LAHORE: Lahore has been selected in the list of cities that have been designated as Unesco Creative Cities. A total of 66 cities figure in the list for 2019.

It has been announced by Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay who said this step would favour ‘political and social innovation’ and would be particularly important for the youth.

“All over the world, these cities, each in their way, make culture a pillar - not an accessory - of their strategy,” he said.

The project is being run by Unesco’s Creative Cities to make these places laboratories of ideas and innovative practices and help in bringing a solid contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through innovative thinking and action.

The cities in the list have committed to advocate and achieve the SDGs especially those that directly benefit communities at the urban level.

The 66 cities have all been selected for one particular field. Lahore has been selected for Literature and the other cities in this category are Angoulême (France), Kuhmo (Finland), Wonju (Republic of Korea), Wrocław (Poland), Slemani (Iraq), Leeuwarden (the Netherlands), Beirut (Lebanon), Nanjing (China), and Odessa (Ukraine).

The other categories are gastronomy, music, design, media arts, and film.

The Unesco Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities. The member cities that form part of the network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations.

Unesco representatives said the cities work together towards a common mission - placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to Unesco, its DG is responsible for the designation of the cities in conformity with a certain procedure that includes submission of an application.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2019