities around the world currently make up this network.
- Objective is Placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
- UNESCO designates the creative cities in seven fields: craft, folk art, media arts, film design, gastronomy, literature, and music.
- Every year, UNESCO seeks applications from various cities across the globe to put them under its UCCN project.
- The applications in India are routed through the Ministry of Culture.
- Kozhikode is a permanent venue for the annual Kerala Literature Festival and hosts several other book festivals.
- Gwalior has a rich and diverse musical heritage encompassing classical Hindustani music, folk music, and devotional music.
- The city also has some prestigious music institutes and hosts popular festivals.
