Cebu City has been declared among the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities.
In a statement posted on its website Wednesday, October 30, UNESCO named 66 cities that will join its Network of Creative Cities, bringing the total number to 246.
Cebu, which is the only one from the Philippines, is classified under the design category.
“All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.
“This favors political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations,” Azoulay added.
The Network includes cities that base their development on creativity, whether in music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts or gastronomy.
Based on the UNESCO website, UNESCO Creative Cities are laboratories of ideas and innovative practices that bring a tangible contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through innovative thinking and action.
Through their commitment, creative cities from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations are championing sustainable development actions that directly benefit communities at urban level.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network members 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. (Ventures Cebu)