On November 8, UNESCO released the list of 49 cities newly joining in UCCN in 2021. Among them, two Chinese cities Huai'an and Weifang were selected as the “City of Gastronomy” and the “City of Crafts and Folk Art” respectively. By now, 16 cities in China have been members of UCCN.
In this March, UNESCO launched the 2021 application for joining in UCCN, and released English and French versions of “2021 Application Guidelines for UNESCO Creative Cities Network” to help candidate cities prepare application materials for the biennial review. In 2023, UNESCO will once again launch the application.
ICCSD serves as the creative city observer and supports the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO. On November 15, ICCSD released the Chinese translation of “2021 Application Guidelines for UNESCO Creative Cities Network”, the first Chinese version of the official guidelines. It is translated and revised by ICCSD, which is intended to provide forward-looking reference for cities aiming to join in UCCN.
The application for joining in UCCN involves systematic work and requires the coordination of numerous parties, covering a series of events and materials including the decision of application preparation made by the mayor, setting up management and coordination team, establishing stakeholders' advisory group, mapping creative assets, drafting medium-term strategic action outline, setting up daily affairs management team, raising funds, the formal application written by the mayor , obtaining support of related institutions and formally submitting an application. Which cities are eligible for applications? What are the requirements and procedures for applications? From preparation to formal application, the Chinese guidelines will offer authoritative, detailed and practical suggestions and systematic references to cities aiming to apply.