Phl targets UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines will seek to have at least one of its cities included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network, with a number of cities across the country seen as a strong candidate to be part of the prestigious list.

“The Philippines aims to usher at least one city in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at the ASEAN Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition yesterday.

“We’re not that far (from making it) because we have cities that have industries which they are known for. That to me, we can come up with a good fight, a good chance,” he added.

Cities in the country which have been cited as having a strong potential in becoming part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network are Baguio, Davao, Angeles, Cebu and a number of cities in Metro Manila.

These Philippine cities are hoping to be part of the network that currently includes only four cities in Southeast Asia.

These four cities include Phuket in Thailand, Pekalongan and Bandung in Indonesia, and Singapore are recognized by the UNESCO as Creative Cities for Gastronomy, Crafts and Folk Art, and Design, respectively.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is currently formed by 116 members from 54 countries covering seven creative fields namely, crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, music and media Arts.

Maria Rita Matute, executive director of the Design Center of the Philippines, a DTI attached agency, said being part of the list would result in better tourism and higher investments.

“It redowns to tourism. Tourism benefits because people would want to see and experience the place. Second is investments. It becomes a magnet for investment, local and foreign as well. It amplifies the branding of the city. People would also want to migrate because there are opportunities,” Matute said.

Matute said a number of local government units (LGUs) have already expressed interest in joining the network.

She noted, however, that it is up to the LGUs to submit the actual application to UNESCO, which will close by June.

 “The criteria is tough. There has to be a creative cluster that is already there to support the initiative. UNESCO also gauges if it is a creative city already or it is still trying to emerge as a creative city. All things have to be put in place,” Matute said.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

The 116 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective that includes placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

 “The fourUNESCO Creative Cities in Southeast Asia – along with other numerous creative cities in the network – point at the creative fields that are getting recognized for their potential to drive economic growth and inclusive, sustainable development. From cultural value, arts and creativity are beginning to be perceived with economic value. This is how you define a creative economy,” Lopez said.

“We aspire to have more ASEAN cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, even as we support an ASEAN integration that nurtures a regionwide network of creative economies and cities unhindered by borders and boundaries. This means cultivating opportunities for free-flowing collaboration, exchange, and trade among ASEAN Member States that is intended for the development of a unique and creative ASEAN,” he added.