ADG/CLT/2013/02 - Original: English

Speech of M. Francesco Bandarin,

Assistant Director-General for Culture,
delivered at the Conference of the Association of Urban
Creativity
King's College, London

31 May 2013




Creative cities and the creative economy: UNESCO policy
agenda


In the estimated 6,000 languages existing in the world today, there are
countless definitions of the word city and its related terms.

In general, a city is defined as a relatively large and permanent
settlement, which is a general term used in statistics, archaeology,
geography, landscape history and other subjects. It generally refers to a
sort of assemblage of constructed facilities such as roads, enclosures,
field systems, complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage,
housing, and transportation, boundary banks and ditches, ponds, parks
and woods, wind and water mills, manor houses, moats and religious
temples. Such assemblages can also imply the notions of suburbs and
exurbs, concentration and expansion, order and chaos.

Probably because the term city may comprise or evoke so many and
diverse and sometimes contradictory realities, the city has been a
subject of widely varying conceptual discourse, and literary narrative -
including utopian literature and science fiction.
Some of you may be familiar with the late Italo Calvino (+ 1985), who
was the most-translated contemporary Italian writer at the time of his
death, His anthology of short stories entitled Le citt invisibili, (Invisible
Cities), first published in 1972 the English translation was published in
1974 is considered a masterpiece of contemporary fiction concerning
cities.

I believe that some of Calvinos inventions can inform our perspective of
reality. This is the case of the invented city of Moriana, with its alabaster


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gates transparent in the sunlight, its coral columns supporting pediments
encrusted with serpentine, its villas all of glass like aquariums where the
shadows of dancing girls with silvery scales swim beneath the medusa-
shaped chandeliers. Moriana serves as a metaphor for the modern
transparency of our metropolises with their omnipresent video cameras.
In Calvinos city of Ersilia to establish the relationships that sustain the
city's life, the inhabitants stretch strings from the corners of the houses,
white or black or gray or black-and-white according to whether they mark
a relationship of blood, of trade, authority, agency. When the strings
become so numerous that you can no longer pass among them, the
inhabitants leave: the houses are dismantled; only the strings and their
supports remain. Ersilia reveals much about communication in our
contemporary societies.

An even more intriguing image of contemporary urban life and its future
is revealed by the fictional city of Thekla: Those who arrive at Thekla
writes Calvino can see little of the city, beyond the plank fences, the
sackcloth screens, the scaffoldings, the metal armatures, the wooden
catwalks hanging from ropes or supported by sawhorses, the ladders,
the trestles. If you ask "Why is Thekla's construction taking such a long
time?" the inhabitants continue hoisting sacks, lowering leaded strings,
moving long brushes up and down Then they answer: "We will show it
to you as soon as the working day is over; we cannot interrupt our work
now," they answer. But as the works never ends, the response never
arrives.

Whatever perspective we adopt, I think that we will all agree that, to a
certain extent, our cities all resemble Moriana, Thekla and Ersilia. They
are increasingly, resembling huge, endless construction sites, whose
final shape is impossible to define, like hubs of infinite, increasingly
complex human interactions of all kinds, which we try to keep
transparent and accessible for the sake of our democratic ideals.

Our cities present scary challenges, indeed: challenges that cannot be
avoided, and must be faced. In its report World Urbanization Prospects:
the 2011 Revision, Highlights released in 2012, UN experts predict that
in a few decades 70 per cent of the worlds population will live and work
in cities.

The concept of creative cities emerged in response to this alarming
prospect, which has far-reaching local and global implications. Cities are
progressively becoming central partners in socio-economic and cultural
development as well as front-line actors in attaining national


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development objectives. Creative city platforms are emerging worldwide
as a result of growing international awareness of the role that culture
tangible, natural and intangible heritage, and creativity can play in
urban development.
The link between culture and development is key to UNESCOs vision of
urban development and cities; it merits some clarification and
development here.

