Why in news?

• The city of Kozhikode in Kerala was added in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
• Gwalior from Madhya Pradesh was also among the 55 new cities to join the network.
• These cities have been handpicked to represent seven creative fields — crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music.
• Kozhikode was included in the category of literature and Gwalior in the category of music.

What’s in today’s article?

• UNESCO
• UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN)
• Kozhikode’s literary tradition

UNESCO

• About
  • UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  • It is specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
  • The constitution, which entered into force in 1946, called for the promotion of international collaboration in education, science, and culture.
  • The agency’s permanent headquarters are in Paris, France.
  • Parent Organisation - United Nations Economic and Social Council
• Goal
  • The primary goals of UNESCO are to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, and culture, and to promote sustainable development and intercultural dialogue.
  • UNESCO believes that these areas are crucial for building a more just, peaceful, and inclusive world.
• key areas of focus
  • Education: UNESCO promotes quality education for all, advocating for access to education, improving teacher training, and fostering global citizenship.
  • Natural Sciences: UNESCO supports scientific research and the application of science to address global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development.
  • Culture: UNESCO works to safeguard and promote cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, including monuments, sites, traditions, and languages.
    • It also fosters cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.
  • Communication and Information: UNESCO promotes freedom of expression, media development, and access to information.
    • It aims to foster a free, independent, and pluralistic media environment.
  • UNESCO designates and maintains a list of World Heritage Sites, which are places of outstanding universal value that deserve protection for future generations.
• Key reports published by UNESCO
  • Global Education Monitoring Report
  • The United Nations World Water Development Report
  • World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development
  • Global Ocean Science Report

UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

• About
  • The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
  • It now includes 350 cities in over a hundred countries.
  • It was launched to promote UNESCO’s goals of cultural diversity and strengthen resilience to threats such as climate change, rising inequality, and rapid urbanisation.
• Aim
  • The network is aimed at leveraging the creative, social, and economic potential of cultural industries.
  • It encourages a culture of creativity in urban planning and solutions to urban problems.
• Objective of the CCCN
  • It allows member cities to recognise creativity as an essential component of urban development, notably through partnerships involving the public and private sectors and civil society.
  • It envisages to develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector.
  • These cities have to achieve the UN agenda of sustainable development.
• Areas of action
  • The objectives of the network are implemented both at the level of the member cities and at the international level, notably through sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices.
  • There are professional and artistic exchange programmes, research and evaluations on the experience of the creative cities, among other activities.
• The annual conference of network cities
  • A highlight of the network is the annual conference of mayors and other stakeholders of network cities.
  • This offers a unique occasion to strengthen ties between creative cities from across the world.
  • The last conference was held in Santos, Brazil, and this year’s conference was in Istanbul. The next conference will be held in July 2024 in Braga, Portugal.
• Responsibilities of members
  • Every four years, member cities are required to submit a Membership Monitoring Report.
  • This report is presented with an aim of demonstrating their steadfast commitment towards the implementation of the UCCN Mission Statement.
  • They present an action plan for the following four years, providing insights into their achievements and lessons learnt, as well as the impact of the designation.
• Indian cities in the network
  • Apart from Kozhikode and Gwalior, Varanasi (music), Srinagar (crafts and folk arts) and Chennai (music) are part of the network.

Kozhikode’s literary tradition

• The first Malayalam novel Kundalatha was born in Kozhikode in 1887. It was authored by Appu Nedungadi.
• Several illustrious writers like S K Pottekkatt, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Uroob, Thikkodiyan, NN Kakkad, P Valsala, Akbar Kakkattil, Punathil Kunjabdulla and MT Vasudevan Nair have brought laurels for Kozhikode.
• The city has also produced many film and theatre professionals in the last half a century.