Srinagar: Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO (INCCU) has selected J&K’s summer capital Srinagar among the two cities from India for UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) 2021.
INCCU is a government body which functions under the Department of Secondary and Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development with an objective to advise the Government in matters relating to the UNESCO.
In an endorsement letter, Under Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, mentioned that INCUU is pleased to endorse the applications for UNESCO Creative Cities Network, 2021 from Srinagar for Creative City of Craft & Folk Art along with Gwalior for Creative City of Music.
According to the website of UNESCO, the Creative City Network involves seven creative fields which include handicrafts and folk art, media art, film, design, food, literature and music.
Last year, UNESCO designated 66 new Creative Cities, of which southern Indian city Hyderabad (India) was selected in the field of Gastronomy while as Mumbai, capital city of Maharashtra, was designated in creative field of Film.
This year, the INCCU has endorsed Srinagar and Gwalior cities for Creative City of Craft & Folk Art and Creative City of Music respectively.
The UNESCO website mentions that the UNESCO Creative Cities bring a tangible contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through innovative thinking and action.
It adds that through their commitment, cities are championing sustainable development actions that directly benefit communities at urban level.
According to the information available on UNESCO’s website, the UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
The 246 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level, adds the information.