Culture is what makes us who we are. It gives us strength; it is a
wellspring of innovation and creativity; and it provides answers to many
of the challenges we faced by contemporary societies. Investment in
culture and creativity has proven an excellent means for revitalize the
economy of cities. Today, many cities use cultural heritage and cultural
events and institutions to improve their image, stimulate urban
development, and attract visitors as well as investments. In addition to its
economic benefits, culture-led development also includes a range of
non-monetized benefits, such as greater social inclusiveness and
rootedness, resilience, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship for
individuals and communities, and the use of local resources, skills, and
knowledge. Respecting and supporting cultural expressions contribute to
strengthening the social capital of a community and fosters trust in public
institutions.
Given the potential of culture in terms of both social-economic but also
human development the international community must do far more to
place culture at the heart of the global sustainability agenda at the global
level and on the ground across the world.

In recent years, UNESCO has taken a leading role in advancing the
culture and development agenda.

Thanks largely to UNESCOs advocacy work, in 2010 and 2011, the
United Nations General Assembly adopted two breakthrough resolutions
on culture and development that recognized the contribution of culture
and cultural diversity to sustainable development and the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals.

Supported by the Millennium Development Goals Fund, UNESCO has
led 18 joint programmes around the developing world to demonstrate the



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importance of cultural assets and values for sustainable development
strategies.

In recognition of its prominent role in this debate, UNESCO has been
tasked with the preparation of the 2013 Creative Economy Report this
will help prepare the ground also for the discussions on culture and
development during the 2013 Annual Ministerial Review of the UN
Economic and Social Council.

As we shape a new global sustainability agenda to follow the 2015
deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, we must place culture at
its heart.

The International Congress "Culture: Key to Sustainable Development"
took place in Hangzhou (China) just some days ago, from 15 to 17 May.
It was the first International Congress specifically focusing on the
linkages between culture and sustainable development organized by
UNESCO since the Stockholm Conference in 1998. As such, the
Congress has provided a global forum to discuss the role of culture in
sustainable development in view of the post-2015 development
framework, with participation of the global community and major
international stakeholders.
The resulting Hanghzou Declaration is the fruit of a decade of evidence
and initiatives to showcase cultures indispensable role for sustainability.
It also urges governments, civil society and the private sector to harness
the power of culture in addressing the worlds most pressing
developmental challenges, such as environmental sustainability, poverty,
and social inclusion.

Though positioned at the vanguard of social and economic development
in an increasing number of countries, culture is still not fully integrated
into sustainable development strategies worldwide. The Hangzhou
Declaration urges that public policies need to reflect and scale up the
variety of initiatives led at the local and national level. Because of
cultures cross-cutting role across a variety of fields, the Declaration
exhorts decisions makers and stakeholders in culture, education, heath,
and explicitly, urban planning to integrate culture in strategies for
social growth and development.

Cultural and creative industries, such as tourism or heritage, and cultural
infrastructure, such as museums and public theatres, can serve as
locomotives for social dialogue and cohesion, as well as jobs and


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revenues, especially in developing countries, thereby helping to combat
poverty and violence. The Declaration suggests that the creative
economy, nourished by the power of new technologies, may be the next
new economy, following agricultural, industrial, and service economies.

The Hangzhou Declaration is a key step in UNESCOs advocacy to
integrate culture into sustainable development strategies, at a time when
the international community shapes a new global agenda for sustainable
development after 2015.

Today, cities are the nexus, the heart and the laboratory of development
strategies and policies. The emergence of the concept of creative
cities, which first appeared some 10 years ago, could not have taken
place without the growing recognition of culture as a foundation for
sustainable development.

In this context, we can better appreciate the foundation in 2004 of the
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) an organization with which
many of you are familiar and which is made up of local governments
throughout the world. With over 1.000 cities as direct members, as well
as 112 national associations in over 120 UN Member States around the
globe, UCLG is today the worlds largest local government. Representing
over half the world's population, UCLG advocates democratic local self-
government. UNESCO enjoys close relations with UCLG which adopted,
in May 2004 the Agenda 21 for culture as a reference document for its
programmes on culture and assumed the role of coordinator of the
process.
The Agenda 21 challenges the notion that traditional sustainable
development triangle- environment social inclusion and economics -- and
advocated the inclusion of a forth pillar: culture. Moreover it stresses the
importance of solid and integrated cultural policies taking into account
historic, environmental and socio-economic factors.


In the same year, 2004 UNESCOs Creative Cities Network was created
in this context and for the same reasons. This exciting new initiative aims
to generate joint creative solutions to urban development challenges in
line with the Organizations larger objective to safeguard cultural
diversity.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network considers cities as creative hubs
that enhance socio-economic growth through the development of
creative industries. It considers them as socio-cultural clusters,


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connecting culturally diverse communities to help make inclusive the
urban environment. The Network represent a platform complementary
or supportive and not competitive vis--vis other networks like UCLG
for international cooperation, encouraging synergies between cities
irrespective of their size, to drive development partnerships in the area of
creative industries. Cities are designated Members of the Network in
recognition of their importance in one of the following seven specific
fields: literature, music, design, media arts, film, gastronomy and
crafts/folk art. At present, the Network comprises 34 members primarily
from Europe, Latin America and Asia. UNESCO is strongly committed to
encouraging the submission of candidatures from under-represented
regions of Africa and Arab states: new members from those continents
should be nominated soon.

Many Creative Cities have developed websites providing regularly
updated information on their activities. The particularly innovative
website of Edinburgh, Creative City for Literature since 2004
(www.cityofliterature.com), is particularly noteworthy.
Cities in each of the seven fields of creation are actively involved in
collaborative initiatives within the Network as well as at the local level.

Moreover, the network is unremittingly improved through joint initiatives
and the sharing of strategies and practices. Longstanding members of
the Network volunteer as mentors for the more recent ones, while the
younger member help in turn refresh the practices of the Network. The
Networks global conferences facilitate constructive exchange and help
to develop a sense of community among members.

The first global conference took place in 2008 in Santa Fe, USA, which
hosts the premiere arts and craft market in the USA. The conference
focused on cultural and creative tourism, a growing sector for viable
social and economic development. At Networks second conference in
Shenzhen, China, in 2010, 21 Creative City members, new media
experts, economists and creative industry professional addressed the
timely topic of new media and technology and its impact on cities and
their creative industries. The third Creative Cities global conference,
held in 2011 in Seoul, Korea examined the theme of Sustainable Urban
Development Based on Creativity. The main item on the agenda of the
2012 meeting, hosted by Montreal, Canada, was the thorny issue of
seeking outside financial support in response to the 2011 decision by
UNESCO General Conference to fund the Creative Cities programme
exclusively through extrabudgetary sources. The next general assembly
of the Creative Cities Network is scheduled to take place in Bologna


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(Italy) in summer 2013, while a global forum on the Creative Cities
strategies will be organized in Beijing next October.

In keeping with UNESCOs worldwide advocacy for the paramount role
of culture in development, the Network is fine-tuning and enhancing its
vision and strategy under the motto ''creative cities for sustainable
development.'' Efforts are being streamlined to apply a transversal and
integrated approach to creativity and to cooperate on the interrelated
issues of global urbanization and urban sustainability.
The Creative Cities Network is focused on capitalizing on the expertise
and experience of UNESCO and other relevant institutions in areas such
as World Heritage cities, green cities, the creative economy, and
contemporary urban social transformations. UNESCOs work on these
issues is underpinned by its role as an international standard-setter as
evidenced by such the legal instruments that the Organization has
elaborated since its creation. These include the 1972 World Heritage
Convention, which has recognized nearly 200 historic cities as
possessing outstanding universal value, and the 2005 Convention on
the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,
aimed to strengthen the grow of a lively cultural sector with an emphasis
on the creative industries. In 2011 UNESCO adopted the
Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape designed to guide
local governments in implementing a holistic approach to the sustainable
development of historic cities taking into account a citys natural, cultural
and social resources as well as its contemporary environment.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Networks future depends largely on its
capacity to position itself as an authoritative leading global forum for
cultural creativity and urban renaissance. The globalization that has
swept the planet in recent decades has turned international cooperation
in the world economy into a prerequisite for survival and growth. In this
context, and together with related UNESCO activities, the Networks
challenge will be to provide a supplementary gizmo to connect human
creativity as an indispensable element of sustainable human
development and to promote as widely as possible the emergence of
creative economies for societies.

Although we are convinced of our objectives, we cannot be sure about
the results UNESCO together with the international community will
manage to achieve. To those who ask us, like the visitors of the
imaginary city of Thekla, where exactly we are going, what exactly we
are achieving, we can only answer, as Theklas inhabitants, by
continuing working, and by saying: "We will show it to you as soon as the


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working day is over; we cannot interrupt our work now". We do know
however that through our work, the role of cities as creative hubs
contributing to economic and human development will be reinforced.

Thank you for your attention.