From 1st July to 5th July, delegates from 35 UNESCO Cities of Literature attended a major conference for the UNESCO Creative Cities to share ideas, best practices and celebrate the importance of creativity in sustainable urban development across the network.
Focal points, city mayors and high-level representatives of the UCCN were invited to participate in UNESCO’s Annual Meeting in Braga, Portugal, a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, to celebrate 20 years of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
During the conference, mayoral representatives from Cities of Literature co-signed the Braga Manifesto: A Culture Goal for Sustainable Development. This pivotal text outlines local-level commitment from Creative Cities implementing the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration and solidifies a shared vision of integrating culture as a standalone goal in the post-2030 Sustainable Development agenda.
Participants at the conference took part in roundtable discussions, panels and presentations on cultural topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence and youth voice to inclusivity and sustainability. Cities enjoyed hearing from new additions to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, updates from the UNESCO Secretariat and local officials in Braga on the work they’re doing in their city. Cities of Literature presented many joint projects to conference delegates including work on International Days such as World Poetry Day, International Mother Language Day and International Youth Day, and our Director, Hannah Trevarthen, was given a platform to speak about our wonderful Story Valley project, which we delivered with cultural education partners in Nottingham, Edinburgh, Ljubljana and Leeuwarden.
Paulo Rangel, Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in his speech to the delegates,
“The future of humanity is in cities, not because of their population numbers, but because of the values, innovation and creativity they hold. And cities are more inclusive than states.”
Delegates enjoyed visits to nearby Portuguese cities Barcelos City of Craft and Folk Art, Amarante City of Music and Santa Maria da Feira City of Gastronomy to experience the wealth of cultural activity they bring to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Cities of Literature had a strong involvement in the creative programme of the conference. Each city donated a children’s book to a mobile children’s library that travelled around Braga during the week of the conference giving readings and performances of the books to young people in the local community.
Young writers at home in Cities of Literature also engaged with the creative programme via the Letters to the Future project, sharing their own hopes and wishes with international cultural leaders. Head over to our Instagram to read a selection of these beautiful letters. A literary performance by Susana Oliveira and Diana Sá took place at the Nogueira da Silva Museum with more contributions from Cities of Literature approaching language as a vehicle to understand the past in order to consciously build the future. Old communication devices such as typewriters invited participants to express themselves through literature in booths and the writing was displayed for others to experience.
A sound installation created by Portuguese sound artist Pedro Augusto featured a collection of readings by international authors in their original languages, contributed by many of the Creative Cities of Literature. The continuous broadcast was installed in the garden of Nogueira da Silva Museum, challenging visitors to discover the several listening points and experience the cultural and linguistic richness of the Creative Cities Network, in a direct dialogue with the natural beauty of the space.
This year’s conference theme of ‘Bringing Youth to the Table’ was further reflected in the Cities of Literature subnetwork report given by our cluster on the involvement of young people in so many of our projects, each reinterpreting literature as a vital art form for their self-expression and wellbeing.
We are already looking forward to the next UNESCO Creative Cities Network meeting, which will take place in Autumn 2025 in Querétaro Creative City of Design, Mexico.
To find out more about the events mentioned above and the Cities of Literature network please visit the Cities of Literature website and follow the #CreativeCities hashtag on social media.