Why in News?

• UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of FILM and Hyderabad in the field of GASTRONOMY, on the occasion of World Cities Day 2019.

Highlights:

• By joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), the cities pledge to share their best practices and develop partnerships involving public and private sectors as well as civil society to strengthen creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services.
• The network covers seven creative fields: crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.
• Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN, namely- Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015), Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015), Chennai-Creative city of Music(2017).
• Ministry of Culture is the nodal Ministry of Government of India for all matters in UNESCO relating to culture.

UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN):

• The UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries.
• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities.
• The member cities that form part of the Network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations.