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By Hajar Kahlaoui
Rabat – Tetouan has become the first Moroccan city to join the Creative Cities Network of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The northern city, whose medina was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997, was chosen for its crafts and folk art.
UNESCO announced on October 31 that Tetouan, along with 63 others from 44 countries, would join the network, which aims to “foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development.”
“These new designations showcase an enhanced diversity in city profiles and geographical balance, with 19 cities from countries not previously represented in the Network,” said Director-General Irina Bokova.
“The cooperation framework proposed to foster candidate cities from the Africa region – a UNESCO Global Priority – has been a true success with nine African cities now joining the Network.”
Since 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network has highlighted its members’ creativity within seven fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. It now counts a total of 180 cities in 72 countries, according to UNESCO’s website.
Within the framework of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda, the network provides a platform for cities to demonstrate culture’s role to build sustainable cities, says UNESCO.
The next Annual Meeting of the Creative Cities Network is scheduled to take place in Krakow and Katowice in Poland in June 2018.
